Day 9

Day 9 is here! I'm working two 12 hour  night shifts in a row again this week so it's throwing my juicing schedule off just a little. Since I'm almost to day 10 I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned in the past 9 days

1. Stop drinking the juice when you reach the top frothy/foamy stuff on the top. It does not taste good and it makes me gag every time I accidentally want to drink it ALL down. Gagging is bad, because throwing up 1 cucumber, 2 handfuls of spinach, 2 tomatoes, 4 stalks of celery, and 2 apples is not my idea of a fun juicing experience.
2. Clean the juicer IMMEDIATELY after use. Yes, there were many times I was in a hurry to get to school or just wanted to crawl in bed for the night. But trust me, it's much easier to clean/rinse off right away. If I hadn't disciplined myself to clean it after every use, I would have looked at a dirty juicer everyday and given up on Day 2.
3. Put a plastic bag into the roughage "catcher." This may be hard to explain, but all of the roughage/stuff that isn't juiced comes out the back and into this big container.  Lining it with a Wal-Mart or Target bag to catch the mess saved tons of time cleaning that darn thing out.
4. Wash and chop all vegetables when coming home from the grocery store.  Juicing in a rush is time consuming as it is, let alone having to chop and clean every carrot, piece of celery, and cucumber that I used on a daily basis. Storing in a tupperware container or bag makes for easy, simple, and fun juicing :)  (Think I could sell ice to an eskimo?)
5. Don't sit around and watch others eat! Also avoid rummaging through the freezer and pantry "just to see what's in there..." I did this plenty of times in the past 10 days. Trust me, it's not worth it. I know there is nothing in the freezer to be juiced, so I have been avoiding it at all cost.
6. Don't go more than 2-3 hours without drinking! The more time I go inbetween drinking my juice, the hungrier I am and the harder it gets.
7. Don't even watch the dog eat. And the puppy peanut butter that you can put into their toys SHOULD NOT be consumed as human peanut butter. Or so the label says. This can also refer to #5
8. Don't tell every Jack, Dick, and Jane about your juicing. I'm not saying don't tell friends and family, but having to explain your diet to every elementary teacher in the break room is not fun.
9.  Invest in some good storage jars or containers.  My mason jars have been a lifesaver throughout the past 9 days.  I have tried storing in tupperware a couple of times, but it inevitably ends up leaking.
10. If you are going to drink a "green" juice in public, don't put carrots in it. Yes, they add such a sweet, mellow flavor, but with the flavor comes color. Pretty Green juice gets less stares than juice that looks like something no one should ever consume.
11. When buying fruit, splurge only on a couple of items for the week.  I always have the basics such as apples and oranges on hand, but last week I bought a pineapple, and this week a cantaloupe.  Cutting them up at the beginning of the week and adding a couple of slices to my fruit juices in the morning is a special little treat.  It also makes me feel like I am on a tropical island...until I look down and realize that I have spilled bright orange juice all over my scrub pants on the way to clinical. True story.
12. Have some friends go out of town the week you are going to start your juice cleanse.  That way you can stay in their huge house, baby sit for their precious golden retriever, and pretend you're at a spa (a spa that "allows" you to scoop some poop a couple of times). It also helps if there is a shower head that is retractable from the wall.  That way you can get everything nice & clean during the week. Like your feet :) I obviously don't have a retractable shower head at my house, but I really am starting to believe that it's all about the little things in life.