★ Tonight…I FAST / Cleanse

The concept of fasting was common knowledge to me as a small child when my Dad told tales of ancient masters who fasted for over a month as a cleansing process and to elevate themselves spiritually. I’ve long wanted to undertake this and made a promise to myself that my 23rd year on this world would be full of challenges, new adventures and full of big chances. So far, there have been some crazy adventures and risks that I haven’t even shared on Twitter but the cleanse is something I wanted to do this year.

Why not earlier in my life? Well, my body and mind have been developing rapidly up to this age. I think by the time you’re in your mid 20s, things start to settle in, metabolism slows and you stop paying attention to what is popular on TV and on the radio. Additionally, I have 23 years of toxins that have built up over time that must be pushed out. My goal is to do a 5 to 10 day fast once a year in the fall. It’s a kick-start and awakening. The process releases toxins, opens your mind and also provides a sense of accomplishment if you make it through the entire fast.

According to Wikidedia, Fasting is defined as:

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting. Fasting practices may preclude sexual activity as well as food, in addition to refraining from eating certain types or groups of foods; for example, one might refrain from eating meat. A complete fast in its traditional definition is abstinence of all food and liquids.

However, where it applies to Buddhism, here is a brief description of the origins and goals of fasting:

Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly do not eat each day after the noon meal [11]. This is not considered a fast but rather a disciplined regimen aiding in meditation and good health.

“Once when the Buddha was touring in the region of Kasi together with a large Sangha of monks he addressed them saying: ‘I, monks, do not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening I, monks, am aware of good health and of being without illness and of buoyancy and strength and living in comfort. Come, do you too, monks, not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening you too, monks, will be aware of good health and….. and living in comfort.’ ” (Kitagiri Sutta-Majjhima Nikaya)

I practice the path of Buddhism but I don’t actively attend services or read the teachings of The Buddha religiously. I believe in following the right path is more important than worshiping a man who was simply pointing the right direction.

My reason for this is pretty clear. Practice discipline, remove toxins and regain full awareness of my body as it undergoes pain, hunger and the slow shut down of my organs. Yes I’m prepared.

Since this is my first fasting, it was important to follow strict steps and follow a program that is more safe than risky. I chose to use the company, “as seen on TechCrunch” known as BluePrintCleanse. The juice program can be ordered in 1, 3 or 5 day quantities and it costs $90 a day. I know for a fact your mouth just dropped as you read that. Yeah so I’m paying nearly $500 before shipping to fast for 5 days. You’d think that fasting would be cheaper cause I’m not eating any food. Well, not with the BluePrintCleanse system but it comes highly recommended by a few friends.

Here is the email they sent me on the eve before my juice shipment arrived:

Hello Cleanser!

By now, you have probably made it through your first juice and asked yourself at least once why you decided to embark on this somewhat strange and green journey. The answer lies ahead – your body will thank you at the end of it all!

As you have already been advised, this cleanse is what you make it. The closer you stick to it, the better the results will be, but hey, you get props for even getting this far, so we want your experience to be as enjoyable as possible.

Your juices are numbered and you should follow the order we’ve set up for you, for easy digestion and maximum absorption of nutrients. Each bottle lists the ingredients that the juice contains.

INSTRUCTIONS:

When you begin on your first day start off with some water or water with lemon. Hot is best, but room temperature is just fine too. This is to wake up your system and get things moving. From there, drink your juices in their numbered order as often as you need to. Because we’re not all operating on the same schedule, a good rule of thumb, as far as when to drink (the juice), is to wait at least one hour between drinks and to finish the last beverage at least two hours before you sleep. Consuming anything before or close to bedtime does not allow your insides proper rest.

Throughout the day, keep flushing your system – drink water, green tea (regular or decaf) and herbal teas, as much as you like. Just keep it coming! If you notice you are having… trouble… (which is totally natural, as you’re not taking in any fiber while on green juices), some flax seed oil added to the juices, an herbal supplement, or a colonic is an excellent way to keep things moving. (See our website for laxative and non-laxative suggestions under “how” and “hydrate & eliminate”).

And if you’re feeling like you’ve just GOT to chew something, we can offer a small list of approved methods, a cheat sheet (below), if you will: a couple of celery stalks, some cucumber slices, a mashed avocado (add lemon!), some warm (low-sodium!) vegetable broth. The main thing to avoid is extra acid like vinegar or Tabasco, or salt – these will interrupt your digestion and make you feel … funny. And not funny ha-ha.

Other tips for the full benefit of detoxification:

1. Try getting a massage to help those toxins move on through
2. Exfoliate! Scrub away dead cells and reveal your new healthy skin
3. Colonic hydrotherapy – The Full Monty! If you’re up for it, there is no better time to do this than after you finish your cleanse.

Cheater-Cheater-eating-during-your-cleanse-eater:

While we recommend you abstain from food during your cleanse, we realize you can’t always resist temptation; so if you’re going to do it, at least be safe.

• a few celery stalks
• a quarter of an avocado
• a couple slices of cucumber
• dilute any drink with water
• warm vegetable broth (low sodium)
• a half cup of black coffee (no sugar/milk … unless it’s our nut milk!)
• drink half of the cashew nut milk in the a.m
• add a pinch of celtic sea salt to any drink for energy
• Please feel free to send questions along and we’ll try to help you as best we can. And that’s about it! You’ll receive a last day email explaining how best to break your cleanse once you’re finished. Enjoy your cleanse!

All the best!

— Blueprint Cleanse

I ordered the 3 day system BUT I’ll be drinking half of the suggested juice content and doing a water fast half of the time. So instead of 3 days of juice which I think will be too easy, I’ll be doing one day of juice and one day of water back and forth. What’s a water fast? This site has a description that I’ve copied below.

Q. What is the difference between water fasting and juice fasting?

A. During a water fast, only water is consumed. During a juice fast, any variety of fruit and vegetable juices are consumed.

People detoxify and heal more quickly with a water fast than with a juice fast. This is because with a water fast, your digestive passageway and organs are able to rest completely, allowing for all of your energy to be used for cleansing and repair of damaged tissues. With a juice fast or a cleansing diet of fruits and vegetables, your body must use energy to digest nutrients, leaving less available energy for detoxification and healing. When a person’s health condition is related to a weak or damaged digestive system, recovery may depend on fully resting the digestive passageway and organs through water fasting.

Another significant difference is that more fat tissue is burned during a water fast, as your body must rely exclusively on fat reserves to supply its energy needs after the first 1-3 days of water fasting. Your body stores the bulk of incoming toxins in your fat reserves. As these reserves are burned for energy during a fast, any stored toxins will be released into your circulation, to be eliminated through various eliminative channels like your urine and respiratory tract. This mechanism of detoxification also occurs with juice fasting, but at a slower pace.

All of this considered, both types of fasting can be used with effectiveness, depending on your circumstances and goals. If your situation and goals include wanting or needing to make significant gains in your health in a short period of time, water fasting may be the best route. If a person has a long history of taking extremely toxic drugs like certain chemotherapeutic agents, an intense period of detoxification through water fasting can cause damage to the kidneys. In this type of circumstance, juice fasting or a simple diet of organic vegetables and fruits may be the best first step to recovery.

Finally, a water fast is most effective when you are able to get a lot of physical and emotional rest. If your life circumstances don’t allow this, juice fasting is a better choice.

My goal is to do a 5 day fast but if on day 5 I feel no pain and am holding up great I’ll keep going for a few more days. This will be a fun experiment that I’m sure will result in a ton of complaining over Twitter :)