I am not sure what most people on this site do for a living, but I was wondering how many are in stressful and mentally demanding office jobs (e.g. bankers, lawyers, economists) and who are not self-emaployed.

Many recommendations during a fast include excercise, walking resting, and doing all sorts of wonderful and benficial things. What are people's view on doing a fast and carrying on working in a "normal" environment?

If you work in an office, where you are required to be mentally alert and do 10-16 hour days, how can you get the best out of fasting?

I have so far found only one useful trick: find out when your crisis day is (mine is the third day of the fast when I have severe palpitations, lightheadedness and no energy at all) and ensure that it falls on a weekend. As long as 2 days is enough to get the energy back, then I am normally fine by Monday. It if takes 3 days - have to take a day off.

Coming off the fast is hard in the office too, so depending on the length of the fast I start coming out at weekends as well.

Any experiences people can share?

Initially I also fasted on a peaceful resting day. Then in time I noted that one is much more energetic and resilient on fasting days, so now I look for the most stressful and busiest day to fast. Monday has become a routine but I would add another one or two days if it is a stressful week.

Bear in mind processing food is a stress on the body and, to some extent eating is stressful to the mind: It needs to make decisions and allocate resources according to your metabolic state.

And of course, once you are catabolic/ketotic, the ketones are potent tranquilisers but, contrary to drugs, also energy boosting.

André

That is if you are doing 1-day fasts, but if I am on a longer fast I always have a really difficult day 3, and yes, by day 5 or 6 I feel a lot more energy so it is not difficult to get back to work (although colleagues' constant munching and the smell of coffee can be a little annoying).

Great topic to discuss as working while fasting has its challenges...especially for those that have physically/mentally demanding job.

Most agree with that too Andre, processing foods in our bodies, is not alway pleasant either...sometimes worse.

I actually completed a lengthy fast over a year ago while working. I work in healthcare and in a fast paced environment plus surrounded by sick people all day. Truly, I never had a bit of concern only because I prepared mindfully. I avoided people,place and things that would cause enrgetic disturbance while my body was processing. I kept hydrated and did various things to ease detox and its intensity. I have few favorite picks that I always incorporate into my fasting journey...

Dr. Singh's Mustard Powder Detox bath
Penta water
Massage oils and essential oils
Deep breathing
Walking

You've got to keep the flow going so that the toxins don't cause stagnancy. Myself, I know that days 3,5,12,20,,37,48 etc are difficult day....and I also know that on any given day, the hours of approx 9am, 11am, 3-4 pm for example, are always challenging. More so, my kidneys tend to be at their height of detox during the 5 o'clock hour.

You are definately smart in outlining when to start your fast so that the most difficult days will fall on the weekend. DETOX definately has its chanllenging moments!

Fasting does get easier and easier in DETOX as the body becomes purer.

have you started yet Julia?

Misslinda, I intend to do a longish fast in March as I have too many client events and dinners this month... and I do not like doing a day here and there as i do not come out of the fast properly and I like to take my time.

I work in an offce and am normally sat at my dest between 8am and 9pm and i am very bad at taking breaks, so the atmosphere is far from ideal (even if i am creating it myself!) If I am running around, it is easier, I find than if I am simply glued to my chair all day.

Also, when i come home in the eveing, it is a choice between sleeping or taking a relaxing bath or going ofr a walk, sleeping normally wins.... Bu t I will try the detox bath you mention, although I am very bad at baths when fasting- they drain me. Do you have them hot or warm? Also, do you have colonics (shock, horror, as the Fast Doctor will reprimand me now!)? I have never done a fast without one but am tempted to try although i am stil a little confused at how elimination will work, in particular given my office lifestyle and lack of any physical activities.

Just a small little reprimend, dear Julia. The colon is NOT a meaningful elimination organ during a fast. What comes out the colon is primarily residues of your diet and intestinal bacteria. Toxins and waste from your cells are eliminated primarily through the kidneys and eccrine sweat glands (if water suluble), the lungs (if volatile) and the apocrine sweat glands if they are fat soluble. True, the liver also excrete some fat soluble toxins into the intestine, but that is so high up that a "colonic" is a joke. Or it would have been, if it didn't do so much damage.

André

so i have to excercise during my fast in order to eliminate? bye-bye sleeping time....

Well. "Have to" is perhaps too categorical.. elimination does however work a lot better of you do. And it helps reduce side effects/symptoms. And it makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

André

Julia wrote:


Also, when i come home in the eveing, it is a choice between sleeping or taking a relaxing bath or going ofr a walk, sleeping normally wins.... Bu t I will try the detox bath you mention, although I am very bad at baths when fasting- they drain me. Do you have them hot or warm? Also, do you have colonics (shock, horror, as the Fast Doctor will reprimand me now!)? I have never done a fast without one but am tempted to try although i am stil a little confused at how elimination will work, in particular given my office lifestyle and lack of any physical activities.

Most true that it is a choice. Sometimes our own perception can really keep us in that "drained" feeling . I've been there myself where I've had to argue at myself in the car to drag myself out for a walk. In the end, I hug myself for making that choice b/c truly, I feel better,more alive and BROKE the cycle!

Dr. Singha's detox bath is based with Mustard powder. Highly effective in aiding circulations, assiting in drawing toxins thru sweating,beakdown mucous and warming.

I do not do colonics and don't believe in them. IF in dire need, I'll do Dr Giliham's powder magnesium or an enema (if it's crucial)

There are laxative teas but I have never like them and I would suggest to stay away from SENNA LEAF....that stuff to me is more hazard than good.

As Andre said, exercise will aid in the ease of detox process...grant it, we don't mean run a marathon or do an hour of aerobics but do some blood flowing movements to alleviate the detox process. You'll we feel soooooooooo much better.

Sounds like you need a prep POW WOW before your fast!

Spring is coming.....it's EXCITING that we will SPRING CLEAN!!!

Misslinda wrote:
[quote]

There are laxative teas but I have never like them and I would suggest to stay away from SENNA LEAF....that stuff to me is more hazard than good.
[quote]

I KNOW! I once had 3 cups of tea that contained senna leaf whilst fasting. I did not realise that it was there as the tea was called "relaxation" or something, and I did not read the full list of ingredients...(never making that mistake again) And I did it on the 2nd day of fasting. On the third day in the early hours of the morning, I was dehydrated, shaking, fainting, panicking and generally thinking I was about to leave this world... and then, in a rare moment of sanity, I decided to read the ingredients once again and it all became clear...

Julia wrote:


On the third day in the early hours of the morning, I was dehydrated, shaking, fainting, panicking and generally thinking I was about to leave this world... and then, in a rare moment of sanity, I decided to read the ingredients once again and it all became clear...

Evey faster I've ever spoken to in the last 5 years that have used it, felt the same. Ought to be banned....

Agreed. Although senna is a herb, it "relieves" constipation via an irritant effect on the nerve plexus of the gut, inducing rather violent movements. This causes the gut to become progressively less sensitive ("Flogging a lame horse" springs to mind!) Several years ago I read a study that indicated in some countries more than half the people wearing colostomy bags had their colectomies as a result of laxatives.

Herbs are natural, I know. Poison Ivy is one of them. Snake venom is also natural and so is arsenic.

Most good things are natural, but not all natural things are good. And the word, our inclination to feel at ease with natural stuff, is often exploited to get the money out of our purses...

André

No, I never take senna (except by accident )

Andre, what is your view on having camomile tea while fasting? Would you put it into the same category as juices (thereby making a fast into a diet)?
I sometimes crave hot water during a fast and have drank camomile (not excessively, I mean just a cup or two per day) or some other similar herbs (calendula, St John's Wort).

If the tea helps you continue the fast, then the benefits likely outweigh the negatives. Camomile is not nutritious so your body would likely not interpret its taste as indicative of having taken in some nutrients.

The negatives you should consider is:

1. Your taste buds are recalled from their holiday. They will thus not be quite as rested when you break your fast. One of the best immediate benefits of the fast is the increased sensitivity of the taste organs.

2. Teas (or anything with taste) contains substances foreign to the body (you cannot safely inject it into a vein!) so detox is needed. Thus the immune system in the gut has to be re-activated.

3. After digestion and absorption, everything you eat or drink leaves some residue. To move the residual substances forward for elimination via the gut, the intestine uses peristalsis. This mechanism is very ineffective if there's only a small volume inside the intestine. The gut then has to contract much more powerfully if at all it is able to move the residue.

There are likely also other factors to consider. If, after considering all the pros and cons you still believe it is the right thing to do, by all means enjoy. And don't have a bad conscience when you do, else you won't enjoy it and thus not have the full benefit.

André

thank you, very helpful

I think one question to consider is, why are you taking the tea?

Dried Herbs and dried roots as teas, are concentrated forms of that particular herb or root. Traditionally, they are taken for medicinal purposes b/c they have medicinal properties. Herbs, like essential oils, have the ability to raise our body's frequency and harmonize it...

On a personal note, even a step further, depending on a person's condition, the leaf form OR the root form may be more appropriat than the other. This is more of Eatern influence--not to impose but sharing a personal view.

In France, chammomile has been used for decades as a overall body tonic. Who knows, it may be beneficial for you to use it and help you maintain your fasting journey.

Myself, I'm very selective and limited about what kinds of teas due to tannins etc. The first 10 days, I do one kind of dilluted tea OR juice until I have raised the frequency and then veer into water then back to dilluted forms of nutrients.

At the start of this thread I had nothing to add... as I haven't worked a day in nearly 4 years. But as you drifted into the use of teas and tisanes (which is tea folks' name for herbal teas that don't contain any real "tea"), I felt I had something to add.

Senna: My sister used senna (the nice one, not the nun), but remember you always want to get good quality teas/tisanes and that means organic or grown in the wild. Those pesticides and chemicals are tough to get off the leaves and you don't rinse tea, right? So they stay on there until brewing time. When she drank senna, she had really bad hemorrhoids after labor and senna is a great stool softener. The pure, high quality senna leaf tisane (loose not the blended stuff that comes in a tea bag) is powerful stuff! But the Dr. is correct. If you use too much senna... and you'll know cause it tastes nasty... it is like herbal dynamite. You will get these terrible cramps and you will spend a good bit of quality time on toilet... bring a book. (The only thing worse than an overdose of senna is this yoga thing called shank-prakshalana or what I simply call "shanking." DO NOT LET YOUR YOGINI GF CONVINCE YOU TO TRY THIS... NO MATTER HOW CUTE OR UMM... FLEXIBLE SHE IS!)

Chamomile: There are actually two types, Roman and German, and they differ a little in affects, but they aren't a tonic at all. A strong cup of camomile, the pure good stuff mind you, which looks like yellow daisy type flowers, can put a rambunctious child to sleep in 20 minutes. I know, cause Italian families have used it in this way, as a nerve relaxant, since the Roman empire. My dad used to powder some up in a coffee grinder and whip it into a mug of hot water... yuck, but it does help you get to sleep after a rough night shift in a factory!

I'm not an herbalist or anything like that, but I keep around certain herbs that I know work cause my family used them for generations. Camy and senna are really effective. I would add tisanes like thyme for its antibiotic properties and cinnamon if you've eaten too many sweets. I think it was Hippocrates who said this, but I might be wrong. "Let food be your medicine." That's a pretty clever thing to say I think.

Anyway... job interview in 3 hours... brrr... I'm so nervous! -jim

nemospeciale wrote:


Chamomile: There are actually two types, Roman and German, and they differ a little in affects, but they aren't a tonic at all. A strong cup of camomile, the pure good stuff mind you, which looks like yellow daisy type flowers, can put a rambunctious child to sleep in 20 minutes. I know, cause Italian families have used it in this way, as a nerve relaxant, since the Roman empire. My dad used to powder some up in a coffee grinder and whip it into a mug of hot water... yuck, but it does help you get to sleep after a rough night shift in a factory!

I'm not an herbalist or anything like that, but I keep around certain herbs that I know work cause my family used them for generations. Camy and senna are really effective. I would add tisanes like thyme for its antibiotic properties and cinnamon if you've eaten too many sweets. I think it was Hippocrates who said this, but I might be wrong. "Let food be your medicine." That's a pretty clever thing to say I think.

Anyway... job interview in 3 hours... brrr... I'm so nervous! -jim

Most true Jim, that chammomile has the ability to have sedating effects. Ironically it is also considered a tonic and has the ability to strengthen and tone. It's just not considered a "hallmark" of chammomile. Myself, I am one that doesn't get sedated by chammomile but then again, it may be more of the preparation and dosage but I do feel "balanced."

LOL the Roman emprie period....I'm sure it came in handy for 'em??!!

That is a very good point in the cultivation and processing of the herbs!!!! whenever possible, sun tea.

Sun tea... now that's something I haven't tried. Does it take long to brew? Am I right in assuming it is just water and tea left out in the sun to brew? And what are the advantageous of doing so? Does it help save the vitamin C in the drink? Seems like something definitely worth investigating.
Also, I couldn't understand how camomile can be both a sedative and a tonic, but you are absolutely correct Linda! All my texts say camomile is a sedative except one... Jethro Kloss' famous BACK TO EDEN labels camomile as both a tonic and a nerve relaxant. Strange weed indeed. Thanks for the lesson. -jim

I am working on a temporary job cleaing a restaurant that often has mice or rats in traps, and roaches...i clean the toilets, the dining room, and the kitchen, it's disgusting, and I feel anxious everytime I prepare to go in there. I am on day 13 of my water fast. I have to protect myself from the cleaning agents by using a mask, but still it's such an unpleasent and labourous job. It sucks, but really, everytime I go there I just keep thinking that something better will come my way soon...really I have to believe this because its really quite depressing.

Sky wrote:
I am working on a temporary job cleaing a restaurant that often has mice or rats in traps, and roaches...i clean the toilets, the dining room, and the kitchen, it's disgusting, and I feel anxious everytime I prepare to go in there. I am on day 13 of my water fast. I have to protect myself from the cleaning agents by using a mask, but still it's such an unpleasent and labourous job. It sucks, but really, everytime I go there I just keep thinking that something better will come my way soon...really I have to believe this because its really quite depressing.

please don't fear it....it will cause energertic hinderance to you fasting. Think of it as "purification" here's the other thinking.....soemthing greather is coming your way, but will you be ready? "SKY" is the limit.....right?

Congratulations on full 13 days WOW!!!

SKY - Congratulation on your fasting success. That is amazing.

It stinks that you are working a job you don't enjoy; however, on the upside anyone with a job in this economy should be happy. One thing I have learned to tell myself when things are less than I hope they would be is that it won't be like this forever. It is important to remember this when our lives seem full of joy too, as none of us will always be happy.

Life changes constantly and this is not the only job you will ever have. Just imagine how much less you would enjoy it if you weren't fasting. I always enjoy my work more when I fast.

Continued success with your fast.

Hi Sky.. isnt't it wonderful to have people like Misslinda and Meditating on board?

One should always look at the upside of any adversity. Just like running (getting physically tired) makes an athlete fit to tolerate even more of the same, so does exposure to adverse circumstances sometimes serve to make you "mentally fit".

I am old enough to have had Holocaust survivors as patients. When you learn what they've been through, there's just nothing in life that can be worse. And yet it made them strong and determined to succeed in life. o rise above adversity.

One of the functions of fasting is indeed to create a kind of "adversity" in life to make us stronger. After fasting many time, you become almost immune to some temptations, thinking: If I can resist all food for so long, this is minor.."! I made a point of actually preparing feasts for my family on my early fasting days, then sit with them when they eat. Now I have full control over whether, when & what I am willing to eat.

So some day, dear Sky, you'll look back on this and have fond memories, being able to count your blessings. We're with you in spirit.

André

Hi Sky,

Welcome among us and congratulations on a full 13 days fast!

As you said, the job you are doing is TEMPORARY, so keep that in mind - TEM-PO-RA-RY.

And don't be afraid to change jobs when you'll feel like it - FEAR is our worst enemy.

I was in your shoes, doing disgusting jobs, as a new immigrant in Israel. I washed the toilets and the hallways of Haifa University where, later, I came back as a student enrolled in Sociology, Anthropology, Psichology, etc as part of the curriculum of my Nursing Diploma.

But I always kept telling myself that:
1) What I was TEMPORARILY doing WASN'T ME
2) "Isn't this FUNNY? One day I'm going to write a book about all this!"
3) If I was going to survive that, nothing else could be worse!

So, keep your sense of humor and with it your spirits high, laugh inside yourself, because one day, you'll have the last laugh!

Alina

I hope I am doing this properly, the reply. I just want to say thank you to everyone for the positive support. I really am trying to be positive about this job....and yes I suppose one of the things I am learning is to not identify, and not allow others to identify me as a cleaner. It truly is not who I am...by far...but still...there is something I have internalized over the past years...even with my education I seem to keep coming back to this...maybe it feels safer...less expectations...but in terms of applying for jobs...I also find that when people see this, they have a hard time seeing past it...so I usually don't mention it....
I just had a moment... where I realized that it's time for change in my life....and this fast is really heightening this feeling....like I can't ignore it anymore.
I know I "should" be positive about this, but I don't want to be anymore. This job sucks, and quite frankly it keeps me tied too closely to my parents whom are no good for me. Yet I know i have to keep riding this out. I know I deserve better, and I know I am capable of more. I know the economy is shaky but I also know that many people are driving cars, and have more then one pair of shoes.. And so no I will not be grateful for this job, but I will try my best to stop putting so much energy into disliking this job and getting something better...and yes overcoming fear is a big part of this...I hope this long fast will inspire me to see and believe in my higher capabilities, my knowlege and experiences and my light.

I really want to thank you for all your support...I know this is just something I have to get through...sometimes its okay to not be positive about everything...it's important to acknowlege when there is something wrong, and to feel it, and then the next step, to do something to change it.
and so I will.
thanks for the light!
Sky

Hi Sky.. this just brought back a fond memory of a story my late father told:

Someone noticed 2 guys chiseling away at huge rocks on a building site a few hundred years ago. He asked each of them what they were doing.

The first said: "I am making these rocks square and smooth, like the boss told me."

The second said: "I am building a cathedral".

André

Hi guys, I'm glad to be with you in this interesting and useful topic! I'm in day 4 of a water fast and I have a hard time since day 2 of my fast. I've never had it so difficult before! During the first day of my fast I felt good and energetic, so I went for a bike ride for about two hours, considering the detox effect of the sweat important. After the ride and a shower, I felt fresh. The next day(2) I went for a bike ride again, but I got very tired and I couldn't do it for more than 15 minutes! Came back home, took a shower - very tired, hardly moving. The rest of the day and the next day(3) were horrible - tiredness, pain(mild) in joints, lightheadedness, nausea. I have fasted many times before, I have had hard time, but nothing to compare. I also have to mention here, that I have never done bike rides while fasting before. So, what do you think, guys, could the bike ride and the energy I lost be the reason to feel so bad, or is it something else, the bike ride being just a coincidence?

Andre, I like the wisdom in your story!...

Hey Dedon,
Looks like you switched from being an experienced passive faster to an active faster... maybe without even thinking about it. Fasting and working out is a bit of a different dynamic, in my opinion. You MUST keep up with the detox while active fasting. It is your #1 priority. If you don't, you will feel horrible, crash, and be disheartened. And the best way to learn about detoxing, again in my opinion, is to read HEALTH WON or research Dr. Kruger's forum contributions on the subject.
I'm no expert or authority of any kind, but I've had some nice success... as well as some "learning experiences"... with active fasting. Besides Dr. K's detox regimen, I like to hit the sauna or steam room for 20 minutes after every big workout or, in your case, bike ride. And don't laugh at this, cause I believe it really works, but a spit cup wouldn't be a bad idea either. I'm in the middle of an active fast now and I can spit out this nasty tasting, toxic phlegm nearly all the time. You will particularly notice the desire to spit when you are in the middle of a workout and for a few hours afterwards. Get it out... It is poison leaving your body.
Anyway, spend some time studying, if you haven't already. And particularly seek out active fasters and their teachers, as I believe they have good detox strategies and tactics.
Good luck! -jim

Exercising probably did accelerate your rate of detox. In addition, the experience you had fasting before may be different from a current or future fast as they are each unique.

Once I had such a difficult detox that for days I puked several times a day and could not get out of bed. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it and just let your body what it needs to do. As Fast Doctor says, if you aren't putting anything in your body then it must be something trying to get out. You can continue biking if you feel up to it. If you feel you can't rebound from your biking enough to do it again, then don't.

You may also try to assist the detox through a hydrotherapy regime. Dr. Kruger mentions it several times on this site. I often do a salt scrub or dry brush, followed by a long, hot shower and then I take a nap. Wish I could do that right now.

Meditating

Thank you Nemospeciale and Meditating for your fast replies! Nemospecial, you are right about the spit - it works the same way with me. About the sauna...I live in one - Florida! It's over 90 F, often close to 100 F degrees in the shade every day and you even do not need to ride the bike - you start sweating the moment you go out of the house! When I go biking, I probably loose pounds of sweat - I cant get it on the scale, because I drink water at the same time, but when I come back home, my clothes have no dry spot. Well, age probably has something to do as well - 61 is little too much for extremes like this, but I still do it every now and then! Thank you both for advising me to Dr. Kruger's. I'll go and look for it now.

Dedov.

Meditating: I've never puked while fasting, but I can't imagine that being fun... ugh. Talk about rapid detox though... haha! I use a luffa in the shower while fasting, but never tried the dry skin rubbing. Do you find that helps? And if so, can you recommend a brush? (Type/brand/etc.) Thanks.

Dedov: I'm thinking that's a huge detox advantage! (I'm referring to living in the sweltering heat of Florida and being a sweater, like myself.) I carry my spit cup with me always while fasting and I'm not kidding when I say I can fill a 12 oz. cup in a day. I usually don't let it fill up though as it smells like... umm... it smells nasty. I'm thinking your bike rides are perfect for active fasting. I like intense low-impact exercises for active fasting. By intense I mean it gets your heart rate up to 65 - 90% of your max heart rate, which you can calculate with this simple formula: 220 - your age = maximum heart rate. And by low-impact, I mean easy on the joints, particularly the ankles, knees, and hips. Since bike riding is a body weight supported exercise, when sitting down of course, it is ideal, in my opinion. Hiking on a treadmill with a steep incline is great too.
But when you get into ketosis, and are burning nearly nothing but fat for fuel, you will definitely want to tone it down a bit. When I go into ketosis I switch from intense low-impact to low-intensity steady state aerobic exercise or LISS. The reason being, I can easily out perform the rate of which I create energy while in ketosis. And that leads to some unpleasant sensations... that I call "crashing!" (Exclamation point included. ) Plus, the rate of detox will be EXTRAORDINARY!
Now, don't think LISS is any less effective or difficult. It's not either. For example, I did a LISS session at the gym last night. I did 80 minutes of treadmill hiking on a moderate incline, being careful not to let me heart rate go above 130 bpm (about 70% max heart rate). Then I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, but again keeping it at around 130-140. That's two full hours of non-stop LISS. So you see, LISS doesn't have to be easy at all.
Anyway... I probably gave you too much info as I usually do. I'm on a ketonic frenzy I guess. I told myself I wouldn't workout until noon and I still have 90 minutes to go... ugh. I'm glad you are seeing the benefits of active fasting. I can't think of a faster way to turn vicious cycles into virtuous ones. Keep up the great work, -jim

If you are dry brushing (and you can read about the practice on the internet) you want to be sure you use a natural bristle brush and not a synthetic one. The natural bristles don't scratch your skin like the synthetic ones do. They are available in different degrees of hard/oftness. I prefer a hard boar bristle brush but I have been dry brushing so long that I am just accustomed to using a brush.

You can make a salt or sugar scrub. If you use a salt, make sure it is finely ground. Mix the salt/sugar with a good body oil like coconut, sunflower or jojoba. There are recipes on the internet. You apply it when your body is dry and then rinse it off with hot water. Be sure to put a towel in the tub because as the oil comes off the tub will be very slippery. The first time I used a salt scrub I remembered thinking that this must be what it felt like to be an Egyptian princess and have an ancient beauty treatment. It was just fabulous, but now I am used to them so they feel everyday.