At the end of my 24 day pure liquid fast (with Pharmanex supplements), I introduced calories to my body in a very slow, and thought out manner. I didn't have any food in my refrigerator because I hadn't been eating for over three weeks. Any fresh food went bad after the first week and I threw it away. So I went to the store and bought a lot of veggies and fruit.
The day before my hunger started, I had gotten my last wisdom tooth pulled and was put on antibiotics. I'm thinking it was the antibiotics which made me get hungry, because it was only 28 hours after I started taking them that I had my first sensation of true hunger... the feeling of thirst that could not be quenched by water or tea.
I had thought ahead about what I would do when my hunger returned and purchased the Jack LaLane Pro Juicer a week prior. It had arrived only four days prior to my hunger. I washed and assembled the juicer the same day I received it and began to read the manual. It was a simple enough device and it would also allow me to use the rind to make chutney or salsas, and the recipe book that came with it even had a few recipe ideas for sauces using the rinds. I was ready.
The night I ended my water fast, I juiced a carrot, tomato, one sprig of broccoli and half an apple. Then, I watered it down to a ratio of 75% water, 25% juice and had my first glass of calories after 24 days of almost zero calories. I drank slowly, nursing my first glass for over 35 minutes. It did not take long for my digestive tract to start waking up, grumbling alive and making all kinds of funny sounds and movements. In less than an hour, I was running to the restroom to have my first movement in 24 days. Water... mostly! Two more glasses of watered down juice that night and five or so more trips to the restroom and I was back in the calorie game.
The next morning, I woke up at 3:30 am and wasted no time at all getting back on food. I juiced two small oranges, two medium carrots, a quarter cup of blackberries, one half a cucumber, two stalks of celery, a half a cup of grapes and two small Roma tomatoes and drank it undiluted. This added up to a total of 275 calories and it was magnificent. The most amazing tasting liquid I had ever tasted. This time, my gut was far more quiet and within a couple of hours, I had more energy than I knew what to do with... so I put on my sweats and took off to the park to go jogging before church. I made it around 0.6 miles before I got tuckered out and had to head back to the house, but at least I was feeling the urge to get out and exercise.
That day, I went shopping and purchased a whole lot of fruit and veggies and proceeded to have two more glasses of home made juice. My total caloric intake for that day was 600 calories.
I made another juice blend which I called "Afternoon Push"
Afternoon Push - 286 calories
1/4 head cabbage
1 hand cilantro
1 small Roma tomato
3/4 cup grapes
1/4 cup blueberries
2 med carrots
2 med radishes
1/6 head cauliflower
1 small apple
1/2 cucumber
1/8 tsp raw garlic
This one had some push to it with just enough sugars to keep me going in the afternoon. The issue with juicing was that while I was not eating solid foods, the rind was going to waste. Sure I could have frozen it, but my busy schedule made little time for this luxury. So I tossed it. Sad really, but at the time, there was little else I could do. This also meant that juicing was an expensive way to get calories. Especially with fruits, so I tried to add more veggies and less fruit. I cut out blackberries, blueberries and grapes since they were the most expensive. I added beets and more carrots and tomatoes since they juiced very well.
The next six days went well. I made several new juicing recipes, one of my favorite being my dinner juice I called "Restful Peace";
Restful Peace - 276 calories
1 cup grapes
1/2 cucumber
2 medium carrots
1 small Roma Tomato
1/8 cup cilantro
2 stalks celery
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
3 cups spinach
1/4 cup blackberries
1/2 beet and greens
My ratio of fruit to veggie began to edge towards 80% veggies, 20% fruit and by the end it was 90/10.
My Juice fast ended with a fresh steamed talapia with garlic and rosemary. I ended two days before Christmas because I'd be going to a relative's house and it would be a little weird bringing a juice and standing alone not eating and just drinking juice... so I joined them for a Christmas afternoon meal and celebration. The next week, I fasted for three more full days before slowly reintroducing food into my diet. The most food I eat per day now is around 1500 calories and if I get to that point, I feel overly stuffed like I ate way too much. Most days I'm eating less than 1000 calories and don't feel like I am suffering at all.
The trick I learned is that we need a way to reset our appetite center and the only way I could find to do that was to stop eating entirely. I don't really know how long it took me to break my food addictions, but I can say that when I started consuming calories again, I was not craving all the garbage I had craved before. Some sites say it takes only three to seven days to reset the appetite center of our brain. I can't say for sure, but after 24 days, I had managed to lose nearly 40 pounds and a lot of cravings that had kept me fat for so long. I was finally free... and I am never going back.
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