Post: #21

Day 15

Detox today: Less emotional detox today and more physical. My tongue is becoming less coated, however my breathe smells horrible. I have had some nausea during the day but I just deal with it by lying on my bed curled up in a ball... seems to work for me Probably the most annoying thing during the fast is that I am always SO thristy. I mean I drink a full glass of water and 5 minutes later the thrist and extremely dry mouth returns! The problem is that drinking water is the LAST thing I want to do right now as I have been doing so much of that already.... so it really is a pain being so thristy all the time. I also got a few chills throughout the day,its a different feeling than just feeling cold however. My urine is become less dark and more lighter in color... I think that means that most of the toxins have been cleared out of my body?

Other things: I noticed today how clear he whites of my eyes were and how white my teeth look! It looks like I just finished using some whitening strips hehe. I have no desire at all to eat. I have been cooking for my family and none of the food has sparked any interest in me. Even the thought of eating watermelon post fast doesn't excite me. I am becoming less and less obsessed with food, before I used to monitor the fridge closely, make sure nothing is going bad, ext. Now I have no problem with just simply throwing food out. Food really is an obsession in our culture... people collect loads of food at home and stock up on food to last them for years!

I really CANNOT wait until this fast is over. I am just bored at my wits end and I am tired of drinking water, being thirsty, and just doing NOTHING. I dont understand how people can go on for longer than 21 days. I can deal with the detox... however the boredom and feelings of everlasting doom is not something I would want to deal with anymore. I have to start studying for finals, which I cant seem to do during this fast. I also want to start my exercise program, begin applying for summer jobs, and begin working on my long term goals.

Less than a week left...

Post: #22

Days 16,17,18

Days 17+ 18 have been pretty tough. Im not one to complain, but the past 2 days have been absolutely horrible. My tongue is heavily coated and I have been feeling nauseous the whole time. My breath also smells horrible, and my room smells like a hospital ward (my sister doesn't seem to think so though) which intensifies the nausea. I have no desire to drnk water at all. I am also constantly cold, no matter how many layers I put on. I find that taking multiple warm showers during the day helps with this.
Mentally I feel very drained and waiting for this fast to be over. I hate just sitting around, trying to pass the time. The next three days I am going to be reflecting alot about my plans post fast so i can achieve my goals of the person I want to become, and the lifestyle I want to lead. I dont want to go back to that old life I was living.
I have planned out my re-feeding process early on in the fast:
First week- Mono-Watermelon (meaning just watermelon)- The first three days I plan to have 2 meals at eight hour intervals and the last 4 days of the week three meals evenly spaced apart.
Second week- I am going to be adding other fruits (water- rich fruits) and continue on with 2-3 SMALL meals daily.
Third week- Going to include raw veggies, again with 2/3 small meals depending on my hunger
Fourth week- Above + Steamed veggies

I wanted to break my fast slowly so I can ensure that I dont get sick, also to help establish my post-fast diet which I described in another post (mostly vegan, majority of calories coming from fruits, veggies and beans/lentils).

So that's my update for today, hopefully it wasnt too negative I know I only have 3 days left, but that sounds REALLY far away right now to me. Its not the food that I am looking forwards to- I still have no desire to eat- rather its feeling well and alive again so I can begin working towards my goals.

Post: #23

Day 19

Today continues to be extremely heavy in detox I dont think I have ever been in so much pain in my life. For three straight days it has been consant, intense nausea with not even a minute of relief (unless I am sleeping).My tongue is still heavily coated, my breath still smells horrible, and I still feeling very chilly. Even though my mouth is very dry I still have no desire to drink water. I really, REALLY hope it gets better tomorrow because I really can't tolerate another day of this. Today I was searching up how to break your fast and although I made an outline above, I think I am just going to go with what my body tells me. I will be breaking it with watermelon however with two meals the first few days.
I really want to open my window and get some fresh air however its freezing outside (-20! C)... plus my window is frozen shut haha.
Yesterday in the shower I started gagging and physically trying to throw up... but of course there was nothing to throw up.
Looking back on the past three weeks:
week 1 was relatively easy, but there was still detox-> I would say that this week corresponds with the past two years during my breakdown where I ate foods that my body did not agree with.
Week 2-> ahh if only I could go back to this week! There was barely any physical detox at all, I assume this was my period of healthy eating (raw foods)
Week 3-> HELL! This was probably during high school and jr high- I hate ALOT of horrible things during this time period. Chocolates, fatty foods,alot of meat.. ext.

Feelings:
I kept thinking today "why on earth am I putting myself through this agony?! Go break your fast!" but I went back and read my first post on here and reminded myself why I feel the need to do this. Also kept repeating "pain is temporary" in my head over and over again.

Two more days to go.

Post: #24

Day 21

I'm breaking my water fast today, at 1:00 PM. I guess Im a half a day early, but I decided to since I have an interview this week and I dont want to go in there dealing with the detox So overall this fast lasted 20.5 days.
My dad is off right now shopping to get me a watermelon... I am not excited to eat, its the thought of ending the detox that Im excited about! Week 3 was horrible in terms of detox, and it is still going on. Waking up to that same disgusting fishy detox smell every morning and tasting it in my drink, smelling it on my clothes, my covers, my whole room is BEYOND disgusting!
I know that I still have some detox that needs to go on with my body, I will still do waters fasts in the future. Probably never as long as 20.5 days but round 10 days or so... I dont see the need to doing such a long fast again.
Im so excited to begin working on my goals (like I have said countless of times haha), its time for me to live life again.

Thanks to everyone who has read and encouraged me during this fast! I will post updates here and there of my post fast journey, with benefits I have experienced, ext.

~hannah

Post: #25

Day 21 (continued)...

I broke my fast with a palm- sized wedge of watermelon. I ate slowly - it tasted soo good!!!! Immediately after my detox stopped. It was like magic, I dont know if it was in my head but the fish smell disappeared and my tongue turned pink. I had no pains or anything after that meal.
3 hours later I had the same meal but this time I ate faster (not a good idea!) I felt very nauseous for a few minutes after. Next time Im going to take it a slower.
My energy has increased alot, still not ready to go out jogging or anything, but I can concentrate much better and move around more easily. I will have my next meal in a few hours, I am a bit hungry now actually. Right now I am thinking of having 3 meals like this everyday until I finish the watermelon, then add other fruits in after. Tonight I plan on going on a light walk- I am anxious to start exercising again! I am really happy my re-feeding went smoothly (well... so far *knock on wood* ), i was expecting to throw up or something worse like I have read on others' experiences.

That is all for today! Hope everyone is doing great with the challenges!

Post: #26

Post fast day 2

today my meals were:
1. watermelon for morning
2. watermelon for lunch- both portions were twice as much as yesterdays
3. 2 apples- snack
4. 1 red pepper, carrots and lettuce- dinner (the carrots didn't taste as good as I thought they would)
5. banana- midnight snack. Mmmmmmmmmmm so delicious!!

I still seem to be detoxing- my tongue turns white when I havent eaten for more than 3 hours and my urine is still pretty dark even though I'm drinking tons. None of the food has given me problems so far though!
I am going to begin to try to begin eating 3 or meals a day from now on, I think this "Re-feeding process" is over haha. MY body adjusted to back eating waaayyy faster than I thought it would.
Energy wise, I have gained alot of energy and move around like before. I don't think I am capable of intense exercise yet however.

Post: #27

Hey Hannah, first off, congratulations on completing your fast! What you've done shows others that fasting is very much possible and isn't out-of-the-world or impossible as one might think. Till today I still get a lot of bewildered responses from people who learned that I didn't eat for 21 days, then erroneously referring to it as "starvation", and so on. What would you say are the biggest takeaways you had from your fast?

By the way, I'm amazed at how well your body adjusted to the refeeding! My experience was different (as I shared in Day 4's post-fast article), so I'm glad that you didn't experience any of the problems. It's now 1 month post my fast now, so I'm following up with a 1 month post-fast article soon.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #28

Hi Celes!!
Thank you very much I completely understand what you mean- the thought of going without food for a day scares people. I think most people who learn that I didn't eat for nearly three weeks will simply think that I'm either lying or like you said, I have some sort of eating disorder.
I think that the biggest lesson I learned was if you set your mind to something, anything really IS achievable. This has helped my confidence alot, it's only been two days since I have broken my fast but since then I have been running around applying for jobs, studying, beginning to exercise, ext. My relationship with food has also changed, I now can stop eating even if my plate is still full, and I listen more closely to what my body is telling me. I no longer feel like I am deprived of nutrients and have to stuff myself to meet the "recommended" requirements.
Overall I would recommend fasting without a doubt to everyone, I think everyone should do at least one long fast in their lifetime. It helped me kick start my healthy lifestyle again and I am sure for many others who are suffering from addictions, depression, and simply for those who don't know what to do in their lives can benefit from this.
I plan to fast regularly throughout the year, so I can improve and maintain my health I am planning my next fast (probably only for 5-7 days) in the beginning of May since I have some time off. It will be interesting to see what will happen the second time around!

Haha, yes I was shocked too at how quickly my body adapted to food! Right now my body feels completely normal, not what I was expecting at all for 3 weeks of not eating. I am thinking that maybe your body was not ready for digestion because you did not mentally prepare yourself for it? I don't know if that's the case, but I spent time looking at pictures of watermelon and imagining how it would taste to stimulate my digestive system before I ate.

I am looking forwards to your one month update!!!

Post: #29

Day 3 post fast

Meals:
1. morning- Bowl of watermelon
2. Lunch- 1 orange and a bunch of steamed broccoli
3. snack- Apple
4. Supper- 1 head iceburg Lettuce and 2 red peppers
5. snack- 2 bananas (shouldnt have eaten these, felt very full after)

Everything is fine and digested well I am also VERY energetic- I am about to go on a 1 hour walk soon. I woke up today with 3 pimples- up until this point my skin has been clear since the third week of my fast. I have always suspected that bananas broke me out and I have done several banana trials in the past where I cut them out and my skin cleared up. So now its definately confirmed! Too bad, I really love bananas :'(

My next update will probably be in 2 weeks time.

~hannah

Post: #30

Hi!
I decided to go ahead and post an update now- its been 1 week post fast.

I have been eating about 1000-1200 calories with very minimal exercise, I am still working on setting up an exercise schedule. My meals have been mostly steamed veggies, fruits (oranges, apples, bananas, watermelon), raw veggies and cooked lentils. My skin still looks good and I feel very good in terms of energy. I am also sleeping less.

I am running into some issues however... I think I included the cooked foods in my diet way too fast, which is causing digestion issues for me. I have severe bloating (even though I am not even eating that much) and my bowel movements hurt alot. I think that this is because my digestive system is still weak, so I am going to ease up this week and eat mainly fruits with some raw vegetables (like peppers, romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers). Hopefully that will help

Post: #31

hannah Wrote:I am running into some issues however... I think I included the cooked foods in my diet way too fast, which is causing digestion issues for me. I have severe bloating (even though I am not even eating that much) and my bowel movements hurt alot.

Hey Hannah! The bowel movements issue should subside after the first 3 movements. My take is that it's because the muscle groups used in the bowel discharges were not used for over 3 weeks, so they contracted during the period. I experienced the same issue and it was okay after the first few bowel movements.

On the bloating issue, my first assumption would be the quality of the food, but you did mention that you're eating very clean food right now. Perhaps stick to more raw foods for the moment and see if it improves? Do let us know how it goes.

Keep up your fantastic work! You're being a huge inspiration to everyone who wants to try out fasting but have not been able to. These logs are going to be tremendously help to others when they embark on their fast in the future

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #32

Hi Celes Thank you for your advice!
The past two days I have been eating just raw foods and my bloating has gone down a bit- I think the lentils, cauliflower and broccoli were to blame for that. My bowl movements on the other hand still really hurt If it continues on like this until the end of the week I will probably go get it checked out, since I am starting to bleed a little bit (sorry for the graphics!) and I'm concerned it's something serious.

Post: #33

(04-04-2011 05:23 PM)hannah Wrote:  My bowl movements on the other hand still really hurt If it continues on like this until the end of the week I will probably go get it checked out, since I am starting to bleed a little bit (sorry for the graphics!) and I'm concerned it's something serious.

That's not good! For the record, it was really bad for me as well and there was also bleeding too (since the muscles had shrunk so much), but the issue resolved itself after the third movement. How many bowel movements have you had since the fast ended?

I think getting it checked is a good idea. You might also want to consider enemas, which help with constipation. Have you tried it yet?

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #34

Celes!
I've had about 3 bowel movements per day since my third day re-feeding... so that is at least 12 bowel movements so far (that's alot!).
I've never done an enema, I have always been in the first believer of letting your body do its own thing. The constipation and bloating is improving though, which I am relieved about! I will give an update by the end of the week

Post: #35

Wow, 12 in total is a lot! Sure, do keep us updated then - we want to make sure you're all safe and sound! Good to hear that the constipation and bloating is improving

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #36

Yes 12 is alot! haha. And I don't think I am absorbing much of the nutrients at all- most of the food comes out undigested I had another very painful bowel movement this morning, it feels like my GI is constantly working. I am still eating 1000-1200 calories daily, however I think this is too much for my body to handle right now. Hopefully by doing the following consistantly I will be able to resolve this issue:
1. sticking to all raw for now
2. eating mainly fruits - I am really craving veggies (broccoli, lettuce, red peppers... mmmm) but my body seems to be having most troubles digesting these right now, so I will lay off them for a while.
3. eating smaller meals, and less overall
4. chewing VERY well

At this point I am feeling really frustrated because I am working on getting my life back together, and I don't want another issue to have to think about. I still think the fast was amazing and I would do it over again, however I am really looking forwards to feeling healthy which doesn't seem to be happening. I was a little angry today watching my sister stuff herself with foods like cookies, chocolate bars, candy like most other people and yet she is healthy and active. It is frustrating when you are doing everything you can but you aren't getting the results you are hoping for. I guess I will just have to try harder though

For anybody who is interested in weight loss, I definately haven't gained weight since I broke fast (I can tell by how my clothes fit), I think I might have lost a little however. I am still hoping to lose ~15 lbs but I am not worried about that, I know it will happen once I get moving and continue to eat well.

Post: #37

Update-

The past two days I haven't had severe bowl movements, they were still a bit painful but the pain has decreased, and there is no more bleeding. However none of the food is digested at all (I can basically tell what I have eaten just by looking at it... gross I know!). It's only been 1.5 weeks post fast so I am hoping it is temporary and it will clear up soon. My meals have been mostly apples, oranges, peppers, cantaloupe, lettuce, cucumbers and pears.
I'm grateful that the pain decreased though!

To be honest, I'm a little scared of what is happening. I was searching up IBS (irratible bowel syndrome) and I feel like I have all the symptoms. I hope its nothing serious like that!
Since the veggies are still causing me issues Im going to further restrict my intake to only fruits, having three small meals a day (smaller meals make me feel much better than large ones right now). I am going to do this for at least a full month before I add other foods in, I feel like I have been putting too much stress on my body and it's time to ease up. My plan is if I am still experiencing these symptoms after a month to go get it checked out.

I'll be back to give an update in a month- I have exams now so I'll be buried under my books for a while good luck to everyone with the MDC, BIB and the April challenge!

Post: #38

Hi everyone! I decided to take a short study break
So since my last post things have gotten better. my bowels are no longer painful and the amount of undigested food has decreased alot. It is still not 100% normal, but I have no doubt that in a few weeks everything will be working even better than before the fast

I have been eating 1000-1200 cals and feel very satisfied at that. I haven't stuck to my "just fruit" plan because vegetables are no longer giving me problems. yay!!
Right now I am going to start a new 30 day trial of eating 4 meals a day (half being fruit and the other half being veggies) to see if it makes me feel even better.

My skin has not been that great the past week- I have had alot of breakouts actually. It might be due to stress or the fact I still havent totally given up bananas. ( I love them way too much...)

Last week I had a general doctors appointment and they weighed me at 120. So as I suspected, I still have 15 lbs left to go. I am hoping that by the end of summer in 5 months I would be back to my ideal weight!

I am also working on my 2011 goal journal which I am blogging about on the forum

Post: #39

That's fantastic hannah!! I'm glad that the bowel situation has gotten a lot better. Thanks so much for updating us on it too

I thought it's interesting that you've been getting breakouts. Why would bananas cause breakouts though? I can understand why mangos or durians as they're considered more "heaty" fruits, but I thought banana is a cooling fruit. How was your complexion/skin condition before the fast, and during the fast?

(For those who need more info on heaty/cooling fruits: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html)

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #40

Hi Celes

I have no idea why bananas could cause breakouts. I have heard of people saying that it does this to them to when I used to be on raw forums. Perhaps because they are really high in sugar, have a higher GI and less water content than other fruits? I am cutting them out for a month during this trial to finally see if they really are the cause

My skin prior to the fast was average- I never had any serious breakouts maybe 2-3 pimples a month. During the fast there was a period were it was glowing and looked very radiant, however most of the time it remained at the same condition it ws before the fast. A few days after breaking my fast my skin started to break out alot and is still doing so. Like you, I'm surprised that my skin has gotten worse. However I read that your body is still detoxing up to six weeks after a fast (if you are eating a clean diet that is). I did have other strange skin things go on- like acne on my chest, which I never had in the past, so I'm assuming its detox.
I did break my fast when I was still in really heavy detox mode so I think my body still had some issues that it did not resolve. Im planning a 10 day fast in the future (within the next 4 months) to hopefully finish up what didn't get done the first time around