Today is the first day of my first juice fast. I'm 5'10" at 130lbs. I'm not fasting to lose weight, it's to detox my system. I feel lethargic & my skin is pallid. For the next 7 days I will be blogging about my experience with this regimen.

Last week: for 3 days I ate mostly brown rice w/ veggies without the cheese then munched on raw fruit, veggies & nuts drinking only green tea & honey for 3 more.Yesterday I ate an apple & drank water mixed with honey, lemon & cayenne pepper. Today! Today Iwalked the 1 mile went to my local juice bar. This place, Blue Shirt Café, an oases amidst pizza & beer and Lost in Translation Indian food. I thought about getting my own juicer but nah, too expensive, too much work. A mile is 5 songs on my iPhone. I'm super excited about finding this café. I was beginning to dismay not having yet found in this city a restaurant that has a large variety of vegetarian/vegan dishes. I'm not vegetarian or vegan but sometimes, you know, sometimes you just need a break.

When I was a kid I couldn't understand why I always felt so crappy after I ate. My stomach hurt & I didn't even have a test that day. I was plagued with migraine headaches & sinus infections. I started to notice I had it worse after I ate red meat. I stopped eating it. This was right around the time I figured out my mom's a terrible cook, (microwave Thanksgiving Turkey anyone?). I think I was 11. I cut out pork as well. It wasn't until I stopped drinking milk that my sinus infections went away. I still get migraine headaches but only like once a year. I felt so much better, more energetic, like a kid; able to climb tall trees & beat up boys. A few years later I stopped eating chicken & to my delight the mood swings & cramps that went along with my dot went away. Well,ok…eased up considerably.

I thought about it but I didn't go vegetarian because of my unnatural love of crab & oysters. I am, what I like to call, a Vegequarian. I came up with that word back 20 years ago now it's in the Urban Dictionary. I don't get credit for a thing I do. Anyway, I love shellfish. Back in '89 I made Shrimp Boil & a couple stuffed crabs for me & my boyfriend. I was smoking a lot of pot back then so after the meal when my eyes felt dry & itchy I blamed it on the pot. When I woke up I looked like a smiling Buddha. Or maybe a Bengal tiger. That's what I went as for Halloween the next night. Good timing, right? My doctor told me I was allergic to shellfish. Said I had developed it somehow, it happens. I posited the crabs maybe were highly suspect? He said; Maybe, its possible but if you're allergic the next time you eat shellfish you could die. I went 6 months without so much as touching a shrimp, kinda hard being a restaurant manager. At this time my boyfriend & I were living with his parents. I come home one day after work to find his mother making dinner. What's for din-nnn…I faltered, noticing piles of golden brown breaded morsels. Oysters!?! Shrimp!?! Are you trying to kill me!?! I couldn't stand it. I wasn't the only one living there you know. I had no right to expect everyone to keep away from the glory that is fried shrimp on my account. I pointed my finger in the air & declared: I don't care what happens! If I can't have oysters life is just not worth living! and popped a couple in my mouth. They all sat in bemused mock horror watching me chew. Nothing happened. I'm still alive! Let loose the pidgeons!

So, today I've had glasses & glasses of honey-lemon-pepper water & juice from my local juice bar. All their produce is organic & the place seems really popular as the harried counter girl will agree. I had time to peruse the menu as I waited for my Creative Cocktail; a Pineapple-pear-wheatgrass-mint mixture that is oh so delightfully frothy & a Carrot-cucumber-beet-lemon-garlic Immune Booster w/ a dose of spirulina for later. Both so satisfying & energizing. I could get used to this.The Smoothies sound yummy, the juices sound refreshing & the food sounds delicious. Breakfast is even an option.

I feel all light but with just the slightest touch of cramping. This is all I have experienced on this journey so far. Till next time. Thanks for listening. Leave a comment if you will. It makes me happy.