Nov 20, 2009 - Fast Break

I broke the fast on Tuesday, Nov 17, due to the refeeding schedule required before they'd leave me with their blessing. Of course, I could leave any time, but going through this proven program as it is works so I don't mind the schedule.

My weight was at 123 lbs, the same weight I wrestled at in high scool as a sophomore. Now that I'm at my fighting weight again, I'd like to show that 16 year old whipper snapper from 1976 a thing or two in the ring in my fancy red full-length santa tights with the white diapers....until he immediately takes me down, pummels me into next year (which will take about ten seconds) and hands my head to coach on a silver platter. I wouldn't have a chance - and back then I wasn't that good!

Tuesday was day 15(?) and was the hardest day I've had, physically and mentally. I had a tough day one other time around day 8, but this one was a real drainer, which usually indicates the body is working especially hard doing what it needs to do. Amazingly, these days last about a day so by the time you wake the next morning, it has run its' course. In the body that packs an abundance of toxins, there will be more rough days, but it always pays huge dividends when you stay the course, don't give up, and see it through to the end.

I started on veg/fruit drinks Wednesday morning and tolerated the first drink. Barely. Most people do well on the mix, I'd had enough in the days preparing for the fast. It was so unpleasureable to me that I instead asked for a stalk of celery and some watermelon (which was in the drink) and eating these as whole foods made all the difference in the world. It wasn't much volume or calories, but there;s enough sugar to effectively switch the fasting body from fat burning to carb burning in very short order. And, of course, the sleeping giant of digestion must be awakened gently.

Yesterday there was a coup in the kitchen. My Israeli roommate had had enough of the blandness and invited himself into the kitchen and cooked up a bunch of hummus with all the appliances and I don't think the chef was pleased.

The result was tasty and I nursed a little at a time so by the end of the day I had taken in two teasponfuls, chewing deliberately and slowly, mixing with plenty of saliva. But he used what seemed like alot of raw garlic, and though it went down well, pretty much chemically roasted the lining of my mouth, which I did not feel until evening. I still feel it a day later. Now it's more of just a garlic-y aftertaste that masks the true flavors of just about everything I eat. It's very, very mild, no real damage, but obnoxious. It should be gone tomorrow. Because of the fast, your senses are so alive that the smallest amount of hot makes a huge impact. I tasted two, count them, two, specs of red pepper in the mix.

The last time this happened was on the fourth evening following a ten day fast, except this time is was garlic and peppers in a tomato paste based lettuce wrap. It seemed like just a little bit. Delicious! Within twenty minutes my whole body burned all the way to my fingertips and stayed burning for three days. And no wonder, I had just about no protective mucous lining built up in my intestinal tract to act as buffer. My mouth actually molted. I couldn't taste anything! Before that meal, I could tastes every molecule.

Now in a couple of months I'll be able to enjoy these types of hot, but I think I'm backing off of the raw hot for good. Who doesn't like roasted peppers? Sweetens them right up!

I was concerned about getting the full beneft of the garlic into my bloodstream, but research indicates that if the clove is crushed or sliced and left to sit on the cutting board for just ten minutes, you can start cooking with it and retain 70% of the good stuff. That will work for me.

Ahhhhh...fun with fasting.