In his movie, Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead, Joe Cross indicated that you should clear everything else off of your schedule for the next two months.  I remembered hearing that and thinking, “yeah, right. blah blah blah”

And like most things, I thought I coud/would just jump into it. I tried.  First, let me just say, the reboot program, if you are doing any length of extended Reboot, is self-limiting.  By that, I mean, it will prevent you from just jumping into it.  There is just too much to do to prepare to sit around thinking, “I’m gonna do that tomorrow.” Then, wake up int he morning and start juicing.

Now, if you aren’t going to go full bore and are just going to add juicing to your regular caloric intake, perhaps…perhaps you can just wing it.  Otherwise, planning helps.

As for clearing your schedule of non-essential things, Um, yeah.  In hindsight that would be a good idea. You don’t want to try to do this for the first time during the holidays.  I know, Joe did it during Thanksgiving.  Remember, though, he is Australian.  I am not to sure he is too thankful or even cares that pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.  For us in the US, its a pretty big deal. Also make sure you don’t have an anniversary or other day of significance coming up your first time through it.  You will get enough ridicule from friends and family without having to explain to your wife how romantic a Kale Kool-aid Cocktail is.  Trust me, Valentine’s day is coming up and I am trying to figure that one out right now.

From all I can tell, Joe is a fairly wealthy man.  How else could he clear his schedule completely and afford to drive across the US and stay in hotels, etc etc? He may be able to clear off his schedule completely.  the rest of us working schmos have stuff to do.  That said, clear our as much time and space as you can.  You will need it.  Mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Doing a full juice fast requires every bit of energy you have. I am learning that, the hard way.  Wish I would have listened to Mr. Cross.

That said here is a list of things you need to do, in no particular order, in the week or so before your juice fast begins to help ensure success.

• If you have any other option, do it. Seriously, it is THAT hard.  This is not a gimmick or a quick fix. your body is going to fight you.  Ever primeval urge is going to tell you, you HAVE to eat. For me, it was do or die. That and that alone kept me motivated during the first few days of hell.
• Tell those who need to know and from your support group.  www.jointhereboot.com has a good one on-line, but those in your inner circle will be a God send.
• Don’t tell the whole world, unless you are psycho like me.  Everyone and their dog will have a story to tell about their great aunt’s, uncle’s, nephew’s first cousin who tried this once and they died…or all of their skin turned orange, or their hair fell out. You don’t need the extra distraction or any more reason’s to quit.
• Research, Reaserch, Research.  Yes, I happen to think my blog is a decent source of info, but there are others and maybe even better ones out there.  Plus hit google up, and go to some health stores or the library and look for books. Know what you are doing before you do it AND why.
• Stalk out your local grocery stores and other locations for produce.  The key to staying motivated will be variety. If you get bored, you will quit. Plus variety will ensure that you are getting a wide variety of both macro and micro nutrients; critical for eliminating the possibility of becoming malnourished. If your budget and location allows buy organic when you can.  A great resource for tracking down local farmers with produce to sale to the public is talking to your local County Extension Agent (these are available in the US…I am sure that other countries have similar resources, but I would have no idea what they are, if my followers in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand could give me any info that would be helpful).  When you call your county extension office (they will be in the phone book or online), ask for the Agricultural Agent or the Home Economist.  You might also look for a local CSA or CFA in your community. All of these are great options for keeping the variety up, the prices down, and keeping your supplies well stocked.
• DUH! Find a juicer.  Check out my previous post for more info on what to look for. Can’t believe I almost forgot that one!
• If you can, start on a weekend.  You won’t want to be around people, and quite honestly they won’t want to be around you and your crabby self the first few days.  Plan on sleeping, walking, or otherwise distracting yourself.  I personally found that watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead repeatedly while cussing at Joe and Phil was a great way to pass the time.
• Prepare for a clean out.  Things will leave your body over the first few days that will leave you disgusted and wondering, “When in the name of Pete did I eat anything that even remotely looked or smelled like that!”  It’s okay. It’s normal. It is months or years of backed up yuck that is finally being released.  Amid the various things that make up the word yuck – dead cells, fetid old food trapped inside your intestines, toxins, harmful waste from your liver and kidneys, etc…  You will be gassy, especially if you have not eaten much in the way of vegetables, particularly the cruciferous vegetables.
• Prepare for a clean out, pt 2.  It ain’t just your body that will be cleaning out.  Your mind and emotions will be, too. You will have more time to think once you get the hang of the juicing, since you won’t be using that time to order food, drive to restaurants, cook food, or eat food.  You will start to ask yourself scary questions.  Actually, the questions aren’t that bad, it’s the answers.  And all of that stuff, those emotional toxins, will start coming out.  But that’s okay.  There is a reason a well-educated, fairly reasonable person like me gets to be 470 lbs. and it ain’t just because cheeseburgers taste so good!  Dealing with it is the only way to heal yourself long term.
• Talk to your doctor, make sure that they are okay with this idea.  If they object, though, find out why.  Make sure they are not just misinformed.  Remember, you are the one that did all the research.  You likely will know more about it than they do.  You also want to make sure your meds will not cause probs with the veg-based nutrition or visa-versa.
• Mark a calendar so you know when you are starting and when you will be done.
• Set your goals.
• Prepare for withdrawal, mentally.  Withdrawal is going to happen. It will hit you harder than you ever imagined. You need to be prepared for it. Plan now to go through it without any medicinal aids like aspirin, they will just prolong the process and interfere with your bodies attempt at getting healthy.  God gave us the ability to deal with pain rather than mask it.  Use it.  It may be a bit rusty, but your body will remember what to do.  Sleep it off or walk it off, both will help.
• Plan on staying as close to home as much as possible as often as possible.  You don’t want to be facing your biggest temptations in your weakest moments.
• Plan now for what you will say when confronted about your new lifestyle.
• Plan now how you will handle the temptations that arise. Better yet, plan now to avoid them.
• Plan on how you will eat when away from home.  Do you ned to buy some extra pitchers or bottles? Do you need to find a fridge at work? What if you are stuck in traffic or are called away unexpectedly?  I have an emergency pack of purchased juices in my car that I refresh every few days as needed.  these aren’t perfect but they are better than fast food.  I will NOT go through withdrawal again, it sucked! And I don’t want to lose my headway.
• Plan now for how you will handle your success.
• Plan on rewards.  Me? I am hoping to go to either Israel or Australia when I reach my goal.  I would love to meet Phil Staples, if that is possible.  Maybe share my first bite of solid food with him.  This is an extreme plan, it needs an extreme reward.
• If your goal is weight loss and you have an extreme amount of weight to lose, like I do.  Plan on both an intermediate and long-term wardrobe.  I spent last night looking through Cubavera’s online catalogue.  Heck, I’ve been buying my shirts from Omar the Tent Maker for so long, I am not even sure what is fashionable any more. This is gonna be fun once i get there.  Bear in mind, with the new body and the new mind, it is a chance to re-invent yourself from a fashion standpoint, too!
• Count the cost.  Make sure you are prepared financially.  It will seem like a lot at first.  But when you realize how much you are saving on eating out and prepackaged foods, it really is about a push…especially if you are using conventional produce.
• Experiment with new flavors, new tastes, textures, and spices.  Variety will be important. Some you will like, some you won’t.  that’s okay.
• Buy your produce no more than a week at a time.  I didn’t. I have had to throw quite a bit away.  This stuff goes bad fast.  the more “organic” it is, the faster it will spoil, no chemicals are artificially keeping it shelf stable and it wasn’t picked three weeks before it was actually ripe.  You will likely have to throw stuff away at first.  then you will hit your stride and learn what you are using and what you aren’t and the items that will keep longer than others.  These longer lasting items you can buy in quantity.
• Commit to what you are doing and why. Recommit. Then right before your journey begins, commit to it again.

I hope this will help you.  I am sure I will think of some other items in the middle of the night, so this list is likely to expand later.  So comeback.

After all of this, if you still can’t think of a reason not to and you still haven’t found another way to accomplish your health goals… Juice on; Join the Journey.

First, there are two basic kinds of juicers:  a Centrifugal and an Auger-type Juicer or Masticating Juicer.

Centrifugal:  Basically, these have a rim of sharp “teeth”. They look very similar to a grater that you might find on a food processor.  These spin rapidly and sling the finely grated pulp against a mesh screen using centrifugal force.  The pulp stays behind, the juice is ejected through the sieve and into the drainage tube.

The things that will improve or decrease your enjoyment of your centrifugal juicer are:

• How easy they are to clean, especially the screen
• How easy they are to use
• How much prep time you have to spend cutting, peeling, or manipulating your produce to get it into the unit
• How much juice they produce.  This will go along way in determining the ultimate cost of ownership. 
• Whether you plan on using more dry, green vegetables like kale and spinach or more wet produce like pineapple, berries, beets, and celery.
• How fast do they spin (rpm)? This will influence how thoroughly they extract the juice and will impact the volume of juice you receive.

Investigate these issues carefully before purchase or you could end up wasting your money.

Masticating or Auger type juicer:  These juicers use an auger like you might see in a grain truck, cement truck, or other industrial equipment. Through the action of the auger these machines “bite off” small pieces of the produce and run it through a tube that gets increasingly smaller.  By the time the produce reaches the apex of the auger, almost all liquid is squeezed from the produce similar to wringing out a wet cloth.

These are better for leafy produce, but they do not work so well on softer fleshed items like peaches and plums.

The main things you will want to consider:

• These are at least 1/3rd slower than the masticating juicers, but seem to be more thorough
• Slightly more juice volume than the higher end masticating juicers
• What type of produce will you be doing?  If you see yourself doing more beets, carrots, and tomatoes these may not be for you.
• How much will they cost and how much will they cost to operate for your purposes?
• How easy are they to clean.
• I hope this gives you some hints on which is best for you and can at least help give you some guidance.

Enough from me.  Here is a great video I found on youtube showing several different models. This guy is a salesperson, if that matters to you.  But he seems very sincere and extremely knowledgable. He looks and acts like a young, overly amped Lou Diamond Phillips, but forgive his hyperactivity and listen for the info.  It is a bit long, but worth watching.

Look, if you are going to drop 300 dollars (US) on a quality juicer, 30 minutes of education may be worth it, right?

BTW…you will hear a lot about oxidation in many of the videos you will find online. IMO, so what.  First, I am not planning on saving my juice, I am making it to drink immediately, or at least that day. Not much time to “oxidize” in my book.  If you are different it may be worth considering.  This, I believe is sound and fury signifying nothing.  Let’s face it, three weeks ago I was not consuming fruit and veg very much.  Now, I am getting 5 times more than the average american. Oxidized or not, I’m miles ahead of where I was. Enjoy the video and Juice On; Join the Journey.

For some of you, that may be normal. However, before I ever began getting me healthy, I got our finances healthy at the Robinson household. I have no debt and we drive what I lovingly refer to as “Dave Ramsey” cars. Part of that process was controlling my spending and that began at the grocery store. There was a time period in the early 2000′s when I was a single dad that I successfully fed a family of 3 for less than $125 per month. So this was sticker shock to say the least.

I know for some of you this will be the reason that you do not go on this journey with me. You will look at the expense and think you can’t do it. Part of this blog is going to be aimed at tearing down excuses and breaking down walls. So let me start with this one.

Let’s acknowledge the problem: Juicing is expensive.

However, so is a heart attack. How much are diabetes meds. How much do people spend to alleviate high-blood pressure, visiting the doctor, time off work? Those are expensive too. That is also reality especially for the 30-plus percent of Americans that are morbidly obese. If you could eventually eliminate or reduce one of those ailments, you could save enough to pay for this.

We acknowledged the problem now let’s look at some other realities that will soften the blow a bit.

While I did spend over 380 dollars on my first trip to the grocery store, much of that was on what i will call “staples.” These are items that will last for the duration of my 75-plus day fast and many of them are optional. Spices are expensive, but I figured if I was going to be eating and juicing for the next 3 months or so, I better be able to make the foods flavorful, interesting, and enjoyable otherwise ennui would set it and I would be back to the same old comfort foods that made me uncomfortably fat for so long.

For example, I bought a gallon of extra-virgin, cold-pressed Olive Oil, that was $20. But by buying in bulk it will be cheaper over the long haul. I bought grape seed and mustard seed oil, both are pricey and both are things I have never purchased before. I also spent over $30 on things like NM Chili Powder, Whole Nutmeg, Tumeric, Curry Powder, and Garam Masala. Things that you could leave off of your list or go with cheaper alternatives.

Once you take out the staples the actual FOOD COST of what I purchased was only about $275. That number can be further reduced by discounting things like ginger root, yucca root, and the basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme plants because they will last me the duration of my journey. I have a degree in business and am an MBA student, so expect to see full financial breakdowns of the entire journey throughout these blog posts.

So true food costs, the stuff I will be eating every day, was actually only about $200 and that should get me through the first 21-days. Amortize that out and it comes down to $9.52 per day. The last time I went to Wendy’s: A number 2, super-sized with a medium Frosty “$8.47 at the first window. Please pull around and have a nice day.”

So, eating on take out meal was only a dollar cheaper than one of my nutritional meals. And that meal from Wendy’s is going to kill me, the one from home will hopefully keep me alive, clear up my leg, and help me lose weight. If it had been a sit down meal at the local Mexican restaurant that I love so much it would have cost me about $12. So I am ahead.

What I am saying is be honest. Sure, this juicing is going to be expensive. But so are the alternatives and so is the food you are currently eating. The difference is right now what you are doing you are paying for in dribs-and-drabs so you don’t feel the weight of it all at once, pun intended.

Bear in mind also that I am beginning my juicing journey in the dead of winter. While America is blessed with an abundance of food year-round, it has to be shipped. C’mon you didn’t think that ears of corn can be found in nature in January did you? That adds costs to these things. I am going to be talking to my local county extension agent today to find out which local farms have greenhouse fresh produce available. Also, this spring and summer I will be joining a CSA, and will have my own garden up and growing again. So the costs can come down, if that is an issue for you, by doing this in the summer, by buying local, and buying either off-the-truck or from a u-pick.

I came home last night and my family was hungry so I had to start making my first meal. We had a wonderful pumpkin soup. I will share that recipe in the recipe section. For now though, I have groceries to put away. More later.

Join the Juicing Journey.