And the 14 Day Fast is Complete

Good morning! As of 9:00 this morning, I will have completed my first 14 day water fast. I missed reporting on Thanksgiving Day, so let's cover that and then get into a wrap up of what's changed, what hasn't, and what's going to happen next.

Thanksgiving Day. I currently live in Chicago, and just found out that they have a Thanksgiving Day parade, very similar to Macy's in New York. I really wanted to go this year. Maybe it was my subconcious helping me get through Thanksgiving without being drilled about why I'm not eating, but I decided I really wanted to go.

It went from 8 - 11 am. I didn't feel the need to stay for the whole thing, but I did want to go down and see a little bit of it. My family all live in south central Wisconsin, and this year's Thanksgiving was rather loose since we had just seen each other the Saturday before at my Dad's big birthday bash.

I call my sister-in-law, tell her I want to go check out the parade for a bit, and then I will be up. They were eating at 12:30. I knew I would not get there in time for that. I said to go ahead and eat without me - I'll be up after that.

It worked out great - Mick went to the parade with me - just to touch on this, I realized that morning that all my girlfriends either live out of town, or simply are not up for the same early morning activities that I am. I saw other girls together down there, and I felt a little envious - I just couldn't think of a single other friend who'd be willing or available to get up that early. I also operate pretty last minute, just finding out about things before they happen. Just a side note.

So we go to the parade, stay a good half and hour. On my way onto the road to Wisconsin, I stop at a grocery store and pick up some pie for dessert. I am trying to make myself appear as normal as possible. Then, I was on my way.

Traffic was light, I was up there quickly. I walked in and they had just cleared off the table from eating. I was so relieved - 15 minutes earlier, and it would have been here Ann have this here Ann have that you must eat! They are all at healthy weights, its not like we're this obese family. I just am trying to break my patterns.

Anyway, the day was nice. Nobody cared I didn't eat. If anything, I think they were glad I wasn't at the table; I don't eat meat any more, and I never really made an announcement about it, I just passed the meat plate, and my brother called me out. So I told them I have a hard time eating meat now. They find it strange and annoying.

So I got through Thanksgiving just fine. The pie I got, I have to admit, looked amazing when I cut into it to serve. But, being so close to the finish line on this fast, I didn't feel overly compelled to eat it. I got through the day, got back home, and all was well.

I just want to touch on the ease with which this fast has gone for me. I think it's gone easy simply because I was ready for it. I have attempted getting back on the wagon with healthful eating, and they failed. I knew I wasn't ready. I've always kind of known that it's never worth forcing myself to do something when it's been my experience that when I'm ready to do it, I just do it. I think maybe my body chose this time of year, this holiday season, to get me back into health is because it's ready. I am realizing that it's the people at the holiday parties I want to be around; not just the food. It used to be reversed. I'm now getting more into relationship with others as I break my dependency on food as company.

Wrap up of Physical Changes
-Skin on my face is for the most part clear. I have a few last small blemishes, but overall, I have pink in my cheeks and no longer need to where face make up. I haven't worn it since that day I felt it was coating my face.
-My peeling fingers. I thought I had it licked, but no - last night I was at a movie and absent-mindedly was picking at my fingers and sure enough, a huge layer peeled off from my middle finger. Maybe that's symbolic of whatever was growing in me giving me a final "Eff you!"
-My left foot. It, too, pretty much healed up and then this morning I noticed kind of another surge of the armies. Nothing major, but it's interesting to me.
- My tongue. Gross gross and more gross. It's still covered in white. I just can't imagine how long I will have to go before that thing clears up. Yuck is all I have to say. I am not dating anyone right now, and I can tell you, I have no desire to swap spit until that thing is clear.
- My weight. I am officialy down 20 pounds. 22 pounds to be exact. As I've said, once I start eating food again, we'll see how that fluctuates.

Overall, I feel super good. My plans now are to eat for two weeks, and then see how I feel about a 21-28 day fast. I just know I've got a lot of gunk still in me, and want to keep clearing it out. I admit, I don't mind the weight loss, but please don't think I am naive enough to think that this will be something that won't change after my eating changes. I just want to see what happens.

Today I am hosting a little gingerbread party. I break the fast today, and bought almost all raw foods for the spread; guacamole, salsa, a black bean salsa. Some of the items are not raw - I got corn tortilla chips and Fritos. I made those selections on them not containing yeast. The witch doctor I went to who diagnosed me with candida said you can eat whatever you like as long as it does not contain yeast. So while I'm not completely raw today, I will be yeast free.

I should be drinking juices. I am going to run a couple errands this morning, and am going to stop at Jamba Juice to get some wheatgrass, but I am afraid that's probably all the juice I will drink today.

Tonight, we are going out for pizza. Yeast, yes, I know, and all the things I've been craving. I am hoping I can do the trick Barbara Walters was talking about one day; how women who don't want to eat will simply cut their food into very small bites, kind of push the food around on their plates, mess it up like they've done something, and have put maybe two bites in their mouths. That's the game plan for tonight. I don't plan on never eating pizza again - I'm just in a spot where I can see (my tongue) how not good it is for me right now. Once I get that base of health, an occasional piece won't hurt me. I quit smoking that way, I quit drinking that way - I never said I was quitting, I just stopped craving them. But I always gave myself the option to have some. Some people work the other way, this is how I work.

well, gotta get my stuff ready for the party. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for listening.