So why a 5 day fast??  Well just for the record, before we go any further, it´s not about weight loss!! Over the years when I have changed my diet and eliminated various products people have invariably asked me why I was dieting… I never was ‘dieting’ I was just looking for a healthier way to be, a way that suited me and felt right.

Two years ago I did a Blessed Herbs 10 Colon Cleanse. It was an amazing experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and have been looking forward to doing it again.. however I took two weeks off while I did that cleanse and I haven´t had the opportunity to do so again. I wouldn’t put the family through a detox while we were on holiday, that would just be cruel!!

Right.. back to the Why… I just feel the need!!  After many years of experimenting with various eating regimes I am now quite sensitive to how my body reacts and feels, plus, the start of a new year is great time to have a clear out of any description.

A little bit of my history….healthwise/nutritionwise it´s only a little bit descriptive honest!

I recall being on holiday in Tenby when I was no more than 10 and we went out for dinner. I had chicken Maryland with chocolate cake for dessert and before we even left the restaurant my stomach was in agony and several trips to the toilet ensued. That´s the first time I remember a reaction like that happening.

At around 11 or 12yrs old  I was at Camp with the school and after dinner one evening I was doubled over with the most intense gut pains, they had me in the infirmary and were on the verge of sending me to hopspital when the pains subsided…after a trip to the toilet..

Over the years there were various ‘diagnosis’ thrown about…irritable bowel, wheat Intolerance, dairy intolerance… I knew that my stomach issues got worse when I was stressed…this I discovered when we had our own business over 10 years ago.

Through my work in our business, I met a couple that were advocating the Zone Diet..I did some work with them and was very interested in the system and the sense that it made…but it was too much of a ‘solution in a box for me’ One size does not fit all, no matter what it is.. we are all unique indivduals. So, although I followed the zone diet for 12 weeks, lost much more of my post baby fat and felt better in my health than I had for a while.. I knew that this wasn´t THE answer for long term health.. I learned that my body reacted better to a higher protein diet and that I was no longer bloated due to cutting out the starchy foods pasta, rice, bread, etc tec.

I looked for intolerance tests and finally took one at a leading health food store which reported I had intolerance to wheat, bananas and dairy… So I cut it all out and noticed a change but man was it hard!! I started to re-introduce the things I liked after around 3 months and I was ok… but maybe it was the combination of what I was eating rather than individual items.This was taking sooo much time and trial I just wanted to eat normally !!!.

I asked for help and was given an appointment with an NHS dietician and told her my issues and she said ‘don´t know why you get bloated with potatoes and rice…theres nothing in them to make you bloat up!!’ Her way to help me was to print out the gluten and dairy free ranges from 3 major supermarkets web sites and post then to me. It was a VERY HEAVY envelope and I sent it straight to the recycle bin!

Anyway it goes on.. My skin was bad, I had some ‘invisible’ health problems and I knew that there must be a different way for me to eat… I found the Metabolic Typing diet and read the book with huge relief!!!

I used the book for over a year chopping and changing how I ate.. incidentally I was classed in the book as a protein type… just like i had found with the Zone diet which meant I did better with protein than carbs..I went and did the Met Typing Advisor course and never looked back. Although I will say that something stopped me from setting up as an advisor..sure I advocated the system with my cleints but I never went out and out to promote it.

But just a note aside here. The Metabolic Typing system has 6 ‘categories’ that people fall into and there is room for ‘individuallity’ within each of these 6…. a system that does not try and push us all into the same box!!

So up until now I pretty much eat based around my Metabolic Type which advocates that I leave no more than 3 hours between meals and definately no more than 5 hours!! So again WHY fast??!!  I have spent some time asking myself the same thing!!

The Catalyst for the Fast….I stumbled upon a blog of a guy called Brad Pillon, He´s a nutritionist in Toronto Canada.. He has written a book called Eat Stop Eat.. So I subscribed to his newsletter and read his emails for a few days and thought.. what is this guy on!!?? He´s telling us to not eat for 24 hours at a time and to repeat this once or twice a week! Ha!! Like I could survive with no food healthily for more than 5 hours never mind 24!! BUT…. it niggled me and niggled me so I started to research more and found lots of useful and some very ‘un-useful’ sites on the internet but I also read research papers on the effects of fasting on fat loss and health and was very interested in the findings. I also found that it ´made sense´ You know when you get one of those kind of ahhh moments?! 

So while Brad Pillon advocates a 24 hour fast in Eat Stop Eat. I was looking at doing a 10 day fast but wasn´t sure I would have the body fat to support it, or the willpower to be honest I do rather like my food!!

So I decided to go for a 5 day water fast… No potions, maple syrups or juices  & no extra herbs (although I bought some Senna Tea and Cayenne Pepper, I´ll explain that in a bit..) This isn´t about a commecial diet  it´s about taking 5days for my digestive system to REST from 35 years of constant work and in many times struggle.

Most of the people that know me refer to me as the fit chick..I am the fittest, strongest healthiest person that most of the people I know.. know ..

So why the quest for better health, am I being selfish as I am already healthy?? I figure that being healthy and eating the right things I should be the ‘epitomy’ of health but quite often I don´t feel that way..

My skin gives me problems…I guess you could call it Adult Acne..one MD told me I was too fit!!
I have a candida issue which raises it´s head on occassion
Infrequent UTI Issues
I have ‘foggy head’ times.. more than I am prepared to put up with Yes I KNOW I´m blonde!!
I often ´CRASH´ after eating some foods
I have broken sleep more than I sleep well
I have catarrh in the mornings when I wake

My tongue is coated when i wake in the mornings
I am cold… a LOT and I live in a tropical climate!!! Poor Circulation
My nails are soft and break all the time
My eyesight is getting worse
I have some issues with my teeth and amalgam fillings but that´s a whole other project !!

I have always been guided by my gut!! And I don´t mean in the sense that it gave me jip so I had to follow it!! I mean that I did things if it felt right in my gut and didn´t do it if it didn´t feel  right in my gut..Doing this Fast just feels right, even though it goes against many of the things that I have believed  and used professionally in my Wellness Clinic for many years.

So I start my 5 day fast tonight when I go to bed and will fast until Monday evening, with Tuesday being the day I break my fast.. I’m kind of excited, I have the support of my family , I have been talking to the kids (11,13) about it as they were a little concerned as to how I would function without food, or maybe about how grumpy I might get!! Ha..

My weeks Schedule is…
Thursday – off all day  ….
Friday -  Supervision AquaRehab session – followed my one hour light Physio client
Saturday – One hour PT
Sunday – 2 massage sessions followed by one hour PT
Monday – one hour light Physio followed by two massage sessions.

I´ve cut back on everything that´s not at a crucial stage.. so I´m hoping that the reports of no major drops in energy are true so I can manage what I have kept on.

We shall see!!!

  ***IMPORTANT*** Remember, I am not a medical professional. I did this because my body told me what to do. I have no advice for anyone on this matter, except you are in charge of your body. Please contact your health care professional and see if water fasting may be right for you. DO NOT GO IT ALONE! If you are interested in learning more about water fasting, there are a few websites out there with more information:

• Water Fasting entry on Wikipedia
• Article on Water Fasting on FreedomYou.com

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