Day 13

Hello to all-

It was nice to read the Path of Health digest in the morning and see some discussion about my fast. I hoped by keeping a blog I could journal my experience for myself, give anyone who was interested an inside look at what it was like for me, and to help give pointers to the fasters of the future. So- here are my

LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR:

• Negativity. The people who love you will not want you to fast any extended length of time. That is their job, they love you. Their protests are in direct proportion to how much they care. Before fasting tell them all if they can’t be supportive that you will talk to them again when you are done fasting- and mean it. You do not have the energy to battle their fear; they do not have enough correct information not to worry out loud.
• Rest. Rest means don’t do anything but get water, pee, and bathe when it is time. Don’t do like I did and think sitting and doing nothing at someone’s house is resting. You have no idea how much energy you will have, and just going out to get the paper in the morning can be exhausting.
• Environment. It should be quiet. The noise here from the cars and nearness of other houses with their gardeners and construction is distracting. It should be where you can enjoy the serenity of nature. This tract house doesn’t give me a view of much. It should be where you can lay in the sun. I can do that here, but have to move the lounge chair around depending on the time of day and it’s too much so I sit on the steps in the sun.
• Length. It should be open-ended so you don’t interrupt a cleansing process when you stop. If you work with supervision they can help you decide the best place to break. Damn- I did this one right!
• Preparation. Eat 80-10-10 for quite a while before you start, eat mono meals in the days before you fast, the longer the better. I also did this and went from burning carbs to burning fat very quickly and had very few typical SAD to fast symptoms.
• Hydration. Pay attention to your thirst!! This is of the utmost importance to your comfort and motivation. If you feel really crappy because you are dehydrated then you won’t want to continue. Sip your water often enough not to get dry mouth. Learn to recognize the back of the throat signal that you need water so you don’t get to the louder signal of dry mouth. Keep hydrated and you will keep happy.
  

I’m sure I’m forgetting things but I’ll include them later as I remember them. The Padres were so bad tonight I couldn’t watch the second half of the game. The bums stink!

Seena