My 40 Day Fast: My Post Fast Goals

When I attended the Hippocrates Health Institute 3 week retreat back in 2008, one of the things that was encouraged was regular fasting as a way to maintain optimal health. The goal was not so much to wait and do really long fasts, but to have a regular routine of fasting to provide the body the break it needed to regulate itself.

So, they recommended a liquid day every single week. Their practice at the center was to do so every Wednesday. In fact, Brian Clement, the Director of Hippocrates in West Palm Beach, Florida, mentioned that in the 30+ years he had lived this way, he had missed this weekly liquid day only a handful of times. That’s impressive!

One of the things I love about Scriptures and Biblical history is that without the need to debate doctrine, I think it is easy to agree that many holidays and events were based on the agricultural society’s need to follow the pattern of nature. The Christian season of Lent is a good example. In fourth and fifth century agricultural societies, when the Christian Season of Lent is first mentioned in historical context, winter crops were often scarce. So a period of fasting may have been a spiritual response to a physical need.

So, fast forward to modern practice. Catholics practice lent for 40 days prior to Easter. During this time, they exclude certain foods from their diet as a way of honoring their religious practice. I am not a practicing Catholic and yet I like the idea of a period of time where I am focused on a mental awareness of my lifestyle and diet in relationship to food, emotion and myself. Better said, I like a period of time where I very consciously chose to exclude certain foods, practices, emotions, etc in an effort to renew myself. So, in this spirit, I plan to fast every year during the period of lent as a spiritual exercise and as a renewal of the vows I made to myself and Body Temple thanks to my 40 Day Fast.

Having read over 350 books in the alternative / holistic health fields, I know via consensus that regular fasting is a good thing for the body. Usually, the talk mentions fasting for about a week, once per season. This makes sense.

Think about this metaphor. Imagine how most people treat their cars. We all know that our cars have filters and use oil for lubrication and delivery of vital system components. We take the time to take the car to the car dealer and change the filters and oil regularly. Why? Because if we don’t, the car will be sluggish, run slowly, have hiccups, burp and generally be in a state of malaise. Do you see where I am going with this?

So, doesn’t it make sense that we should treat our body as good as, if not highly superior to, our cars? Our blood is the oil and our liver, kidney, skin and colon are our filters. We can “change” our oil and filters via cleansing, fasting and large infusions of green food.

In light of this, my overall annual plan is this:

Weekly                  One liquid day per week

Monthly                  2-3 liquid days in a row, once monthly

Quarterly                  7-10 days as a seasonal detox

Annually                  40 Days during lent

My first liquid weekly day will be Wednesday, June 23^rd. Will you join me in doing Green smoothies for an entire day?

***** Coming up Next: A Diary of What I consumed, Sticking with it Under Stressful Conditions and The Recommended Book of the Week!

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