Lemon Fast

Part of the cleansing process is a fast once a month. Last month I did the minimum five days on grapes (juice). This month it´s a lemon fast, minimum one day to a maximum of ten days.

The lemon fast, often times referred to as "The Master Cleanse," consists of approximately:
two ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice,
a half teaspoon of maple syrup,
a pinch of cayenne pepper, in
ten ounces of water.

I felt pretty good at the end, and could have gone on. However, I´m traveling back west in a few days and need a bit of time to transition to solid food, so Sunday afternoon I wrapped it up.

Below is a summary of how the week went.

Tuesday,  12/15/09    
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 2 glasses of Bio Flow.
 Energy levels are down somewhat, but not overly tired.


 Wednesday  12/16/09    
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 2 glasses of Bio Flow.
 Energy levels are better today.

A surge of energy late at night. Turned in about midnight, much later than usual.


 Thursday,  12/17/09   
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 2 glasses of Bio Flow.
 Slept in this morning. 

Did pretty OK until supper time. The smell of chicken cooking in the kitchen was particularly tough. Feeling pretty tired this evening.

They say Day 3 is the toughest. Will be interesting to see how tomorrow goes.


Friday,  12/18/09
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 1 glass of Bio Flow.
 Up early this morning. Feel a bit more energized today.

 Did a fair bit of walking this afternoon. There were a few times today at the mall, where it was tough to watch people eating or drinking coffee.

This evening I got caught up in the computer and ended up doing five hours straight of photo editing. Although I went to bed way too late tonight, I feel pretty good. 


Saturday,  12/19/09
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 2 glasses of Bio Flow.
 Slept in, but am feeling tired. 

I over did it last night and I´m paying for it today. I feel like I have no energy whatsoever. I realize now that one can´t overdue it when on a fast. I might get away with it on a regular day, but not on a fast.

Just hanging in. I´m sure tomorrow I'll be better.


Sunday,  12/20/09
Three glasses of Lemon Juice plus 2 glasses of Bio Flow.
Woke up feeling much better this morning.

This afternoon I had a bowel movement that looked like some of the pictures one sees in some colon cleansing ads. Should have taken a picture to show you, but flushed it before I thought of it. (Lucky you!)
This afternoon I had a fruit smoothie. Tasted pretty good!


Review
The thing I noticed most about this fast was the overall lack of energy and how it makes it difficult to think as I usually do. I find myself less caught up in the outside world. I feel more aware of my body and my immediate surroundings. I´m also aware of the absence of the usual mental chatter. There´s a stronger sense of silence. Overall, I feel more in the moment.

I now know first hand why fasting is such a basic part of most spiritual traditions. The lack of energy makes it more difficult to maintain one´s outward directed energy. The fasting physically forces us to stop looking outside of ourselves, and lo, and behold, we become more aware of our inner world. It was there all along of course. It's just that now that the mental chatter has subsided, we can better hear the small, still, voice that resides in our inmost being. 

Who knows what it might have to say?

Grape Fast -Conclusion

Yesterday, was the low point of my journey so far. Amazingly, today, Monday, November the 23rd, it´s as if it never happened. I feel surprisingly well.

It´s also the end of my grape fast. Five days in all.

Thursday the 19th, the first day of my grape fast, I  woke up feeling pretty strong physically and emotionally. After a few weeks of being perpetually hungry, I was surprised at how my craving for food was pretty much gone. It seemed like a good time to go on a fast.

The naturopath said I could eat as many grapes as I wanted; Dr. Jensen, in his book, "Bowel Care," suggests 4 pounds a day. I started with a couple of pounds and found it to be sufficient.

Friday, Saturday and the first half of Sunday went well and I was able to eat 4 pounds each day. Today, however, I have reached my fill of grapes and was only able to eat about 2 pounds. It´s clear that this is the last day for me this time around. Although they are one of my favorite fruits, I don´t even want to see grapes for the next while.

Some people go for weeks even months on just grapes. I don´t know how they do it.

Grape Fast -Start

We decided that Thursday would be the start of our grape juice fast. (Grapes speed up the cleansing process.) Tonight, we stopped in at the wholesalers where a Susie has a contact who provides her with organic food at wholesale prices. The catch is we have to buy it bulk quantities. Nott a problem today, however, because we're going to need a bunch of them.

The good news is that this is the last day for grapes until March sometime; the bad news is that the grapes are not in the greatest shape. I stay in the back and pick out the best four cases (12 bags/case) I can find while Susie goes out front to pay. She's gets them for a rock bottom $20 for about 80 pounds of organic grapes. We feel delighted with the great deal. At least until we get home.

It turns out there's a bit of mold in every bag. Not a lot and if you were eating a handful here and there not a problem. Just wash and dry. Thing is we're going to be eating  about 4  pounds a day. With that kind of quantity there's no way we can be eating the grapes without a thorough cleaning.

Out comes the fruit and vegetable soap. Rinse. Wipe down each grape and inspect for bits of mold, etc. Cut off the offending bits. Bag and refrigerate.

Take my word for it.  Cleaning 80 pounds of grapes one at a time is a monumental job! I love grapes, but I must say I was sick and tired of looking at them, and hadn't even started eating them yet!