darnit, I want to fast...

[cassidy]

I need to fast. I would really like to detox and get it all out and really feel all of it. Fasting is SO hard! I'm not going to lie... it is HARD for me. I'm a hardcore food addict.
Any tricks of the trade?
I've done the master cleanser and only lasted 4 days. Should I just GO for it again? I quite because I started taking bites here and there. Plus I was just SUPER tired.
But, now, I don't have much going on for the next month other than being with my daughter every day. I could go to bed early, take naps when she naps etc.
Master Cleanser, Juice fast...???? I suppose I would have better detox results with the MC.

Any tips on keeping motivated... and more importantly not giving into food?

Thanks as always.

[Mona]

I really agree with you! I also have been longing for a fast but I can´t make through even a day on juicefasting! I love preparing food and eating food.
By the end of the day I end up having lots and lots of good and tasty raw food.

Maybe we could support eachother on a one or two day juicefast some time this month?

[KatK]

Have you ever tried fasting on water only? For me, it's easier to get started than juice fasting. I get to the point of not being particularly hungry quicker. But from what I've read of people's experiences, it's opposite for other people, so don't know if that would help you.

One thing that might help is something big to distract you for the first couple of days. If I'm out of the house doing something where I'm not around food, it's easier.

[AvyB]

One thing that might help is something big to distract you for the first couple of days. If I'm out of the house doing something where I'm not around food, it's easier.

That's a great tip! Mentally storing that away...

[Revvell]

Sometimes the mind wants what the body doesn't. Consider this ~ you come here, you read all the threads and you think you "should" be doing what many others are doing, i.e. fasting. We are the only animal alive that does the un-natural. No other animal fasts unless it's sick and then, it's a natural thing to do ~ and then we don't.

Why not just eat raw and allow the body to detox at a natural rate? Fruits are cleansing; veggies are health building.

Most of all always remember to play with your food.

Revvell

[Ama]

I have to agree with Revvell. When I first started eating raw about 7 months ago, I read in a book that you should wait about 6 moths to do a fast. So, I decided since I have been raw for over 6 months that it is time. I'm currently on the MC, day 8 and I have no detox sign other than really missing preparing and eating food LOL. I'm not hungry, just bored with the same drink day in and day out. The one benefit I got from this fast is to open my mind to other raw foods, simpler foods, that I wasn't looking at before. I *think* this is going to be the most beneficial part of my fast and God knows!

[Veganforlife]

I agree with Revvell also. I have never fasted. To me it's harsh and extrene abd I personally didn't need harsh or extreme. Since going 100% raw over 9 months ago, I have felt great.

[cassidy]

As usual, I agree with Revvell as well ... however, at this point... I do feel sick from SAD eating and emotional havoc and I need to heal without puting all of my focus of food. I tend to do that (even if it is healthy) rather than deal with life issues. I need to heal after this crazy "vacation" (mentally and physically).
I've been juicing this morning and will try for just a few days and go from there.
So, MONA - I'll fast for a few days with you! We should deffinantly be able to do at least two. I keep thinking of Misslinda on day 50! If she can do 50, I can do 2!

BTW - any animal that hibernates fasts for long periods of time.

[Revvell]

... I need to heal without puting all of my focus of food. I tend to do that (even if it is healthy) rather than deal with life issues.

... additional consideration... so, now, from my pov, you're creating more "life" issues about not being able to fast so, basically, you've changed your focus from food to fasting ~ or not-fasting as the case may be.

Revvell

[Elizabeth]

As usual, I agree with Revvell as well ... however, at this point... I do feel sick from SAD eating and emotional havoc and I need to heal without puting all of my focus of food. I tend to do that (even if it is healthy) rather than deal with life issues. I need to heal after this crazy "vacation" (mentally and physically).
I've been juicing this morning and will try for just a few days and go from there.
So, MONA - I'll fast for a few days with you! We should deffinantly be able to do at least two. I keep thinking of Misslinda on day 50! If she can do 50, I can do 2!

BTW - any animal that hibernates fasts for long periods of time.

Hi Cassidy,

If you feel like fasting, fast. :D I am fasting on juice and several others are doing various fasts, so, once you make the decision, (and it seems that maybe you have,) the support is here, but only you can decide whether it is the right time for you.

For me, historically speaking, if there is a lot of inner conflict involved, difficulty getting started, etc., and if it is a torturous thing for which I need constant bolstering from outside, I have found that it likely is not the right time to fast. (not to say that even a well-timed fast will be "easy." After all, many of us have been conditioned to use food in certain unhealthy ways and we are not wild creatures, living free from unnatural influences, with pure, unsullied instinct which we can simply follow.) if that were the case, we would not need support boards at all.

Fasting can free up lots of energy and time, but it can also become a source of tension and stress, depending on how/why it is approached/used.

I can only suggest to go deep into yourself and decide what you really want to do..what you need right now..and then do that, and let the doubts and mental chatter, second-guessing, etc., go.

:D All the Best to you......

[cassidy]

Revvell ~ of course, you're right. I would be replacing one "obsession" (that being making, preparing and delicious raw recipes) for another: going against MY grain by not doing it.

Ughhh.. perhaps it isn't the best time to fast (if it ever will be for me...). I know I can detox just as well on raw.

[Mona]

Alright! Let´s do it! Let´s decide a day for it and keep in touch. Or have you already begun? Then I´ll join you tomorrow!

You can email me at : mona(at)musiker.nu

[mershwista]

I'm in on the "fasting is difficult" part. But it's so necessary, and with the small successes I've had with it, it does work wonders that raw alone can't. Heck...same emotional problems I had cooked never vanished on raw, and pms emotions still left me out of control every month.

Anyways, I'm doing a weekend juice fast this weekend...I figure if I post it on here and let people know, then maybe, just maybe I'll motivate myself to follow through under threat of embarrassment of backing out should I end up doing that. Well, it's past midnight, so it's begun I suppose. All I have is a pile of cranberries...and three apples. I need to fix that.

[maraw]

I have had trouble in the past with fasting too. Let me share something with you that I've tried this time around and it's really working!

I have juiced, strained and diluted grapefruit juice in the morning, the a huge greens salad in the afternoon (oil and vinegar only), then vegetable juice - celery, cucumber, apple, cilantro, etc) in the evening. Water throughout the day too. I have never felt better in my life! I am doing this for one week and then I will remove the salad and replace it with juice and water for another week.

I think the reason I've had a hard time fasting in the past is I felt deprived (especially after having to make food for the rest of my family while I try to fast with juice or water only). This has relaxed me considerably and I feel like I am easing into it freely. I feel like I could eat this way forever, and I'm actually looking forward to next week too.

I hope this helps. I don't know if it will work for everyone the way it has for me, but I thought it might help to suggest it. I feel the need to fast mostly because I've been so sick (mono for about 4 months) and a little stressed lately and I just wanted to give my body a break and a chance to heal and catch up.

As I said, I hope this helps some.

[mershwista]

Thanks for the tip, but I'm the sort who feels deprived if I've so much as had a light breakfast less than my usual.