Transitions

Thus concludes the fast.

here's a wrap-up:

On the eve of Day 8, Paul and I agree to start making the transition off the fast. We's already stocked up on our oranges for juice. We'd each had a few troublesome symptoms arise that made us think there would be no additional benefit of going two more days. No Smooth Move tea for me tonight, though P enjoyed his.

Day 9:
Down a half pound. Officially below my move-in-with-Paul weight. Let's try to stay there now.

We each did one last salt water consumption in the morning. Paul juiced a bunch of oranges for me to have throughout the day. He's so sweet and good to me. Juice was electrifyingly good. Explosively flavorful. Pulpy, the way I like it. I felt some rumblings in my gut after drinking. Some quick trips to the loo were necessary. Didn't spin, thought I would go to yoga but didn't even do that. Very uneventful day. I did figure out the great mystery of my moutain bike's front shock not taking air, so all was not lost.

Paul made vegetable soup stock that evening. What can I say? It was unbelievable. So good. Rich, complex, almost creamy on the tongue even though it was a clear broth. He'd cooked lentils in the broth too. After the broth had cooled, there sat a pile of the softened stock vegetables and lentils as a mass lump. Some might toss it, but we picked and savored. These veggies would go back into the stock for our veggie soup tomorrow.

Day 10:

Go figure, I gain half a pound when I step on the scale this morning. Who knew you could gain weight on orange juice?
No Smooth Move tea + no salt water = you guessed it: nothing!

Paul juiced a bunch of blood oranges for me. So pretty! I'm liking this fresh squeezed juice. It tastes like spring in a glass. After taking Luna to the vet, I had a small cup of the soup before heading off to yoga class. The soup was so good. Simple, but quite flavorful. Soup is always a good thing in my book. But I've gotta tell you, I felt pretty decadent sitting there with my glass of blood orange juice and a cup of soup. I felt like I was living the high life!

After yoga, had some more soup. This time with a rye cracker. Chewing! I was back to chewing. I felt pretty full immediately, and slightly bloated. Fiber! With some nutrients in me, I felt the fog that had inhabited my brain for the past week or so begin to left. Seriously. I felt more capable of quick thinking, less hippified and s l o w. I also felt like I had some real energy for teaching tonight.

Spin class was great. No issues. Legs worked. Paul and I made what was an absolutely delicious salad. Avocado, fancy cut celery, shredded carrot, black beans, walnuts, chopped Italian parsley, dried cranberries and mixed greens tossed with Goddess dressing. (Bad name, good stuff. And vegan.) Chewing slowly and savoring. We kept commenting how good the food tasted and noticed individual flavors. And in true Paul fashion: dessert. Sliced bannanas dipped in melted dark chocolate.

Oh. My. God. Even dark chocolate tasted remarkably sweet. So lucious and smooth and perfect.

We're back on food. Yay!

Today, Day 11: Fully eating.
For breakfast I had almonds soaked in water overnight. (I can't describe how this changes the almonds, but it's wonderful. I learned to love soaked almonds on a Spirit Rock meditation retreat.) Had a rye cracker spread with soy yogurt, and a sliced apple.

Oh, and green tea. I am going to try the green tea thing for a while instead of coffee. I so love my coffee with chocolate soy milk every morning, but it seems almost wrong to go straight back into that habit. I feel like eating lighter, and the way I make my coffee is mud-like. Thick and almost pour-able.

I feel well-equipped to teach a two hour class tonight, thankfully. So much so, that I'm recycling a super-hard class filled with long accelerations for tonight.

My wise friend Marty asked me what I got out of the fast. Here's what I told him: "I got to re-experience the simple pleasure of what food tastes like and how enjoyable it is! I got a break from sugar and caffeine and a chance to restart/rebreak some habits. I don't know about feeling "cleansed" or anything, but it was an interesting break. I have SO much more energy, but it's subtle."