Well…finally day 12 of a 2 week detox fast has arrived, and I get to eat!!!
I set myself a goal of 11 days of vegetable juice and a three day break of the fast by eating raw foods and slowly introducing steamed or stir fried veggie’s and finally some protein. I certainly wouldn’t recommend that amount of time to everyone, but it was a goal I thought I could achieve, as those who know me, I generally have a very strong constitution and I have plenty of reserves and muscle mass. I went through some highs and lows, but the outcome was absolutely worth it.
On day 3 and 4 I went through a healing crisis, including headaches, gland and ear problems, however apart from the boredom not eating, I feel I handled it pretty well. (Although I think you will have to ask Paul about my mood swings!!!) Today, the first day of my break, I started on pineapple and paw paw and made a salad with heaps of organic veggies from our garden. I find that after not eating, everything seems to have heightened tastes and smells. My body is really craving good whole foods, and the thought of fried fast foods makes me feel squeamish. The detox fast has been fantastic for resetting my whole body and motivated me to continue to eat as much whole organic foods as possible.

Friday, having completed five days on vegetable juice and water I decided it was time to begin the three day process of breaking the fast. This is the most important part of the fast. I made a raw salad of paw-paw, pineapple, zucchini, celery, mango and a dressing of coconut pulp pineapple and a pinch of chilli. The paw-paw and pineapple are important because they contain digestive enzymes papain and bromelain and help to kick start the digestion. The celery is good for the renal system, the coconut pulp provides the healthy fat and the chilli helps to get the metabolism ticking over. Five days was earlier than I wanted to begin the break, but you have to listen to your body and it was the right time for me. I included some boiled and baked vegetables with oregano on Saturday and made a beetroot and orange salad with ginger and apple cider vinegar. Beetroot is a blood builder, ginger is a wonderful immune system booster and the apple cider vinegar is great for dozens of things including boosting the bodies hydrochloric acid. I was able to eat all raw and cooked fruit and vegetables on day two. Day three was Sunday and I included fish, raw mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
My total of 8 days fasting helps to reset my attitudes to food and serves as a reminder of what healthy eating is all about. Peta is still going amazingly well and is yet to break her fast on day 8. She is aiming for three more days before beginning her break.

Well here we are on Wednesday, day three of our fast. I haven’t eaten since Sunday morning and the hunger hasn’t been too much of an issue. I think, as Peta says, the heat helps that, but also being accustomed to not eating by having one fast day a week helps immensely too. Coffee is a question that often comes up with regards to fasting. You never never never have caffeine during a fast. When you fast you absorb anything you put into your body. Coffee is what you are trying to detoxify. It is many times more damaging during a fast. Add milk and it’s more damaging, add sugar and its even worse. If you can’t abstain from coffee, don’t fast (but you can and you should). Herbal teas are ok. but dont use teas containing caffiene like green tea. You can make a nice tea from organic citrus leaves and hot water..

Peta is fine and not hungry. The heat helps with that, she did have a bit of mucus elimination this morning, which is the aim after all. I watered the garden this morning and proceeded to hit the wall. A coconut water and a rest and I’m back to normal. Its not unusual to feel sick or headachey especially on day three and four of a vegetable juice fast. I was surprised by being a bit off colour for an hour or so on day two. People always want to talk about weight loss with fasting. It’s not about that at all. Sure losing weight is a happy side effect, but the purpose of fasting is detoxifying the intra and extracellular fluid in the body and resting the digestive system. Many people go through their entire life never doing that. A few people have asked about the best juicer to use. Always a cold press is the best, they are around a thousand dollars. We just use a Breville Juice Fountain (pictured).