Breaking a long fast

[Sacristia]

I have read that if you are not careful when breaking a long term fast, that you do harm to yourself.

What I am trying to find out what I might need to "feel" for when I break my fast to know that I am doing ok or I am not doing ok. Would I cramp up or something if I am not doing it right?

I have read that I need to go from juice with pulp and then soft raw foods like soup and smoothies, then transition into raw veggies.

I am thinking about breaking my fast sooner then 16th of April so this is why I ask this question now. I am just kind of afraid to break this long fast the wrong way.

Thank you for all your help

[Purl]

How Long Has It Been?

[Sacristia]

I started my water/juice fast on 2/21/06 and I wanted to finish it April 16 but I am planning on working some heavier juices this weekend.

I have been feeling really good and I don't know how I might feel or how I should feel once I start transitition into more solid like foods.

[Liene]

Personally I have discovered that the best products for breaking long water fasts are either scalded tomatoes or yoghurt. After that you may drink juices etc., but at first you need something that will help to restart your digestion. And notice that the best time for breaking fast is the 1st or 3rd lunar phase!

[dreamrawalwz]

Personally I have discovered that the best products for breaking long water fasts are either scalded tomatoes or yoghurt. After that you may drink juices etc., but at first you need something that will help to restart your digestion. And notice that the best time for breaking fast is the 1st or 3rd lunar phase!

That may be part of her point is to get that cooked out of her system so I'm not too sure how she'd feel about putting it in? Especially after a fast. I've read that once your stomach is hungry again it means it's time to end the fast. Juices first, then heavier juice, then maybe some pulp and then a bit of an apple or something, but continue with the juices. The next day add another piece of fruit with juices and keep adding and eventually decrease your juice intake a bit. Do NOT go back to cooked or the wrong foods you just detoxed out of your system. You body will be more sensative now to what you put in it. Trust me, you'll know if it's not right.

[Liene]

Since it is juice fast, I agree that heavier juices etc. will be the best way to break it, because the digestion hasn't stopped.
But I still think (it is just what I feel as the best for myself) that it is the best way to break a water fast with products I mentioned earlier. I have perfomed several long water fasts (the longest was 38 days), and breaking them with sweet juices like carrots I felt miserably. It is because of what is called "dosha Vatta" in Ayurveda, which is very much stimulated by fast. And when you are breaking a fast, you need to eat something that calms down Vatta and stimulates Agni ("fire of digestion"???). And I don't think it could destroy the cleaning effect of fast - it is just the first meal! I used natural, homemade yoghurt (from unpasteurized milk), not more than 100 g, eating it VERY slowly. The tomatoes (1 or 2 small) were not boiled, they were just scalded in order to peel them. And you have to choose tomatoes OR yoghurt, not both!
But it is just my experience, other people, of course, could feel different!

[lavendarJ]

I plan to dilute my juices when I start introducing them back into my system, this is day 15 of the MC for me. Really, I guess I should call it a MC/water fast because some days, I honestly haven't felt like squeezing lemons and just drink water because I've been on the run a lot with work and volunteering. I plan to be finished with this fast at the end of the month and transition to raw in May if my body is willing to go that long.