watermelon fast

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for the replies and advice: On day 2 now, and it's a pretty mellow fast. It's really hard to eat a whole watermelon by yourself! I was never allowed to try, all those July 4ths of my childhood... now I know!Problem is I'm getting VERY spaced out and starting to get emotional, edgy... and constantly HUNGRY! This is how I've been on other fasts, so I'm trying to make sure I'm eliminating ('get regular' tea at night), and then just staying close to the house and not doing much. But if I go for a couple of hours without eating, I start to freak out again.Yoga on watermelon is BLISS... going to a class tomorrow, can't wait!sat nam,-Baba

[Guest guest]

Sat nam,

 

I did the watermelon fast with Baba and had a different experience, so I thought

in case anyone is considering it. Now is the time when the fruit is ripe (but

almost gone -- at least in SoCal!).

 

I felt pretty good all three days, but I felt weakest -- both in strength and

resolve -- in the evening when I was tired. I found the best thing to do when

that happened was simply go to bed and sleep it off. I didn't have to cancel any

of my scheduled activities, and I even cleaned the house pretty thoroughly. I

was very careful to listen to my body and eat more watermelon and drink

watermelon juice when I felt hungry or low blood sugar.

 

I was also able to continue my morning sadhana (3 minutes of stretch pose and

the Liver Lover set at max times, followed by a meditation) without struggle. I

didn't feel energized, but I didn't feel depleted or hungry either -- and I

spent a lot of time with friends who ate in front of me! The week before I

started the cleanse, I had a very acidic stomach and was taking anti-indigestion

tablets, which I hate to do but sometimes have to as a last resort. Halfway into

the first day of the fast, my stomach was completely back to normal. I also

developed a bad headache on day 2, which I think was due to some liver

detoxification, but it quickly disappeared after drinking a glass of juice made

from watermelon rind.

 

Breaking the fast was actually more difficult than the actual fast because the

hunger returned, but my stomach was not ready for the acidity. (My stomach had

also shrunk so I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!) On the first day after the

fast, we ate green salads with lime juice, rice porridge, steamed greens and a

light vegetable broth (no garlic or onion).

 

Based on my experience, here is my advice:

 

* Stay hydrated! You may think you're getting enough fluids from the watermelon

because it's 92% water, but drinking water is also very good. Plus, it balances

the sweetness of all that fruit.

 

* Take one milk thistle capsule three times a day to protect the liver from all

the toxins being released.

 

* Juice the rind and drink a glass at least every day, preferably twice a day.

It's actually quite delicious and has more nutrients than the fruit.

 

* When you break the fast, stick to alkaline foods, preferably raw, so you don't

shock your stomach. (This is probably a best practice for breaking any fast or

cleanse.)

 

* Give yourself at least 2-3 days after the fast to adjust to your old regular

diet.

 

* If you get constipated, take some triphala before bedtime.

 

* It really helps to do this with a friend -- the more people, the better! This

time around I did it with my husband and a friend, and we talked on the phone

every day to check in. The extra moral support really made a difference.

 

* Make sure to do some yoga, to keep your circulation moving. I would avoid

really heavy exercise though...a friend of mine recently started the cleanse and

went to a spin class on her day 1, and it really exhausted her.

 

There is no guarantee that your experience will be the same or even similar to

mine, but I hope this helps. There are a lot of watermelon cleanses/fasts listed

online because it's popular with raw foodists, but the version I followed is

closer to what is taught at Golden Bridge (they do these group cleanses all the

time).

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me directly.

 

Nimrita

 

 

Kundalini-Yoga , baba singh <baba_sf wrote:

>

> Thanks so much for the replies and advice: On day 2 now, and it's a pretty

mellow fast. It's really hard to eat a whole watermelon by yourself! I was never

allowed to try, all those July 4ths of my childhood... now I know!

>

> Problem is I'm getting VERY spaced out and starting to get emotional, edgy...

and constantly HUNGRY! This is how I've been on other fasts, so I'm trying to

make sure I'm eliminating ('get regular' tea at night), and then just staying

close to the house and not doing much. But if I go for a couple of hours without

eating, I start to freak out again.

>

> Yoga on watermelon is BLISS... going to a class tomorrow, can't wait!

>

> sat nam,

> -Baba

>