One evening last week, my husband sat scrolling through the Netflix offerings on our t.v. and shouted to me in the kitchen.
“Hey, they’ve got that documentary ‘Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead’ on here. I heard it was really good. Wanna watch?”
Keep in mind, Shawn tends more towards the types of films I can’t really handle. I roam more in the PG-13 arena (total lie—I’m a “G” girl all the way), while he doesn’t bat an eye at an “R” rating. Our compromise is that either he watches “R” movies while I’m not home, or he watches them on the computer in bed, while I lay beside him, watching his face and incessantly asking “So what’s happening now?” That option's not really fun for either of us.
Therefore, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” was a perfect compromise for us: comfortable rating for me and interesting enough for him. So I dished up some frozen yogurt with chocolate chips for myself and got cozy on the couch with my hubby.
For those of you who haven’t watched the film, it’s about an Australian guy who decides to go on a 60-day juice fast in hopes of curing an auto-immune disease he has, as well as shed some excess weight from his 300+ lb. body. Along his journey, he picks up a couple recruits, including a really large truck driver with this same auto immune disease. Through this liquid regiment, the two men bring their bodies back to health, inspiring countless others to follow in their footsteps, transforming entire towns with their commitment to juicing .
The adventure is both fascinating and inspiring to watch, and you can’t help but ask yourself, “Could I do this?” Think of it. Sixty days of nothing but vegetable and fruit juice. Wow. I don’t usually jump on the bandwagon of detox diets, but this one has me faltering a bit. I love the idea of injecting your body with a busload of nutrients, providing your cells with the food they need to repair themselves, and flushing your system of the toxins we all know that processed foods leave behind in our bodies. The care this detox provides for your body aligns itself with what I hold in highest esteem in the weight/food battle: being kind to yourself, both mentally and physically.
I, personally, have not done a juicing detox before. Word on the street is that you shouldn’t do a juice detox while also engaging in regular, rigorous exercise. Since Body Combat is currently kicking my butt three times a week, I’m going to attempt to do a modified detox and substitute 1 or 2 meals per day (depending on my workouts) with juice. And at the moment, a Breville juicer sits upon my counter waiting for initiation. Today we begin.
So I would love to hear your take on all this. Have you seen the film? If so, what did you think? Have you done a juice fast before? What was your experience? What’s your favorite juicing recipe?
