Days 6 - 11: The Juicing Roller Coaster Ride and the BBQ!

First of all, my deepest apologies for not posting this last week.  I could say I was too busy to sit down and write, and that would kind of be true, but the truth is yes, I have been busy, but I could have found the time....  Thanks to Sabrina for reminding me of my shortcomings in this area, and for being patient with me!!  Here you go!

So now it kind of stinks to have to go back into my dusty old memory banks to try to retrieve all the details on how my last few days have gone. It's so much easier if I would just do it one or two at a time.  I'm learning my lesson!!!  Haha!

Day 6:

Well despite feeling better yesterday (Day 5), Day 6 was a bit more challenging.  I had to work and am still dealing with stomach discomfort and some nausea.  Didn't go to see my dad at the hospital today because I just didn't feel up to it.  Now, despite feeling kind of rotten, I do still have better energy, and feeling a bit more "well-oiled" every day.  The inflammation in my body seems to be going away!  It doesn't hurt quite so much getting out of bed in the morning my range of motion is obviously improving!  And I don't feel quite so puffed up/bloated. 👍

One extremely annoying thing did happen today, however. I went to the gym to weigh myself.  I didn't feel quite up to exercising yet, so I just went in for the scale today, but I couldn't find it.  They had started doing some renovations in the club and I assumed they had moved it. So I went to the desk and they said they don't have one there any more.....

Huh?.....

They said that this is a "judgment free zone" and so people don't judge or feel bad or whatever, they got rid of it!  I was completely dumbfounded.  I've never heard something so ridiculous thing in all my life! You are running a fitness club where people want to be able to track their progress for Pete's sake!  Thankfully I apparently was not the only voice regarding the issue. Oh well, I guess I'll have to figure something else out.  Overall the day was pretty good, definitely making progress!

Day 7:

Today was a great day!  While in the restroom at work, I walked by the mirror and was slightly startled!  What is this?  I noticed that I was looking a bit svelter!  I was so excited, I thought, "I need to weigh myself!"  After 7 days and I could already tell a difference in my appearance!!!  😁😁😁😁  So, now my interest was really piqued, so with the help of friends on facebook, someone gave me the idea to weigh myself at the hospital when I go visit my dad this evening.  So I did!

10 POUNDS (4.5 KG)!!! IN SEVEN DAYS!!

Wow, thank you so much God!  This was very motivating!  After leaving the hospital, I had to go buy some more juice at Costco.  Supposed to be opened until 8pm.  Nope.  Closed at 6pm, got there at 6:05pm. 😕  So instead of getting the bottled juice, now I had to get veggies and juice my heart out.  So I went Trader Joe's for the fixins.

That's when the unthinkable happened!!  I was mortified!  My shoe had come untied!  Nooooo!  Now for the average person, this is not a big deal, but for someone with a lot of pain and a large obstruction between my head and my feet, this is a problem!

Usually I have to put my foot up on something, preferably about 2 feet high, but you can't do that in a grocery store!  My mind was racing, I sincerely didn't know what to do! But then it dawned on me.  Let's see if I can bend down and tie it.  Now that I'm svelte (ha!) maybe I can do it!  So I did, I got on one knee and voila! I did it!  Now it wasn't particularly graceful, but I don't think I would have been able to do that a week ago!  More progress!

 Day 8:
 
Day Eight was a success, but I am starting to get sick of the same old juice every day.  So, I figured I needed to treat myself today, so I went to a juice bar near where I work and got a very similar drink to my standard green apple, celery, ginger, lemon, kale and cucumber juice.  I told the girl I needed something sweet.  She suggested adding pear!  Yes, that's perfect!

And it was delicious!

I don't do well with the same thing every day.  I drink about a liter of essentially the same juice every day and nothing else, except water. It was a nice reprieve!   Otherwise today I just kept chugging along .  Good day, still feeling better every day. I still feel hungry and still have cravings for pizza and red meat.  😒

Day 9:

Today I thought I would mix things up a bit.  So I went to a barbecue.....

In my defense, it was a good friend's birthday party and they just *happened* to be having a barbecue.  Of course they did....  LOL!  I drove all the way to Bremerton to get some time with him and his mother, who is a long-time very dear friend (and time with others, too), and I wasn't about to leave after an hour of arriving.  I just figured God would hook me up.  So I walked in with my ridiculously large bottle of green juice, my head held high, and just decided to enjoy myself.

There were definitely moments of weakness there, but I didn't give in!  And I had a great time, too.  Mostly, I just felt like God hooked me up. There's no other explanation for my being that chill being around my favorite kind of food: various grilled animals! That would normally have been extremely challenging!  But not with God, not today at least!

Day 10:

I have to confess, I had solid food today. Okay, it was just a very small piece of communion bread, but it was solid!  Anyway, seriously, today felt a little bit rough.  Still having some fatigue, and stomach issues.  But I trudged through!  After church and a group video at Gasworks Park, got some time with Joel and he treated me to a really tasty juice at Jamba!

It was made from cucumber, orange, and some other stuff, and I had them add some pineapple.  It was very mild but tasty and refreshing!  That's twice in 3 days that I treated myself to something other than the daily blend.  Once again, gotta keep that sanity!

Also went to visit my dad in the hospital, and weighed myself again:

SIX . TEEN . POUNDS!!! (7 KG!) That's SIX more pounds in just THREE days!!

Thank you God!  Wow, this is really starting to pay off.  I'm in a bit of shock!


 Day 11:

Got to bed a bit late last night, so I was really tired today!  Also, I have been very bad about drinking water, so I know I'm dehydrated.  I just need to drink more water!!!  It's weird. I actually feel better when I don't have anything at all in my stomach.  Although it's slowly feeling better each day, still having mild stomach issues, but nausea is getting better.  Hm, I bet water would help that....

Today I'm really starting to get tired of this.  I really want to eat something!

But on a good note, I'm so grateful for all your positive feedback on this journey!  I have been noticing some changes to my health.  I would like to share some of them with you (nothing gross or inappropriate). These are not all of the benefits I have experienced in my first week and a half:

• Clearer complexion,
• Mild eczema almost completely gone,
• Headache going away,
• More energy,
• Eyesight improving,
• Significantly less pain,
• Much improved range of motion,
• Happier,
• Diminished intestinal discomfort,
• Reduced sensitivity to hot and cold.

 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁


Day 12:

Another night of getting into bed too late!  Boo to me! Today was a bit rough again because I was SO tired at work today and I had to make a decision...  Should I get some coffee?  I fought myself for a couple hours on this one.  But at lunch, I finally gave in, and got the smallest iced latte I could get: 12 ounces.

Only one shot of espresso, only one squirt of vanilla.  Not ideal, but not the end of the world either.  I have to say that I got a very QUICK rush of energy and that carried me through the rest of the day!!  Still not solid food, right? 

Ugh, I need some support to be able to keep going...

✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊

So I'm pretty blown away by the outpouring of love and support from many of you!  So far, you have contributed a total of $165.00.  I also used a $25 gift card that I had, and I used and a chunk of my own money, but I'm still just about $150.00 short of being able to do the 30-day online support group. 

The next group starts the day after tomorrow, July 13th.  I really hate to ask because you have all been so generous, but I don't get paid until Friday the 14th which is too late to join the group.  Seriously, even $5 or $10 will help me so much.  Again, I'm willing to pay you back if you contribute and let me know!  Thank you!!!  You can donate here if you choose to:

paypal.me/TimMorse111

I'm so close, but I am realizing that I really need some help with this.  This is really starting to kick my butt a little bit.  Thank you so much for reading my blog tonight!  Very grateful for everyone of you! 

Much love from Seattle,
Tim

Day 5: Starting to Feel Human Again

Welcome to my Day 5!

Waking up this morning after a nice long (for me) 7 hour rest, I got up and felt like my head was starting to clear up a bit.  It was such an unfamiliar feeling, but what a great feeling! And all of the sudden, I had more energy!  Now, I do still have a kickin' headache and a bit of haziness, but the stomach pain and nausea are generally getting better.  This is VERY promising!!

I'm so encouraged by today!  I got up and had the energy to do my finances, start making a dent in cleaning my room, juiced twice, did a load of laundry, replaced a side view mirror on my car (long and very boring story) as well as some other various projects, then got to visit my dad in the hospital this afternoon! 

I just didn't feel up to going out to Gasworks Park for the 4th of July festivities with the church, so I was bummed about that, but this was definitely the most productive day I've had in a long time!  Thank you God!

I'm getting ready for bed and it's currently 10:48pm.  Since it's July 4th, there are still a lot of fireworks being let off in the neighborhood, so I'll have to wait it out a bit longer.  Hopefully not too much longer though because 4:45am comes quickly!

Thanks again to all of your love and support, moral and otherwise!  I can't wait to see what the next few days bring!  I'll continue to share more as time allows.  I'm not sure if every day is going to be ideal, but I will update regularly!

Happy 4th of July to my American friends and happy July 5th to my non-American friends!!  (Just cuz!)  😏

Day 4: I'll just call it "Cravings Day"

CAUTION: Short "Gripe-fest" to follow (It's short, I promise!):

Man, all day I've been dreaming of a big fat juicy steak, grilled to perfection on a BBQ grill, seasoned with lemon & pepper and Montreal Steak Seasoning and smothered in fried mushrooms.  With a baked potato on the side, with all the toppings!  ALL. DAY. LONG!

My body is getting desperate, I'm even craving stuff I don't really even like all that much, like the Chinese food from a can that my mom used to make us in the 70's (Love you, mom!).  😀 Very bizarre stuff!  But craving so many things today...

Also still feeling generally yucky, with bouts of stomach discomfort and some nausea.  Headache is still hanging out and still feeling pretty wiped out.  Y'all can pack your bags and get out of my body!

I've seriously been so tempted to give in today!  Thank you for all your prayers and support!  (By the way, a few very generous people have donated a total of $125 toward my costs.  I'm so incredibly grateful for you!!)

I feel like I'm sooo close to my first goal.  I don't think I've ever gone 4 days in a row without food in my 47 1/2 years!  So, this is a big deal for me!  I just have to make it one more day before my body adjusts, so I'm told!  I can't wait!!! 

Today was my biggest concern, having to be nice to people on the phones at work!!  My bosses were so incredibly kind to allow me to do a different task for a few hours today since they knew that I was feeling a bit under the weather.  I'm so grateful for them!  And then they let us out an hour early, which I didn't find out until nearly the end of my shift! 

So, tomorrow, we'll see how I feel.  My church is planning a 4th of July celebration in a popular park with tons of people, no parking, etc. And if I feel anything like I do now, there's just no way I will have the energy to handle all that tomorrow.  (Man, I sound old!!)

Day 4:   ALMOST DONE!!

And bring on Day 5, I'm ready to get this phase of my journey over!!!  

(Prayers and good thoughts still much appreciated!  Thanks!)

Day 3: Oh lordy....

Ah, what can i say about day 3?  Well, let's just say the rubber is hitting the road today.  I woke up this morning feeling like I was run over by a truck.  Headache, stomach ache, and feeling super weak.  I crawled out of bed and it took a while for me to get moving!

Still been feeling some nausea but started drinking more water.  It seems to be helping. Also some of my back pain and foot pain returned.  Hopefully for one last time? 

But despite all of this, I made it to church, and it was very encouraging!  Afterward I had to unfortunately cancel my plans once again to go see my dad in the hospital because I don't think I would have lasted 5 minutes.  Just felt lousy....

So I came home and took a nap because I was just exhausted.  Two hours was great, but could have stayed in bed much longer!!!  I also had to get some laundry done, and then went to hear John Causey preach to our little group at the staff meeting, and it was amazing!!  Thanks John!

But shortly after the lesson, I had to come home to finish my laundry and hopefully get to bed at a reasonable hour. I've been trying to be out and about and semi-active.  But Joel mentioned today that I looked pretty tired.  It's true.  But I was still trying to be giving!

Also, I don't think this is cheating but I inadvertently took a couple breath mints at the meeting this evening, but realized after a few minutes that was probably not part of the plan, so I spit them out.  I hope that doesn't ruin any progress I've made so far.  But one thing I was not aware of, but this juice fast comes some serious breath.  Eek!

Anyway, PLEASE pray for me tomorrow. I have to work my regular 6:30am shift and I'm hoping that it's quiet at work.  If I can make it through tomorrow I think I've got these first 5 days!!

Day 3:   DONE!!!!

Juicing Days 1 & 2

Hey all!
First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your messages of encouragement, by phone, text, messenger, etc.  They mean the world to me!  Also, I am so blown away by the sheer number of people that have viewed my blog in the last two days!  My best entry a couple of years ago had maybe 111 views.  Since Wednesday night, I have had 550 views, fully 5x as many views as my previous best post! And from all over the world!  I'm so humbled and grateful for all of you!  Thank you!

So my first day juicing I went with Suja juice that I got at Costco.  It's very similar to the one that Joe used during his 60-day juice fast.  Then last night, I made my first batch with my machine. 

Day 1:
So I got up and took the bus in to work.  It was a beautifully clear morning with an amazing sunrise!  Mount Rainier was proudly standing over Lake Washington, watching over Seattle as the pink from the sunrise turned to a misty orange-red on her brilliant white face.  Man, God really has made this place beautiful!

I got to work and by about 8 a.m. I realized that I was starting to get really tired.  I had my bottle of Suja that I drank throughout the day.  I almost finished it during my shift, but in my haste, I left it on my desk.  Oops.  Not drinking that on Monday morning!!  LOL

But work was definitely a challenge.  By 10 a.m. I could tell I was really struggling.  I was feeling grumpy and lethargic and just generally blah. The pace of calls picked up in the middle of the day and stayed that way until almost the end of my day.  I went home pretty wiped out.

I wanted to go see my dad at the hospital, but just felt terrible, headache, stomach ache, even a bit of nausea. So I told my stepmom that I would try to come Saturday.  So I just laid low and took it easy for the night. 

One of the little things I noticed while I was walking to the bus after work was that I had just a bit more energy and I wasn't in quite as much pain while I was walking.  "Hm," I thought to myself, "Could this be starting to work already?"

Day 2:
I woke up this morning and had some time planned with my friend Larry who had been having some issues in his family this week.  Larry is a great guy that has been homeless in the last year and has now gotten off the street and is putting his life back together!  He's come such a long way!  But I digress!  So I got about 9 hours of sleep last night which was badly needed!  Today, I have significantly more energy, my mind is less foggy and I can tell that even my eyesight is improving!

I knew these things would happen from my research, but I had no idea they would happen so quickly!  I'm very encouraged and hopeful that this continues!

But I am still having some pretty intense cravings, but it seems like they're slowly decreasing. I'm also still pretty hungry.  But I guess we'll see what the next few days hold in store for me.  I know everyone's prayers and good thoughts are helping a ton.  I had no expectations that it would be this good so quickly.  So please keep your prayers and positive vibes coming!! 

OH my, here we go!!!

WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD. AM. I. DOING????


Oh yeah, what I've been needing to do for a very long time.

Please remind me that this is only temporary. And the rewards will be immense and numerous.  If you're reading this, I need YOU. 


It's not often I feel this insecure.  Now, I know I'll be fine.  But this..... THIS is radical. 

I need radical right now.  I don't know what the next 5 days, or next 30 days holds, but I do know at the end it will be exceedingly good. 

But now, I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've got the jitters.  I'm over the moon about the positive messages from all of you, and I NEED your encouragement like you can't believe.  I am so excited  to see how I feel and how I look on July 29th!

But for now, I just stand before the door.  And it's about to open. 

As I pray and I head to bed, I will wake up to that open door....

Pressing the Reset Button

Wow, so much to talk about. But tonight I'm going to try to keep it short.

I've been very sick the last 8-9 months.  I don't think I have anything terrible, I just FEEL terrible...

Last Fall I finally got a reliable car, a 1999 Honda Accord!  It's given me a renewed wanderlust, and in September and October of last year that I enjoyed immensely traveling all over the Northwest!  In the first 5 weeks, I put over 3,500 (6,000 km) miles on the car, going as far east as Helena, Montana (over 600 miles/1,000 km from Seattle!), back and forth to Spokane a time or two, visiting family in Eastern Washington State, and ending with a trip to Portland, Oregon the first weekend of October.

I was so excited to have a car that I think I may have physically worn myself out!  In all seriousness, on October 7, I was supposed to drive to Portland for a conference with the church, but began to feel under the weather the day before.  From that time until the beginning of March, just shy of 5 months later, I was sick the ENTIRE time!  It was very challenging just getting up in the morning and making it to work, church and other events.  I was constantly coughing, feeling terrible and feeling very discouraged because I just didn't have the energy to do much of anything.

Though I am feeling much better than I was, I still don't feel well. AT ALL!  I've been thinking about how I've not been eating the way I should, not getting as much exercise as I should, even though I am typically getting in about 8,000 - 9,000 steps every day.  About two months ago, I weighed myself at the gym and it was a very shocking 366 pounds (166 kg)!! I was in total disbelief!  How in the world did this happen???  Couldn't have been the gummi bears or peanut clusters!  Okay, maybe it was...

The good news was that I was just re-re-re-re-starting a workout regimen that I was hoping that would bear some good fruit in my physical life as well as have positive side effects in my spiritual and emotional life as well.  That was until I tweaked my back really bad after my last trip to Spokane a month ago.  I'm just now starting to feel more or less back to normal.  But I'm not anywhere near where I want to be....

Back at the beginning of the year, our church leader Joel encouraged me to watch a movie called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead."  My initial thought was, "Okay, whatever.  Another feel good story... blah blah blah...."  But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so a few weeks after I asked him about the name of the movie again and I decided to watch it.

I was pleasantly surprised about how inspiring this man's journey was from his suffering from a serious autoimmune disease, to total health!  It sounded almost too good to be true.  I really wanted to give it a try, but life just got in the way, money was an issue, and it would just be difficult to do.  But because it dealt with juicing, more specifically a total juice fast, I had confidence that it was healthy, similar to the fast in Daniel 1:11-15 in the Bible.  I encourage you to read it, it's very interesting!

Briefly, "Joe" went to a doctor before he started, and every 10 days during his fast, to track his blood numbers to make sure he was experiencing a steady and healthy change.

I also have consulted my doctor and have gotten the green light to start this journey as well.

But this is very scary.

This is a very radical lifestyle....it's such a drastic change! One of the things that "Joe" mentioned in other videos he has made was that the first 5 days are extremely challenging.  I've fasted before but never more than about 3 days.  He emphasized that if you can make it past the first 5 days, your body is no longer hungry.  It adapts and gets used to the nutrients in the juice it's being fed.

So, I have decided to start my journey back to health this coming Friday, June 30th, just 2 1/2 days from now!  And I am asking you if you would like to be part of this journey with me. Here are some things I would be incredibly grateful for:

  1.  Prayer, good thoughts and vibes! - I'm going to need all of this I can get!!!
  2.  Encouragement!  - Calls, Facebook messages,text messages, responses to my blog posts, etc.
  3. Join Me! - Now or later, let me know if you'd like to do this with me!
  4. Accountability! - Ask me how I'm doing, it only takes a few seconds.  Or as much time as you want to give.

I plan on blogging my way through this process.  I expect the first few days I will write every day, but I may continue to blog a little every day to just document the process and my experience.  I'll decide that after the first five days...

But this is such a huge step for me.  I expect this to be a total reboot for me physically, spiritually, emotionally and even for my relationships.  Even though I have tried to remain positive for the last few years, I find myself failing more often than I like.  Seeing that I'm becoming more negative.  Experiencing physical pain in my body, and having a hard time doing the most basic tasks.  Yes, I'm fat.  But I've had so many challenges in the past few years, I'm just tired.  I need a total reset.

Now, I just need to get through the first five days!!

So, the reason I've decided to start this weekend is that I don't want to be around a bunch of people this weekend if I'm going through caffeine withdrawals, sugar withdrawals, food withdrawals, headaches, hunger, etc.  I'm trying to minimize my affect at work where I'm expected to be nice to people on the phone!  Hahaha!  Just trying to be real...

So the first day (Friday) shouldn't be horrible.  Tough, yes, but hopefully not horrible.  Days 2 and 3 are Saturday and Sunday where I can put myself to bed if I'm getting too cranky!  Ha!  Day 4 is Monday, where I will have to be nice to people at work.  Pray for me!  But Day 5 will be July 4th and I will  have the day off.  Again, I can put myself away for a little while so I don't make any enemies.  😀

I'm also open to your thoughts... Do you think I should be more active and busy during the tough days to be distracted so time goes by more quickly?  Or do you think I'm better off removing myself from society for the benefit of peace in the land?  I'm not sure which is possible or better. Feel free to respond here or on Facebook.

According to "Joe", after day 5 he experienced a tremendous increase in energy.  And this has been supported by many of his followers that have tried this method. 

So my personal goal is 30 days.  THIRTY.  No food for a whole month!  If I can just get through those pesky first 5 days!

So finally here's where it gets very uncomfortable for me. God has blessed me with some great things over the past year especially.  I have a great job that covers my bills, but not much right now for a lot of extra expense.  My doctor gave me one caveat for starting this juicing diet.  He felt very strongly that I should join the group's support network, which would give me access to others that are doing the fast, as well as nutritionists, doctors, and other resources.  Here's the link for the group if you're interested in learning more.

https://shop.rebootwithjoe.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwhMjKBRDjxb31j-aesI4BEiQA7ivN-D0vPGGV0zcvqtyjFN9WalVeEHUDttg2rk9a_bKAavgaAqjq8P8HAQ

I agreed that I would join, but then learned that the 30-day program was financially not in the realm of possibility for me at $289.00.  On top of that, I recently bought a good used juicer that I paid cash for and the cost of the vegetables and fruits for the juice is about $15-$20 per day.  My current food budget is is about half of the upper end of that estimate.  So, I'm asking for loans.  That's right.  Loans.

Now, to be clear, if you want to *give* me money out of the kindness of your heart, I would gladly accept that.  However, I have a plan in mind that I should be able to pay back all loans by the end of the year.  I'm looking for a total of about $500 to cover *some* of the cost of the food and most of the cost of the support network.  If you feel generous enough to give, please send me an email at timmorse@outlook.com if you would like to be paid back.  Even $5 or $10 would help me immensely!!  Anything will help!

Thanks so much if you've read this entire post.  I'm very excited for this opportunity to essentially start all over again in many areas of my life.  I'm a very vibrant, lively man and I miss my old energy.  I don't for a minute expect this will be a fix for all my problems, but I'm hoping that it will give me the strength to once again live the life I want to live and tackle what life throws at me! Love you all, thanks for checking in on me! 

Here is the link to donate:

paypal.me/TimMorse111