Fasting Tips

After living a life of generally eating every single day, it can be difficult to get comfortable going without. The first time I fasted I only made it 2 days because I couldn't handle it. Since then I've managed to find comfort without food for extended periods of time.

• Drink plenty of water: It not only facilitates in detoxification and hydration, it fills the stomach long enough to make yourself satisfied you've had something in it. Try adding some lemon juice to a few of your glasses to add taste, more time in the stomach, and for extra cleansing as lemons have wonderfully strong cleansing properties.

• Treat yourself to warmth: A tough part about juicing can be to stop consuming warm things, especially because your body temperature gets a bit cooler while fasting. Drinking hot water or tea does wonders to warm up the hands and stomach. Plus it induces a cozy, comfortable feeling. A personal favorite drink of mine is a variation of the Master Cleanse which consists of hot water, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. raw honey, and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. It's warm, flavorful, detoxifying, and has a kick to it :) I've noticed that consuming spicy things suppresses my appetite.

• A few small glasses of Kombucha: As with other teas, Kombucha leaves the stomach feeling fuller longer than plain water. The difference is that this delicious, mildly fizzy beverage has a tummy tingling effect that feels very relaxing. Likewise, this is another detoxifying elixir.
  

• No gum: Fasting can be difficult for some because they don't use their jaw muscles nearly as much as they're used to. If it's a problem then lightly make a chewing motion while consuming your juices, which is actually better because it allows the beverage to get mixed with saliva hence making digestion easier. Chewing does a lot more than exercise your jaw. The act of chewing stimulates the release of acids and enzymes that aid in digestion. The more you chew, the more gets released. If you only have juice, water, or tea in your stomach then you really don't need any help with digestion, and certainly not if your stomach is empty. Excessive digestive juices can cause ulcers and other avoidable unpleasantries.
  

• Don't dwell on the days: I've found that reminding myself what day I'm on makes it more difficult. I wait until my body craves a break from food and decide by assessing my prior fasting time frames and my mood how long I should go before I begin. I also consider the upcoming events such as family get togethers, holidays, and the like. After I look at all the angles I write down my end date somewhere out of sight, but where I can see it when the day comes (I have a daily tear off calender which makes it very easy).
  

• Follow a regular schedule: When I got off my first extended fast I was left with a very messy eating pattern because I figured that juice wasn't a meal so I could help myself whenever time I pleased. Breaking it down, eating is supposed to serve as an act of survival to give your body nutrients; sounds similar to juice doesn't it?. It took me a very long time to get my eating straightened out afterward. Try to consume your juices at your regular meal and munch times. In between just have water or tea. Likewise with food, try not to have any at night. My cutoff time is 8pm.

As with anything else you're not accustomed to doing, juice fasting takes time to get used to. If you approach it with the right mindset and have done enough research to know what you're doing, I highly recommend it. It's enlightening, relaxing, cleansing, and a wonderful alteration in your habits and mindset. Just be sure not to push yourself too far.