Daily Notes on Fasting

   Sorry for the delay! I meant to post this shortly after the last post, but life always gets in the way. Now this seems like ages ago, but here it is:

First of all, I should clarify that I don’t recommend or endorse fasting as a way to cure or solve any problems, and I think it can be incredibly dangerous when done incorrectly or for the wrong reasons. I did a lot of careful planning and research on what to expect before embarking on this, but in an ideal world, I would have done it under medical supervision at a health spa of some kind. Alas, a luxury I did not have. Still, I found it was a safe and worthwhile option for me personally, and this is just an account of my own personal experience.

So here are the basics. First, you should ease in to a fast. Luckily, because of the candida cleanse, I was mostly on a real food / live food diet, so that helped. For the day or two leading in, you should eat lighter foods like fruit or veggie smoothies (I wasn’t eating fruit on the candida cleanse, so I had to go the veggie way).

Then what do you do for the fast?

Well, I did a hybrid that felt right for me and my situation. It was a cross between what is commonly referred to as the Master Cleanse and a water fast. Every morning, the first thing I consumed (post-toilet flushing) was a glass of water with half a squeezed lemon, a tiny bit of Grade B maple syrup, and some cayenne pepper. Drink that all down! I found it surprising delicious. Then, for the rest of the day I either drank plain water or water with lemon squeezed into it. I definitely got tired of the taste of lemon water, let me tell you. I continued to take my antifungal supplement (from the candida cleanse) and a probiotic, but I stopped all my other supplements like my daily multivitamin, my B-complex vitamin and my fish oil supplement. You’re supposed to take those with food and since I wasn’t eating anything, it didn’t seem safe. Post-fast, I think I will probably only take a multivitamin and some fish oil a few times a week to give me an extra boost. I might even add in some Biotin, but I haven’t decided yet.

So that’s it. For 8 whole days. I’ll talk later about easing out of the fast, but here is my daily account of what it was like to fast.


DAY ONE: I am so mentally ready for this. I was mentally ready yesterday, but I 1) didn’t want to jump the gun – I had set a Sunday start date and starting two days early seemed a bit much; and 2) there were some things in my refrigerator I wanted to eat, mostly a smoothie I made in preparation for my ease-in and some eggs whipped together with my delicious (and spicy) homemade mustard. But today I was SO. TOTALLY. READY. The tough part comes in when you take into account that I have two events tonight, both of which involve food: a wonderful reunion with my Brussels friends at Guapos, the greatest of Mexican restaurants, and my friend’s birthday party on her roof where there is bound to be booze and sweets. Heck, I’m bringing her a giant bag of M&Ms. Alas, no M&Ms for me. Just water and maybe a bit of lemon all day today. But that's okay!

DAY TWO: So, because I’ve been on a cleanse for three weeks, it doesn’t really bother me to be around food I can’t eat. However, there were plenty of foods at Guapos that I could have eaten, which was a bummer. I’m just resolved to reconvene the group next month for more Mexican. The birthday party was great because it was light on food and I don’t mind giving up alcohol. I still refereed a flip cup tournament (I thought we were too old for that…) and I even served the cake. A delicious chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. Mmmm… And I don’t even like cake! Still, not that big of a deal. This afternoon, I met a bunch of the girls for brunch and still, no big deal. If anything, what I’ve learned is that waiters are really concerned when you don’t order anything. Your friends kind of forget about it because you’re all laughing and telling stories and not really paying attention to what you are (or aren’t) eating. But wait staff think you’re some kind of monster. When you ask them for lemon for your water, they will definitely bring you a whole plate. So day 2? Still a breeze.

DAY THREE: First work day on the fast! I started off strong, if a bit fatigued. The gross part of the fast is, ahem, flushing your digestive system. Let’s just say that I haven’t eaten food in three days, but there is still poop for some reason. Like I said: GROSS. But just think – if I wasn’t flushing it out and down the toilet, it would still just be sitting inside of me, hanging out, setting up a permanent homestead. Better to have it out, I’d say. Toward the end of the day, things got a little worse, but I expected this. Most people claim the third day is the hump you have to get over as your body readjusts to what it can consume and where that happens in your body. So let’s just say I fantasized a lot about food and clicked “like” on a lot of recipes I found on Pinterest. All in all, it could have been worse. The key is distraction. I took a shampoo-free shower and got into bed to watch a movie and forgot all about it.

DAY FOUR: The food longing from day 3 kind of carried over into the morning. I felt extra tired, but that might also be because I was up too late watching the movie. Once I put on some dance tunes and did my make-up, I felt like a more normal me. Due to needing to get to work early, I skipped flushing my system. I feel like missing one day of this isn’t the worst thing in the world. Still just drinking water with a few squeezes of lemon juice, so go me! Halfway through! Thinking of it as being “halfway” is definitely helping my morale. I mean, I’ve made it this far, why stop? By afternoon, the annoyances of work distracted me enough that I didn’t even have time to think about food. Although I am peeing a lot. A LOT. More than I’ve ever peed in my whole life. Do most people pee this much? Jesus. I used to pee about once a day at work, but I’m probably at five or six times a day at this point. The only nice thing is that it further breaks up my day and separates me briefly from annoyances. Since I’m still experiencing general fatigue, I’m going to go to bed early tonight, skipping a movie in favor of dreams.

DAY FIVE: I can say with absolute certainty that I have crossed the hump. I woke up this morning feeling better than I have ever felt in my life. I wanted to leap out of bed and sing songs. I wanted to run a million miles (or at least to work). I felt invincible! People at work noticed the difference. There was a definite bounce in my step and everything seemed clearer around me – the world a little brighter. I think my skin even had a bit of a glow to it. A good night’s rest certainly helped bring this about, but it’s also more than that. I went to the movies and out to “dinner” (of course, I didn’t eat) with a friend tonight, and even though I watched her eat a delicious dish of crab & artichoke dip with french bread crostini, it didn’t even register with me. Probably because we were too busy being all chatty. But over all, day 5 has been the best yet.

DAY SIX: And still going strong! I wasn’t as energetic as I was yesterday, but that was partially the late night. I still feel good and strong and am generally unafflicted by hunger pangs. Toward the evening, I got sucked into staring at food on Pinterest again, but I’ve planned out my breaking of the fast next week and I think that helps. I know what I have to look forward too, and while it certainly isn’t glamorous, I am looking forward to eating food again. The taste, the texture, all of it except it actually being in my body...weird, I know. I’ve gotten used to this incredible empty feeling though. I feel like a bird, like I could almost fly. As much as I want to eat food again, and of course will, I sort of cringe thinking about the way it feels sitting in your stomach, like a rock. Even if you eat the right foods in the right amounts. Another problem today was just boredom. It’s good to be occupied on a fast, and today I was occupied mostly with pinning recipes on Pinterest. Fun, to be sure, but not as helpful as say, seeing the movie was last night. To make up for lack of sleep and to get away from food pins though, I am showering and going to bed early. Tomorrow is the long awaited day 7. (I say long awaited, but it seems like it got here fast!) Now the question is...can I go 8?

DAY SEVEN: Mission accomplished! Although I am going for day 8. That may prove tricky as the current plan for tomorrow includes more strenuous activity than I’ve undertaken on the fast. I still feel like I’ll be fine though. Today was a good day. And not that you were wondering, but the fast has not stopped me from getting a visit from Aunt Flow. I know! You totally don’t want to know! But the thing is, for the first time in...ever...I don’t have any cramps. It’s amazing and the reason is a mystery. I can’t link it directly to the fast, or the candida cleanse, but my hope is that both have worked to balance my wacky hormones. So back to day 7 – not much to say. A day like any other. Woke up, dreaded flushing my body like normal, but felt great afterward. Went to work, drank water, took a walk at lunchtime (I’ve been loving my lunchtime walks!) and then back to the computer. I left at a reasonable hour, headed home and got ready for my day out with my girlfriends tomorrow. I also got ready to do my first grocery shopping in over a week. It’s a short list since I’ll be easing out of the fast at a snail’s pace, but it all sounds delicious, especially the fruit, which I haven’t eaten in almost five weeks.

DAY EIGHT: I was up even earlier than a work day to get out to Maryland to meet up with the girls, but of course, it was totally worth it. We met for breakfast at a cute little place and I forced some more lemon water down my throat while admiring the smell of coffee (something I’ve never really had a taste for). I still don’t feel very tempted by the food of others, or at least I didn’t until our hiking plans turned into berry picking plans. Under sunny, clear blue skies, it is very difficult to pick berries and not taste one or two now and then. I found myself thinking, “Well, technically today is a bonus day...” but I stayed strong. Even after we went back to Angela’s house and she made fresh whipped cream and I sliced up some cheese and we laid out crackers and hummus. That is a post-berry-picking feast for queens, let me tell you. But again, I prevailed. When I got home later that night, I walked to the grocery store in the rain and bought my 10 items without much enthusiasm. I honestly am not looking that forward to eating again. I am...but I’m also not. So that’s it, I guess. Tomorrow’s the start of my new eating life and it all begins with fresh orange juice!



More to come on my “day 9” and the plan for easing out...