30 days without eating, 30 days without chewing, 30 days without a latte. I really can't wait. The idea is that by flooding my body with 120 ounces of vegetable and fruit juices every day for 30 days I will become more awesome. 30 days of juice (no pulp, no fiber, no supplements) will allow my digestive track to rest, my cells to detoxify, my mind to clarify and my spirit to do something spectacular. I suppose I should add that herbal teas are allowed, and plenty of fresh filtered water as well.
A 30 day fast is no joke, and I'm not treating it that way. I'm taking it very seriously indeed, more seriously than any other fast I've ever done. In the past, a 10 day fast was the norm for me, and I did one twice a year, once in January and once in July. My first few fasts were Master Cleanses, and then I switched to juice fasting, with an emphasis on vegetable juices. Ever since then I've done juice fasts.
Because this fast is three times longer than anything I've ever done, I'm going to be much more of a conscious observer to the process, and I'm going to share it. All of it. All of the good and all of the bad. This means tracking everything that goes in and everything that goes out- I've never actually tracked a fast in any way other than to notice if I feel hungry or tired or energized or high, and maybe compare the experience with friends who've fasted themselves. This time I'm going to write down everything I juice, every way I feel, everything I do, and I'm going to put it all here on this blog. So there.
My goal is to cleanse and rejuvenate my body. While my diet is generally pretty healthy, I've got my vices and my body is far from pure. I've got a wealth of bothersome afflictions that usually respond positively to a fast- like allergies and sleep problems (and a few others that I'll describe in a later post- I'm sure you can't wait) But over all, there's something about the discipline of resisting temptation and allowing the body a rest from food that kind of turns me on. I like the concept of creating a situation where the body will eat itself, digging deeply and removing waste. I like cleaning houses too, call me crazy.
My goal is very specifically NOT weight loss. I've searched many blogs looking for recipes, tips, or guidance with this longer fast, and I found few that aren't highly motivated by the desire to lose weight. While I generally do lose a little weight on a fast, it's been a side effect. I am happy with my weight and I will be trying to make sure that I consume enough calories to keep weight loss to a minimum, so as to maintain a figure that resembles something identifiably female. From everything I've read, a recommended amount of daily juice for a long fast is 64-80 ounces, which is why I've set my goal to 120 ounces. I'll be tracking calories, weight and fluid intake daily, and I'm determined to make sure that I'm able to remain active and maintain a high level of energy. If I face any fear related to this fast, it is the fear of too much weight loss.
With all that said, the act of fasting tends to turn an individuals focus inward- the emotional/spiritual bit. I'm looking forward to that since I've been doing so much of it already, though a bit fruitlessly I admit. So I'll be doing a lot of reading and walking and yoga in addition to this fast, and this blog will be a major outlet of communication since social activities, which often involve food, present challenges that I'm not always up for when I'm fasting.
So- there it is. My first post. Tomorrow I'm going to lay out details, like baseline data, what produce I bought, what it cost, and hopefully I'll be mentioning a bit about how day 1 of not eating feels. Fair warning, I plan to be brutally honest and that might reveal some details that don't generally make for polite table conversation. Some of the side effects of fasting are icky- like coated tongue, strange body odor, headaches etc. And then there's the need to help yourself in, ahem, elimination of solid waste. You might learn things about me that you wish you hadn't. If any of that bothers you, there are plenty of other blogs you can read about juicing and I won't be offended if you skip this one. Here I plan to go into all the details because, well, I think it's interesting.
Thanks for reading. I don't suspect all posts will be this long, but some may be longer. I hope to give those of you who are considering a fast helpful information, and I hope to be mildly entertaining at least sometimes along the way and help to encourage you to think about your food, if nothing else. We live in a world of amazing abundance, and it's easy to take it for granted.
