Well, walking past my neighbor’s apartment and smelling the fried chicken she’s cooking up has certainly been helpful.

Actually Day 2 hasn’t been bad.  It’s the first day of Spring, and I feel a kind of alignment there.  My meditation this morning was slightly more antsy than yesterday’s, but still a good one.   Some serious powering down actually did happen, once I could get my legs in a comfortable position.

It’s the end of the night now, when my habitual hunger (not biological) kicks in, and I don’t know what to do with my hands if I’m not using them to stuff something into my mouth.   In actuality, my body isn’t signaling hunger.  Because even though my basic day only consists of three 8-ounce glasses of whatever juice I’ve concocted –  breakfast, lunch, and dinner  –  I do get full.  The reason is because though there isn’t any solid food happening, there’s actually quite a lot of food involved, when you consider the large mound of vegetables that translate into a very small amount of juice.  So, all the micro-nutrients are intact.  In fact, far more than I could accomplish by eating a normal diet.  Hence, my hunger is actually fulfilled.  It’s just the habitual stuff I’ll be battling for a bit. The emotional eating.  The filling-the-void crap.  Now that the void isn’t getting filled with snacks and desserts and other late-night grazing rituals, I actually have to face.   It’s all a part of it.   Of what I’m trying to do.  How I’m trying to transform. The work isn’t easy.  It isn’t meant to be.   But it sure is interesting.

To be honest, I’m just thankful I haven’t started seriously climbing the walls yet.  I fear it’s coming.

Today’s recipe was similar to yesterday’s, since I had a lot of vegetables left over for juicing.   The only difference today was the addition of cucumbers.   I’m finding that the ritual needs to be this:  Shop in the evening for the next morning’s juicing.   Juice for the whole day on the next morning.  That evening, back to the stores for the next day’s batch.  So, with the recipes I’ve collected, I’m going to try and change up the cocktail at least every other day, if not every day.

I’m actually looking forward to some of the savory recipes (as opposed to the ones sweetened with an apple or a carrot, etc.)   Ones that employ tomatoes, garlic, onions, bell peppers, etc, all juiced of course.  I look forward to it with a curiosity more than anything, as savory is my favorite way to go, taste-buds-wise, yet I’m also a big fan of salt.   Tasting such a concoction without may be my first real challenge on this thing.   Perhaps that’ll be tomorrow’s excursion.

Angela Carole Brown is the author of three published books, The Assassination of Gabriel Champion, The Kidney Journals: Memoirs of a Desperate Lifesaver, and Trading Fours, and has produced several albums of music and a yoga/mindfulness CD.   Bindi Girl Chronicles is her writing blog.   Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube.