2.5 years after the fast by RedFizz Blog entry

Blog: Fasting & Detox: Juicing for first time
by RedFizz

2.5 years after the fast

An update of my post-fast life 2.5 years later

Date: 6/23/2009 1:31:48 PM ( 15 y ) ... viewed 75698 times

Hello,

I don't know if anyone will really read this, but I wanted let everyone know that I still enjoy the benefits of the fast from 2.5 years ago. I have so much to say! So many things I wish I would have known!

Basically, the fast/detox/cleanse wiped the slate clean for me. It broke all of my addictions to caffeine, sugar, and so on. At the end of the fast I was faced with a decision: Will I go back to my old ways and go back to my old level of "health" and weight, or will I never look back on that old way of life and learn a new one?

I chose to start a new life.

Diet:
I had to relearn how to eat, because what I had been taught by my parents I learned was incorrect. I eat a mainly raw diet with a smoothie in the morning, a salad with some salmon and homemade or Auntie Anne's dressing for lunch, fruit or nuts for a snack, and something healthy for dinner.

Meat:
Fish is the only meat that I eat and I am to the point that I get very sick if I eat any other meat. I have discovered that I will throw up if I have beef, and I get very angry after having chicken. After doing some research, we discovered a study that demonstrated that even at the highest-end restaurants, and the best-cooked chicken, the chicken still tests positive for steroids, which is what they pump the chickens full of to get them so thick and juicy for you. I have heard people say, "Yeah, but what about organic chicken?" True, but I am happy with the way I feel now, why risk it for 15 minutes of taste?

Also, there are studies of people who live to be 100+ years old, and the one significant correlation they have (and in statistics, there are always outliers, I do understand, so you don't have to remind me) is that they eat fruits, vegetables, and fish.

Gluten:
I discovered that gluten makes me bloat. For 3 days. I call it my bread baby, and I look like I am in my 2nd trimester. It goes away after 3 days, but it is frustrating and not good for the self-image. Oh, and I don't just bloat in the tummy- it's everywhere: thighs, arms, etc. Test it! Don't eat gluten for 3-4 days and see what happens. It's not that you lose weight, in my opinion, it's that my body has a chance to not be suffering from an allergic reaction.

Weight:
I lost a little over 20lbs during the fast. But since I stayed on the mostly-raw diet, I continued to lose. It took about another month for the weight to start falling again, which, I am assuming, means it took about a month for my metabolism to start up again. I got to 125, but my friends were horrified and said I looked extremely gaunt. I am not about 135-145 depending on time of year.

Warnings:
I lost a LOT of my hair. About 6 months after I started eating again, my hair got really thin. I was crying so much thinking it would never come back. It lasted about 4-6 weeks, then stopped. Then 3 weeks after that, my friends made fun of my mini-mohawk of new baby hairs showing up in my part. My hair is super thick and sexy now. It's healthier than it has ever been. Don't get me wrong, it's still going to be a scary process.

I didn't have a period for 2 months, which was fine for me. BUT for the first time in my life, my periods are regular, on a schedule, and are healthy. The only time it is not is if I have been traveling extensively and having to eat processed foods filled with preservatives. In fact, the last time caused my period to start a week early, and the blood looked very unnatural. But it went back to normal after I kept eating normal, regular, healthy whole foods.

My friend did a cleanse, too, with great success. Unfortunately, she started the, "Oh, I will have this Pumpkin Latte just this once for this special occasion," trick, and before you know it, she was eating her old foods again and gained all of the weight back and more. All of her old health problems came back, which she had successfully - and naturally - got rid of by juicing.

Remember, a lot of what I went through was breaking food addictions. Watch SuperSize Me again. Listen to what he says about getting addicted. This is not by accident. The way I approach it, and can comfortably talk about it to my friends, is I compare it to being a recovering alcoholic. I have a tough time saying no to bad foods if it is in front of me, so I just don't expose myself to it. I have to make conscious decisions not to eat those sweet smelling donuts next to the water cooler at work...by the way, read Fast Food America, and you will have an eye-opening lesson on those wonderful "scents". It's not by chance.

I have learned that I get headaches, which I NEVER get, when I eat MSG. In fact, my breasts are in tremendous pain for 4 days after MSG. Nothing I do can relieve the pain in my breasts if I have eaten it. Some may ask how I know it's MSG. I have tested it. I will continue to eat my normal food for weeks, then eat one thing with MSG. And then it happens. I have tested this over and over. I may be wrong, and it may not affect you, but I am convinced this works for me.

Success:
I am happy! I can shop in normal stores! I do not get depressed, unreasonably angry, overly-senstive if I don't eat MSG (which is also "Natural flavors" on the label - you can thank your lobbyists for that one), preservatives, processed foods or anything fake. It's work, but after 2.5 years, I am hitting my stride. It was difficult finding foods at first, but that's because the culture/home I came from didn't support, teach, or even know about it. I had to work, find the people who had the answers.

I make everything from scratch, because I know what is going into my food.

I am convinced that I was angry all of the time, because of the chemicals in processed foods. Hey, if a chemical can alter your mind - *ahem* anti-depressants, ridlen (sp?), and so on - then why would it not affect you if it was given to you in food...it works for your pets, doesn't it? Again, watch SuperSize Me. Pay attention to the "alternative school" that is supposed to house all of the children with behavioral problems. Listen carefully to what they have discovered, or at least demonstrated.

I am so thrilled with my life. I wish you all the best of luck!