40 day Burning Man Fast, Please help me stay motivated!!!!

[Stilesfamily]

All right, Polluted and overweight is no way to attend burning man so I am going to try… NO not try… COMPLETE, a 40 day fast. Well technically a detox and cleanse. For the next forty days I will eat nothing, I will drink only lemonade made with fresh lemons and maple syrup, possibly some cayenne pepper to break up some of the unmentionable stuff clinging to my insides and laxative tea to flush out said stuff. This is actually a very well documented and safe fast that many people have done for several months, it’s not just something I pulled out of my ever expanding… well you get the idea. I have done this before and have felt great but never for more than 10 days.


DAY 0
Optimistic about my plan, but a little fearful of the side effects that I know I will run into. Day 2 will be the toxic headache and cold sweats day. Day 3 through 7 will be the great nights of sleep days. Days 7 through 10 will be the sleepless night days and throughout the whole cleanse all those fast food commercials will haunt me. not to mention the pitfalls of family BBQ's and pot lucks at work. After day 10 I will be in uncharted territory. My final meal has been a Deluxe del beef burrito, chicken quesadilla and a macho coke, was tasty but now I feel especially toxic and therefore inspired to begin my journey. Will update you in 24 hours.

[Blonde Iguana]

I did hear that a fasting cleanse (of less than a week) is great for getting rid of the lifetime of accumulated Play-Doo permanently occupying your colon - maybe when it comes out you you can make a playa sculpture out of it.

[bmix]

It sounds like you've got a good plan in place. I've done fasting a couple of times before, but never made it past 10 days either (due, I think, to poor planning and not really knowing what to expect). I may try it again this year; I want to be as healthy as I can be out on yonder playa.

Best of luck to you! You sound pretty motivated. If you get stuck, just think about how clean you will feel when you are done and all the crap (literally) is out of your system.

[AntiM]

Fast for a week if you must, but 40 days is unrealistic. You'd do better with a balanced 800~1200 calories a day. Write down your meals and stick to that, there's many good models out there.

You may lose weight with this fast, but it can't be good for your health. I'd like to read the cites about the safety of this fast, everything I know about nutrition screams don't do it. (fat people are remarkably informed about health and nutrition, never doubt that) ((As for colon cleansing, well, I am now an expert on THAT subject.))

Why not make lifestyle changes and choices that will carry you on forever so you don't have to resort to drastic measures?

Best of luck whatever plan you decide to stick with.

[Stilesfamily]

Hey AntiM,

You are absolutely correct about that, but actually I will take in at least that number of calories during the cleanse. I do know quite a bit about nutrition myself and had researched this cleanse quite a bit, and while, yes I am using this as a weight loss tool, I also love the way I feel after I get all the junk out of my body. It is a fast from food, and a break for my digestive system, not starvation. Lemon juice and maple syrup are very high in nutrients and vitamins, and sucrose of course.

[AntiM]

I just worry ... queen of fussyland!

[EvilDustBooger]

Good luck on your fast. I may have to try a mini-version of that myself.
Don`t really need to lose alot of weight, but the clean-out would be nice.

Also I`m thinking ingesting alot of acidic fluids(lemonade) will help to neutralize some of the playas alkalinity "from the inside out".

[robotland]

I'm with AntiM on the general concerns with such an extended fast....but also understand the use of fasting as a physical aspect of The Experience, a sort of corporeal corollary to the way my mental processes change as I cross the Michigan state line and enter Journey mode.

[HughMungus]

I have no idea if this is a good idea or not (40 days seems like a LONG time). Wouldn't there be issues with energy once you do hit the playa? What about muscle atrophy?

However, now you have me interested in some short-term fasting (for the cleansing reasons). My diet could use some changes, too...

[Kevlar]

I've done this particular fast, called the Master Cleanse, several times for up to 10 days total each time. I kinda agree that 40 days could be too long. You'll get tremendous benefit from the cleansing of just 7 - 10 days.

The first two days are the hardest in terms of feeling hungry then it's smooth sailing. Then you'll no longer 'feel' hungry but you may miss all of the social aspects of preparing/eating meals. After a few days the smell of food can seem ironically unapealing. To my surprise, I always have LOTS of energy while fasting and I continue to run and do yoga daily without problems.

Make sure you do the salt water flush every morning. It's the most important aspect of the clense since it's what flushs the toxins out that you're pulling out of your body. Without that you'll likely experience headaches, fatigue, flu-like systoms do to toxin buildup. The morning salt water flush, while not the most pleasant experience, is quick and easy to do and will leave you feeling clean and lean.

While I don't do these cleanses to lose weight, at 165 lbs normally I lost over 14 pounds in 10 days. My body was telling me at 10 days that was enough and it was time to eat. I think that's the key is to listen to your body as you go. And make sure you follow the guidelines on [u]slowly[/u] reintroducing food to your system too.

A great resourse on the net are the forums on curezone.com. They have several forums devoted to the Master Clease and other Fasting techniques. Check it out.

Best of luck!

Kevlar

[diane o'thirst]

You're going through the stress of a fast/cleansing, and THEN you're going to stress your body again by going to the Playa?

'Splain me, Lucy. Does not compute. I'd have started earlier on the fast so as to spare my body the double-jeopardy and give it at least some time to recover.

[Kinetic IV]

I find the acidic comment quite interesting, many of the foods we eat now are more acidic than people realize. Maybe that's why I feel so much better after I leave the playa, the alkalinity restores my body back to a neutral balance. Before I would add more acidity to my diet I'd test my PH level first. The results may be surprising.

And I have to echo the concerns about a 40 day fast. The playa can be cruel. One might want to consider giving their body rebound time before coming off a fast and subjecting it to those conditions. </soapbox>

[Stilesfamily]

Day 1

As expected a little hungry tonight but feel pretty good otherwise, not much to tell.


I was touched by the concern so many of you showed but I would never push myself to the point where I thought my health was in jeopardy. Kevlar is right on the money, it is the master cleanse and I have done the 10 day version 4 or 5 times over the past few years. There are a few indicators that let you know when you are done with it and I have never been able to stick with it long enough to see them all. Diano O’Thirst There are 47, well now 46 days left till the burn, my outside goal is to go 40, then come off the fast for 7 to prepare my body for the Playa. The cleanse, in my opinion, does not offer enough salt to help you retain the water you need to be hydrated on the playa. The cleanse requires you to drink at least 12, 8oz glasses of lemonade each day and each one has a lot of maple syrup and lemon juice in it. I know it sounds kinda kooky but I can picture how healthy I would feel having all that junk out of my system, how high my energy would be and how great it would feel heading out to the playa in that condition.

I am 6’6 and currently a little over 260lbs, I am certain I will loose some muscle mass but I am not overly concerned.

[Kinetic IV]

I know it sounds kinda kooky but I can picture how healthy I would feel having all that junk out of my system, how high my energy would be and how great it would feel heading out to the playa in that condition.

IMHO, this has more to do with it than any combinations of food, drink, or chemical cocktails one shoves down their gullet.

Anyway your calculations have me wondering. There are 46 days till the burn, you are stopping at 40 with 6 days to rebound. Are you planning on arriving on the playa the day of the burn? Or are you coming a few days prior to that so you can get the full experience? If it's a few days before you may want to tweak your schedule a bit. </soapbox>

[Stilesfamily]

Well, due to circumstance beyond my control BM will not happen for me this year. I can't tell you how dissapointed I am, so I am trying to take my mind off it and will probubly not spend much time on the e-playa for a while. Hope you all have a fantastic Burn.

Love ya