Plain and simple, I like to eat. It's one of my great pleasures, and throughout my life people have often commented on how much I consume. But the concept of fasting has always intrigued me, so when my friend Cynthia decided to do a Ka Formulas clear-the-toxins program, I wanted in. It's not really a fast, just a very restricted diet with a "cleansing powder" that you mix with rice milk and fruit twice a day for a very bad-tasting smoothie. With the each smoothie you take a packet of capsules with all sorts of supplements inside.
For the first half of the program (Cynthia did 20 days, I did 10), you eat only fruits and vegetables, plus a prescribed amount of quinoa. Citrus fruits and tomatoes aren't allowed. ... apparently their acidity is bad. And, bad news for me, coffee and alcohol aren't allowed either. During the second half you can have brown rice and certain kinds of fish, like tilapia and salmon. You can also have a little bit of dark chocolate every day.
Coffee was the hardest thing to give up, but after a couple of days I didn't feel headachy, and green tea made a very satisfying substitute. Since I don't eat meat or chicken anymore, there was no feeling of deprivation on that end, but it was hard to go without cheese or bread. Since I had a big bag of frozen shrimp, that's what I used as my fish portion in the second half of the program, which was technically cheating, but in these economic times I don't want to spend any more money than I have to. For the same reason, I did not use all-organic produce as the the program requires. I figure foregoing my morning coffee and nightly wine was cleansing enough for my body.
After 10 days, my skin looks great, and I think I've dropped about five pounds. It was a good exercise in discipline and and a lesson in how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet. Ten days without a glass (or many glasses) of wine also makes me realize how easy it is to cut my consumption in that area.
Maybe my next venture will be to try an actual fast. But first I'm going to enjoy eating cheese and bread again.
For the first half of the program (Cynthia did 20 days, I did 10), you eat only fruits and vegetables, plus a prescribed amount of quinoa. Citrus fruits and tomatoes aren't allowed. ... apparently their acidity is bad. And, bad news for me, coffee and alcohol aren't allowed either. During the second half you can have brown rice and certain kinds of fish, like tilapia and salmon. You can also have a little bit of dark chocolate every day.
Coffee was the hardest thing to give up, but after a couple of days I didn't feel headachy, and green tea made a very satisfying substitute. Since I don't eat meat or chicken anymore, there was no feeling of deprivation on that end, but it was hard to go without cheese or bread. Since I had a big bag of frozen shrimp, that's what I used as my fish portion in the second half of the program, which was technically cheating, but in these economic times I don't want to spend any more money than I have to. For the same reason, I did not use all-organic produce as the the program requires. I figure foregoing my morning coffee and nightly wine was cleansing enough for my body.
After 10 days, my skin looks great, and I think I've dropped about five pounds. It was a good exercise in discipline and and a lesson in how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet. Ten days without a glass (or many glasses) of wine also makes me realize how easy it is to cut my consumption in that area.
Maybe my next venture will be to try an actual fast. But first I'm going to enjoy eating cheese and bread again.
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