By Natasha Julius
Some people start the New Year off with a few poxy resolutions scribbled down somewhere only to be forgotten by February. Me? I’m going on a two-week juice fast.
Day 5: Food for Thought
No great feat of daring or stupidity is ever achieved alone, and so I, like so many before me, have recruited accomplices to help on my journey into foodlessness. I call them my “fast buddies” – people who’ve vowed to join me, in fact or in spirit, for the duration of these two weeks. So when a girl who can’t eat or drink alcohol wants to go out on a Friday night, she’s naturally going to call one of her fast buddies. Tonight, it was my friend Pants. Pants isn’t so much fasting as making radical changes in his diet, which include temporary abstention from the demon drink. In other words, he’s not opposed to sitting stone-cold sober and watching me sip broccoli juice.
It was good to get out of the house for a while and bend a sympathetic ear, because frankly today was a struggle. I think I’d imagined that I’d break the hunger barrier and that would be that – smooth sailing until next Sunday. Imagine my shock when the familiar growl began anew in my belly. It certainly wasn’t as strong as it was at first, but I couldn’t deny that my stomach was unsatisfied. At the same time, the very thought of chewing and then swallowing food has become completely foreign and somewhat frightening to me. I’m again trying to balance the intellectual knowledge that I’ve had plenty of nourishment with the physical reality that my stomach is empty.
Things are complicated by the fact that the hunger arises entirely on its own. There are none of the usual triggers – the smell or sight of food, a normal meal time – to give context to the growling. It just happens and I’m not quite sure when or where it will strike next.
This isn’t to say the fast is all bad. In fact, when Pants asked whether I had any regrets I immediately answered, “No.” There are a lot of things about this experience that I really like. I like being able to enjoy smells for what they are instead of how they make me feel. I love the times when my mind clears and I can maintain a focus that’s otherwise fleeting. I just feel disconnected from my body in a way that’s wholly unfamiliar to me. I’m really not sure what’s coming next or how I’ll respond to it, and that’s definitely freaking the ass off me right now. Oh well, as long as it doesn’t involve the actual loss of body parts I guess I’m OK with it.
Day 5 Hunger Level: Consistent and definitely perceptible, although I think I’m getting better at managing my calorie intake so it remains background noise.
Day 5 Energy Level: Wildly variable. I actually took a nap today, an activity that is entirely normal for me on days when I teach multiple yoga classes. Still, it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t felt the need for a nap since I started fasting. It’s not that I haven’t been tired, it’s just that another of those familiar triggers – the satiety of eating a full lunch, for example – has been removed.
Day 5 Physical Condition: It seems like my nose and sinuses are rapidly clearing. I still feel some irritation in the eyes and my throat is quite raw, perhaps as a result of drinking nothing but gritty juices. It also occurred to me today that I might be a touch dehydrated. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s the sense I’m getting. So I’ve decided to up my water intake and see what happens. Who knows? Maybe my hair will change color. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
Day 5 Mental State: I’m fully realizing now that controlling my emotional and mental response to the fast is going to be a constant struggle. This is definitely the most anxious I’ve felt since starting the fast. It’s the first time I’ve seriously considered altering some of my fast purity rules to include supplements and the like. Still, at no time have I thought about giving up and, after “dinner” and a movie with Pants, I’m feeling much more positive and relaxed. Hey, what are fast buddies for?
Day 5 Juices:
#1: Pineapple, Blueberry, Mango, Ginger, Pear, Seltzer Water
#2: Beet, Carrot, Cucumber, Parsley, Ginger, Pear
#3: Purchased Odwalla Superfood Drink (half bottle)
#4: Celery, Parsley, Ginger, Apple
#5: Purchased All-Green with Ginger and Wheatgrass
Total amount: 61 oz.
Previously:
* On The Juice: Day 1. If you can’t beet it, juice it.
* On The Juice: Day 2. Fire in the glory hole!
* On The Juice: Day 3. Sipping point.
* On The Juice: Day 4. Brush with destiny.
Posted on January 5, 2007