Whittling the Excess – The Joe Cross Juicing/Reboot Experience
There was an obstacle standing in the way of Kyle and my greatest physical goal for this year. That obstacle has been removed and now we can move forward with our training as if it never existed. As an endurance athlete and runner I’m aware that within a normal healthy body weight range a person tends to be two to three seconds faster per mile per pound they lose. For lighter runners this isn’t much of an issue but for Clydesdale runners an extra ten to twenty pounds depending on the year can mean the difference of over a half an hour over the course of a marathon speed attempt.
This is my 40th year and so many of the opportunities I am taking on have to do with the number forty. Part of my wiring is an intense fascination with numbers. In that spirit I decided to do a forty day juice program to drop at least twenty five pounds and get down to my running weight for the year and then maintain that weight after finishing the program. I started on January 20th with the goal of finishing up my last day and going to a new normal routing on March 1st. The program would evolve over that time to adapt to how my body responded. I find that many of the things I do in life shift to adjust to meet a chosen goal set. The goal of this was to reach under 215 pounds from a starting weight of just over 240.
The first 10 days went as planned. It was one of the toughest things I’d ever done but the mental clarity, increased deep sleep in the evenings, and the feeling of overall contentment were enough to make me decide that this was definitely my new go to for shifting my body weight in the future when I have reason to do so. At day 10 I had had enough of the straight juice along with my added allowances of coffee, tea, and wine.
On day 11 I added in broths to spice it up and enjoy the benefit of some additional protein. This section of the juice program was similar to the first I felt great most of the time, slept well and then at times would have these unbelievable urges to just start eating food again. They weren’t hunger pains but rather a mental battle to keep moving forward and taking it one hour at a time. It was a very similar mental battle as running ultras where you can go from your highest highs to your lowest lows and back again in a very short period of time and as Mark Bodamer famously quoted, your first 100 mile footrace is like living a lifetime of emotions in a weekend.
At the 20 day mark I decided to add in eggs and light condiments to my program. I was still pretty fatigued during my four runs a week and figured that the additional fat and protein in the eggs would be a great source of energy and allow me to continue to lose weight while maintaining a higher percentage of my muscle mass. I had already lost over twenty pounds and was in striking distance of my goal. This section was the easiest for me and the eggs which started off as four to six at a time ballooned up to eight to ten without much thought. This gave me the extra calories I needed to really have what felt like a break in the midst of this endeavor.
The last ten days were quite the adventure. On day thirty one I decided to go back to straight juice along with the coffee, tea, and wine. I quickly dropped an additional five pounds and by the end of the second day decided to add broth back into the program. The following day I decided to add eggs back into the regiment as well. With one week to go I was determined to finish the course strong. With six days left I had my second vaccine shot and was completely laid out for a few days. Loss of appetite, headache, cold chills, stomach issues and extremely achy and low energy. I recovered well from this minor flu like experience and made a point to finish strong the last three days. The last few days I was back to straight juice and even cut out the wine the last night which made me finish up almost five pounds under my intend goal and feeling like I have a new start launching into this training season.
With the juice program behind me I have unofficially told my friends to never let me do something that intensive for that long of a period but given my history that is likely a commitment that won’t hold water. I’m grateful that TJ introduced us to the juice program that over the last three years along with a shift in his nutrition habits and exercise routine have helped him make a significant shift in his physical abilities and life. This has been a major building block that will give Kyle and I the base to train the next six months as we pursue a “dream” race in September and we are positioned to have a shot at exceeding our potential. One block down, many more to go in the year ahead!