Spring Cleaning - Day 9

The end is near! Truthfully, I can't wait for it to be over. The difficult part this far into it is mere boredom and the knowledge that although tomorrow is my last day on the Master Cleanse, I have a few days yet before I'll be eating solid food and several days before I'll be back to eating "normally. " I can't comment on whether it's been worth it until I've completed the entire regimen, but I think no matter what there will have been some benefit—all those that I mentioned in the previous posts.

Day 7 was the most difficult by far. I'm not sure what triggered what, but I felt pretty ill late in the day. I think I pushed myself and the process too hard. I'd gotten a shiatsu massage the previous day and went the ACTCM Auricular Drop-in Clinic for free ear acupuncture clinic on the morning of the 7th day. I'm sure that both of those things boosted the detox process. I also drank some tea at the clinic, but I don't know what kind it was. I'm sure there was nothing bad in it, but may have been a shock to my system after only lemonade and laxative tea for the preceeding six days. I think the real culprit is that fact that immediately after returning from the clinic, I did a salt flush. It was probably just too much to do after everything else I mentioned.

As the day wore on I found my energy waning for the first time since I began the fast, and my stomach felt bloated though I was eliminating almost pure water almost the entire rest of the day. I had several moments of nausea and started to feel a little panicky about the whole venture. In the evening I had a cup of Traditional Medicinals' Easy Now herbal tea blend, which is a mixture of chamomile and mint for the tummy and lavender and passionflower to soothe the nerves, and the combination didn't let me down. While laying in bed, I did a little energy work on my stomach and decided that if I still felt bad in the morning, I would break the fast early.

Yesterday I awoke with a slight headache, but I've been having that happen for at least a week even before the fast began. I also slept about 11 hours and was suprised to wake so late in the day. However, once I got up and started moving about I felt fine. I even ran several blocks to BART because I was late in meeting a friend, but the running didn't seem to upset my body in any way. We went to see Barack Obama at the Oakland City Hall, which meant being on our feet for at least an hour. Shortly after he took the stage, I felt an urgent need to use the bathroom, but I couldn't deal with the idea of a port-a-potty and then trying to fight my way back to where A. was standing, so I clenched and made it through. It was another hour before we got home, but somehow I survived the minor ordeal. After taking care of business, it was all good.

Today I feel totally, 100 percent good, and I'm excited about only having to drink this stuff for one more day. I was talking with M., who is also fasting and is two days behind me. We agreed that the harder part will come while breaking the fast and then beginning to eat again because the temptation will be to immediately eat all those things we've been denying ourselves—the garlic fries, the calamari, the meat balls, the pizza and even stuff like beer and 420. It's not like any of those things comprise my normal daily diet but knowing that I "can't" have them makes me want them a lot more than usual.

Among the many reasons for fasting is to gain insight into one's natural tendencies. For example, I often feel like I'm a sugar addict, but when I think of the things I miss right now it's not donuts and cake or any of the other treats I tend to dream about. Maybe it's because of the maple syrup, but I think what I really miss right now is the variety of taste and different sensations and textures. I don't care about sugar at all right now. I miss the act of chewing. But I also feel super super healthy. I know I've done something really good for body and my spirit. I also know I have no desire to ever fast longer than 10 days.

I've been calling this a 21-day fast. In reality, my proposed breakdown at the start was 10 days on the Master Cleanse, followed by 3 days of fresh fruit and vegetable juices, ending with 8 days of a 75% raw food/25% cooked food diet. If I stick to that, then I will end on March 30, with the last day of the month being the first day in which I resume the freedom to eat whatever I want—hopefully sticking to healthier choices but able to have something not so healthy if that's really what I desire in the moment. However, V.'s birthday is on the 28th, and she's been pretty bummed out at the idea that if we go out for dinner, I'll only be able to eat salad. Sooooooo, between her birthday and my honest desire to be done with this already, I'm only going to do 5 days on the 75% raw food diet and then on the 28th, I plan to go hog wild—in a very restrained fashion, of course : ) I can hardly wait.