Winding Down & Reasons Why

There's a story from the Taoist tradition about a farmer whose horse runs away. The neighbors react to the horse running away, “That’s awful.” The farmer says, “We’ll see!” Sure enough the horse returns the next day with another horse, a wild horse. The neighbors say, “You are lucky.” He says, “We’ll see!” The next day his son rides the wild horse, falls off and breaks his leg. The neighbors say, “You poor man.” He says, “We’ll see!” The army comes through town the next day, taking all able bodied boys off to war, leaving the farmer’s boy behind because of his broken leg. The neighbors gather and say, “We’re so pleased for you.” The farmer says, “We’ll see!”


I bought my juicer 4 years ago. It was the same time I was able to significantly decrease my sugar intake and buy hook-line-and-sinker into Jorge Cruise and his Belly Fat Cure initiative.  Much of what Jorge offers I still "buy into," but I am on a journey - not just spiritually in life, but physically, emotionally, relationally and any other way you can think of - and my journey of health/physical wellness now brings me a point where I want to attempt a long-term juice fast. 


Back to the juicer.  Since 2008, I have juice-fasted twice a year. These fasts have been 3-5 days and usually done in combination with some smoothies or salads. I used these fasting opportunities to jump start me back to a healthier diet, increased exercise, etc. In terms of refocusing me, these fasts were successful. However, I am expecting more from this fast. So here is my list of reasons and hopeful outcomes:

• I want to change my taste buds. Numerous writings and research done on long-term juice fasting shows this is a way to redefine the needs (or wants) of the body. We'll see.
• In April, I will mark my 4-year* anniversary of being on a daily 40mg dosage of Simvastatin (generic for Zocor) for high cholesterol. It is true some bodies - even of those who are vegetarian - naturally produce a higher amount of the LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or "bad cholesterol." Is this me? Well, one way to find out! Juice fast... we'll see. However, this is one anniversary I would be happy not to mourn every year.
• I want fat loss. This is different than weight loss. I am really OKAY with my weight, if I was muscular. Since I have moved to Lafayette, my regular exercise time has completely died. I want this to change, but one thing at a time. We'll see.
• For many years, I have struggled with hypocrisy. So, in order for me to say, "Well, you should try...." I want to have tried it and have results - good or bad - to share with others as someone who has "been there and done that." In October of 2010 when I began No-Poo'ing (not using shampoo - or conditioner) some people jumped to the conclusion I was being "green" or being weird. Those are both by-products of such a lifestyle change, BUT my top 2 reasons for shifting to no-poo were: 1) it's cheap and 2) when people come to the church needing assistance for basic things (like shampoo), I can give them a large box of baking soda, a bottle of apple cider vinegar, 2 condiment-style bottles, instructions and say, "This will last you about 12 months." (and it cost... $3?) "...and, "yes, it's what I have used for 19 months now." So, I am trying to practice what I preach. Perhaps, this is where I should also give a pitch to our church's Health Ministry Team and all their work - including starting a Yoga class with a world-class instructor!
• I DO NOT WANT TO LOOK LIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S CHRISTIAN PREACHERS! I really need to stop questioning the prices of our denomination's insurance premiums...all I need to do is attend a gathering of United Methodist pastors in Indiana and look around... So, by putting this point - and my last point out there - this becomes "Accountability Grand Central Station" (and I need that).

Update on progress: Last Friday I woke up with something between a severe cold and the flu (I had some joint/muscle ache-ness which is why I question a touch of the flu) and since I had a flu shot, I know sometimes this just means you don't get AS SICK with the flu, should you "get it."  At any rate, for 72 hours I ate raw fruits and juiced. It was earlier than expected, but I figured I would just take it as a launchpad and go from there. But then Sunday night it occurred to me that this could affect my baseline lab work, so I went out and had fettucini alfredo! (I was beginning to feel better -- fast, obviously.) Today I will continue with a juice replacement for most every meal/snack with the exception being some wonderful and delightful dish from Jethro's BBQ tonight!

Next post: my initial numbers, along with a little information on first steps.

*When I began taking Simvastatin, I was 30-years old.  Within a few months, I broke out with significant acne on my face. This was not pleasing to me as I had paid big bucks in 1999-2000 to complete the Accutane regimen to finally solve my acne issues. Since I am the type of nut that believes I can solve MOST of my own medical problems without doctors, I did my research. I discovered acne could be a side effect of many statins. So, when I went in for a monthly blood test (while we adjusted the dosage), I asked my doctor about this acne. He didn't seem to know anything. I shared my acne past and said this appears to be in conjunction with the Simvastatin. "Well, I have never heard of that being a side effect, but I'll check." A month later, back for another blood test, he says, "Oh, I did look into acne situation and that can be a side effect of statins. (pause) I just haven't had a patient young enough taking cholesterol-lowering medication who could also be viable candidates for acne." "GREAT!  I'm your first!"  Of course, at that point, he did what doctors do: "So, I'm writing a prescription for..." I messed around with that about a week and then woke up to the horror that I was now caught in the medical cycle of taking a pill to solve a problem caused by another pill and said, "NO!" So, I stopped taking the acne medication and eventually my body self-adjusted to the Simvastatin and the acne went away.