My 48-Hour Liquid Fast

Posted June 12, 2012

 

I have been wanting to do an all liquid cleanse for quite a while now, and now that I am not bound by the strict eating schedule of Gerson Therapy I have had the chance to do it. As those of you who are familiar with Gerson know, it is two years of constant eating and drinking. While this is a powerful healing regime, I felt like my system could do with a bit of a break. Hence, the liquid fast.

Why do a liquid fast?

Digestion takes up so much of our body’s energy. As soon as we eat something, energy is diverted away from other areas of our body and rushes to our digestive system to get to work breaking down and digesting what we’ve just eaten. The amount of energy that is needed depends on how difficult or easy the item of food is to digest. For instance, fruits and veggies are easy to digest, whole grains and nuts are a little harder, and meat is super hard (it takes about three days to be properly broken down and pass through).

When we are constantly feeding ourselves, our bodies are constantly in digestion mode and aren’t able to do other jobs like healing, repairing and rejuvenating. This is one of the reasons why we do so much healing in our sleep – we aren’t eating. It’s also why it’s a good idea to eat lighter in the evening.

 

Fun fact: Did you know that if you had a big meal and then did exercise straight after, the food you just ate would not be properly digested? This is because the energy would then be diverted to your arms and legs and away from your digestive system. The food would remain in your system, waiting to be broken down, and getting all funky in the mean time.

The point of the story is that when our bodies aren’t busy digesting, they can get to work on other important tasks like healing. So, this is why I decided to give my system a break and do a liquid fast.

Here’s what my 48 hours of nothing but liquid included:

+ First thing in the morning I drank a glass of water followed by a cup of water with lemon juice.

 

It’s important to add lemon juice to warm water, not boiling, as the boiling water will kill the vitamin C.

+ Six juices each day.

 

I had three green, two carrot and apple and one plain carrot. My green juice includes:

A fistful of kale
A stalk of silverbeet
A fistful of Cos lettuce
¼ green capsicum
3 red cabbage leaves
1 green apple

+ Two green smoothies each day

 

My green smoothies include:

2 leaves of Cos lettuce
3 stalks of kale
1 frozen banana
A handful of blueberries or goji berries
1 cup coconut water
1 tsp spirulina
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp bee pollen
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp hemp seeds
Juice of 1 small lime

+ A glass of coconut water with a teaspoon of spirulina.

 

I drank this as an energy drink after my Bikram yoga class.

+ Two bowls of soup each day.

 

I had plain Hippocrates soup for lunch, and then for dinner I jazzed it up a bit by adding curry powder, cumin and blended roast pumpkin and coconut milk.

+ 1 bowl of chia pudding each day.

 

Even on a cleanse, I had to have dessert. This one went like this:

2 tbs chia seeds
1/2 cup coconut water (or nut milk)
1 tbs cacao powder
1 tsp cacao nibs
1 tsp raw honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp shredded coconut
1 tsp almond butter
A handful of blueberries

1. Combine chia seeds and coconut water and stir well. Let it sit for about 10 minutes while the seeds soak up the water, stirring a few times to avoid clumping.

2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

3. Allow the mixture to sit and thicken to your desired consistency.

 

How I felt during and after the cleanse

I experienced a strange feeling in my tummy while I was doing this cleanse: slight hunger. After feeling pretty well stuffed for two whole years on Gerson Therapy, it was a nice change. I didn’t feel like hoeing into a big meal though. When my 48-hours was up, I felt lighter than usual and the skin on my face looks a little plumper from all of the hydration. I think this is definitely something I am going to do every couple of months.

 

This is quite a gentle cleanse compared to many others. I chose to include smoothies, soup and chia pudding in mine instead of just juice and water because this is what felt right for me. And I decided to only do two days. In my e-book, The Wellness Warrior Starter Kit + 10 Day Cleanse, I outline how to do a 10-day cleanse (obviously). My friends Joe Cross and Jason Vale have more hard-core versions that include nothing but juice and last for much longer (like, up to 90 days!). I have also read other plans that involve water fasting. I don’t know a whole lot about the safety of that, but I don’t think I would be a very nice person if I attempted a water fast.

Important bits to know

+ Just because you’re not eating solid food does not mean you get to skimp on nutrients. I made sure that I crammed a whole heap of veggies and superfoods into my 48 hours so that my body was still flooded with goodness.

+ I allowed myself more resting and sleeping while I was on the fast. I wanted to make sure I was giving my body what it needed to make the most of the healing period.

+ When you finish up a cleanse or fast it is important to ease out of it slowly. This doesn’t really apply to me because my diet is already so clean, but if you eat meat or foods that you know are tough on the digestive system, I recommend gradually working them back in.

+ If your body is pretty toxic, you may experience detox symptoms in the form of headaches, lethargy, and nausea. You can give the process a little nudge by eliminating toxins with things like dry body brushing and coffee enemas.

+ You will wee a lot. It’s a great idea to stock up on toilet paper.

Have you ever done a liquid fast/cleanse? How did you feel after? Does this sound like something you would like to try?

 

Positive affirmation for the day: I am attracting only good experiences into my life.

 

 

 

MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR PLATE: HOW TO END YOUR TORTURED RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD.

HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR COPY OF MY NEW E-BOOK YET? CLICK HERE TO READ WHY THIS BOOK WILL PUT AND END TO THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF DEPRIVATION, BINGING, AND GUILT FOREVER.

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