Fasting for a Cure: Day #6 - BREAK-FAST!

The word breakfast is interesting because it's what we do when we eat in the morning. We break the fast that was our sleep. In this case, however, the breakfast I am referring to is the one that happened last night after 5 days without eating and some personal debating.

I was laying on the couch and my hands and feet, which have been abnormally cold for days, started to go numb. The sensation was making its way up my arms and legs and there was some slight discoloration taking place. I was also completely out of energy. I am talking totally laid out with no energy to even talk. My mood was going out of control. Happy, helpless, angry, annoyed, depressed, excited, anxious...changing every 2 minutes while I laid on the couch totally burned out. I did some research and realized I was showing signs of malnutrition. Your body stops circulating to your extremities first to conserve energy hence the cold/numb hands and feet. So, after thinking over the consequences of having to start the detox over and let down all of my loyal readers, I decided to listen to my body and give it some calories and protein. I did try to drink a juice first to fix things and there was little to no effect so I proceeded to eat 2 pieces of whole wheat toast covered in peanut butter and a raw cucumber. My wife was encouraging me by saying, "You did really well hunny and I am proud of you." I told her that I preferred to loathe myself for the rest of the night because that's how I deal with failure. I need to soak it in and expose myself to the grief of an unsuccessful attempt so that I can use it to motivate myself in the future. Otherwise the failure is a waste.

I am spending the day working in solid foods like grains, nuts and solid veggies. I am planning to stick to a mostly vegan diet until I can take another crack at this. Now that I have slept on it I realize a few things. So where did I go wrong?

Well, for starters, a juice fast is an opportunity to take it easy and consume very few calories with no fat. Once your body burns off what is in your intestinal tracks, it burns your stored fat supplies for energy and in doing so it releases the toxins stored in those fats and BOOM...you have detox. I have no doubt that I was in this fat burning stage for at least 48 hours and I was feeling great. What I wasn't doing was staying hydrated, which is crucial in flushing out the released toxins. I was also playing racquetball every day. I was doing it to keep myself busy and keep my mind off of eating. My intentions in doing it were good but you can't support a a daily dose of a hyper-cardio sport on a juice fast...I know this now. I will stick to knitting and reading next time. I know that mentally I was there but strategically I might have been lacking. I ignored malnutrition for a good 24 hours because my mind was so strong on this but I ignored science by not doing more specific calculations of what nutrients to consume and what my daily portions should have been. I had a pretty good idea and I was mixing up my veggie doses pretty well but I think I need to write out some of these recipes and make sure I am achieving my marks.

So, the fast is over for now. I intend to keep this blog and update it whenever the need strikes me as I search for a diet that will cure my psoriasis. I am also planning another juice fast that my wife wants to do with me when she is done nursing our youngest child. I know it has been a short fast but I learned some awesome recipes and I plan to keep juicing in my daily routine. My family likes the pineapple, carrot, banana, grape juice that I make in the morning and it's a real eye opener. The recipe is listed below. Try it! I still have not had coffee, meat, cigarettes, or alcohol in almost a week and I plan to keep it this way while I rethink my diet. I am committed to the no smoking thing. If this fast taught me anything it is that cigarettes are the LEAST of my needs. For you smokers out there, quit eating for 5 days. You will laugh at how mild your addiction is compared to a food addiction.

Island Eye Opener
1/4 of a Pineapple (with skin)
2 Oranges (peeled)
4-5 Medium Sized Carrots
1 Cup of washed grapes
1 Banana
 *Juice carrots, grapes, oranges and pineapple (in that order) and pour into blender. add banana and liquify. share with your family. enjoy!*

Again, I plan to use this blog as my outlet as I search for a cure for psoriasis so stay tuned. I just need to think things over. Come up with a new game plan. IT'S HALF TIME AMERICA!