fast, maybe faster?

today we began our 5 day fast. previously we completed a 3 day fast - beginning on a friday. this time we started the fast on monday. i expect some difficulty associated with this because work gets busy & sometimes you need the fuel but for today, other than the day dragging by so goddamned slow & my apparent short-temper, it is going ok.
what is this fast? it is called the master cleanse. it was recommended to me by kriston eivers who completed, on his first time out, a 10 day fast. mind you, he worked & went to the gym the whole time but he has always been pretty hard core! more chi! the fast is basically the non-consumption of any food or liquid outside the following items which has enough nutrition for the body for up to 40 days:
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons of grade b maple syrup
a pinch of cayanne pepper
12 ounce glass of (distilled) water
the combo of the above is what you give yourself when you are "hungry" or once every couple of hours for fuel. now, to do this correctly, before bed one should also drink a detoxifying herbal tea & in the morning drink a salt wash - 1 quart of water & 2 teaspoons of sea salt. the salt wash is like clorox in your tummy. i am so serious here. you can feel it swooshing around! suffice it to say, plan on being near a bathroom about an hour after drinking this. trust me. drinking the salt for me is what i would imagine drowning to be like. it's quite awful going down. but then again, if you can drink tequila or any of the harsh spirits, this isn't so bad!
what this fast does is loosen up the food particles that have been clinging to the stomach lining since you started eating solid food. that stuff would never leave on it's own unless you eat a strictly vegetarian diet. even then, i don't know for sure. perhaps a vegan diet & not the trendy w'burg kind. the real deal that includes only vegetables, legumes, fruits. yes, it's suppose to clean you out.
of course people say, why not a colonic instead? well, in my many discussions with people, some of who love their colonic, i find this to be too intrusive a process, not to mention how unnatural it is. look it up. moreover you are advised to fast anyway before the colonic so why not just fast? different strokes, folks.
let me clarify right away - i am not doing this to lose weight. that's actually the last thing i want these days. with kung fu & the dogs & all the other activities i enjoy, i need to eat for the energy. i have a voracious appetite & have always been physically active. this keeps me rather svelte. those who know me, know i eat pretty much everything & multiple times a day. i have, due to my upbringing, a meat-heavy diet. i also eat white jasmine rice with almost every meal. that's right folks, including breakfast! sure, i eat vegetables. more so now than ever & again with the upbringing, vegetables were not that abundant & there seemed to be few choices. so you can imagine that this diet, high in protein, starch, sugar & salt has a bit of wear & tear on the system. i have decided to fast to clear things out a bit & proceed to make more healthy nutritious dietary changes. i already eat healthier now than i ever have. still though, i could do better.
last fast & this time, i am having a difficult time the first day. i am so hungry. my tummy is making all kinds of gurglies. i have had 5 drinks already today. i like to make my drinks on the warm side (to trick my tummy into thinking it's having soup!) which is easy at the office with the hot/cold water dispenser. i feel a headache coming on but it has yet to truly come on. feeling a bit light-headed too.
mostly i want to eat something. the smell of food wafting through the office during lunch time was quite bothersome. i was going to go outside but then it would just feed my desire for a cigarette. i was hoping to have a steak yesterday but got side tracked by tamarind duck which was so good & i could kick myself for not finishing it. i fed some of it to the boys this morning. smelled so good too!
the cayanne pepper makes me feel like my blood is boiling. then it is followed by feeling tingly all over. it comes & goes too as it flows through the system.
i can't make this sound more exciting than it is.
it is however good for you to do now & then. quan tuo & i decided to do this every season, gradually longer each time. i emailed him a wee ago to see how he's holding up.
we plan on training this week but i can already feel physically weaker from just 15 hours or so from my last meal. so we shall play it by ear. i may just want to go to bed & read or something painless & controlled. what did us in last time on the last day was my insistence on watching the cooking channel have a contest on the best grilled steak marinade in arkansas!! so no idiot box for me as much as it can be helped or if it is going to be about or around food.
i may update you on this development. depends on my energy level which is waning at the moment. it'll be better tomorrow!
more chi! train harder!