Earl tries a cleanse!

[earl]

justanotherdfu - can you tell me more about the ill effects you experienced while fasting.  I took the quiz that green2go linked and definately came up vatta.  Hmmm.
EtG

[earl]

Day One and the start of day two:
Last night I went to bed early, simply due to lack of energy and a truly amazing headache.  I noticed yesterday that my sense of smell was getting sharper, or maybe Drew was getting smellier.  I heard that people with more toxic systems tend to develop a noticable smell while cleansing.  Well, I can smell this strange scent hovering around Drew (mostly) and myself.  It's a heavy smell, like mildew.  Dark smelling.  Not good.  My tongue has a strange coating.  I lost five pounds in one day (?!?!?!?! freaked me out...).
That being said, I woke up this morning feeling WONDERFUL!  Better than I've felt in a while.  From what I've heard and read, there's a certain point in this fast where that uncomfortable, very hungry feeling begins to diminish.  Around the second or third day, depending on your metabolism, your body starts burning fat stores for energy.  Anyway, since most toxins are stored in boydfat, I'm awaiting the inevitable symptoms of increased toxicity as they enter my system and are flushed out. 
I'm sure you can't wait to hear about it.
Earl the Girl

[earl]

So, back to the discussion of supplements. 
JDD - is Liv52 an enzyme supplement?  I have considered using enzymes before, but haven't.  They're pricey.  I told my parents about the good results others have had using enzymes and they both decided to try them.  My dad has Chron's disease and my mom has RA, so they're both dealing with chronic conditions and have benefited immensely from enzyme therapy.  These enzymes they take seem to reduce inflammation in their systems, and as you probably know, inflammation is a hallmark (cause, indicator, ect) of chronic disease.
EtG

[SaraBeth]

Day One and the start of day two:
Last night I went to bed early, simply due to lack of energy and a truly amazing headache.  I noticed yesterday that my sense of smell was getting sharper, or maybe Drew was getting smellier.  I heard that people with more toxic systems tend to develop a noticable smell while cleansing.  Well, I can smell this strange scent hovering around Drew (mostly) and myself.  It's a heavy smell, like mildew.  Dark smelling.  Not good.  My tongue has a strange coating.  I lost five pounds in one day (?!?!?!?! freaked me out...).
That being said, I woke up this morning feeling WONDERFUL!  Better than I've felt in a while.  From what I've heard and read, there's a certain point in this fast where that uncomfortable, very hungry feeling begins to diminish.  Around the second or third day, depending on your metabolism, your body starts burning fat stores for energy.  Anyway, since most toxins are stored in boydfat, I'm awaiting the inevitable symptoms of increased toxicity as they enter my system and are flushed out. 
I'm sure you can't wait to hear about it.
Earl the Girl

How often through the day are you drinking this lemonade? 

[earl]

As often as I want.  Yesterday, I drank somewhere around six or seven.
EtG

[SaraBeth]

As often as I want.  Yesterday, I drank somewhere around six or seven.
EtG

Ah...thanks... *makes mental note*
I would have to give up coffee totally... the thought of the caffeine withdrawal headache makes my skin crawl...   but I should do something like this...

[Freelee]

It's important to flush intestines to eliminate those toxins.

You ARE doing that, right?

If you're doing a fast and want the benefit of your body working to eliminate toxins, do not consume anything that needs to be digested.  Digestion is an energy hog and will make you HUNGRY.  Juice only will shut digestion down in a day or so and you won't be hungry. 

Flush those bowels!

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

So, back to the discussion of supplements. 
JDD - is Liv52 an enzyme supplement?  I have considered using enzymes before, but haven't.  They're pricey.  I told my parents about the good results others have had using enzymes and they both decided to try them.  My dad has Chron's disease and my mom has RA, so they're both dealing with chronic conditions and have benefited immensely from enzyme therapy.  These enzymes they take seem to reduce inflammation in their systems, and as you probably know, inflammation is a hallmark (cause, indicator, ect) of chronic disease.
EtG

Liv-52 is a herbal (ayruvievic sp?) supplement.

Digestive enyzmes can be had cheap if you buy in bulk. Check out the NSI brand at VitaCost.com. I don't recall the price for the big bottles but they were quite affordable.

Systemic enzymes a bit different. I will post my experiences with them in a separate thread. I tried a 3 month supply at a pretty high dose in a (semi-desperate) attempt to heal a really nasty hamstring pull (almost a tear) as that's what they give rugby players in Australia when they're injured. I was doing a lot of things (active release, myofascial release, corrective exercises, etc.) for my leg so it is hard to know what did what. But my acne scars dating back to pretty nasty teenage ace reduced by about 50-75% ater about 6 weeks on the enyzmes. The reduction was so profound my mom, who had not seen me in 3 months since starting the enyzmes said "OMG, your scars have all gone away upon" seeing me. Unfortunately they are too expensive for me to use them regularly unless I had an active condition which necessitated their use.

[StrangeFire]

How ya feelin' tonight, Earl? Hangin' in there?

[justanouveaufarmer]

justanotherdfu - can you tell me more about the ill effects you experienced while fasting.  I took the quiz that green2go linked and definately came up vatta.  Hmmm.
EtG

Dang it!  I had a long post done and then lost it.  I hate that.  Ok, the thing is I'm not telling you what to do, just telling you what happened to me. 

I felt ok during the fast, except for the hunger, weakness and cold.  It was after the fast that I started having problems with my digestion and hormone problems.  I finally went to the doc and got a hormone panel done and found out I had adrenal fatigue. 

What I learned during researching all this, is that Vatas need more fats because we don't regulate them as well as other people.  When you eat oil or fats it creates bile flow which "sweeps out" your gallbladder and ducts.   When you fast (or eat a fat free diet) the bile becomes stagnant.  I believe that my fast caused or contributed to reduced liver function, which in turn caused the digestive problems and reduced hormone output and adrenal insufficiency. 

The Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet may be wonderful for some people.  Not Vatas.  For us it's too harsh.  I've learned that my body is smarter than I am.  Now I try to listen to it and treat it with respect, not beat it into submission or manipulate or trick it because I read something that "should be" good for it.  I take good care of it and fully expect it to carry me around in good health until a bus runs over it.  I subscribe to the One Car Theory of health.

In case anyone else is considering a fast or wants to find out about their body type:
http://www.yatan-ayur.com.au/dosha_analysis.htm
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/ayurvedic/about_dosha.htm
http://www.ayurvedictouch.com/survey.htm

If somebody is interested in ayurveda or good health, the best book I've ever read is Timeless Secrets of Health And Rejuvenation
available on amazon or here:  http://www.ener-chi.com/
Here's a cool site about digestion:  http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=articles/journey_colon.php

[earl]

Ok LATOC.  I'm fessin' up.  I didn't make it.  Two days into the cleanse, and I folded.  It was NOT GOOD.  I felt wonderful Sunday morning, only to end up shivering cold, dizzy, exhausted and extremely pissed hardly two hours later.  Drew and I were at eachother's throats for no good reason most of the day yesterday.  I'm surprised we are still able to sleep in the same bed.  It was INTENSE.  This is gonna get a bit personal, but bear with me.  This cleanse got me so out of whack in such a short time that I almost passed out in my alley carrying laundry home from the laundrymat yesterday.  My boobs got super sore (wtf???) and I started spotting all strangely.  In spite of flushing my system with a salt water mix and drinking senna leaf tea, I had no movements.  Very unusual for me.  I'm a regular sort of gal, you know?
Secondly, I started obsessing about loosing weight.  I don't need to lose weight AT ALL.  I lost a surprising amount over the weekend and actually saw the scale reading the same as my freshman year of highschool!!!  Needless to say, my body has changed a lot since then and that's not a reasonable number for me.  Only, I saw it and thought to myself, how skinny can I get?  WTF!?!  I have NEVER found myself thinking that way before!!!  I was partly motivated by my trip back home/Chicago in April, just to be the hottest of my friends, but that's not a healthy thought either!  That's not what seeing my friends is about and I KNOW IT!  It's NEVER been about that.  What happened?  Therein lies the real reason I cut this thing off.  I've seen friends slide into eating disorders through what seem like harmless behaviors.  When I told Drew what I was thinking and how I was feeling, he couldn't believe it.
I stay healthy, eat well and exercise to feel good, be strong and stay balanced. 
I'm going to have to look into ayurvedic health.  I think justanotherdfu is spot on.
Cheers,
Earl the Girl

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

ETG,

Can't say I'm surprised. I don't mean that in a condescending way as I've tried all sorts of health oriented "fixes" over the years and generally come away either no-better or slightly worse.  I think sometimes we want to "fix" stuff in a matter of weeks, preferrably 4-6 as that is a comprenhendable amount of time. The conclusion I've come to is that a basic program involving the following done on a consistent basis over several years is about as good as you're going to get. I know you know most of this but I'll put it out there for anybody reading this who is new to this stuff:

#1) some type of fish oil or EFA supplement
#2) lots of fibrous veggies and organic proteins
#3) something to improve the digestive process
#4) something to improve/optimize sleep
#5) corrective exercise and soft tissue treatment
#6) sufficient sunshine
#7) a nice long walk at least 3 times a week.

Put another way, you could break it down to the following:

#1) correct postural distortions and soft-tissue disorders
#2) optimize sleep and digestion
#3) take a long walk facing the sunshine
#4) a more natural diet (fibrous veggies, organic proteins, EFAs)

With most of these things you will see a small effect right off the bat but nothing too amazing. It's when they're done consistently over months or years that a real effect begins to be seen, at least in my experience. This, of course, is at odds with the American Achieve-atron Psychosis (TM) where a significant transformation - or cleanse - has to occur all within 4-6 weeks.

Of course laughter, companionship, and something compelling to get one out of bed in the morning are fundamental too.

[StrangeFire]

Earl, sounds like you made the right call abandoning that fast. Listening to your body is a lost art form.

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

My boobs got super sore (wtf???)
 

This is not a medical diagnosis (obviously) but the first thing that went through my head was maybe the severe drop in caloric intake set off some emergency hormonal thing in your body. You know who female athletes who go on extreme diets will stop menstrating because they can't produce the necessary hormones? I'm thinking maybe something like that was triggered by your diet is what caused the soreness.

Whatever the exact cause is, definitely NOT a good thing.

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

As far as looking hot for your friends: I lost about 5 pounds - mostly around the belly - over the course of a few months with no significant other change in diet or exercise by adding coconut oil to my daily regiment.  I got the idea from Dr. Mercola, he is big on coconut oil for thyroid production and weight loss. My hair also started to look all shiny which is sort of a surprise as I don't even pay attention to that. But I figure if you can tell a horse or goat's health by looking at the sheen of its hair maybe the same is true for humans.

I bought the caps from VitaCost.com. I originally bought the oil but it's disgusting to take straight and if I used it to cook the residue would clog up the pipes. (It's liquid at higher temps but a solid at lower temps).