I have just completed my last paper of the semester - ahead of time even!, and I am two classes away from a much-needed break. I am 5 days away from my first meal (maybe 4 days) and I am pretty excited. 26 days only seems like a long time when you're in week two and three. The first week you're gung-ho and really committed. The second week, you're thinking "okay, one week down, and *how many* to go??" The third week, you're thinking "there are way too many barbeques in one week on one campus!" and "time seems to be moving so slooooooooowly." By the fourth week, you're feeling really good and starting to count down the hours.

I'm in the fourth week. I am amazed that time has flown this quickly. I can't say that I've dreamt of hummus, but close. I have grand plans to go raw and vegan this summer. I can't commit to 100% raw because I've never done it before and it's almost more extreme than juicing for a month. It takes a lot of education around recipes and acquiring knowledge about what, other than the raw fruits and vegetables you were juicing already, you can actually eat. I will compromise with vegan, because I don't want cheese and meat in my system this summer. I want to lighten up as we "enjoy" more 90 degree days like we've had this week. I hate feeling sluggish in already hot weather. I'm leaving the juicer out so that I remember to use it at least a few days a week for citrus and apple juices if nothing else. I prefer to eat my veggies whole.

One of the aspects of the fast that I love so much is influencing others by my example. I've got two guys on my floor at work that are avid runners - training for the Iron Man and everything, and because of my commitment to fasting and my not dying or seeming to be adversely affected by fasting, they're going to try it for a week themselves! That's a great compliment. That they're following *my* example. How cool. :) I have another follower too, but he's not allowed to start the fast quite yet. You know who you are! hehe

My counselor asked me about my "long-term plans" for losing weight and I almost chuckled. She's a Buddhist, so I thought that she might get the reasons for fasting ahead of most people. But alas, it seems not. And, given my fasting history, this is no "weight-loss scheme". I just enjoy the benefits of being sharper, clearer, more energetic and lighter in all regards. I do have long-term plans, I just thought it was funny that a counselor goes straight for the obvious. Ah, well.

I've been walking a different route to the metro these days and enjoying the deeply fragrant air and beautiful flowers. No matter the time, I always manage to stop and admire them and take pictures with my crappy camera phone. I will edit this post and upload them when I pull them off the phone. I need a real camera. It's time. Hear that, Santa? :)

Alright, I have a few minutes left to goof around online before going to my last individual assessment class. Tomorrow is the last law school proctoring night, Thursday is my last foundations class night and Friday starts party time! :-D

Pictures from the 'hood in spring...

It is now Friday and I have just had my "dinner" - a new juice that by the smell I hoped I could bottle and sell, but after drinking it, perhaps not. hehe My food business will have to continue to consist of hummus until I perfect more recipes. :)

1 large beefsteak tomato
3 stalks celery with tops
1 clove garlic
1 small bunch basil
1 wedge green pepper
1 small lemon

Sounds good, right? Like I said, smells great too. And, has a really nice aftertaste. I'm just not quite sure what happens in the middle. :) I think the lemon, though necessary for joints, is not a good match for this combination. I *really* miss garlic and basil, so that was a treat.

I had a great lunch from Juice Zone on the way to work today. A "Detox" blend consisting of parsley, celery, spinach and carrots and dessert which was a "Caribbean Breeze" - passion-orange-guava juice, mango sorbet, mangos and strawberries. Yum-O!

So I talked about day 9 and 10, and this is day 12. Yesterday and today were *gorgeous* - weather in the 70s with crystal clear blue sky. Much deserved from the rainy, chilly weather we've had lately. I am at the point in my fast where it is smooth sailing. I don't have overwhelming cravings, I don't have any hunger headaches, hunger pangs are at a minimum and I'm enjoying the noticeable weight loss. Water weight, sure, but loss nonetheless. :) Mostly, I'm just enjoying the lightness of being. 16 days to go and time is marching on.

I have a busy weekend ahead - spring cleaning at work tomorrow and then spring cleaning and inventory at Michal's tomorrow night and Sunday to hopefully get it ready for an "estate sale" - which will probably consist of TWO things that have been impossible to sell. An exquisite piano and a gorgeous sofa. There may be a few little things besides, but these are the only two pieces we're concerned about sending to a good home for a good price. :)

Next week, I have class as usual and I am proctoring evening exams at the law school for some extra money. Same the week after, and then a welcome break after semester's end. This month has been incredibly rewarding and it's only half over. Here's to the next two weeks!

Wow, that last post almost rivaled lengths that Michal turns out. Well done me! haha

Day 10 is rainy and chilly and makes me long for a fireplace.

I juiced for variety and quantity this morning and got pretty ambitious:

#1 - a vegetable/fruit concoction:

1 large cucumber
1 wedge of red cabbage
1 small lemon
1 green apple.

It had a pretty sharp flavor from the lemon, which helped retain the pretty cabbage color. The cucumber skin added the bitter greens flavor and the apple had a sharp, but sweet flavor. It had a surprisingly decent aftertaste. I think I need to add one more ingredient to balance the flavors better, but overall, not bad for throwing things together. The color, temperature and flavor kept all the way to work and until I had "lunch". Lemons are magic.

#2 - simple fruit

A post from last night on my LJ....here's to cross-posting! :)
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So the fasting experience is going well. Going well in that I am now at the end of day 9 and I am 1/3 of the way through. It may not seem like much, but it's good. I dropped the master cleanse part of the fast after day 2 because I ran out of lemons and the money to replace them. hehe

Since then, I've had water, juice and tea and like every fast I've done, I seem to never ingest that much. Never as much as I advise others to consume, that's for sure. I'm not sure why. Maybe I just can't carry that much heavy liquid around with me everywhere (since I don't have a car) and maybe I just don't have good "eating time" habits already, so even if I'm on a fast, I "eat" late breakfasts and lunches. By the time I get home, I usually don't want anything even if I was hungry all the way home. I have had a coming-and-going cloud of hunger headache for the past 9 days, but nothing acute enough to want to take an aspirin for. My body is adjusting pretty well. Because I went from "all" to "nothing" - eating to not - I can really tell the difference in how my body feels.

As I was going through the day yesterday, I was thinking of benefits to the fast and as my co-workers were ordering Chinese food, I was thinking of drawbacks. Mean people! But, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right? :)

So, here they are as I've experienced them in this fast thus far.

Benefits/Pros

• Not spending as much money - especially with those last-minute or snack purchases
• Not dropping a ton of money to go out for dinner and drinks with friends
• I feel lighter, less encumbered,
• My joints don't hurt
• I'm less out of breath
• My sleep is deeper and more satisfying
• My face and eyes are brighter
• I am losing water weight and I can tell because my clothes are looser and my face is a bit thinner
• I don't spend my day planning around food
• I get to do something other people are afraid of doing - and the shock and awe factor feeds my ego. hehe
• I get to disseminate information and educate people about fasting
• My mind is more alert
• I am more clear in my responses
• My fog of the past 6 months or so has lifted
• My refrigerator is full of healthy food
• Dreaming of my "break fast" meal is fun
• I have more time to catch up on missed tv -and- schoolwork
• I have more time to post on LJ! hehe
• Planning my dietary changes post-fast is renewing my commitment to eating more healthfully
• My kitchen is staying clean because I'm not cooking!
• My taste buds are getting cleaned out and I can detect subtle nuances of flavor much easier
• I'm not sure if I'm cheating or not, but I'm enjoying a lot of kombucha on this fast thus far
• It gets easier with time and with busy-ness
• I have a huge reward when all of this is done, so I can't wait for that
• Dreaming about the future increases seratonin :)

Let's see...for the drawbacks:

• I am hungry and want to eat something a lot of the time (hummus? hummus can you hear me?) :)
• Co-workers who bring food in, cook or order food that I can smell - bad, bad people!
• People who comment constantly on my fasting in a worrisome way and need constant reassurance that I'm okay
• People who forget from day to day that I'm on the fast and invite me out to lunch or ask if I want candy, etc...
• The juicer sounds like a tank...and that's normal for this juicer
• Doing the fast while in grad school has it's own challenges - people bringing food to class, late classes, etc...
• I'm not exercising on this fast yet, except the normal walking, so I need to get on that
• The local, organic produce seems to be a bit low this time of year, which was unexpected
• R.W. Knudsen's Un-Tomato Juice - not that good. just fyi.
• 19 more days to go. tick tock, tick tock

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Well, that's all I can think of for drawbacks at this point, and that's good! hehe I was really committed to this fast because it's been about 18 months since my last one, and it was a 31-day fast mid-July to mid-August. That was a pretty landmark fast because I gave up three of my vices. Two for good and one for a good long while. Detoxification fasts are great for ridding yourself of addicting food/drink/oral behaviors because you're basically re-setting your system with good wholesome "food" and distilled water, along with colon cleansers or some other type of additional flushing method. So, that summer, I gave up smoking, my daily iced venti quad espresso over ice, daily scones and probably other food-related items I can't remember. I never picked up another pack of cigs after the night before the fast and I haven't looked back since. I know other people have had seriously hard times quitting, but I didn't. It was there one day and gone the next with barely a thought. The espresso went the same way and I didn't even have regular coffee for months after the fast. Now when I have it, it's a few times a month take it or leave it. The scones didn't sneak back in for a year or more. On an earlier fast I did, maybe around 2005, I stopped eating white pasta and immediately switched to whole wheat or other grain flour pastas. It's again, an example of one day here, another gone. I don't remember the last time I visited a McDonald's, Burger King, or even these days, Taco Bell. So, when people question, is this really possible, it most certainly is.

I still have a weight problem because I still like cheese and other rich food, I don't have a regular exercise regimen and I like larger portions. But with each fast, I lose more of my "food baggage" and it loses its hold on me little by little. Fasting, lets me "let go of the ties that bind". I also realize it's a method of controlling my intake because moderation when it comes to consumption is difficult for me. To only have one of something or a small portion of something and call it "satisfying" is difficult. I don't binge, but I don't compensate for my daily eating activities with a healthy workout either. I know I'm not alone out there and I think it's a lot in the society we grew up in - we want more, more and more and we don't want to pay for it. Of everything, not just food. We never think that those lifestyle decisions can hurt us in the moment, but they get built up over time and then whammo, we look around and our whole sense of self is different as a result. Hard to remedy sometimes, but certainly not impossible.

My plan coming off this fast will be to eat mostly raw food this summer and transition into a vegan/macrobiotic diet through the fall and winter and see what I've been able to accomplish. Certainly from my training in the area of nutrition and health, I know that not every diet works for every person, so I may need to modify that to suit my particular constitution, body type/chemistry and overall health. But, that's the plan so far. I shall consult my raw food guru, David Wolfe, for the best way to proceed with this experiment.

I didn't intend to type this much, but that's another benefit of the fast! You become more verbal. hehe

If anyone does want information about the fast, I'm more than happy to provide it. You don't have to do it as long as I do - I've worked up to this over time, and even 3-7 days can really make a difference.

I am off to watch a little tv and then get some much-needed sleep. Night night cyberspace! :)