Beginning the juice fast was like jumping into an ice cold mountain river. I couldn't overthink it.

I just took each hour as it came and jumped the hurdles as they presented themselves. Within the first week of the pre-diet, I started to notice the bloat in my face and my abdomen diminish. One week-two, the cleansing phase, I started the juice fast.

A co-worker looked at my face and was sure that I had a face lift. I was beginning to understand the true feeling of thriving. As I drank each bottle of the Tahara formula, and I was thrilled with the positive effects of the accelerated fat loss, it was as if I was dipping my cup in the fountain of youth.

Hope in a fully spirited, thin, healthy, energetic, thrilling life was rapidly restored. As the days progressed and I was investing so much time in my Tahara program, it made me realize the amount of time that I had consumed my life and finances with the pleasures of food.

I had planned meals, had shopped for meals, had prepared meals, had entertained friends, had dined in restaurants, had waited every morning in Starbucks lines. Now I was drinking from the fountain of youth and instead of baking oatmeal cookies and banana bread, I was baking my body in an infrared sauna and indulging in cupping treatments, which accelearted the fat loss in my abdomen. What a quick thrill!!!! My body aches started to diminish.

All of this consumed a lot of time, but I was finding more time in my day to exercise, as Tahara recommended, and read books about the benefits of fasting. I was waking up earlier in the morning. My sleep was no longer interrupted at night.

The 30 minutes in the sauna was a gift of alone-time to reflect on the last 48 years of my life and the seven children that I had raised and the years of service to my family and friends and community.
And now it was the first time in my life that I was taking time to reflect on me.

As social events arose during the two-week fasting period, I would opt to stay home and read or go to sleep early instead of spending time with my friends. I started to realize the financial savings in opting out of the evenings at restaurants, entertaining on the weekends, morning coffee, afternoon treats from the snack machine at work.

There were some times when I would see the concern in the faces of my friends and family because I wasn't showing up for the lunches out and dinners out and nights with friends. But that was okay. I was enjoying the down time. I was excited to discover this incredible power within me to heal myself and make my body function at incredible, optimum levels.

Every now and then I would resist the me-time, but I began to realize how important this time is. In an airplane you are always advised in the event of an emergency to put your oxygen mask on first and then assist the child next to you. There was always a meaningful message in that to me. How can I be of optimum service to my family if I'm not thriving? And I can only thrive if I take the time needed to repair and restore my body and mind.

The weight loss was happening by leaps and bounds, faster than I had ever imagined. My confidence level was climbing. My face looked so many years younger and fresher and firmer. My eyes were bright. I was finding myself happy to walk past a window so I could sneak a peak at the new me. What a drastic change from taking scissors to family photos and cutting myself out of them.

One really important factor I realized while on the fast was the impact of stress on my weight. I had a little plateau where I wasn't losing any weight. I knew that my calories were controlled by the amount of juice I was taking in and I knew that I had been doing the same amount of exercise.

The only change in the whole scheme of things was that I had suffered a stressful situation. I realized that was the reason for the plateau and mentally settled myself down. Had I not been on the fast, I don't think that I would have realized the impact of stress on my body. I would have blamed the plateau on a restaurant night or some kind of food.

I am now in the recovery phase of the program where I am avoiding sodium and only eating fresh and organic fruits and vegetables. I love going to the farmers market with a true intent and purpose. I have been cooking some really satisfying healthy meals. The true beauty of the recovery phase is that I have slowly introduced foods back into my diet and I have been able to observe the impact of these foods on my energy level and my general well being. When I added yogurt back into my diet, I noticed that that ache in my left rib returned. So no more yogurt and onto something else. I am now the sole expert and advisor on what makes my unique body function at its most optimum level. No expensive nutritionist needed.

Now that I have restored my body, just as when I restored my house, I only want to put good quality things in it. The junk is gone. As John Mayer said in his song, my body is a wonderland. It is so exhilarating to feel this fantastic every day. I am no longer over the hill, I am embarking on a jouney through the second half of my life, which is like standing on the top of the hill wondering what my next adventure will be with my new beautiful fully spirited, thriving self!

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