Badly needs a Mentor...

Hi Lisa,

Yep, I'm still alive & kickin'. & always good to hear from you.

Of course recovering from a major illness & associated surgery is not the same as fasting. My concern arises from the fact that he almost depleted within a week, whereas my intended fast is only just short of 3 weeks. I just worry how close I will get to depletion by the end. When you add exercise to the equation as well, it does beg the question how close I'll be sailing to the wind. And yet I know that many have safely fasted for much longer than 3 weeks. So my concerns are almost certainly either irrational or unfounded. Or both.

As for getting tested during my fast - not as easy as you might think. Our health service is funded from central taxation, and I cannot request a procedure without involving my GP. If she knew what I was getting up to, she would go apoplectic with rage. So it's a non-starter. Basically, I'm on my own. Well, apart from the support & encouragement I get from this forum and the helpful advice from the FDr.

On the question of the fast - you're ahead of me by almost a day I think. I'm about to have my fatty meal to set me on course for the nxt 20 days or so. Still, glad of any 'company' you can offer as you dip in & out of your regular shorter fasts.

Take care now, & dig that new hairdo btw

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, Loquat. I think I'll join you tomorrow. I gave up last time when a friend brought over a bunch of fruits and veggies for me. Had some good juices and salads so I've been eating well. But .... back to fasting, probably for 3 days this time. Tomorrow. I have a little more food to finish up today.

And Lisa, he's right, that hair cut is adorable on you.

Hi cranberrylime. Good to hear from you again too. And thx for your concern for my friend.

We got back from Bordeaux yesterday, & immediately 'phoned his wife to find out how he was getting on. The good news is that he was discharged yesterday, he's now able to hold on to his food & fluids, and tests showed that his tumor has not spread, so he is spared chemo. Just as well, since I doubt he would have survived legalized poisoning! Providing he survives the surgical re-routing of his large intestine, the prognosis looks good for a complete cure.

As for the fast, the more the merrier, regardless of length. I'm not counting today coz of the meal I had this afternoon, so first full day tomorrow. I'm looking fwd to my first serious test of my resolve. Good luck with yours.

In the interests of even handedness, allow me to compliment you on your flowing locks too! They are no less sensational.

Hey Loquat and Cranberrylime...thanks for the compliments on my hair.

It's great to see you both! Reminds me of old times! I just started a dry fast that I promised myself will be at least 12 hours. I've been drinking hot chocolate and eating pretzels at work and I'm mad at myself. Usually, I'm planning NOT to eat at work so I don't bring lunch and then for some reason, I end up having the stuff we serve our clients. I don't like that I'm consuming corn syrup solids and refined sugar and refined flour. It's it funny that some people think of pretzels as "healthy"? To me, they are a refined flour and salt delivery vehicle. I've also started drinking caffeinated coffee again and I am disappointed in myself for that. It started because my Mom wanted to stop over for coffee (something we used to enjoy together) and brought a pint of light cream along and left it at my house. I swear to you, that creamer called to me from the refrigerator! Just one tablespoon made my coffee so creamy and yummy. Anyway, I recognize that drinking coffee is not that big of a deal as far as your health is concerned but I really don't like the idea of being dependent on stimulants. However, coffee truly does increase my energy and make my runs feel less taxing on my body. I'm ambivalent about the habit. I've actually in the past have fasted while having one cup of coffee in the morning. LOL. I know, I know, it's not a fast and coffee is bad on an empty stomach. I am going to invest in some Teecino (herbal coffee substitute) at some point and wean from caffeine again. That being said, if I decide that I'm going to run tomorrow morning, I'll probably have some coffee in the morning.

Best of luck everyone on their fasts.

Ok, day one ... again. My boyfriend made me the fatty meal sandwich to start off with yesterday, so I'm good to go. I've had lots of water since then, mostly because I'm so freakin' thirsty. It's warming up here in Virginia and I'm loving the sunshine. Was out all day yesterday and can't wait to get out there today.

My day 1 is usually pretty easy so I'm not expecting any problems. I've done some stuff around the house and will be heading out soon to run errands. May or may not have to work tonight. We'll see. It's usually the evening of the first day that I start experiencing body rebellion. This actually should be a good week to do some fasting, barring anything unexpected it's supposed to be a pretty light week for me. And hopefully I won't have any surprise visitors. (Though I do love to visit with my family and friends, it's just difficult to fast when they're around.)

How are you guys doing?

@ lisa - chocolate, especially dark, is my weekness. Hot, cold, hard, soft ... if it's chocolate, I'm all over it. That, and lots of honey in my tea. I used to put a lot of sugar in iced tea, so I supposed that's a step in the right direction.

@ loquat - so glad to hear your friend did not to have to endure the chemo! That's awesome!!
FYI ~ Jerry made that sandwich not just for me yesterday but everyone here, it was a huge hit! And thank you for the 'hair' compliment. Right now it's pulled back and under a baseball cap, which Jerry thinks is adorable ... who am I to argue.

I broke on Fri. coz of a social commitment on Sun that I completely forgot about. & today the wife wants to take advantage of a special promo @ our local Pizza Express. So last 'fix' on Junk food coming up tonite, & I start @ day 1 again tomorrow. Oh well, @ least the resolve was still there when I broke Well, that's my story, & I'm sticking to it.

@ Lisa: I was also in the habit of starting my day with a cuppa coffee (no milk/cream or sugar etc) during fasting, but decided that I needed to prove to myself that I wasn't 'hooked', so soon gave up that habit. I know what the purists would say, but as long as I'm in ketosis, as far as I'm concerned, that's still fasting. Now, I confine myself to the occasional green or Quebra Pedra tea, both generally accepted to have excellent health benefits. I would drink water exclusively if only I didn't find it so boring. It reminds me too much of fasting, if you know what I mean!

@ cranberrylime: What was in that sandwich? Wasn't fried halloumi by any chance?

And my friend - well, he must be doing a lot better now. Got an e-mail from him today, the first for a long time. So yes, things are looking up, despite mainstream medical intervention

March was one of our hottest on record (20-23C almost throughout), but April decidedly cooler thus far. My baby figs have been decimated by the cold nights, so looking fwd to warmer times to encourage new growth. And yes, they do ripen, even in the UK!

So good luck with your fasting this wk.

Hey Loquat, I can definitely say that I have planned my fasts around pizza. So what is the status of your fast? I know you were doing a long term fast with some breaks in between. Have you changed your fasting plans or are you still going with your original plan?

Hey Cranberry,
I like chocolate too, but what I'm drinking at work is corn syrup solids!! Yuck. Sometimes when I'm putting it into the paper cup, I'm thinking, I wouldn't eat this powder, so why would I consume it just because I add hot water? The big deal at work is that they keep the room freezing cold and I'm always trying to get warm. I've just got to get snobby about my eating again and then I won't let that stuff cross my lip!
How long were you planning to fast?

So I'm fasting again. Just gulped down 12 oz of tap/well water to make sure I'm well hydrated. I think I'm pretty well hydrated anyway, because I've been eating a lot of naval oranges and waking frequently to urinate during the night. So I've decided to do this fast dry. It was kind of weird eating at work on Monday. I've been fasting Mondays, but this week, I fasted on Sunday instead and ate on Monday. I feel kind of off my schedule. I'd like to do Wed and Thursday, Maybe even Friday. I like intermittent fasting because you can plan for all the social eating things, but I miss doing a bit longer. Plus, I just loaded up the family with some groceries and I work the next two evenings until 9pm so hopefully I should be able to stay out of the kitchen. Although, those oranges and bananas, they're looking at me LOL.

Hi Lisa,

My current plan is slightly fluid, but the intention now is a 15 (min.) or 21 day (max.) fast, some of it dry, followed by 90 days semi-raw. That's mainly coz there are certain veggies that I want to include in my diet that I can only eat cooked. But because that's a 'cheat', I plan to compensate by fasting an equal number of days as I'm eating cooked. So the basic pattern for 3 mnths following my fast will look something like this:

Mon - Tues: Fast
Wed - Fri: Raw only
Sat - Sun: Raw + some cooked veg.

That gives me a minimum of 38 days raw over the period, which more than meets my target of going raw for 30. The only difference is that I'm spreading it over a longer period, and mixing it up a little to keep it interesting.

So today is my first in a fairly long project, and my wife assures me our social calendar is clear for the next 15 days at least! The real test will come in May when we go to Cyprus for a short break. It will be almost impossible to stick to a raw regimen during this period, so I expect I shall break off for 10 days, & and then make it up again by adding it to the end of my raw stint.

Well, that's the plan anyway. The execution might be something else. But it's not as if I don't have an incentive to see this thru. I have another diabetic review coming up in mid-July (I sailed thru my last one), so I need to be on my best behaviour, otherwise it's the dreaded meds. Blood tests don't lie, so there will be an objective measure of my control at the end of this journey. But either way, I'll keep you all posted. I'm sure you won't mind being bored to tears!

Hi all! IM BACK! oh well , My attempt to get pregnant didnt go as planned. I just got my Pregnancy test this moring and it was a negative. anyways, while i was going through the whole process, medications, hormones which increased my appetite, made me gain 15 stubborn pounds. so here I am back and will fast starting tomorrow to lose the weight and rebuild my body, emotionally and physically so i can try to concieve agian July. none of my clothes fits me anymore so i actually have no choice but to lose the FAT.

so tomorrow i start...water fast or dry fast..we will see...

so how is everybody...glad to see that this thread is still going!

Day 1 was fine, no problems. Day 2, yesterday, was terrible. I felt lousy and didn't do much. Today wasn't much better until ... a friend I haven't seen in a while called and we went out to lunch. Had a vegetarian wrap and it tasted SOOOO good. One thing I've noticed about fasting, I really appreciate the taste of food more when I stop.

@ Mhaiyarn ~ So glad to see you again. Sorry to hear about things not going as planned. *hugs*

@ Lisa ~ Maybe you could buy a container of Dagoba Organic Drinking Chocolate and keep it at work for those 'moments'. Have you ever tried it? Really good. It's probably still not that great for you but I'm going with - it has to be better than that other stuff. In fact, it's rainy out so I think I'll have some in a few minutes.
I was planning to fast for 3-5 days, do mostly juices for the next couple of days, then fast again. I seem to react so strongly to fasting though I've got to wait until I can do absolutely nothing, like I did for my first 10 day fast. I'm going to have to stick to juice fasting for a while.

@ Loquat ~ I absolutely won't be bored to tears, I love to read your posts! Please keep posting. And yes, those sandwiches did include the halloumi cheese. I think you told me the name of the brand of halloumi that you like but I can't remember, what was it again? I sent you a message about it but it might be easier to get it here if I order directly from the company.

I absolutely won't be bored to tears, I love to read your posts! Please keep posting.

Awww shucks. Oh alright then - I'll keep posting. Just for you. And Lisa. And .....well, I guess anybody else who can stomach the style.

And yes, those sandwiches did include the halloumi cheese.

That was a lucky guess then. I hope he fried it first - much better. Shame you don't like tomato - works a treat with this sandwich.

I think you told me the name of the brand of halloumi that you like but I can't remember, what was it again?

Actually, I don't believe I did. I think what I said was that the one you found (Pittas) was ok, but not the best, or my favourite (although it is my sister's favourite).

In fact, the best halloumi I ever tasted can no longer be bought for love or money. We only ever got one slab of it, made for us by special request whilst we were in Cyprus. The maker was a friend of a friend who was the local milkmaid in Aradippou. She's now either retired or dead, and her kids were not interested in continuing the family business. Such a shame, and what a loss to her customers. But what can I say, it was absolutely sensational.

But the second best we tasted is commercially available, and if you're very fortunate, you might find it in the US. It has a distinctive yellow label, and it's called PROKOPIS, made by Cowboy Farms. Failing that, halloumi from Kornos, Skarinou-Kophinou, or Aradippou will all run Cowboy Farms a close 2nd. There are others, but the names escape me presently. So good luck with that! And let me know if you strike gold - or in this case, yellow.

PS They used to send e-mail alerts if a PM hit your inbox, but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. I suspect it has something to do with the upgrade.

Anyway, apologies for not noticing your PMs sooner. I've now answered both, so you might wanna chk your inbox.

Oh well, i decided to gradually decrease my solid intake today, my body was in shock when i decided to stop eating, my headache was BAAAD!, my stomach super hyper acidic. my last meal was a complete dinner, appetizer, main dish and dessert and i ate lunch an breakfast too and that was my intake for the whole month, so i guess uddenly not eating is not a good idea. so now i am drinking coconut water , salad only and fruit, then tomorrow will see how my body reacts, will try with just juoice tomorrow or just fruit until im totally in fasting....

Have you ever had that feeling when you feel you are so ready to fast and can with stand any temptations that will pass your way? YEP! thats how i feel today. So today is Day one for me...will try to just dry fast until my body tells me otherwise. so me goal is to fast until i reach a weight of 100 - 105 pounds. i was 120lbs last month and now im 138. so i feel that i have stored enough fat and waste in my body.. i feel so lethargic and so slow. Just different. Why 100 pounds? i want to give myself some allowancd coz i know that wheni start eating my body will hoard as much fat as it can, and for sure i will gain some pounds, i dont want to go over 110.

when i reach 100-105 pounds i will be on fruits with one day a week "eat what ever day"

ok so this is my goal!!! im excited!!!

@ Mhaiyarn - You go girl!! I love it when I get that feeling like I can take on the world and face my current obstacles head on. It feels soooo good. I try to get in that 'mode' every day when I wake up, but some days, it just happens without my even trying. I love it!

@ Loquat - Thanks for the PM's, I've also replied back to both. Also, I've researched the Halloumi and found out that I can order it from the Cowboy Farm Dairy website. They'll ship to the US so I'm good to go! Thanks for your assistance! [Unfortunately they can't ship the yogurt to the US though, would've liked to have tried that too so I can see how it compares to the Greek yogurt here in the States. Hopefully I'll make it over there some day and give it a try. I'll just have to find a job in Europe somewhere ... it's a thought.]

Well howdy ma'am.

Congrats on tracking down them there Cowboys! If you have a choice, make sure you order the double-slab cellophane-wrapped version as well as the 3kg barrel. Believe it or not, they are NOT the same. The barrel version is crumblier and stronger-flavoured, and more suited to grating (sprinkle on pasta, etc. instead of parmesan - delicious), and frying.

The wrapped version is better suited to eating as is (eg with toast, in a sandwich, etc), but can also be fried, grated, etc., so it's more versatile than the barrel version. For example, dice some & mix in a salad dressed with some vinegar & olive oil for an authentic Greek salad - fantastic.

Greek yoghurt - it's an acquired taste that doesn't suit everyone. It's plain, white, usually full-fat, unsweetened and unflavoured (with any fruit/s, etc). So the flavour is quite sharp. It's also the basis of a fantastic Gk dip called tzatziki. Again, you should be able to find the recipe on-line. If you can get hold of it, try it - I think you'll love it.

Now I need to mosey down to my local store to get me some supplies, so you take care now, y'hear?

@ Loquat - Thanks for the info. I've passed it on to Jerry, since he's the cook in this relationship.

Now, allow me to entertain you with our version of "Greek Yogurt" ... the ingredients include, Organic cultured, pasteurized milk (doesn't say what kind, I'm assuming cow's milk), organic strawberries, organic cane sugar, organic lemon concentrate, organic locust bean gum, pectin, natural flavors, fruit and vegetable juice for color. (Then there's the live and active probiotic cultures, I won't bother to list those.)
This is what we in the States eat for Greek yogurt. The stores do sell plain yogurt, but really ... who actually eats that? I'm sure there's a few. I had some once and added freshly ground flaxseed, honestly it wasn't that bad. However, it's usually purchased to add to smoothies or something like that. And, of course, the reason I know these ingredients is because I buy these and there's one sitting in my fridge.
So, I'm very sure that our Greek yogurt tastes different from the Greek yogurt listed on the Cowboy website. I'm guessing that if someone from Greece tasted our Greek yogurt, they would think it was a joke.

The stores do sell plain yogurt, but really ... who actually eats that?

errr..........most Greeks? And those who don't like it so plain/sharp just sweeten it with some Gk honey. As I said, it's an acquired taste. Not my personal favourite, but I just luuurve tzatziki. But as you were so entertaining, allow me to return the compliment.

This is the real stuff. It's called Total (pronounced dodal), produced in Greece by Fage (pronounced Fa......oh, never mind, it's impossible to reproduce the sound of a Gk guttural G with our alphabet) Dairy Industry S.A., and has the following ingredients:

Pasteurized cow's milk
Milk cream
Live active yoghurt cultures -
L Bulgaricus
S Thermophilus
L Acidophilus
Bifidus
L Casei

I hope you're doubled up with laughter by now, otherwise apologies for not being quite so entertaining. And while we're on the subject of dips, make sure you check out humus - my absolute favourite. And one of the healthiest dips around, bar tzatziki.

Ciao
Sorry........yia sou.

@ Loquat ~ No laughter, but definitely a big smile. Touche. You're right, Greeks eat it ... we in the States love our sugar way too much to make a habit of eating plain Greek yogurt though. I'm guessing that, apart from any Greeks that have migrated this way, there's probably only a handful of people in the States that will eat it plain, unless it's mixed in a recipe. In the Standard American Diet (SAD), we put sugar in everything, including things you don't normally think of as sweet. For example, cold cuts. Honey ham is understandable, but it's actually in most, if not all, of the other cold cut meats on the market. It not only serves as a preservative but it's very addicting, and, afterall, it's all about the money and the more we eat their products the more we'll line their pockets. Which also explains the serious obesity problem we have here. (Well, at least one of the reasons.) I can't even go into a regular department store to buy pants anymore. They cater to the masses and don't carry anything less than a size 6 or 8 (I'm normally a size 2, but depending on the cut I can go up to a 4 or down to a 0). When I told my boss I was having difficulty finding the kind of pants he wanted me to wear in my size, he assured me that every woman in the place would love to have my problem. That's probably true, but it still doesn't help me. I used to be able to at least order Dockers on JC Penney's website, but not anymore. Gotta shop at the expensive stores and pay between $70 - $150 for a pair of pants that fit, or get lucky at one of the outlet stores or thrift stores (the only places I shop).

Fage Total, believe it or not, we have that here, and that's usually the kind I buy. I only have the Wallaby brand right now because it was on sale so I figured I'd give it a try. When I did a yeast cleanse, my doctor said Fage was the best brand so I bought it and mixed it with fresh ground flax seeds. I ate that for a month and I actually got used to it. However, when I completed the cleanse, like any 'normal' American, I went back to eating the kind with sugar in it. (shame on me!) I still buy the Fage brand, but I always get the blueberry, strawberry, mango, etc ... flavored yogurts. Probably should rethink that.

And yes, I couldn't agree with you more, I love hummus. We serve it at our restaurant with pita bread and fried plantain chips. It's very good, and about the only thing I'll eat there. I've checked out a recipe for tzatziki and emailed it to Jerry. Hoping to try it this weekend. Judging from the ingredients, it sounds like something I would thoroughly enjoy.

Ciao

Which also explains the serious obesity problem we have here.

And the explosion in the number of T2 diabetics.

BTW, grated halloumi is called drymma (tho not entirely sure if that's how it transliterates into English, so you'll need to cut me some slack here). If you like Italian cuisine, sprinkle it liberally on any pasta-based dish, incl. lasagne, cannelloni, spaghetti bolog., etc. Again, delicious, & IMHO, at least 2x as good as Parmesan.

I'm just starting to wonder if I've confused a fasting website with a food-lover's website!!!??? So apologies to mhaiyarn for hi-jacking her thread.

And to return briefly to topic Now in my 4th day, and ketosis well under-way again. One thing I have noticed about fasting: according to Einstein's theory of Special Relativity, time slows down as you approach the speed of light. That is mandated by the fact that the speed of light thru the vacuum of space is an absolute constant. In other words, it doesn't matter how fast you're moving - light will always accelerate away from you at around 186k miles per second. I would like to add a slight modification to Einstein's postulates - time also slows down when fasting!! Or could it be that preparing, eating & digesting food consumes so much of it?