Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Fast: my observations

I thought I would let you know my observations and what I have learnt from my recent fast. This is not intended to discourage those thinking of fasting as I did not notice obvious benefits more to show where I might have done more to improve the results and to encourage that you CAN do it. I have only ever managed a one day juice or water fast before and was amazed I managed 5 comfortably even though I kind of cheated the hunger pangs by starting from a bug.

I started this fast not out of choice but from a bug I had that upset my tum and left me with no appetite. Hunger cravings sorted I thought so lets see how far I can go!

I went for 3 days on just water and two days on homemade veggie juice.

1. I did not feel any benefit my current neck stiffness did not go away however I think in reality because I started from being sick, my actual fast from an AS point of view could probably only be considered to be the two days on juice.

2. I was amazed that even though I was tired I could still function without having eaten anything for days. I also found that the veggie juice gave me a boost as did peppermint tee (from loose tea). As I started to feel better from the bug my sense of smell heightened I could really pick out individual aromas of food.

3. As I had started with a fever/tummy bug I broke the fast with small amounts of homemade soup using chicken stock to nourish my gut (homemade) and veggies. The soup was absolutely yummy but made me feel really tired in complete contrast to the juices which although lacking in energy didn't make me feel like a dead weight.

4. Although I was 'empty' after my tummy bug I was amazed that my bowels were more full after 3 days of not eating anything. This showed that hopefully my body was feeding off the 'unwanted' bits.

5. I felt as though my aches actually got worse after eating the cooked soup!!! In addition to my neck I started aching across my back and stabbing pains between my shoulder blades. This could well be detoxing kicking in as opposed to a reaction to the cooked food. I completed the GAPS intro earlier on this year and that was broth based and made me a zombie for a while (did help aches etc though). Another explanation could be my body prefers raw fresh food to cooked or the garlic that was in the soup may not have agreed with me I love garlic.

Unfortunately I couldn't continue any longer due to the type of week that was coming up but I feel that I would have noticed a significant difference if I could have continued with the juice fast for longer than the two days I was doing it.

If I were to do it again I would fast with veggie juices rather than just water (obviously this wasn't an option this time around considering my starting point). This would help me maintain some energy levels throughout while giving a chance for my body to rest at the same time.

I shall revisit a juice fast at some point when I have a window of time I can concentrate on it at home.

Oh I wish I had time to respond in full right now.. you're experience has much in common with my own experiences. Eg. Being very sensitive to foods when breaking a fast, my reason for fasting was very similar too as I had a tummy bug and kept throwing up.

I felt amazing once my bowels were cleared. Next time perhaps work on clearing the gut with things like Epsom salts and lots of water, or maybe enemas (never done the latter so don't know how wise it is to recommend or how safe it is). I felt like a new person and could actually feel my body healing old wounds from long ago, felt incredibly creative and motivated, and my mind was so peaceful and at ease and yet bright and lively at the same time.

Garlic is an irritant, eating it soon after a digestive system bug sounds like asking for trouble!

Yeah some people react to FOS / Inulin which is in Onions and Garlic. I did. Found I was able to adapt to it by eating a tiny little bit every day and increasing the amount each time.

zark,
i was wondering if you could tell me your experience with the epsom salts?
sorry, i tried to PM you but it wouldnt let me

oh, I don't know why PM wouldn't work ! :-/

epsom salts are quite effective. haven't used them in ages and can't remember the dose.. I think about two heaped teaspoons in one or two cups of water, but google it and see what other use (eg google: how to use epsom salts as laxative). tastes kinda revolting. you might find it quite relaxing due to the large amount of magnesium in this. One of the good things about using epsom is it is non toxic, and always keeps working.. you don't get used to it.


dont take a laxative with food, as I think that wouldn't be healthy. take it a couple of hours after food, or first thing in the morning.

Hi Ally,

I love the detailed observations you made about your fasting experience! I can totally relate to them!

I did a very strict 6 months on the SCDiet (very similar to GAPS) where I lived on bone broth soup, way too much chicken, eggs, zucchini, 24 hour homemade fermented yogurt, hard aged cheeses, more chicken, more soup, almond flour, blueberries, bananas, honey. I lost a bunch of weight, and went into a ketosis and was constantly starving and hungry. My blood sugar was all over the place. Over those 6 months, a few hours after completing a meal, I would get ravenous again and cranky! It was not a cool experience for my body overall. My colitis calmed down a bit on that diet, but my back was still burning like I had a hot poker in it, my shooting leg pains were so damn intense it hurt to drive or ride in the car for very long, and I was still seeking medical attention from doctors and naturopaths during that time. That was a few years ago.

I will note that I have confirmed through 2 sets of x-rays and 2 doctors that I do have fusions in my SI-joints and noticable desposits along my spine. I am also HLA-B27+. I have been dealing with chornic back pain, sciatica and colitis since my early 20's (I am now 33) and I have seen every f&#king doctor under the sun but nothing worked or healed my own body like complete immersion in fresh fruits, veggies & greens.

So, after the SCDiet experience, I continued to be pretty low grain and low starch for a couple of years, still remained gluten free, and then avoided dairy again, but it was a lot more loosely lived and monitored diet. My pain would come and go, and then last summer it started to get way worse again. My neck froze up in insane pain, and I started going to see doctors again. My colitis also got really bad again, and my tummy would bloat up like I was 10 months pregnant. Last summer I had a different doctor convince me that fructose was bad, along with gluten & lactose. So I went off all fruit for a month (right in the middle of the peak of fresh fruit here in Oregon, I had to resist eating all of our fresh blueberries from our farm – we get over 150lbs of organic berries! – and the doc also told me to stay away from our apple & pear orchard, constantly saying no fructose). It was already verified that I did have Candida through a stool test, so I followed all the anti-Candida diet regiments and ate no fruit for a while.

Then last fall I discovered “Raw” Foods & the No Starch diet at about the same time. I had already eliminated rice and potatoes out of my diet just finding thorough personal experience that they set off my symptoms. And then I had a chiropractor tell me about the no starch link to AS, and I then found Kickas.org. I started to focus on eating as many fruits and veggies as I could. Then I did that 14 day juice fast, where I “feasted” on mega amounts of fruits and veggies for 2 weeks. I never felt so alive and in tune with my body before! I felt amazing living on fresh green enzyme & nutrient juices. Hallelujah! My pain levels went down to zero at that time. My colitis completely went away and this gnarly hot poker in my shoulder area also went away. Since that point, I have basically been pain free. I just eat lots of fruits, veggies, green juices, green smoothies, coconut. soak/sprouted nuts & seeds, seafood, grass fed meat. My Candida is totally gone. My tummy rarely gets bloated. I have insane amounts of energy, and I live most days now 100% pain free. I am a different girl than I was last summer!!!

Somehow through my whole story above I am just trying to tie in that yes, I totally agree, living fresh foods & juices make the body feel so much better than overcooked proteins.

I won’t stop anyone from eating meats and lots of broths if they find it works for them. I just felt through my 6 months of dedicated bone broths and meats, and too many animal proteins, I was constantly starving for other nutrition. My body wasn’t getting all the super important plant nutrients, enzymes and vitamins it really needed to heal and feel 100%, and satisfied again!

That is my story! I am now so focused on getting my raw foods business off the ground, and feeling so awesome and pain free, I doubt I will be on the forums much going forward.But I thank everyone here for making me feel so welcome and providing such great feedback while I have been hanging out here on kickas! I will likely turn this post into my success story here on kickas and be on my merry way!!

And a side note about my new biz: My new profile pic is one of my at my favorite vineyard where they have just hired me to cater a big Wine & Raw (starch free) Dinner next month!! I am doing a Greek style raw food menu which will be paired with their wines: Raw Sunflower Seed Pate & Mint filled Dolmas, Raw Hummus on Slice Cucumbers with Red Onion & Kalamata Olives, Thinly Sliced Raw Apple Bakalava with Honey & Walnuts, Raw Zucchini Noodles w/ Pesto, Kale & Hemp Seed Tabolui, Raw Blackberry Sorbet... it's so amazing what you can do with natual whole foods & no grains, no sugar! And it's so nice to attend a dinner where I CAN EAT EVERYTHING!! And I had a great response at our local farmers market this past weekend to all my raw (low starch) foods I was sampling and selling. If any of you find yourself in NW Oregon, be sure to look me up for a visit a raw starch-free lunch, my treat!

xoxo,
Andrea

Thanks Andrea,
Good luck with your business all your food sounds wonderful. I have been making several things from the websites you have reccommended includng the burgers and they went down a treat with the whole family! the only problem with going more 'raw' is its even harder to socialise!

I am going to revisit the juice fast when a suitable time window emerges my neck pain just will not go away and now I have the stabbing pain between the shoulder blades again.
How do you get on with juicing cabbage and things like cauliflower and broccoli, I find that even if I drink them straight away they 'burn' (difficult to describe the taste sensation)

Ally

Hey Ally,

I totally know! That is why I am going full force into catering and providing yummy foods that I can enjoy too. I have lived long enough restricting myself from everything at the table, but now when I make it, well I can dig right into everything and savor every bite!!

I honestly only juiced cabbage for a short time. It's supposed to be a miracle healer for ulcers & the gut, but I wasn't too crazy about it, so I stopped juicing it. I also never juice broccoli or cauliflower. Look into "sprouting" broccoli seeds though, you sprout the little seeds in a jar in your kitchen and in a few days you have one of natures most potent foods. A huge cancer fighter too. You can eat them in salads or juice them.

I also know all too much about a killer neck pain, where you can't even turn you neck to drive a car properly and the feeling of hot pokers burning into a frozen shoulder blade. Those pains are currently all gone for me. I sometimes overdo it, like we recently picked and pitted 84 lbs of cherries, and by 11pm last night when we were cleaning up, I had like a 1/10 faint little shoulder pain there, but its gone today.

@bettyrawker

you should spend some time and read my old posts. it seems that we've reached the same conclusions