Last year, I began the ritual of juice fasting into the new year. The aim of the fast was to give my body a rest, clean out my system, affirm release of old habits or blocks of the past year, and renew a spiritual and physical connection. Last year the fast was 10 days. This year, I made it to day 7 and then on day 8 had a strange burning desire for vegetable broth that I couldn’t shake, so I used the last three days to come down off the fast. If your looking for a way to jump start the year, amplify new positive resolutions, or renew yourself spiritually, physically, or mentally, you may want to give fasting a try. Just make sure to consult your doc if you have a special condition and to give your body adequate time to come down off the fast.
If you aren’t a fan of fasting cold turkey on vegetable juice, or would like to ease into it, here are some modifications that may allow you do some form of cleansing in this New Year:
- Try starting and ending the day with vegetable juice or master cleanse, and eating a meal mid-day.
- Eliminate meat for a specified period (3 days to a week) If you are transitioning into the vegan world, and still eating all kinds of meat, you can use your fast to eliminate red meat and still eat fish.
- Go raw for a couple days: meaning you consume only fruits and vegetables and/or juices for a specified period of time.
- Try to go for 3 days to a week not eating any packaged, heavily processed, unnatural foods. Read the labels on everything you consume and try to understand what the ingredients actually are in the food you are eating. It’s harder than you think… as they say, ignorance is bliss!
- Substitute morning meals for fruit smoothies with flaxseed or pysilium husk.
For a refresher on the benefits of fasting feel free to revisit this article: Juice Fasting: The Ultimate Tool for Anti-Aging & Spiritual Awakening
** Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Listen to your body, consult w/ yr doc if need be, and take my advice at your own risk. Side effects may include general joie de vire, a spiritual awakening, or an increase in magnetism & overall sexiness.