Sept 2012 - Fasting thread. Join anytime of the month

[Aleesha Sattva]

PLEASE... feel free to join this thread any time ... we loooove having new friends to fast with!!!

Here's are the 'rules' of this thread:

Please do not discuss specific food. Feel free to share "My hubby was eating and it was hard for me." Please don't share "My hubby was eating X, Y and Z..."

The reason we do this is so no one ends up getting a craving from a fasting thread. As a faster we can choose to click on a thread which discusses food but we need the safety within this thread to know food is not discussed. Juices are shared, M/C is shared, green smoothie recipes are shared... but not 'chewable' food.

Please join us... by listening to our theme song (http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741). We all come together... from around the world to fast together and support each other. Please join us!

There is a great deal of info in this stickie (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=62026). Please take a moment to read it.

And here is a thread (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=61603) where we share our favourite recipes. If you haven't contributed yours, please do!

Here's my commitment:

I'm here to fast. I'm not here to eat. I will fast until I choose to stop but I will NOT stop my fast on a bad day, at night or today. I can choose to break my fast tomorrow in the morning but not today.

I'm here to gain health.
I'm here to gift my body the time and energy to bring my body to a state of health.
I'm here to release - whatever needs to be released. Physical, emotional, conscious or unconscious out-moded things... I'm here to release them all.
I'm here to bring a greater depth to my spirituality.
I'm here to support myself, my super amazing husband Parz, and anyone here who wants support.
I am here to continue to be mindful - focusing on this moment and not anticipating the next one.
I am here to share my experience and gain knowledge from what others share.
I'm here to feel whole. I'm here to give my beautiful, cherished body a break from digesting food!!!

This is the "Fellowship of the Fasters" - unlike the LOTRs fellowship of nine, we are a fellowship of many. We welcome newcomers daily and embrace everyone no matter what they are fasting on or their personal beliefs.

Yes you can prefer green juices to fruit. Yes you can use agave instead of maple syrup or raw honey. Yes you can juice in your Vita-Mix and use a nut mylk bag to extract your juices.

We don't care how you fast... we want to support you... and in turn, we ourselves get supported... so please... join us!!!

Come on everyone.. join in the fun and grab your Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit or Human names for our "Fellowship of the Fasters"... you just make them up, it isn't from the book/movie. (if you want to participate) and put it in your signature line!

Ever wonder how the Fellowship began?

Back when I first began fasting there were the Fasting Bandits. This was a group of amazing people who fasted together all the time. The 'theme' was a convoy of truckers. I was the water tanker! :throwhearts: Over time the Fasting Bandits moved on with their lives and weren't around much at all. A few of the members are still here... but seldom fasting anymore.

I was missing the camaraderie of the FB and was always hoping to find a new group to fast with, find support with and to support myself. The Fellowship of Fasters began because Cathy and I watch the movie Lord of the Rings a LOT and we fast together a LOT as well. We began speaking to each other as though we were Golum - and our juice was our precious.

And then the Fellowship of Fasters was born!

So to be a member... you simply need to choose a name, put it in your signature line and love fasting. You can become a life-time member or one for a short time... it's up to you.

I'm here for the long haul. My water tanker is here beside me - because I'll always be a Fasting Bandit... but now my precious walks beside on a slower path than the truckers... enjoying the grass at my feet and the flowers growing out of the cracks and crevices in the rocks around me.

[janem]

Count me in!!
Aleesha I love the commitment statements! Especially the part where you mention not ending the fast until the next morning - night time, moods, etc -all have been my downfall - that statement is really helpful. Thanks so much!

[laughalways]

I am going to do a juice fast for the holiday weekend. My intention is to do at least 2 days but I am going for 3. I hope everyone has a great weekend fasting too!

[janem]

Good for you! A weekend fast is so nice! Gives you a chance to relax and unwind - hopeful! Enjoy! You will feel fantastic when the work week starts!

[laughalways]

Thanks for the encouraging words. Are you fasting janem? I made it through day 1. I was very hungry at the end of the day and I had a raw blended soup which helped. I know it wasn't juice but still raw and liquid. I had juice first thing with cucs, celery, and pineapple. I am getting ready to make more for the rest of the day. If I make it through today, I may try for one more day.

[Gianni]

No, blended soup is not juice, but like you said the first day (or two) can be difficult, and sometimes you might feel you need a little crutch that way to keep you going early on, but you should try to stick to only juices as you continue your fast. The hunger pangs usually diminish by the third day and it gets easier to stay on it. Just drink as much as you want of a variety of fruit and vegetable juices.

[laughalways]

I guess that is why I've not done a long-term juice fast...I can't sleep when I am hungry so I rarely get past the first day. I am just doing a few days....I may still try for tomorrow.

[laughalways]

I am going to do one more day...I already made my first batch of juice...I was hungry! I did drink 1.5 liters of water first thing to take the edge off. The disappointing thing is I got on the scale and I hadn't lost any weight. I was hoping to drop a few pounds. That's really all I need to take off is around 3 lbs.

[Gianni]

post deleted

[Gianni]

Since finishing my last juice fast a couple of months ago, I have had the idea of doing shorter fasts every three months. So today I've started my new fast which I plan to do for around 10 to 14 days.

After my last 30 day cleanse, I decided to go vegan (from ovo-lacto vegetarian). Now I am about 75% raw, 100% vegan, and the 25% that isn't raw consists almost entirely of vegetables.

So, today for breakfast I decided I would somewhat ease into my fast by making a smoothie instead of pure juice. I had an OJ, mango, and banana smoothie in the morning and then again just before noon. After noon I was still feeling a little hungry so I made a juice of carrot, zucchini, celery, spinach, and garlic. The garlic made the juice a bit too spicy, but it still tasted pretty good and more importantly it left me satisfied.

[Aleesha Sattva]

September 2012 Fasting Thread ..... Please join for support with fellow fasters :)

PLEASE... feel free to join this thread any time ... we loooove having new friends to fast with!!!

Here are the 'rules' of this thread:

Please do not discuss specific food. Feel free to share "My hubby was eating and it was hard for me." Please don't share "My hubby was eating X, Y and Z..."

The reason we do this is so no one ends up getting a craving from a fasting thread. As a faster we can choose to click on a thread which discusses food but we need the safety within this thread to know food is not discussed. Juices are shared, M/C is shared, green smoothie recipes are shared... but not 'chewable' food.

Please join us... by listening to our theme song (http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741). We all come together... from around the world to fast together and support each other. Please join us!

There is a great deal of info in this stickie (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=62026). Please take a moment to read it.

And here is a thread (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=61603) where we share our favourite recipes. If you haven't contributed yours, please do!

Gianni, Please don't start your own monthly fasting thread when there's already one on the forum. I've merged your thread with the one that was already here.

thanks,
Aleesha
Admin

[Gianni]

Sorry Aleesha, I didn't see the thread and thought that it hadn't been created yet.

[Aleesha Sattva]

giggling... but you had already posted in it earlier this month. I hear ya though... time is like a river, it just flows - who knows what "time" it is really?

smiling...

[Gianni]

Yeah, I noticed that. I think the thread got buried out of sight when all that spam that hit the site.

[Gianni]

Starting day 3 of my 12-day juice fast. One thing I've noticed is that I've been sleeping really well these past couple of nights. I think on this juice fast, I feel like I might not have quite as much strength, but I do have perhaps a bit more endurance.

Yesterday morning and afternoon, I drank a lot of watermelon juice (blended then past through a sieve) as I had bought a whole watermelon the previous night and had cut it open that night, juicing a quarter of it. So you know, got use it pretty quickly or it will go bad.

Around supper time, I made juice from carrots, zucchini, yellow pepper, broccoli, spinach, basil, garlic. The garlic I bought recently is really pungent and made the juice a bit difficult to drink. It was still okay but I pretty much had to sip it. Next time I'll leave out the garlic.

In the evening, I took the dog out for a 4-mile walk which went quite well except for an incident when a little dog escaped from his house's gate which was closing and he came at us. He was nipping at our heels when I gave hm a little kick and he ran off with his tail between his legs. His owner then had the nerve to yell me out for kicking her dog who had escaped and was attacking us. The nerve of some people!

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'm not sure i'd juice broccoli. yuck.

[laughalways]

Broccoli is bad to juice...tried it once when I had a little left from making broccoli salad. I had to toss it cuz I couldn't drink it.

[Gianni]

I think you two are right. Now, I remember how I stopped juicing broccoli during my last fast.

Made some more similar juice today, but since I hadn't yet seen your posts, I included the broccoli.

It had: 12 small carrots, 2 zucchinis, a bunch of mustard greens, 1/3 red pepper, handful of sprouting broccoli, 2 inches of ginger, cilantro, tiny bit of red hot pepper.

Today's juice is much tastier than yesterday's version. It's a bit spicy but tastes pretty good and I'm feeling the nutrition.:woohoo:


Also, the carrots and broccoli came from a farmers' market. You can definitely taste a difference with the carrots.

[laughalways]

I wish you luck with your fast. After I did my short one, I found I was unable to juice again for a week...lol.

[Gianni]

Thanks laughalways. The fast is going well. It's much easier the second time around.

After my 30-day juice fast ended 2 months ago, I have been eating quite well and continued to lose a little weight on my mostly raw diet. The only bad thing in my normal diet was maybe a bit too much salt. So since my diet was clean and it hasn't been too long since my last fast, I have not gone through many detoxification effects on my current 10-14 day fast - maybe a little achey and not as much energy during the first few days, but now everything is fine. I feel lighter, energy levels are very good now, and my skin is really smooth.

[Gianni]

It's day 12 of my juice fast. I've decided to do 14 day fasts every 3 months to keep me focused. Perhaps in the latter half of next year I may lenghten the period between fasts to 4 months.

My fast is going great, but one thing that I find a little difficult in fasting is that when nearing the end of a fast, my thoughts start going towards what I will want to eat once my fast is finished, and then I start craving those foods a little bit. It's nothing that some yummy juice can't take care of, but it is something that I've noticed, be it a 14 day fast or a 30 day fast.

[Gianni]

Today was day 13 of my 2-week juice fast. Had watermelon juice for breakfast, then made 1.5 liters of apple, pineapple, lime, and ginger juice to drink for lunch and to drink in the afternoon. Then for dinner, I made soup from the juice of carrot, tomato, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, ginger, and a bit of a chili pepper.

Went for a 2 mile jog today and walked two miles more. A couple of years ago, I didn't think I would ever run again because I didn't think my body could handle it. I thought as people get older, they should only walk, play golf or whatever. Now I reallize it was probably due to my previous ovo-lactarian vegetarian diet that I couldn't run for more than 400 meters.

It's been about 3 1/2 months now that I'm vegan (~75% raw), and I feel so much better and so much more alive.:dance: