Overall day 2 (Wednesday) went pretty well. Making dinner for my kids was the hardest part again because I made a homemade pizza crust, topped with leftover spaghetti sauce and cheese (the kids requested pizza); and it smelled SO good! I decided I was going to semi-break my fast with a smoothie recipe. Unfortunately the smoothie was AWFUL. I have decided that I will keep avocados in my guacamole or in my salads...I just did not like the taste of it in the smoothie with the other ingredients. I did manage to drink about 8oz of it, so I wasn't hungry anymore, kept drinking water, and decided I would officially break my fast in the morning with a delicious Gala apple that was in the fridge with my name on it.
My body had other plans. I had wondered if/when I would experience any of the effects of detoxing that I had read about, because I hadn't yet at that point. Around 3:30 Thursday morning they showed up. Thank goodness it was not a daycare day for me yesterday! I woke up having to pee, and felt a bit dry mouthed and nauseous. I drank some water and crawled back into bed...for about three minutes. Then I was up rushing to the bathroom to throw up. Of course my stomach was empty except for water and bile. I decided to grab my pillow and a book and campout on the couch, so I wouldn't disturb my hubby since he had to get up early for work. I read for a while and then experienced dry heaves. Then I decided I needed to eat so I cut up my apple, grabbed another glass of water and peacefully read my book. I slowly ate about half of my apple and was feeling ok, for a while. Then I was back to what I thought would be throwing up again - except it turned out to be just dry heaves. I was shocked that my apple stayed down; could my stomach really have digested it that quickly?? After that I fell asleep reading, woke up, ate the rest of my apples, fell asleep again, then woke up shortly before the kids got up.
After I fed the kids breakfast, I treated myself to a banana and peanut butter. The nausea had passed, so I was feeling pretty good - just a bit tired from being up so early. I kept the water flowing, took a hot shower hoping to sweat toxins out, and had a light lunch of spinach and sliced cucumbers with a bit of natural dressing. By afternoon I was hungry again, so I took a break from playing with the kids and pulled out some frozen black beans (I cook dry beans then freeze them), red peppers, garlic, and vegetable pulp saved from juicing. I simmered it up and had a nice soup.
Soon it was dinner time. My daughter wanted my Almond Cinnamon pancakes (a recipe I made up...that I should post) so I decided to make those (although I didn't plan to eat any), eggs, and smoothies. The pancake recipe was altered a bit when my son accidentally tipped the bowl before I had added my dry ingredients. Oops! So I guesstimated on my measurements based on what was left in the bowl (too much left to just start over). After I made a couple griddles worth I made the mistake of trying one. I haven't been eating many bread/baked items lately so I thought I'd just try a little one to make sure they were ok ...within about five minutes I had developed a cough, and my throat was feeling a bit swollen/tight. I proceeded with dinner, and decided not to eat any more pancakes. Turns out nobody else wanted eggs, so I fried one up for myself in a little grapeseed oil, with a bit of black pepper on top. The smoothie was strawberries, bananas, coconut, and soymilk. I didn't want to eat anything too 'heavy', but I wanted some protein to get me through the night. And, the smoothie was quite a treat after the previous nights recipe fail!
My hubby got the kids ready for bed while I went for a nice 20 minute bike ride, and then I read for a bit and then went to bed early.
This morning my cough is horrible, and somewhat "productive", and my throat is still tight. It had to be something from the pancakes because I was feeling pretty good before I ate one last night. Now that I KNOW this, I know that I need to be more careful when reintroducing foods after a fast. I had planned to just stick with fruits/veggies/and the egg for the day (no dairy or grains)...but I made a mistake which turned out to be a good thing because now I know that one of those ingredients does not agree with me and is causing this reaction. Now I just need to figure it out. Was it the milk? almonds? whole wheat flour? egg (in which case I could have doubled my trouble by eating a whole egg separately)? cinnamon? sugar? leavening agents?
I feel like I should fast again because I need to clear out whatever is upsetting my body! Today I plan to stick to fruits and vegetables, fresh juice, and lots of water. I will juice fast tomorrow if I need to. Once I am free from this reaction, then I will introduce those ingredients one at a time to figure this out. I am guessing it is the milk or wheat. Has anyone else that has juice fasted experienced something similar?
Overall, this has been a good 'experiment' so far, and I plan to juice fast occasionally and make it a regular part of my life. Back to my day already in progress, full of activity!
Last year I did a water fast; only consuming water. I did a ton of research on the matter and it was not easy. I ended up going about 20 days. After 3-4 days I felt unreal. So good. I couldnt workout, but I went for long walks with my heavy camera bag with no issues. One thing I learned is that doing juice fasts for a day here or there can cause a lot of damage. Your body doesnt have the chance to cleanse.. maybe do some research if you havent and talk with a holistic nutritionist about it. they are very knowledgable! Best of luck!
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