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Testimony Of My Juice FastMy background After I came to know about the health benefits of juicing, I began to research deeper to know more. I am basically a very curious person, so I've surfed the internet and spent many, many hours reading up on juicing and juice-fasting. I spent much money on books about juicing but it's nothing like learning these things first hand. I've fasted frequently since then, one-day fasts, three-day fasts, seven-day fasts. Two important reasons why I fast often is firstly, it is in line with my spiritual belief, and secondly because I love eating. Living in a multi-cultural country like Malaysia allows me easy access to all kinds of delicious food from the different cultures. I must confess that I was a food junkie
before I found juicing. At times I eat to the point of gluttony.
I've since learned self-discipline through the years of eating healthy,
and have tended to reject unhealthy foods. I've fasted sometimes
to lose those extra pounds, but also to detox as I am aware of the harm
that some of these foods can cause if I didn't detox. My fast begins Some time middle of 2005, I felt the urge to go on a prolonged fast for spiritual reason. As one who loves to eat, fasting for a prolonged period was a struggle. Then I brought the matter before God and I know that only with His grace was I able to go on a juice fast for 21 days. I told my family members that I was going on a prolonged fast and asked for their moral support. I still prepared food for them throughout my fast and was able to refrain from eating. Three days before I started my intended fast, I had cut down on my meals to one vegetarian meal a day. I had gone shopping to buy the fruits/vegetables that I would need, from my local market. (Boy, fruits weren't so cheap anymore!). I also bought some detox drinks from a local organic shop, liquid chlorophyll and some supergreen powders. All these I consumed between juices throughout my fast.
On the day of my fast (it was a Friday), I woke up feeling very energized and was ready to take on anything that comes. As my stomach had already almost adapted to little food intake the previous days, the first day went by rather easily even though I used to have gastritis problem. There were some hunger pangs, but they were manageable. Bowel movement was normal. On the second and third days, I still went around life as normal. As it was a weekend, I didn't have much going on, it was humdrum, waiting out my system cleansing itself. Occasionally there were some queasy feeling in my stomach, especially after drinking a big glass of juice. Hunger pangs were a little bit stronger than the day before. I distracted myself by working on my website, did reading, worked on my other projects, or simply prayed and meditated on the Word of God. It was during this weekend that I also experienced a little giddiness and headache so I took naps. My tongue was coated and I know there was bad breath as my body was eliminating toxins, so I brushed my teeth and tongue often. Bowel movement had become loose and watery. Still normal. Sleeps were painful as I found that my back ached after only a five or six hour sleep, which I don't usually experience. I felt very cold at night and needed to be under covers or wearing a long-sleeved sweater, and mind you this is a tropical country when it's generally humid. In the night, I drifted in and out of my sleep. On the fourth and subsequent days, these symptoms seem to subside. I continued fasting and praying. I remembered that it was during this period I experienced some spiritual attacks that caused me to have to spend a big amount of money on my new car that has broken down. There were other unpleasant incidents that happened which I know was due to spiritual attacks. I actually even had some encounter with spirits which I would not go into detail here, but this is to let you know that your human spirit gets very sensitive when you go into prolonged fast and pray. I persisted on ... one week ... two weeks ... I did not feel physical weakness anymore, except the occasional hunger pangs which could be due to some fruits pulp which may have found its way into my stomach. There were also occasional backaches but never severe. But the sensitivity to feeling cold was always there which got more intense on rainy days.
I would be lying if I said that I didn't experience food temptations. I faced that many times when I see food. And for some reasons, there were always lunch and dinner invites to places I would have loved to go under normal circumstances. I was tempted a few times to break my fast prematurely because of food set in front of me. I just walked away and got busily distracted. I refocused and went through in my mind, the reason for my fast. This taught me self-discipline.
The entire fast was a humbling experience for me. It made me stop and and take a relook at my relationship with God. It broke my pride to see how when even food is taken away from us, we can be so vulnerable and remember that we are nothing without God. That we depend only on Him. At that time, I was praying for a breakthrough in some parts of my life. I did not immediately receive an answer to my prayers but it came a couple months after my fast. I was overjoyed when my prayers were answered and I know it was only through fasting that it was possible. Breaking the fast At the last few days of my fast I became pretty calm about the whole fasting business. It seemed like time had passed so quickly and now it was nearing the end of my 21-day fast. The internal struggles with food had somehow backed away, the hunger pangs gone. The only thing that I still suffer towards the end of my fast was that my physical body was often feeling cold. On the 22nd day, I woke up feeling good with my achievement. I had sort of gotten used to juice fasting, but yet was looking forward to sink my teeth into glorious food. It was a mixed feeling. For breakfast, I ate a medium-sized banana and waited ... no hunger pangs. In the afternoon, I cut up a Chinese pear and took my time to eat the slices, enjoying the juices and the crunchiness. Later in the evening, I ate some mangoes (love mangoes!!). The day after was pretty much the same, took more fruits and added some steamed broccoli and cabbage to my menu, sprinkled very lightly with salt. In the evening, I had very diluted congee with a few drops of sesame oil. That was heavenly! And so forth I added more and more fruits/vegetables back to my menu.
As one who loves food, it was an achievement for me to be able to abstain from food for three weeks. But I credit it all to God's grace. I can't particularly know for sure if there was any healing to any parts of my body as I didn't have any health problems to begin with at that point in time. Only that I do feel more energetic and did not feel tired easily. It wasn't exactly an earth-shattering experience for me but the breakthrough in my spiritual life made everything worthwhile in the end. I also appreciated the fact that this 21-day period silenced my pride in some ways and has taught me self-discipline, something I cannot learn any other way. So there you go ... now you tell me Your Story. How do you know if a juice fast is for you? What are the benefits of a juice fast? How long should you juice fast?
How do you prepare for a juice fast?
Embarking on a juice fast Tips for a successful juice fast What juices and how much to drink? What to expect when you juice fast?
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