GranolaBox

A lot of people have been asking me this week why the Queen of My Universe and I are fasting for a week. So here, in no specific order are some of the questions along with unscientifically and likely erroneous answers.

1. WTF?
Fasting is a great way to clean out your system both mentally and physically. There are a number of different forms and lengths of fasts with different anticipated results. Most people get freaked out at the concept of not eating solid food for a week and don’t think they could ever do it. I didn’t think so my first time either.

We’re doing a 7 day “colon cleanse” fast. After a couple days of tapering our food consumption down, now our diet consists of several “cleanser packets” mixed with apple juice a day. We can also have organic vegetable broth and drink as much water as we can. Oh.. and espresso.

2. Are you trying to lose weight?
No. I started the fast Wednesday at 202 and I’m comfortable with my weight, thank you. I’ll probably lose around 10 pounds like I did last time, but I’ll probably put it all on again soon after I start eating again.

3. Are you sure this is a good idea?
This is the question LIZ frequently asks.The day before we started she brought over a whole bunch of spaghetti with her amazing homemade sauce in an attempt to dissuade us from going down this road she perceived as fraught with peril.

It’s a good idea for us, because we’re both reasonably healthy and can spend a week functioning at a lower energy level than we’re used to. I’d never try this while I was teaching, or if I wasn’t feeling well at the start.

Your body uses a lot of energy in the process of digestion, and by freeing up your digestive system a little you allow your body to do other things the body is usually too busy to do because of digestion. When the Queen of my Universe fasted for three weeks, her body started fixing things that get broken down by normal wear and tear. Some of her scars even faded. This process is called ketosis, if you’re interested.

4. Do you get hungry?
MAD hungry. Everything makes me hungry. I try to keep busy with low level tasks and lots of sleep so I don’t think about being hungry. After a couple days I’ve gotten used to the feeling of being hungry and it’s not bothering me much. It’s much easier this time than last time. Last time I pretty much bitched and complained the whole time about being hungry.

5. Are you getting ANY nutrition?
Not much. That’s not a big problem though. Being healthy, well-fed people, we have a lot of vitamins and stuff in our systems to last a long time without food.

6. Why is it so important to have a clean colon?
The colon can be a nasty piece of pipe for most Americans. We eat a lot of heavily processed and chemically altered foods that contain ingredients our bodies aren’t biologically programmed to absorb yet, and a lot of that stuff gets stuck to the walls of our colons. These toxins and miscellaneous other particulates form a thick, rubbery black sludge that slows down the absorption of nutrients into our system. After a while, this stuff kinda piles up, and you’ve got this toxic ooze just sitting there festering in your colon.

7. Do your doodies look and smell weird?
This is an oddly fascinating aspect of the colon cleanse. It starts with the toxin absorber packets pulling off the top layer of toxins, and they make weird little floaty things that smell awful. Then, the rubbery stuff starts to break away from the colon and it comes out in big globs (bombs) and little pieces. (shrapnel)

There are people who actually take pictures of their poop while fasting because they can’t believe something like this came out of their own systems. I’m not one of them, but just to make sure my system is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, I looked some of them up.

Click here only if you have a strong stomach.

8. Can you still do stuff?
I can do pretty much anything that isn’t too physically taxing as long as long as I do it slow and take a lot of breaks. I’ve done a lot of putzing around the house and garden but at a much slower pace than usual. We even went for a walk today. Later in the fast you tend to get a bit more energy.

9. Are you fasting for spiritual reasons as well?
Yes! The mere fact that I’m not focusing on food or the procurement thereof frees my mind to do other things, and since I’m working at a lower energy level, it allows a lot of time for reading and meditation. Eating is an act that many of us take for granted, and there’s a certain ascetic value to depriving oneself of a basic need for a little while.

10. Isn’t it weird to not eat?
Yes. It’s not normal. The rest of the world revolves around food, and it’s weird to be outside of that for a while.

So there you have it.

Filed under: Food, General Observations on July 10th, 2009