Back on the Wagon

It’s never been so hard for me to stick with a fast as it has been here, living with family.  I’m obligated to join family for dinners out and in, and to partake in cake and ice cream, etc.  My sister’s birthday is actually tomorrow, but I’m starting a fast today, anyhow.  I don’t feel like myself at all, and I’m ready to feel renewed and clear-headed.  With that in mind, I’m beginning a fast today without any plans for it to last a certain duration.  (I usually find it’s better to see how it goes and see how I feel when fasting, then break it when it feels right.  I tend to fast longer if I do this than if I have a desired length of time I’d like to shoot for.)  So, today begins an unorthodox fast (for me, at least).  I’ll eat up the fresh produce I have in stock so it doesn’t go bad, using it for one to two raw or steamed meals/day.  Otherwise, I’ll juice, drink lemon water, and flush with diluted apple cider vinegar. I’m guessing it will take me about 8 days to feel better, but I’ll see how it goes.  I have dinner plans early next week, so I’m hopeful that won’t throw a wrench in the fast if things go well.  The most difficult aspect of fasting, in my experience, isn’t the hunger, but the social constraints. With every fast, I realize how much we rely on food for socializing, and how we’re judged on/by what we consume.

Day Two

This is the most dangerous time of the day (late night), when I get hungry.  I could easily juice all day with little effort or self-control, but nighttime finds me ravenous.  

This morning, I drank some apple-cucumber-zuchinni-carrot juice, which was tasty, then had a veggie juice before yoga.  I threw in the vegetables I’d normally eat as crudite or in a salad: cucumber, carrot, greens, red pepper, and a red onion.  The pepper and the onion gave it delicious zing.  

Tonight, I’m eating a raw meal (crudite: cukes, carrot, broccoli, calamata olives, tomato, and kimchee) b/c I’m famished after yoga and have felt lethargic all day.  Actually, I’ve felt this malaise for a few months now and am wondering if there’s something else at work, medically, that’s making me feel this way.  I’m hoping the fast will renew my energy/vitality, as it typically does.

End of Day One

I came home from yoga feeling exhilarated but famished, as usual. I juiced a cucumber and a few slices of watermelon (knowing that one “shouldn’t” mix melon with any other fruit/veg, so say the experts). Drank it, felt sated, but got hungry around 9:15. Watched my family eat mocha chip ice cream, so I ate a raw dinner I’d sliced up for myself early yesterday afternoon. I didn’t want it to go to waste (raised on depression era values) and, besides, it’s best to transistion gradually into a fasted state. Yes, they’re excuses, but it’s the truth. I tend to go to extremes (which is probably why I like fasting in the first place), so it’s important for me to remember that transition is necessary and far healthier than plunging in head first. At least, it is when fasting. Today was an initial test of will, and I did okay. Tomorrow, it’s full-throttle fasting, no excuses. I’m armed with my fruit, veg, juicer, and iron-strength will.

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