My husband saw the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, which had arrived in the mailbox  by way of Netflix. It took him over a week to get me to watch it. I’m not really attracted to the title, but I’d been getting headaches a lot so I was open to some ideas and inspiration.

I’ve been in the natural health field for well over a decade. I know what’s important in health and diet, so I didn’t really learn anything new in the film. I even found the first part of the film tedious and dumbed-down. But, I watched.

Seeing the few main people take on a life change was fascinating. Seeing their transformations was fascinating. I can do that, I thought. I will need to modify it, to make it manageable for my life, but I can do a lot of it. And I want my headaches to subside.

There’s just no reason that juicing won’t help me on many levels, even if I happen not to achieve fewer headaches. By the end of the film I thought it must bring some good to my life.

We launched into action, capered down to Macy’s, of all places, to purchase a juicer. At the checkout, the cashier handed us our receipt – and a DVD of the movie, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead! Obviously we weren’t the only converts.

The second and subsequent sips of juice are always pretty tasty. Admittedly, the first sip is not always so. Some of the wisdom we’ve gathered in our (so far) 8 days: lemon is essential; half a beet is plenty; the most expensive fruits, like berries, are best eaten whole and not juiced; and a little ginger goes a long way.

Here’s a favorite recipe for about 30 ounces of juice (good for up to 2 people): 4 collard leaves, 1 peeled lemon, a half-thumb-size piece of ginger, 2 granny apples, 4 medium carrots. All organic. I add a couple ounces of water, stir it up, and pour into a Blender bottle (available at MOMs), which helps keep it mixed while I’m on my commute.

We have no intention of drinking only juice four times per day for 60 days like the guys in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. We drink 2 juices a day, eat a low-calorie fresh lunch, and a typical healthy dinner, and cut out snacks besides fresh veggies and fruits, sunflower seeds, and a few dark chocolate-covered almonds. Dairy, carbs, caffeine and sweets have been cut down dramatically.

As I’ve experienced many times, one little change effortlessly begat many more little changes.

I think my real objective is to adjust my taste buds and my dietary cravings towards more fresh whole veggies. The skin and muscle-toning are just bonuses. Improvements in cellulite, digestion, belly fat, fatigue, headaches and cravings are more bonuses.

I’m only at 8 days so I wouldn’t call my results significant at this point, but I’m starting to notice some slight changes already. Wish me luck!

 Alyssa works in multiple MOMs locations.