Fasting: process of fasting (WAS: Quest' for ELCHANAN from Kay.x)

[Guest guest]

Kay korangeli Wednesday, June 29, 2005 8:40 AM [Raw

Food] Quest' for ELCHANAN from Kay.x

 

It has only been a FEW weeks SINCE I consistantly stayed with the FAT-FREE

FRUIT PLAN 100%. Very HAPPY I am too - with the arrival of summer fruits,

sunshine and GREAT ATTITUDE!

 

I will be completing ONE MONTH on this diet before I go away on My FAST FOR

A MONTH OR SO.

 

1. On completion of the intitial re-feeding, Will it be ok to eat ONE

AVOCADO PER WEEK or should I complete another month without fat?

 

2. Obviously my system is cleansing itself. I feel exhausted by the

evening and go to bed early.

However, I experience NERVOUS TWITCHES ALL OVER MY BODY in the middle

of the night which leave me very restless.

It feels as though my 'NERVES ARE RAW' (so to speak)

Eventually I get back to sleep, with a heavy feeling in my temples/

head.

In the morning I awake feeling exhausted until I get going.

 

I have known this experience to INCREASE DURING FASTING.

Dr.Tim mentioned previously that individuals with LOW SERATONIN

PRODUCTION experience more RESTLESSNESS during fasting.

 

In any event, I have experienced it PREVIOUSLY ON RAW FOOD DIET.

However, this is a new moment so I take each day as a fresh new

event/experience.

 

Is the above RELATED ONLY TO DETOXING? or IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE

GOING ON?

ADJUSTMENT / RE-BALANCING ?

 

My diet consists of mono fruit meals throughout the day.

A green salad in the evening with 1-2 types of fruit

(i.e strawberries/blueberies) (No seaweed !!)

I sometimes eat a banana late evening, as I am experimenting with

helping the nightime drama..

I also include affirmations and meditation when I get into bed !

 

Thanx

In Flow x

_____

Greetings Kay,

 

Thanks so much for your questions. Regarding breaking the fast, your

question exemplifies, in my opinion, why people generally benefit from some

sort of coaching or direct supervision while fasting. The vast majority of

people who fast -- approaching 100% of them, in fact -- lose most of the

gains they made while fasting within 60 days or so following breaking their

fasts.

 

As I comprehend it, there are four " phases " in any fast:

 

1. Preparation -- you are working toward this now.

2. Fasting -- the actual period during which only water is consumed.

3. Breaking the fast -- the brief but crucial period during which we return

the body's metabolism to one operating from externally supplied fuel.

4. Refeeding and reentry -- a longer period during which we gradually bring

the system back to a " normal " diet and, concurrently, the entire person back

into " normal activity. "

 

For short fasts, #3 and #4 and typically blurred together in most people's

perception. However, for longer fasts, such as you contemplate, the

distinction is, in my opinion, significant. The way you have ask your

question about avocado strongly suggests to me that you could learn more

about the distinction between these two stages in the process, more than I

would write in an email.

 

Briefly, but ONLY AS A RULE OF THUMB and without any awareness of where you

may be at some future point in your process, you would want to refrain from

reintroducing any high-fat foods for a period at least half the duration of

the fast. So if the fast lasts a month, then you would wait at least 2 weeks

before introducing avocado or coconut meat, and longer for any foods high in

indigestible fiber (nuts, seeds). And you would only do this AFTER you have

successfully reintroduced certain other types of foods.

 

Now please understand that when I say " at least 2 weeks, " that is only a

rule of thumb. From what I know of your situation and history, which is

admittedly only an unorganized smattering of information, I suspect that

closer to a month might be advisable in your case. Beyond that, I cannot say

with any comfort, all I can do is express my sense from a great distance.

 

I have followed the recent thread in RawSchool regarding fasting, as well as

prior discussions in RawSchool and RawFood on this topic. It is clear to me

that people desire and need much greater information and understanding on

this topic. Books written on this topic may be informative, but in general

they do not actually tell one HOW to fast. This is understandable, in my

opinion, because fasting is such an individual experience. In fact, even for

the same person, each fast may be quite a different experience. In this

sense, every book on fasting I have ever seen glosses over the topic.

 

From earlier today in the RawSchool group, Nathan's comments about listening

to one's body are of interest, many have commented similarly in the past.

But almost 100% of people I know or meet have become so disconnected from

the messages their bodies send, to a much greater extent than most would

imagine or care to admit. I can easily demonstrate with anyone who would

take the time to learn. Most people have literally no idea when a message

is even being sent!

 

Therefore, we are planning another avenue for distributing some information

about fasting, to be announced shortly. So stay tuned.

 

Kay, regarding your larger inquiry about detoxing etc., from this distance I

am reluctant to comment. If you have access to a computer with a headset

(microphone and ears), then we may be able to use software called Skype to

talk directly, if you wish, at no cost to either of us. Please write

privately if this interests you at Vlinfo.

 

All in all, I really do recommend some form of supervision or coaching for

most people during a fast, beginning BEFORE the fast and continuing on a

decreasing basis for awhile after. Otherwise, you'll likely not get the

lasting results you seek, even if the fast itself seems to go uneventfully.

And frankly, a major fast is a significant investment in oneself. Failure to

obtain AND RETAIN the desired results can damage self-esteem in ways that,

in my experience, just aren't worth it.

 

You've heard this earlier, expressed a bit differently,from Gina, now from

me. Or, you can listen to those who may have fasted, but who have not worked

with others fasting. The difference is the size of an ocean, but again, that

is only my opinion, arising from my own personal experiences and those of

others I know.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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