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Coming off of a fast is just as important as how one prepares for and maintains the fast. 40 Days is a long Fast. And so I knew in advance that I would take 3-5 days to “Break the Fast”.
After 40 days of all liquid, I wanted to introduce solids to my system slowly. My game plan was:
Day 1 Post 40 Day Fast: Chew a small amount of Watermelon
Day 2 Post 40 Day Fast: Have some fruit for 2 meals
Day 3 Post 40 Day Fast: Introduce a Salad
Day 4 Post 40 Day Fast: Have 2 Salad meals
Day 5 Post 40 Day Fast: Pretty much back to “Regular”.
I followed the plan I had outlined for myself. What I am finding today on Day 6 Post Fast is that my body and I are redefining what “regular diet” means to me.
Prior to my fast, I consumed juice most mornings as a way to start my day and “Broke the fast” of the night usually at lunchtime. That part remains the same so far. I also, usually had a lot of smoothies throughout the week but not necessarily every single day. That has definitely changed. I want them every day now and more than just one per day.
My desire for solid foods has decreased significantly as has the portion size that I desire. This is not an unusual or unexpected result of a fast. As mentioned previously, I have personally done many fasts but have only fasted for a maximum of 9 days at a time. 40 days was uncharted territory for me.
Experts say it takes 21 days to start a new habit. On my previous fasts, I would usually take a few weeks to get back to my regular diet and it was always back to regular, which for me, in retrospect, was not the ideal I aspire towards now.
40 days is almost twice the time it takes to develop a new habit, so I am confident that the parts of my lifestyle that I wanted to tweak, have been tweaked.
I am amazed at how I feel in regards to emotional attachments to food, in relation to the amount of food I desire, the type of food I desire and more.
Emotionally, so far, I do not feel a need to eat carbs when I am upset. It’s not that this was a given for me before but I learned during my 40 days that it was a tool I used in the past on occasion. That didn’t make it good or bad. It’s just that some tools are life affirming and others are not. Eating too many carbs, even if “healthy” carbs, is still too many carbs. As a result of this fast, I have become unattached to them. I just don’t desire them in the same way I did before.
In terms of the amount of food I desire. It has decreased dramatically. Again, this is not an unexpected outcome. What makes this different is I feel something very different about my relationship to food. I can’t quite put my finger on it in a way that I can describe it to you sufficiently. This I can say, I decided to do this long fast as a Rite of Passage for my Spiritual Pursuits. What has happened additionally is that it seems to have also been a Rite of Passage in terms of my physical body as well. My entire system has been “rebooted” in a way that feels like I have gone “Back to the Garden”. I feel like a newborn who understands the signals and instincts that her body is sending her. I feel in touch, in tune, in communication … clear communication with myself physically. I do live in my Body Temple and I honor it, love it, appreciate it and want to worship it in a way that I only understood intellectually before. More to come on this for sure!
As to the type of food I desire. I have been Vegan for over 8 years. Most of the time, I was High Raw Vegan. I have learned so much in this time. It is a process. When I first became Vegan, I thought I needed Tofu for protein. So there was too much Soy in my diet. Then I really went into Raw Foods and had too many nuts, fats and carbs in my diet. Then as I evolved, I learned about Sprouts, wheatgrass and superfoods. It has been a journey and a growth process. At each step, I made the best choices I knew how to make based on what I knew at the time. So, now I make more informed choices because I know more. The same result has occurred as a result of this fast. I have made an evolutionary leap in my lifestyle. And I do mean evolutionary. More on this will come. What I can say is that I feel something deep and profound. And I am patient and at peace with it revealing itself to me in due time.
I am excited to see where this journey leads me. And I feel excited to embark on my next adventure, which is to attend the “Spiritual Fasting” retreat thru Gabriel Cousens’ Tree of Life center in Patagonia, Arizona.
This is a great lead in to my next blog post where I will discuss my post fast goals. Have an awesome day!
Remember, a Green Smoothie a day, keeps the Doctor away!
***** Coming up Next: My Post Fast Goals, A Diary of What I Consumed, Sticking with it Under Stressful Conditions and The Recommended Book of the Week!
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