Preparing for tomorrow's beginning

I've never really fasted before. I've considered it, thought about it, read about it, etc. I have lots of reasons I want to try it. For years I've struggled with feelings of extreme fatigue, sluggishness and just plain not feeling well. I know my diet is bad, a "typical American diet". I drink caffeine by the boatload, including diet soda and coffee. I use artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose in my coffee and in my water (Crystal Light). I eat too much junk food and probably not enough fruits and vegetables. I do usually use whole grains for bread, but not for pasta. I was a vegetarian for a couple of years, and its definitely something I'm considering going back to.


I'm hoping that a juice fast will help me accomplish a number of things. First will be a physical detox and cleansing of my body, allowing me to feel better, more energetic, and just plain healthier. A side effect of this, I hope, will be a loss of some of the extra weight I'm carrying around. I currently weigh around 236 pounds, which is about 100 pounds too many for my 5'3" frame.


However, the main benefit I hope to experience through this will be a feeling of spirituality. I am a Christian, and I desire the spiritual feeling and closeness with God that I felt a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how or why it happened, but I no longer feel close to God, and I feel little spirituality at all most of the time. I feel like that part of my life is missing, is lacking something.


So, those are my goals, and my plans. I will start out juice fasting, hopefully for at least a week or two, and then maybe transition to a raw diet, followed by a vegetarian diet when Lent is over. My plans may change or be revised as time goes on, but for now, this is what I feel compelled to do. :)