If you are just joining this series, it will be helpful to start with the introduction and work your way through my daily summaries to this last post.
6:00 a.m. It was hard to rouse myself out of bed this morning. Maybe it is the first night that I always sleep like a rock. It's not a bad feeling but very weird--heavy, sort of like I'm drugged or something. I'm drinking a very-watered down version of my yerba mate tea this morning. Already (as always happens for me on a fast) I'm losing a taste for it. I'm seriously thinking of going to my organic grocery and getting ingredients for a fresh green drink today. As I mentioned earlier, even though the taste is mild, I quickly find it hard to down the Immune Builder/Ultra Clear combo. Maybe I'll alternate . . .
By the way Food Matters, Inc. has a great newsletter out today that fits perfectly with our detox focus. Enjoy it here.
10:15 a.m. It’s a foggy day, coldish at about 55◦ (when fasting, that’s cold to me). I feel really good—peaceful, a little lazy maybe but not tired. I have no desire to drink my green/Ultra clear combo. It always happens, on every fast I’ve ever done. I’m just not good with the drinks. I probably feel so good without it today because I haven’t moved a lot or expended any energy. I’ll drink one before I go out to run errands later and will certainly need one before I teach back to back Spin classes in the morning.
My mouth tastes terrible (one of the signs of detox—whatever you see on the tongue is happening triple fold all through the digestive system). I know my breath must be awful. I was craving my favorite homemade fasting tea anyway and just made myself some—yum, hits the spot. It makes me feel so clean inside—mouth included. Here are the ingredients:
· Juice of 1 organic lemon
· 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
· ¼ to 1 teaspoon strong cayenne—I use 80,000 heat units
(Go to health food store or specialty grocery—won’t find this in supermarket spice aisle!)
· Mix above together in small dish
· Raw, local, if possible, honey
· Place a drop of honey in the bottom of the tea cup, fill about ¾’s full with hot water and strain through a tablespoon or 2 of the lemon mix to fill the cup
Store unused portions of the lemon mix covered in the frig. Use throughout the day.
Use the honey very sparingly—just a few drops in the bottom of the tea cup. Although honey is very healthy, during a fast you really want your body to seek out fat and damaged tissue for energy—don’t give it a shot of pure sugar of any kind. Also, remember in the last email I explained how the body shifts from using glycogen stores to depending on a ketonic-type energy transfer system? You don’t want to mess with the perfect balancing, unifying process your body is undergoing during the fast.
For the same reason sucking on mints—even sugar free, chemical laden ones (Yuk!)—or chewing gum is off limits, as well. (Chewing signals the body food is on the way and starts up the digestive enzymes and the tummy rumblings we associate with hunger!)
3:20 After a long walk, I decided I was finally ready for the green combo. So that’s done. I’m so cold!
8:50 Not hungry, but tired and mildly bad attitude. I’m going to bed before I snap any more at family members!
Here's my next email from last year's series:
Here's my next email from last year's series:
Hi Friends,
You’ll recall in my last email I explained why the first three days of the fast are the hardest. For one, the habits of the body are being revised during this time. For instance, the “rumble” in the tummy that alerts most of us to meal time does not indicate true hunger. Rather, it is simply a very wise body anticipating the routine you have set for it over the years. Just as, over the first three days, the energy conversion process is adapting, (see last email) so too are other aspects of the enzyme and digestion process. By day three, the digestive system gives up, breathes a sign of relief, and gratefully begins its vacation.
Lest I overstate the ease of fasting however, I must warn you of two potential setbacks you may experience throughout the duration of the fast—at least on and off. One is mental and the other is most definitely physical.
For most of us mortals the mental and sociological pull or power of the desire for food over the human will is tremendous. Most people consider the sex drive the strongest, but it’s not. While the sex drive is the last one we develop and the first one to go, the drive for food is pretty much present from birth to death. During a fast, even after the sensations of what we typically (albeit erroneously) associate with true hunger are diminished, the physiological factors remain strong. To help explain, allow me to give you a hypothetical example. (Actually, this is not so hypothetical. It happens to me every time I fast.)
You drive by a restaurant, or serve your husband and family a scrumptious meal you can’t have. Immediately the pity party starts. The smells threaten to overwhelm you with deliciousness. (The sense of smell actually does increase multiple-fold during a fast.) The colors and textures beckon. But if you really stop and make yourself analyze your temptation, you realize a curious thing: It’s not really hunger. At least, not in the same way you would have described hunger four days ago when you were 2 hours late for lunch. The stomach doesn’t rumble, your energy level is decent or better if you’re really honest about it. The real truth is that you just MISS FOOD—miss the texture, the experience, the social aspect, the routine!!!! You’re bored and you really don’t have any desire to replace that boredom with anything other than a meal!
The first step of getting past this is recognizing the truth and getting over it. For me the next step is to pause and thank God for the opportunity to take a pitiful step toward denial of the flesh. But I’d be lying if I said I totally “get over it.” For me, a poor substitute for actually eating is obsessing over other people eating! My family always knows when I’m on a fast—even if I say nothing. For one thing, I cook extra wonderful, nutritious, delicious meals (Yes, they have been known to ask me if I’m due for a fast anytime soon!) and I do it without ever tasting the first tiny piece of bell pepper I’m chopping. Then I become the honest-to-goodness FOOD POLICE—fastidiously measuring out portions, watching over their plates, and insisting they eat every last crumb (because, oh, how I’d love too!!).
Lee doesn’t seem to face this issue—maybe because he’s never been the cook in our house. I have come to believe that fasting for the cook carries an added burden—we are so used to consuming our brains with not only the actual mealtime, but with planning, preparation, cleanup and then starting it all over again—at least 21 times a week!! It’s not easy!!
BUT, if you successfully navigate this mental obstacle you will have tasted one of the sweetest successes of fasting: Namely, breaking strongholds and bad habits in many areas of your life. I’m almost getting spiritual here, but hear me out. There is something powerful about realizing you can and have overcome this mental roadblock. At the same time that you feel clean physically, you feel fresh and clean in your spirit. Your human drives have been subdued by something greater than your same ol’ everyday self, and this realization tends to give you fresh perspective on many (unrelated) areas of your life.
It may all sound goofy, but I’m not overstating it. You have to experience it to believe it.
But on to the second setback I mentioned, and to explain that I’ll resort to the following article:
The Healing Crisis
AKA: The Cleansing Reaction, The Detox Reaction, and The Herxheimer Reaction
AKA: The Cleansing Reaction, The Detox Reaction, and The Herxheimer Reaction
What is it? Also known as the "Herxheimer Reaction", this reaction occurs when the body tries to eliminate toxins at a faster rate than they can be properly disposed of. The more toxic one's bodily systems are, the more severe the detoxification, or healing crisis. It is characterized by a temporary increase in symptoms during the cleansing or detox process which may be mild or severe. You may feel worse and therefore conclude that the treatment is not working. But these reactions are instead signs that the treatment is working and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances. Such reactions are temporary and can occur immediately -- or within several days, or even several weeks, of a detox. Symptoms usually pass within 1-3 days, but on rare occasions can last several weeks. If you are suffering from a major illness, the symptoms you experience during the healing crisis may be identical to the disease itself. Sometimes discomfort during the healing crisis is of greater intensity than when you were developing the chronic disease. This may explain why there may be a brief flare-up in one's condition. Often the crisis will come after you feel your very best. Most people feel somewhat ill during the first few days of a cleanse because it is at that point that your body dumps toxins into the blood stream for elimination. With a more serious condition there may be many small crises to go through before the final one is possible. In any case, a cleansing & purifying process is underway, and stored wastes are in a free-flowing state. Cause: The healing crisis is the result of every body-system, in concert, working to eliminate waste products through all elimination channels and set the stage for regeneration. The end result: old tissues are replaced with new. When any treatment or cleansing program causes a large scale die-off of bacteria, a significant amount of endotoxins (toxins within the bacteria itself) are released into the body. The more bacteria present, and the stronger their endotoxins, the stronger the cleansing reaction. When any treatment or detox causes the organs of the body (particularly the liver, which is a storehouse of drug and poison residues) to release their stored poisons and toxins, a cleansing reaction may occur. Any program, such as fasting, which causes a rapid breakdown of fat cells (which are a storehouse for toxins), can cause a healing crisis as toxins previously lodged in the fat cells are released into the blood stream. Symptoms: The healing crisis will usually bring about past conditions in whatever order the body is capable of handling at that time. People often forget the diseases or injuries they have had in the past, but are usually reminded during the crisis. There are a wide variety of reactions that may manifest during a healing crisis, the most common are: Increased joint or muscle pain Diarrhea Extreme fatigue and/or its opposite, restlessness Cramps Headache (believed to be caused by buildup of toxins in the blood) Aches, Pains Arthritic flair up Insomnia Nausea Sinus congestion Fever (usually low grade) and/or chills Frequent urination and/or urinary tract discharges Drop in blood pressure Skin eruptions, including: boils, hives, and rashes. Cold or flu-like symptoms Strong emotions: anger, despair, sadness, fear, etc. Suppressed memories arise Anxiety Mood swings New phobias develop Easing Your Way Through the Healing Crisis: Drink plenty of fresh water (especially water), juices, and herbal teas to flush the body of toxins. Some professionals recommend distilled water as the best. Drink from 2 to 4 quarts(liters) per day. This will help flush the toxins out of your system and speed along the detoxification.
Important: Always ensure your health by having a thorough medical check up: don't assume that if you have any of the above symptoms that you are in a healing crisis: you may not be in a healing process, you may have a medical health problem. |
Note: You can investigate about everything yourself, but before you start with a treatment, a cleansing, fasting or whatever, you should consult a health professional - We can't give any advice. Read the "Medical Disclaimer"
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