Posts Tagged ‘fasting’

If you’ve been following my journey on the Master Cleanse, then you know I’ve been fasting for 9 days so far. Today I decided to end my fast and eat something that didn’t taste like lemons.

Before I get into it, I wanted to share a little story about my “food relativity” theory.

It all Started with Climbing The Great Wall of China

In October of 2008, my boyfriend and I visited China. My boyfriend being from China, happened to know the cure for jetlag.

No sleeping during daytime.

Hmm, works in theory, but if you’re trying to switch over your internal clock from 3am to 3pm, you’re going to want a nap.

No problem! My boyfriend decided to do one of the most exciting things that does not allow time for naps.

Climbing the great wall of China, of course!

So here we are, climbing this massive and might I add very steep wall… and getting hungrier by the minute.

We ate some fruits before we started the climb, but by the time we reached the top we were completely famished. (The top is also a relative concept. The Great Wall keeps going and going, much like a certain bunny.)

Luckily, this story ends well. With a little forethought and planning, we were armed with two ginormous peaches.

When I sat down to take a bite of that peach, it was pure heaven.

I’d wager it was one of the most delicious peaches I’ve ever had, if not one of the most satisfying meals.

Actually, the peach was so big and satisfying that I could only eat half.

The First Thing you eat after you Break a Fast

Today I experienced a very similar feeling when I ate some solid food for the first time in days.

I’m pretty sure it’s not that I picked the best cucumber, or the best banana in the world.

It’s that I hadn’t eaten, and I was really looking forward to these fruits and veggies. Coincidentally, I felt great chewing and eating that banana and those cucumber slices.

My Food Relativity Theory

After looking over these two experiences and many more similar ones, I’ve come up with a theory.

“The work out and anticipation before you eat determine how good your food tastes.”

If you’ve just swam 30 laps, that post workout smoothie is really going to hit the spot.

After a fast, those few bites of food are going to feel like the food of the heavens.

This can work both ways though. If you just ate a nice full meal, but really want something else… that extra snack might not be as satisfying, or tasty.

I’ve also had the experience of devouring food that I didn’t really like (read: health-nut food) because I was so famished. That was before learning about raw food, now all my “healthy food” tastes pretty darned good.

I truly believe that our body is great at sending us signals, and this whole “food taste/experience” relativity is just the tip of the iceberg lettuce!

Have You Ever Experienced This Before?

I’m curious to know if you’ve ever had a similar experience. Whether you were amazed at how satisfying something was, or you just didn’t like that 6th chocolate chip cookie, let me know!

Welcome to day 5 of my Master Cleanse, also known as the lemonade fast. You can read about why I’m doing this fast, what the master cleanse is all about, why I have a white tongue, and my experience grocery shopping while fasting.

Before I go into the benefits of cleansing your colon and trying out a salt water flush, let me update you on my fast.

Photo by Hannah Webster

Last night was a little tougher food-wise. I made my boyfriend’s salad, but he ended up staying at work later to chat with some coworkers. Unfortunately that left me alone in the apartment with a delicious looking salad.

I kept myself busy by watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch episodes off youtube. There, I said it. Now you know where part of my witchy inspiration comes from.

Okay, let’s get right into the content…

Benefits of Cleansing Your Colon

If there was ever a point in time where you were not eliminating properly and regularly then there is a high probability that you’ve got junk in your colon’s trunk.

If you aren’t moving your bowels daily, preferably two or three times daily, depending on how many meals you eat, then you aren’t regular.

Of course you can solve this by eating more green leafy veggies, and starting with green smoothies will make that happen.

But you need to remember that all those days where you weren’t eliminating add up. Where does all that waste matter go? Well it can become dry caked-on fecal matter that just hangs out in your colon and causes you to gain weight and get sick. Lovely, huh?

That’s where colon cleansing comes in. There are a couple of colon cleansing options.

You can do home enemas. You can hire a hydrocolon therapist and have a colonic. Or, today’s suggestion is to try a salt water flush.

The Salt Water Flush Recipe

Photo by Fermin R.F.

Here’s the key, you need to do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This is perfect while you’re fasting.

Mix 1 Liter (32 oz.) of warm water with 2 level teaspoons of unrefined sea salt. I used pink himalayan crystal salt. As long as it’s not iodized table salt, it should work.

Shake or stir well, then drink the entire container of salt water. It might be hard to down, but I found that the second time was much easier.

This technique is an ancient Yogic cleansing method. I’ve also seen Chinese people do this in the morning, during my trip to China.

Do not perform this cleanse for more than 7 days in a row. Then give yourself weeks or months between the next flush you perform. You do not want to cause an imbalance in your body, and you don’t want to become dependent on the flush to evacuate your bowels.

What To Expect After

The salt water’s saliency is the same as the body’s saliency. So none of the water gets absorbed into the body, and it just passes right through you and out through your colon.

It is recommended to wait about 30 minutes after you’ve drank the salt water before going to the bathroom.

You’ll start to feel your bowel moving as the salt water moves through you. You might even hear some gurgling sounds.

When you do go to the bathroom, the feeling might be reminiscent of diarrhea. Though those of you who have experienced a colonic will know it just feels like evacuating water through the colon.

You might need to go to the bathroom more than once, so only do this flush if you’ll have access to a bathroom nearby.

My Experience with the Salt Water Flush

Yesterday I tried the salt water flush for the first time, and today I did it again. I prepared my salt water and drank it first thing in the morning.

Then I made my first batch of lemonade, and got ready for my day. By the time I was done showering, it was time to evacuate the salt water.

It definitely felt good, kind of like I felt after I had a colonic. I went to the bathroom three times, and each time the matter got more solid and less watery. I gave myself gentle tummy massages that seemed to help, so give that a try too.

Hopefully this whole post hasn’t been too graphic with all of this “potty talk”.

Thanks for reading! I hope I’ve opened your mind to the concept of colon cleansing. Remember that there are many different ways of cleansing your colon.

You can ensure you don’t need to cleanse as often by starting with a healthy high raw diet diet full of fiber.

Welcome to Day 3 of my first Master Cleanse. You can find out what is the Master Cleanse here, and why I’m doing it here.

Before I go into today’s topic, I just wanted to let you know how I’m doing. (Hi, Mom!) To my great surprise, I’m really not hungry or craving food.

My boyfriend came home with two bags full of lemons and limes, and it was the cutest thing.

For those of you who might be wondering, I’ve still been having regular bowel movements. Crazy, huh? I know that this is likely old toxic matter that needs to be eliminated.

Now onto the white tongue issue…

Traditional Chinese Medicine and White Tongues

Photo by SeenyaRita

If you’ve read about my story with birth control pills and losing my period, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Actually, it was a TCM doctor who really helped me balance out my hormones.

One of the things that TCM doctors look at is your tongue. If it’s “abnormal” then they can figure out which parts of your body are out of balance. Now all of this may not seem scientific. But I know it works.

If your tongue is pale or white, then it means that you might have a Qi or blood deficiency. That might mean you’re feeling tired, or have low energy. You can read more about TCM tongue interpretation here.

At the time I was visiting my TCM doc, I had a pale white tongue and that was definitely true for me. For past few years my tongue had returned to normal.

Except now that I’m doing the master cleanse, my tongue has turned pale and become coated with white stuff again.

Coincidence? I think not. Keep reading to see what’s causing this.

What a Healthy Tongue Should Look Like

A healthy tongue is usually pink, and smooth.

If your tongue is always white or has weird fuzz, then medically speaking it could mean a few things.

White Tongue and Dehydration

The easiest to check is dehydration. If you aren’t drinking enough water, then that could definitely be causing your tongue to be too white.

Another thing to keep in mind with dehydration is that not all liquids are hydrating. For example coffee and tea are very dehydrating, and you would need to drink twice the water to compensate.

I always recommend you drink 1/2 a Liter (16 oz.) of water right upon waking up. Trust me, your body needs water first thing in the morning.

White Tongue and Candida

Another possibility is an overgrowth of yeast, also known as candida or thrush. This was a big ah-ha for me, because I know that I have to balance my beneficial bacteria and yeast since I’ve taken the birth control pill in the past.

I am under the impression that this whole white tongue thing is related to processing the yeasties and candida in my body.

According to an article on the Master Cleanse web site, it is common for the first few days to produce a white coated tongue. After the first few days it goes away, while your body goes to work healing and detoxing further.

This naturopathic article on white tongue may give you more insights if you want further information.

Tongue Tied Together?

Taking the TCM approach and the naturopathic or scientific explanations together really work for me. They might not be enough to explain your white tongue experiences, so I encourage you to do more research if this didn’t answer your questions.

I just know that I feel better knowing that I am actually bringing on this white tongue effect through my detoxification efforts. It’s definitely one of the detox symptoms and side effects.

Thanks for reading about my experiences with the Master Cleanse. Yay for getting through this cleanse, and getting rid of these yeasties!

This is day two of my Master Cleanse. So far, so good. I drank 3 liters of the lemonade yesterday, as recommended. You can read about why I chose to do this fast here.

Surprisingly I wasn’t really hungry. I did find myself scratching my head a few times, at lunch and dinner because I usually take a break from work then.

I also noticed that I like to take breaks to eat and relax throughout the day. And yeah, eating frequent small meals works for me. But fasting made me realize that I can take breaks without eating.

Food and breaks are not tied together. If I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed, it is perfectly okay to take a walk, get away from the computer, or read a chapter of a book.

Imagine that!

So What is This Master Cleanse Thing, Anyways?

I wanted to give you a few more details about what the master cleanse consists of. It’s a liquid only cleanse, so there is no solid food consumed.

Here is the basic lemonade recipe for 1 Liter:

• 3 oz. Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
• 3 oz. Grade B Maple Syrup (the darker the better)
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• Filtered or spring water

So far I’ve been drinking 3 of these 1 Liter mixtures per day, as recommended. You can drink more, but should not drink less.

Take a sip every 15 minutes, or more often as desired throughout the day. This ensures your blood sugar stays stable and you don’t experience hunger pangs.

Until tomorrow…

I’ve heard that days 2 and 3 tend to be the toughest, because that’s when the majority of toxins tend to be released in the blood stream. So far, so good. I’ll definitely write about any detox symptoms in my next installment.

Talk to you soon!

Okay, I have a confession to make. I’ve been teaching people about raw food, detox, and alternative healing for months, but I’ve never fasted before.

Photo by Bu

Honestly, I feel like I should post a note that says “I’m not an expert” somewhere on this blog. If only for this reason.

Luckily, my friend Elizabeth P.W. reminded me that it’s okay not to have all the answers. She voiced what I’ve been noticing around the web: people trust those who are honest with them, even if that means admitting faults or problems.

For me that means letting you know that I’ve never done a real fast before. Well, unless you count that time where I decided to eat nothing but apples for one day. (Didn’t do much!)

But that’s all going to change…

I’m about to embark on my very first real fast! I’m going to do the lemonade fast, also known as the Master Cleanse.

I’ll be posting about my experiences here on the blog. I will be as honest and transparent as I can be, without sharing too many of the gory details, if you know what I mean.

It’s funny because before I went raw I always thought fasts had to be for an ulterior motive. Like a 24 hour fast for charity. Or for spiritual reasons.

My rationale for doing this 10 day cleanse is a lot less righteous. Here are a few of my thoughts and reasons:

1. Winter is coming and I want a strong immune system, so giving my body time to heal would be good.
2. I’ve been working hard on my Cure Cravings Forever program, and I could use a boost of energy.
3. I realized that there’s never a perfect time for a cleanse. I was going to do a juice feast in the summer, but somehow the timing didn’t work out. Now or never, I say.
4. It would be great to know what it’s like to experience “crippling cravings” again so I can really delve deep and share my insights in my Cure Cravings Forever program.
5. I’m very curious about the reported benefits and I want to know whether to recommend it to people or not.
6. This master cleanse will be an interesting way to build up my self confidence, and willpower. When you commit to something like this, it’s transformational. (Or so I hear.)
7. I want to see how much yeast vs. beneficial bacteria I seem to have gathered over years of being on birth control pills and taking antibiotics.

Oh, food cravings…

I’ve gathered a lot of craving busting tricks up my sleeve over the past few years.

I go into all the details in my new program called Cure Cravings Forever. I wanted to let you know that the program registration closes on Wednesday November 4th at Midnight, Eastern time.

So if you want to hear my advice on cravings, without the “high and mighty” voice (I’ll be just as bent on cravings as you during my fast!) then this is your time.

I look forward to working with you on kicking some craving butt!