There seems to be a huge push right now in the “Get Fit” movement.  Now, more than ever before, celebrities like Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Khloe Kardashian and Ravin Symone to name a few have been leading the way with shedding the pounds and living healthier lifestyles.  Social media like Instagram, Facebook and different blogs showcase “normal” people dropping weight.  Morbid obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or above.  To find out your BMI click here.  As a clinical defined morbid obese African-American woman, I am a horrible statistic.  According to the U.S. Office of Minority Health, four in five African-American woman are obese or overweight!  The extra weight and extra abdominal fat causes severe risks such as death from heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

Now of course the idea of me being slimmer and more comfortable with my body image is at the top of my wish list, but living longer with less health complications seems much more important.  The bottom line is I must do different things to have different results.  I am learning I cannot continue to yoyo diet or try impractical temporary solutions to a long term want.  I want permanent results so I must make permanent changes. 

One of the permanent changes I made to my personal diet came about after watching a documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.  I’ve heard of juicing but dismissed the idea of drinking celery, beet, or carrot juice but after watching the movie my opinion changed.  The documentary was amazing and motivating.  I bought a $35 Black & Decker juicer from WalMart and filled my buggy full of fruits and veggies.  With little research and much ambition I started a 15 day juice fast.  I juiced random combinations of 50% vegetables like kale or spinach and 50% fruit like kiwi, apples, or pineapples.  I drank three large glasses of juice each day as meal replacements and plenty of water between meals.  Surprisingly, I had enough energy to even workout 30 minutes twice during the fast.

After six days I ended my 15 day fast.  For all those that wonder if I lost any weight, yes I dropped 13 pounds (which may have just been water weight).   I did not feel 100% confident I was doing the fast correctly and decided to research more to mentally prepare before starting the next fast.  My objective is to find different drink combinations, workouts, and supplements like fiber or flax seeds to aid with my fast.  I learned there are best practices like cleaning my food in baking soda and vinegar before juicing or buying organic food.  A better understanding of juicing is needed instead of winging it day by day.  My main goal for fasting is detoxing my body and boosting my vegetable and fruit intake. I know only better eating habits and normal exercise can get me in better shape.

I realize I cannot only juice for the rest of my life so I decided I will detox the five days of every month and continue to juice once a day as a tasty treat for my body’s nourishment.