Dispatches From Juice Fast Day Two

​​​​​​It's day two of Juice Fast Jam 2012 (I've renamed it to amp myself up into this final 24 hours) and a slight weakness is setting in. I am certain of this when I fall off my bike and face-plant on the cement. It's not even in some triumphant way like after escaping a swerving vehicle or landing some amazing trick -- but simply by riding up to my front door after work and attempting to lift my leg and get off the bike. Lame.

Everything I've read on fasting says this initial weakness is normal. And when I tell a coworker that I'm cleansing, he advises he survived a

I am existing on a modified version of green smoothies, several cups of herbal tea, and enough water to fill up a kiddie pool. So far, so good with the exception of the incessant whining from my sweet tooth.

I check in with local juicing guru, Circle-of-life.net's Jill Schneider, who tells me what no former chubby kid ever wants to hear -- these cravings could be coming from a sugar addiction. She says to up the greens (like kale, celery, wheatgrass, and cucumbers) into your daily drinks and this will help rid your body of any sugar cravings. Schneider's own path to juicing started over 30 years ago when, as a cervical cancer survivor and school teacher, she started looking to herbal remedies for disease prevention, immunity help, and overall health maintenance. 

"I was a bagels and lox every Sunday, meatloaf and potatoes kind of girl. But then I started to question what everyone was eating and why. I began to learn about juice fasting. It's one of the oldest forms of healing known to man. I turned to Hippocrates' saying 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,' and I'm still fascinated by it."

Schneider's talk helps give depth to the process just when I'm feeling like I've been suckered into a fad diet and helps to fuel me through the next few hours.