Update: Day 06 of the refeed

So much to report and questions to ask.

It has been an interesting 6 days since the end of the fast. Breaking the fast with orange juice really brought up the acid reflux so switched to small cups of Watermelon chunks every few hours which really helped a lot. Also, in hindsight I'm pretty sure I ended the fast during another, more mild, healing crisis but at 40 days fasting without supervision I didn't really want to push it any further by myself.

So since that first refeed on Friday until Sunday all I had was small cups of Watermelon, Cantaloupe every couple of hours and 1/2 cup of Apple chunks just to get the digestive system up and running again. By Sunday afternoon I went from 17stone at the end of the fast to 17.5stone, having consumed maybe less than 2-300 calories per day. I was also drinking water to thirst throughout (should I still be doing that during the refeed or should I be drinking more?).

On Sunday evening I had my first BM, pretty gross, I'm guessing that's normal for a first post-fast BM and by Monday morning I was back down to 17.25stone. My urine was a bit acidic which I can only assume means I'm still processing some rubbish since I didn't fast to completion.

On Monday I had a banana for breakfast then some more watermelon/cantaloupe chunks throughout the day.

Tuesday I had a larger portion of Watermelon chunks for breakfast, a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries with a whole apple for lunch (which completely stuffed me) and half a bowl of mixed lettuce leaves for dinner (which also stuffed me).

I've gradually maintained around 3-400 calories per day and stopped eating at around 6pm each day. Since I'm drinking to thirst, I maybe consume around 500-750ml of water daily but nevertheless the next day's morning pee is quite light with no usual signs of dehydration (like dark urine) and my weight is kind of holding at around the 17-17.1stone mark.

I have noticed that I'm sleeping a lot less. I'll go to bed at 23:00 but won't actually sleep until well past midnight and I'm up at 5am sharp with bags of energy. I can't help but feel it's all those extra fruit carbs, maybe I'm wrong? I assume this is fine, please let me know if it isn't.

I'm also getting leg cramps again in the same area I reported in my first ever post. I'm chalking this up to the inactivity, I've been literally bed bound for most of this fast so even picking up a plate now aches my arms the next day. I will keep an eye on it and become more active as the days go on.

Also, I have chucked out all my deodorant, shower gel etc because it contains aluminium and other nasties, so would love to know any natural alternatives. The same with toothpaste, mouthwash etc I don't want to put any of those chemicals anywhere near my body, so if you guys can suggest any good, reliable, holistic brands etc please let me know.

I think that's all I have to report for now. Thanks for staying tuned. It would be nice to look back on this diary a year from now in even better health than I am now in today.

Brighter days ahead!

Adalam :)