So, this is my second time participating the program at the yoga studio I practice at. I was required to participate in the program because I am in the teacher training program. Last year when I did the fruit fast I was in a different place in my life and the fast was awful. I was still on caffeine, but gave it up the day before (no caffeine on the fast). I freaked out when I was going to eat next and would the food fill me up. I was hungry, weak and grumpy for three days. First, I panicked going into the fast. I knew in my head that it was only three days and I would not die of starvation, but for some reason leading up to the fast I pigged out on mac and cheese and other crappy things. At the end of the fast I once again pigged out and got really sick for days. I would say this was the start of the awareness of my food issues, which I have been working on for almost a year. Oh, and I also went out and bought hundreds of dollars in fruit from whole foods, most of which I did not eat!
This time was drastically different. Since doing the Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston I am a different person and look at food differently. The cleanse allowed me to actually see how my body reacts to different foods. I only made 14 of the 21 days perfectly, but I think it allowed me to see how gluten and dairy affect my body. The day after eating gluten I felt like I hit a brick wall. I was grumpy, sluggish and just all around awful. I should note that I had hardly any cravings during the first 14 days, and as soon as I ate items with gluten, sugar or dairy I started craving EVERYTHING. The second week I felt amazing and literally jumped out of bed in the morning... the third week not so much. So, very eye opening for me.
I started the fruit fast by upping my fruit intake a couple days before. I was already off caffeine. I recommend going off caffeine a week before the fast, otherwise don't bother unless you want to be utterly miserable. The day before I ate only fruit and homemade protein bars (It was a teacher training weekend with over three hours of yoga so I needed the extra protein). That night I had a light dinner of lentils and rice with naan (it was the FH turn to "cook", so we had takeout from our favorite Indian spot). The next morning I made a smoothie with random fruits and coconut water. I ate a lot of apples and pears with handfuls of strawberries, blackberries, kiwi and grapes, watermelon and occasionally bananas. For dinner I had avocado and lime blended in a food processor (don't like chunky avacado) with grape tomatoes roasted in avocado oil. Note: bell peppers are fruits! This is pretty much what I had every day on the fast.
It is recommended that you take the time to prepare your fruit instead of buying it prechopped. So, side effects... a lot of peeing and burping. I also upped my intake of water, especially when I got hungry pains. Compared to last fast, this one was amazing. I was hungry a lot, but the pain did not freak me out like it did last time. I ate when I felt hungry after chugging some water. I was hungry a lot. Sometimes I ate multiple times an hour, other times I could go up to two hours before I was hungry. My mind was very clear and I had only a couple small headaches, which was from not enough water. I was able to practice at yoga last night with no issues. I lost just over a pound, and I know it's not water weight b/c over the last month I have lost ~10 pounds from eating vegetarian. I am not sure how many calories I ate each day as I ate until I was no longer hungry. T
Right now I am trying to figure out what to break my fast with. I don't want to eat gluten or dairy just yet, and I don't want to eat out! I will update later what I eat!
On a final note, it is amazing how much I have grown in the past year, and I am excited how wonderful this fast went. I will answer any questions!
Thanks for the post! I am doing 40 days and was curious about other experiences with the 3 day cleanse.
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