Going on a fruit/veggie cleanse

Hi Ladies!

Just wanted to pop in and offer my support. Thinking about doing the cleanse as well but since my schedule is crazy right now I don't think I'm ready. Keep up the good work!

Thanks FemmeFox.

Hi Ladies,

You all are really inspiring me to do this cleanse. I am a vegetarian and would like to go vegan because I know dairy is very fattening and it doesn't seem to agree with me. I think this cleanse would help me especially since I love sweets! I thought about doing the Eat To Live diet which is very similar to this but a little stricter where you are only allowed a certain amount of fruit a day I think. I just have to make sure I keep my fridge stocked with fruits and veggies (my hubby and kids eat all the fruit I buy within two days usually). I think I am going to see if I can start this in the morning with what I have for now and will hit up the Farmers Market on Sunday.

Thanks FemmeFox.

Hi Hollis,

I stopped eating pork and beef 14 years ago, but I've been eating poultry and fish off and on since then. Starting this cleanse has prompted me to stop eating poultry again, for good. What benefits have you noticed from being vegetarian?

Hi hurjurnee,

That's great I had a hard time giving up chicken at first too. I don't think it is that bad to eat meat if it is hormone free and from a natural source where the animals are treated and fed properly but even than I personally wouldn't go back to eating it. When I first converted I lost a lot of weight in a pretty decent amount of time. I felt better and felt like I had more energy and saved money also. When I really noticed a difference was when I went vegan for about three weeks. I never felt better and wish I had continued so I would like to eventually go back to that. The reason I went vegan for three weeks was because I had a vegan cook book that teaches you how to cook your food for up to one month and you section your portions and freeze it. It was pretty simple except for the one day of the month that you cook. I was up from 6am and finished about 10pm because it was my first time doing it and I wasn't used to cooking all that food, but I had so much healthy food that lasted me 3 weeks dessert and everything. I spent about $200 upfront but didn't buy groceries for 3 weeks so it was great but I've been lazy since than. Sorry for rambling on lol.

Wow! That sounds really inviting. I've been very intrigued about the vegan lifestyle. I know that it requires a lot of sacrifice, as far as giving up all animal-derived products goes, but it really has so many benefits. I would like to help my children adopt a healthier lifestyle than I was exposed to as a child. That's a big expense, though...but it's funny. When I think about it, I probably spend that amount per month, easily...especially when I consider all of the eating out that we've been doing (I've been lazy lately, myself). My children (ages 2 & already don't eat much meat, since I don't ever cook pork or beef and haven't cooked poultry or fish much lately. What is the name of the book you read? I'm going to look into it some more.

Thanks for the info!!

Your welcome! It's hard at first but once you learn what to eat and some recipes it's really not that bad or hard. I did well with it for a few months but I don't know what happened to me I fell off and started eating cheese again. My face was so much clearer when I wasn't eating it. My kids are about to be 3 and 5 and they don't like meat that much either but I give it to them because they won't eat beans at all. I forgot to mention that when I spent $200 about $50 or $75 of that was buying the supplies I needed in bulk so I would have everything I needed again for the following month. I had bought a bunch of ziploc freezer bags and glad containers to store my portions in. So I actually only spent about $125 on groceries but I could have done better if I would have shopped at the farmers market for the veggies I used. The name of the book is Preparing Whole Foods for a Whole Month That Your Whole Family Will Enjoy! by Christy Wade. That book has the best Banana bread recipe but that recipe calls for eggs. I think that and one other recipe in the book uses eggs. There is another book that you can buy with it that explains why the writer believes it is better not to eat animal or processed foods. I have it but haven't really read it yet. It is bible based and looks like a really good book. I spoke to the author on the phone once and she is so helpful and friendly. Also another site I like is www.fatfreevegan.com I like the recipes on that site.

Wow! Thank you so much for all of the information. Something must have went wrong when I was typing my children's ages in the last post...lol. They are almost 3 and 9. My 9 year old doesn't eat much of anything with protein, but she likes chicken, so I'd definitely have to include poultry in her diet. My son will at least try anything I fix, so that's a start. I was reading about the vegan lifestyle yesterday, and I might take 'the plunge' in the next month or so. I'll have to check out that book and the site!

Your welcome! I am still learning somethings myself but I have read up a lot on this in the last few years and have gained quite a bit of knowledge. I know what I have to do but I think I'm just being lazy and letting stress get to me. I am going to try to take the plunge soon also. Just make sure you do a lot of reading to make sure you get in all of your nutrients. If you ever have a question about it you can pm me or ask me here and I will do my best to help you.

@Hollis, that site you provided has good recipes. I plan to check out the book you mentioned too.

A couple of co-workers are starting the Daniel Fast on Monday. I'm thinking about doing it too. It's for 21 days and its all veggies, fruits, and grains I think. I figured it would be a good "spring cleaning" for my body and a way to gradually get back into a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. I was vegetarian for about 6 years and about 1-2 years vegan. I don't know what happened but fell WAY OFF. Have been talking to a co-worker, who is Seventh Day Adventist and mostly vegetarian, about getting myself back on track. We'll see...but defintely think the fast would be beneficial.

@DvaAuNaturel I love fatfreevegan everything I have made from that site was really good...my husband a meat eater even loved the food! I cooked strictly from that site for a week once and I think I lost like 2 or 3 pounds although I was excersing a little too.

I think the Daniel Fast would be a great start or even the one that popsbaby has listed in this thread. If just eating fruits and veggies for a few days is a bit much for you than I would definitely go with the Daniel Fast. I have a print out of it in case you need it I can post it later on today. Just let me know. Wow I have been a strict vegetarian since 2005 and was vegan for only a month maybe two and fell off with the vegan thing. My mother-in-law is a Seventh Day Adventist as well and she doesn't eat any dairy or eggs but has fish occasionally. Let me know how the fast goes and if anybody needs any recipes let me know I have tons of Vegan cookbooks!

@Hollis Thanks again for all of the insight. I am definitely going to start doing my research about the vegan lifestyle. Regarding the fruit/veggie cleanse, I only stuck with it for 5 of the 10 days, but I actually lost 6.8 pounds! I drank a crazy amount of water during the cleanse and I worked out more than normal, so I'm sure that helped, as well. I'll be in touch!

@DvaAuNaturel That is awesome that you were able to stick with being vegan for so long! I know that I need to adopt a more 'clean' and organic lifestyle. I currently take meds for hypertension, and I'm sure that a healthier diet will get me on track.

@hurjurnee that's great! I didn't really stick with it like I should have . I need to get a work out routine going. I work from 8am-5pm and after work I pick up my kids and get dinner ready if they haven't eaten at their Grandma's house and get them ready for bed. By the time they go to sleep I feel so lazy and I end up waking up late in the morning. I guess I need to get a better schedule because I felt so much better when I was working out.

@Hollis Thanks! Your schedule sounds like mine. Fortunately, I live around the corner from my job, so I'm going to start going home on my lunch break to at least get in 30 minutes of cardio via one of my workout DVD's. I always feel so drained when I get home during the week. The last thing on my mind is working out. I got one of my co-workers to sign up for a 5K run in 8 weeks, so we're following a 7-week run/walk training program that I found on mayoclinic.com. It is supposed to prepare you for a 5K, so we'll see how it goes! I really feel the need to push myself, because I can get lazy with my workouts...

Take care!

Starting a week long fruit and veggie cleanse on Sunday. I'm super excited! My GF and I are considering eating cleaner, healthier, and more sustainably. There a few vegan cookbooks that I am looking into (By Any Greens Necessary and Vegan Soul Kitchen) and I will definitely check out fatfreevegan.com.

ps<--- if you were ever unsure about why you should eat better, watch Food Inc. It was on PBS last night and it was very eye opening.

Hey FemmeFox,

I watched Food Inc. in the theatre but it was sold out when I did, so I had to catch the latest one and fell asleep . I saw most of it and what I so was good and shocking. It definitely helped me change some of eating habits. Thanks for reminding me of that, I think I will pick up the dvd. Veganomican is an excellent vegan cook book. It got great reviews on Amazon as well. I have almost all of the books by the authors and love all of them. Let us know how your cleanse goes!

Thanks Hollis!

So I started the cleanse last night. For dinner I had an avocado salad with red onions, cucumber, tomato, and red leaf lettuce. This morning has been a little crazy, I didn't prep anything for breakfast so I've had a mandarin orange and a banana as well as water and tea (mint and green tea mixed together). So far so good!!

Hey FemmeFox, That salad sounds really good! Do you just use oil and vinegar for dressing? I have been eating fruit everyday for breakfast but I really need to try this cleanse again. I might try to start it next week after my kids b-days lol.

Right now for dressing I'm using either lemon juice mixed with EVOO or straight lemon juice. The cleanse that I'm doing says to stay away from spices, honey, vinegar, etc.. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] so juices and oil are what I'm using.