My skin is clear. My head is clear. The chaotic energy in my mind & body has calmed to a more comprehensible flow. I can see definition in my ab muscles and my waist finally showed up to the party. My clothes fit better. Two weeks ago even in clothes that actually fit me my "love handles" (whoever came up with that was a pure diplomat) would always hang over the edge. They are gone & I'm in my 30s jeans again! I can see threats of them coming back if I don't get back to my Zumba classes though.

I have to say, I wasn't quite expecting this. My first order of business on Thursday was to drink green tea w/ honey & lemon and a few bowls of miso soup. It was just liquid, warm, tasty liquid and I had been drinking warm & cool liquid for the past week. So why was I feeling nauseous? I felt bloated & uncomfortable. I had to run to the bathroom almost immediately. I tried eating some yoghurt but the reaction was the same. I couldn't keep anything down. So I just continued to drink lemon-honey-pepper water and decided to wait another day. I ate some yoghurt as soon as I was up. I felt fine. I felt it absorb into my body but my reaction to the banana was unfortunate. So I ate yoghurt that day. Yesterday I went grocery shopping to get ingredients for all these new light & healthy recipes I had found & forgotten. I so wanted to eat the whole container of edamame but the 4 or 5 beans I put in my mouth gave me cramps. I had yoghurt & watermelon to eat yesterday. I snuck a few peanuts in….one at a time….chewed them into butter. I felt okay. Today….today I had a bowl of miso soup and it made me happy. But that stopped right there. When I added rice to the mix it was Friday all over again. I'm uncomfortable. I feel bloated & crampy. I feel like I don't want to eat anymore. I'm just so damn uncomfortable. The filling in my jelly donut is back & en force. Although the belt notches are still up. I'm up to 4 now!

One of the warnings about breaking a fast is to take it very slow & gently introduce foods back into your body. Following the feeding pattern of a baby is what I liken it to. Nutritious liquids like milk & warm broth. Then onto hot cereals & soft fruits. Gradually leading up to solid then eventually as spicy as you like it. What I did was go too fast. I should have stayed on the soup until my body was fine with it THEN progressed on. I wanted too much too soon. I'm staying on yoghurt, watermelon & Cream of Wheat until my body can handle a freakin' banana! I'm looking greedily at all the makings of a vegetable omelette but I am not going to chance it till I am sure I can handle it. I don't even want to think about…..have you ever thrown up eggs? It'll put you off food altogether. Yes I'm going to be careful. Very careful.

*So, what I learned was :

• I can go 7 days without food so I can probably go 10 the next time.
• I like a lot of cayenne pepper in my honey-lemon water.
• Fasting helps me be more flexible when I do yoga (no crampy belly to fold in half).
• It's important to gradually cut down then out processed foods the days leading up to your fast. Giving it up altogether isn't such a bad idea either.
• Fasting gives me persistent morning breath from hell.
• My sense of smell is heightened.
• An enema goes a long way to reaching your goals of getting rid of waste.
• I spend a lot of time thinking about, shopping, preparing & eating food.
• Documentaries on the Food Industry will give you strong & indelible images of what you do not want to eat… AND WHY!!!

And First & Foremost!

I learned there is a colossal amount of information out there. Some good, some bad & some downright criminally irresponsible. So anyone & everyone should get to know their bodies, do your research & talk to your doctor before engaging in any sort of new health regimen.

*I am not a licensed medical anything.