Bring on the Liquid Diet

I've decided to face my upcoming 2-day liquid fast head on. Last night I hand squeezed 10 fresh lemons and mixed them with 1.5 cups of pure maple syrup and a gallon of spring water to make what is a pretty tasty lemonade-like drink. I was afraid it was going to taste pretty bad, but it actually is just a pretty sweet lemonade made with all natural ingredients. Now for the kicker (in more ways than one)...before drinking, I need to add some cayenne pepper. I have received warnings from many people that cayenne+water+time=reallyhot+badidea. So, I'll be adding the pepper just before starting to sip on the 1/2 gallon per day that I have to drink.

Have I mentioned that on day 2 of the liquid fast I'm hosting a community brunch with enough food around me to feed 400 people? Wish me luck!

The purpose of the liquid fast is to complete the cleansing that I have been undergoing through my switch to whole foods and eliminating artificial and processed ingredients from my diet. This process has been about healing my body (especially the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gallbladder and kidneys), but also about removing pesticides and other toxins from my body. The cayenne and lemon juice serve a laxative function, but they also (along with maple syrup) contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals so I'll still be getting nutrition, though only in a liquid form.

As a side note, I wanted to be sure and post about the negatives of this diet as well as the positive. Though I feel fantastic and my energy levels are extremely high, I've developed some minor cramping in some of my muscles. After talking with my Somae Mentor Lisa and my personal physician, they concur that I'm probably low in magnesium and/or potassium. I took a 200mg tablet of Magnesium Citrate yesterday afternoon, which lessened the symptoms, but will probably increase the dose slightly this afternoon and add some potassium (yay, a banana!!!). This is a natural part of the process--as my body rids itself of a lot of bad stuff, there is going to be some collateral good stuff that gets removed, too. Easily remedied with a few supplements in the short term and trying foods with higher magnesium and potassium content for the long term.

Ciao!