6 Tips on How to Go Without Food for > 3 days
Part 4 of the ‘How to Juice Fast’ series
You can find the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HSLIfxNJ9I
First thought: it sounds berserk — I know. But you’ve made it this far, so something is telling me that you are curious or even inspired to take the next step and do a juice fast. I applaud you if this is the case! And to make it a little easier for you, I want to share these tricks that I found super helpful when trying to overcome feelings of hunger, resisting the temptation to eat, and control your mind so that your emotions don’t take you (and everyone around you) for a wild roller coaster ride, aka don’t kill anyone while you’re doing a juice fast.
Tip 1: Drink Lemon Water
This is really easy and it’s so worth doing. First of all, lemon water acts as a liver cleanser and assists the process of detoxification. Great — another way to supercharge your cleanse! It also helps suppress hunger cravings. Lemons contain pectin, a soluble fibre commonly found in citrus fruits. Pectin helps fight hunger as the fibre creates a feeling of fullness. And the third reason I will give you is this: lemons will boost your mood. The high levels of potassium found in lemons can help brain and nerve functioning and control blood pressure. Lemon water is said to ward off stress and depression, which have been linked to low levels of potassium.
Tip 2: Drink Coconut Water
I travelled to Costa Rica in 2012 to cleanse my body of the toxins that had accumulated over the years, before going down the conventional route and getting chemotherapy. There I was surrounded by brilliant physicians and natural healers who helped me realize the healing powers in nature. Palm trees are fairly abundant in this rainforest paradise and so were coconuts as a result. Coconut water, I was taught, is one of the most biocompatible substances to the human body and our hydration needs. In fact it is so compatible, that it has been reported to have been used for intravenous hydration and revival of critically ill patients in remote regions of the world. While in Costa Rica, I would do 5-day “Pipa Fasts” — all I consumed was fresh coconut water. I consumed an average of 20 coconuts a day. I got really good with the machete, needless to say. Like many others, I consider natural coconut water to be insanely beneficial for our bodies. While juice fasting, use it to energize yourself. It will also help suppress feelings of hunger as it is quite filling. Pay attention to the ingredients list when purchasing your coconut water! For some idiotic reason, a few brands list additives such as sugar and vitamin C in their ingredients list. Stay away from those and look for those brands that list natural coconut water as the only ingredient.
Tip 3: Drink Yerba Mate Tea
I love Yerba Mate for many reasons. It has been used as a beverage since the time of the ancient Indians of Brazil and Paraguay. In the early 16th century, Juan de Solís, a Spanish explorer of South America’s famed La Plata River, reported that the Indians of Paraguay brewed a leaf tea that “produced exhilaration and relief from fatigue.” In Europe it is used for weight loss, physical and mental fatigue, nervous depression, rheumatic pains, and headaches. Some yerba mate marketers claim that the herb contains no caffeine — rather, a chemical similar to caffeine called mateine. Fact remains: yerba mate does contain caffeine just like most other teas, which is why you should drink it responsibly. Make a cup when you have a difficult time sticking to the fast and need a little pick-me-up. I suggest you use water that is just about to boil (not quite boiling) to brew the tea and spritz some lemon into it as it can be a little bitter.
Tip 4: Have a tea spoon of Honey
As mentioned before, your blood sugar naturally drops since you are not consuming much sugar, or sugar-inducing foods. As a result, this may lead to fatigue and mental fog. You may find it difficult to concentrate on tasks. I found a tea spoon of honey a day to be incredible effective, especially if you can time it perfectly just before you get too low-energy. For a lot of people, that time is around 3:00 PM but of course every one is different. I personally prefer manuka honey for its additional medicinal properties. It is however on the expensive side and I believe in the healing properties of bee honey as well. Whatever fits your bill and preference!
Tip 5: Drink Kombucha
You may have heard of Kombucha. Despite a little spike in popularity, at least in Canada, it is still fairly unknown to most Westerners. The ancient Chinese, however, have been calling it the “Immortal Health Elixir?” for decades. In fact, it’s been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich history of health benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases. Besides having a whole myriad of health benefits, a cup of Kombucha also leaves your stomach satisfied. I always have a few bottles in the fridge for when the hunger kicks in. Not to mention it’s kind of tastes like champagne…just don’t mind the floaties in the drink. Think of them as your friends that are the catalysts of the health benefits you enjoy by drinking Kombucha.
Tip 6: Have the right Attitude
Having the right attitude, needless to say, is the key in sticking to a juice fast. You need to WANT to do it. And that comes down to motivation and understanding the benefits of the juice fasting. Personally, I felt that reading and listening to other people talk about their experience and their love for juice fasting to be super persuasive. Keeping the end goals and benefits in mind is also effective. In the end, most of us are goal-oriented individuals and like to work towards a specific outcome. Find the reasons that resonate most with you, focus your attention on those, and then go for it. Do one big grocery shop to fill your fridge with colourful, fresh produce so you have no excuse to not juice. Identify any other potential excuses you may come up with before you start the fast so you can recognize them immediately as they pop into your head. Resist the urge to quit. You will feel so much worse if you start the fast and then quit. Not so much physically, but more so emotionally. Finishing the fast on the other hand will make you feel so accomplished, releasing a whole bunch of happy chemicals — you will have all the reason to celebrate. Try to take it easy on the alcohol a couple of days after the fast though. Your liver will be revived, albeit exhausted from all the cleansing.
And who needs alcohol anyways when you’re high on life after such an amazing accomplishment?!
I hope this information will inspire you to juice fast once in a while as a way to reclaim or simply maintain your health. I salute each and one of you who garners the willpower, strength, and determination to overcome short-term hardship for long-term health benefits. It’s not easy, but it’s well worth the effort!
If you have any questions or other tips and tricks that have perhaps helped you during juice fasting, reach out to me! I’d love to hear from you.
Twitter: @t_schomburg
Medium: https://medium.com/meducated-org
