How I Melted Away Physical and Mental Weight

Name: Karen H.
Location: Sydney, Australia
Reboot: Several 3 – 10 Day Reboots with periods of clean eating

Let me start by saying I have always been aware of health & healthy eating & exercise coming from a vegetarian upbringing right from birth.  Over the years though I have struggled with emotional eating & consequently my weight has yo-yoed more than once  to various degrees.

In the first week or so of November 2012, I was having the internal dialogue with myself as I realized I had to decide for real  if I was prepared to do something about it, or if not, just be honest & not pretend & try to change things without being wholehearted about it.  It does so much damage when we say to ourselves we are going to do something & we never intend to as our subconscious can’t tell the difference.  i.e. if I wasn’t going to actually follow through I should stop saying internally things like “I am going to lose weight & make better choices” , as when behaviour was never intended, each time it conflicted with what I had said out loud, well the subconscious would come back with “see you NEVER do what you say you will ” etc.

So, I decided I would actually do something about it by first changing my eating & removing or significantly reducing processed carbohydrates and seeing if that would make any difference.   Around that same time, in December 2012, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead was shown on I think GEM / Ch9.  I had heard of it before & whilst I had seen snippets, I had never seen the entire thing in a sitting.   I think when I did see pieces of it, I was not really overweight or unwell so kinda shrugged it off a little.

I actually recorded it to watch the weekend as from memory it was on during the week.  I had in fact juiced before, but not  predominantly vegetable juice, as I had never heard of that when I did juice prior.  I even had a juicer in my garage. Well I watched it & my life is forever changed.  I actually cried watching thinking, could it possibly be “this easy” the path to better health? That with effort & commitment I too could change my life &  health?  

In fact I get teary even writing this cause it seems like such a long time ago health wise, & my life HAS truly changed since then & it has been “this easy” to get from where I was to where I am now. The weight both physically & emotionally has just melted away really, it has been the easiest & most long term sustaining way of getting & staying healthy!

Just some summary stats: 

In November 2012…
*I was about 127 kg/280 lbs. NOW I am 88 kg/184 lbs. (Yes at 167 cm I still need to get about another 10 kg off, but I am back at the gym, full of life &amp energy)

*I was completely inactive. NOW I go to the gym weekday mornings &  exercise most weekends.

*I wore a size 26 Jacket in my work wardrobe. NOW I just ordered & received a size 14 that fits properly  ( yes that’s 7 sizes smaller).

*My resting heart rate was @ 75 plus. NOW it’s @ 55 – 60.

The above may be the “results” you can see or measure, but much more has changed.  I too like Joe suffer from various immunological conditions & issues that previously resulted in the below and  that I know I need to stay on top of so that they don’t re-occur due to just how my body is wired:

• acute allergic conjunctivitis ( the whites of my eyes would swell at the slightest irritant, food or environmental)  I used to take a telfast 180 mg most days to keep under control. In fact I used to buy them in packs of 70 & go through at least 6 packs a year.
• I still have an open pack & I think it was the one still in the cupboard when I started juicing.  I couldn’t even tell you the last time I took one.  Of course I would if I needed to BUT I have not had to.
• I have/had ITP in the past, the body thinks that blood platelets are foreign, like an allergy so produce antibodies & destroys them.   Whilst this was in “remission” before I began juicing , I have had very minor reoccurrences ( you get a minor mark somewhere, for me it’s on my leg, that looks like a bruise) & I always keep an eye on it as stress & less than optimal health can set it off, it’s an immunological thing too.
• I was told my IgE would never go down from the off the charts levels from a few years back, & yes it had gone down before I commenced any juicing, however I believe I can manage it so much better these days.

You see, I think why I cried when I saw Fat, Sick & nearly Dead was that I too had to take steroids for the ITP in the past & whilst I no longer do, I really identified with Joe wanting to get off them.  I know they are  needed medically sometimes, but they are NASTY! Yes they help MASK the symptoms but what else they do you sometimes wonder if that is any better.

So, that’s the background!  As to what exactly I did juicing /reboot wise, well after seeing the movie,  I went straight to my garage, got out the juicer that had dust all over it from the years, yes years, it had been there.  I wanted to check it over so that I could go out the next day to get produce. Well, I noticed that the plastic top / feeding chute thing had a crack, & ended up buying a new juicer as well the next day!

I started out just doing a green juice every morning to get used to juicing ” Joe style” for a couple of weeks ( I had already changed my diet), I then did a 10 juice only stretch, & what has worked for me, is to alternate 3 – 10 day Reboots after a period of clean eating. So, I think I went a couple of months after that first 10 day one, eating clean but still having at least a green juice every morning to set me up for the day.  I have subsequently done a couple more 5- 10 day stretches & work in a 3 day Reboot every couple of months.

My friends & wider circles are completely amazed at the change, & of course when the ask ” how have you done it” I have my “2 min Reboot spiel” ready to share wherever, whenever.  Even with complete strangers who make the mistake of asking ” WHAT is all that in your trolley??”  I feel like I should have a t-shirt printed that says “Only ask me about what’s in my trolley if you really mean it, cause at the end of this conversation you WILL be buying a juicer”  LOL.

I have even had that conversation with a couple right in the middle of Harris farm market fruit store, the lady goes, wow we have a juicer in our garage, then turns to her husband & goes go get that stuff lets try it at home.  He wanders over the leafy green section & calls out back, “what was it again I need to get” & we all had a good laugh as I guided him through the aisles back to us with all the ingredients needed for their first mean green.  I couldn’t tell you exactly  how many of these types of conversations I have had, it is a lot & I think that you attract people that are seeking if that makes sense?

Juicing / rebooting,  “Joe style” as I now call it, has COMPLETELY changed my life & I am forever grateful. I owe that man so much, he is completely my rockstar “go to guy” for what his life & message has manifested in mine & in the lives of those I know, & the lives of those it has impacted in the fruitshop / supermarket chats.