After last month’s Stop Working Late experiment, I wanted to do something that wasn’t work-related for my February experiment.

A few months ago, my friend Bradley from Pass The Sour Cream told me about a documentary called “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.” Despite the depressing title, it’s a very inspiring story about two guys who are, you guessed it, fat, sick and nearly dead. The film follows the filmmaker, Joe Cross, and an American truck driver as they rediscover their health and fitness by way of a juice fast.

You can watch the entire film for free on the Juice Fast Experiment hub page.

Anyway, Bradley decided to go on a juice fast at the end of 2011 and recently wrote an awesome post about reaching his goal weight. I was inspired to try a juice fast myself to see what would happen.

Not Fat or Sick or Nearly Dead

Many people do a juice fast as a way to lose a few pounds. (Obviously, you should consult your healthcare professionals before undergoing any diet or lifestyle changes.) This is just my opinion, but I don’t believe a juice fast is the best way to lose weight.

In fact, I suppose I should say this now: I’m not doing this juice fast to lose weight. I’m an avid runner and a mountain climber, and I’m not carrying around many extra pounds. For the most part, I’m a fairly healthy guy. I feel very lucky to say I’m not fat or sick or nearly dead. I know everyone has different circumstances, and I wish you the best regardless of where you’re at. We all have unique strengths and struggles, and I have no judgement if you’re not in the same boat as me.

To be honest, I’m actually a bit nervous about losing too much weight while doing this. I’m 6’2″ tall and currently weigh 171 lbs. which gives me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 22.0. That’s right in the middle of the “healthy” range for my height.

I know I will probably lose some weight while doing this experiment, and I’m fine with that to a point. However, I have decided that if I drop below 155 lbs, I’m going to stop the experiment and start incorporating nuts and plant-based protein sources into my diet for the remainder of the month.

The Rules

The rules of this experiment are very simple.

For the month of February, I will give up my regular diet and drink nothing but fresh juice from fruits and vegetables. For the most part, I’ll be making my own juice with the juicer I recently bought. If it’s not practical to drink juice I’ve made myself (I have a road trip planned for this weekend), I’ll substitute with fresh juice from a store.

Why Am I Doing This?

Or, as one of my friends put it to me, “Why the hell are you doing this?!?”

Curiosity

The main reason I’m doing this experiment is curiosity. I’m interested to see how my body will react when it doesn’t have to break down complicated or processed foods to get nutrients. Will I feel tired or more energized? I have no idea, but I’m excited to find out.

Willpower

I should mention that I LOVE food. Thai, Mexican, Vietnamese, Indian, Burmese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Greek…I love it all. I’ve been known to eat a big burrito, and then immediately crave another. So, giving up solid food is a huge deal for me.

If I’m honest, I’m more than a little scared about this challenge. That fear is actually a big reason I’m doing this experiment–because I know it will be hard for me. Being a mountain climber has taught me to think of willpower as a muscle. If you use it often, it will get stronger. The things that used to be difficult will become easy.

Giving My Body a Break

Despite being a generally healthy guy, I know my body could use a break. I don’t have a big problem with the quality of my regular diet, but the quantity is probably a bit of a problem. Did I mention I love food? 🙂 It just seems like a good idea to give my body the nutrients it needs, but nothing extra. I’m hoping a juice fast will do the trick.

What Do You Think?

Is this too crazy? Too easy?

Have you ever done a juice fast? Thought about it?

Do you have good juice recipes? 🙂

Let me know what you think in the comments. I’ll post updates throughout the month in the Juice Fast hub page.