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5-Day Water Fast (Part 3 – How to Properly End the Fast)

 

 

I found this really interesting… fascinating, in fact.

I found that the days immediately following the water fast were just as important as the fasting days themselves. I could definitely continue to see and feel positive changes taking place in my body.

 

*** In case you missed the earlier articles from this series, here’s Part ONE and Part TWO. And, here’s Part FOUR.

 

One of the reasons I chose to do a second water fast so soon after the first was that I felt like I didn’t quite maximize those 2-3 days following the first fast the way I could have. I rushed it a wee bit. So, it was worth the do-over. That’s how much benefit there is to glean from the post-fast days… it was worth another 5 days of water fasting for me!

One fast doesn’t heal everything… it points you in the right direction. Each successive fast will accomplish even more. (More on ‘block’ fasting in Part 4 of this series.)

 

By the way, for a variety of personal reasons, many people will choose to go longer than 5 days on their fast. Particularly if you’re working through some chronic &/or serious health issues, I recommend you work with a practitioner who has experience in fasting and metabolic recovery protocols if you plan to do that.

If you DO decide to go longer than 5 days, there are some body signals to watch for that may indicate your body is “done” with the fast… that it has squeezed all the benefit it can out of this particular fast.

 

It’s also a good idea to continue monitoring your glucose & ketone levels to make sure you’re still benefiting.

 

 

What to Watch for to Stop the Fast:

Your tongue turns a healthy pink again – during the fast, you might notice that it turned yellow or white or even greenish.

If you had any bad breath (fairly common for some during ketosis) or body odor during the fast, that goes away.

TRUE hunger returns, not just bratty, emotional appetite! During the fast, your hunger actually goes away. When it really, truly returns, that can be a sign that your body is done with the fast.

Your body will obviously drop some weight during the fast. How much fat you have to lose will determine how much. If you’ve consistently been losing some pounds of fat throughout the fast, then you notice that the weight loss/fat loss stops for a few days, you’re probably done with this fast.

 

How to Break the Fast:

Think “slow and low”. Give yourself a couple days (or longer) to ease back into a “normal” healthy routine. You’re going to keep your food intake down (lower caloric intake*) and be very intentional about what you DO consume in these first few days.

Consider this a “partial fast”.  At minimum, let’s look at a 3-day window post-fast.

On day one post-fast, plan to have ONE meal preferably, or two very small meals. For women, aim to keep your overall calorie count between 500-800 calories. For men, 800-1,000.

On day two, you’re going to increase the caloric intake and divide that intake into a couple meals. For women, you’re looking at 800-1,000 calories. Men, 1,000-1,200.

*I am NOT a fan of anything resembling the counting of calories because I think counting calories for the “wrong” reasons and consuming the “wrong” type of calories can make you very toxic, sick… and fat. In this case, it’s purely for the sake of having an awareness of the AMOUNT of food/energy you’re consuming. The point is, eat just a small amount at first.

 

 

What are you EATING during this partial fast?

Think “soft” foods… but think “massively beneficial” soft foods! (Not ice cream and jello pudding! Nice try, though!) Don’t ruin your fast by consuming a bunch of inflammatory sugar or toxic ingredients!

During the water fast, we starved down all the bacteria, so NOW we want to re-inoculate our gut with all the beneficial bacteria. THAT’S how we start to fix gut dysbiosis.

On day ONE, some of the foods to choose from are:

• fermented vegetables (or soft cooked veggies – nothing RAW yet)
• grass-fed organic full-fat yogurt (PLAIN, not flavored. We’re keeping sugar away!)
• grass-fed organic full-fat cultured cottage cheese
• ghee
• avocado
• healthy fats, top quality – avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil
• organic bone broth
• blended foods
• berries

 

On day TWO of your partial fast, you can add to the food list from day one with things like:

• pasture-raised eggs
• salads and other raw veggies, if your gut is feeling up to it
• some raw nuts & seeds, again, paying attention to how your gut feels
• nut butter

 

On day THREE you can resume “normal” (healthy) food intake. You can begin to add in your meat and cheeses… the least toxic sources possible and whole fat, when it comes to cheese.

 

If you choose to extend the partial fast, continue to eat foods from day one and two for another 5 days or so.

 

 

Another option: Some folks like to come off the water fast with a bone broth fast, continuing to avoid food. You can even add healthy oils to this for additional benefit.

 

Additional Measures for Increased Benefit:

Now that you’re back to food consumption, you may opt for some key supplementation & therapies to aid your body.

My favorite supplements to incorporate at a time like this are called “BIND” and “CytoDetox”. We use these with our clients/practice members as part of two very specific cellular detoxification protocols. The short version of what they are and what they do:

BIND: it’s a superior quality master drainage formula that attracts toxins, binds them so they can’t be reabsorbed, and escorts them out of the body.

CytoDetox: an unparalleled master detoxifier that has the proven ability to bind toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, and hazardous chemicals… with fragments small enough to permeate cells and blood-brain barrier. Extraordinary detox!

(Contact me at AskDrColleen@gmail.com if you’d like more info on either product, or if you’d like to purchase.)

 

Far Infrared Saunas, Epsom Salt Baths, Coffee Enemas

These are all time honored staples of fasts and detox protocols. However, with the pure water fast, some experts recommend holding off on these practices until coming off the fast. Why? They may cause TOO much stimulation… too much heat… too much detox… and you end up directing the Innate Intelligence and forcing it to focus on something other than it may have originally been focused on. Also, if you stress the system too much, you’ll end up driving up glucose again and potentially missing out on some of the hormonal optimization benefits of the fast.

But now that you’re DONE with the fast, it’s the perfect time to incorporate these practices to help draw out toxins!

 

Next Level Detox

So much of the science and reasoning behind the 5-day fast is based on what’s happening in the cell… what the cell is using for fuel, how the hormones are communicating at the cell, inflammation & blunting of hormone receptors, and so forth. It is of immense importance to focus on the health of the cell!

By far, the most thorough, beneficial, and transformational detoxification protocol is the True Cellular Detox (TCD). I’ll get into much more detail in other articles, but for now, just understand that THIS is the most powerful “next step” you can take for your health. You don’t NEED to do the water fast in order to do the True Cellular Detox – the TCD is massively beneficial at ANY time. But if you ARE doing a water fast, the TCD is the perfect follow up!

The True Cellular Detox revolves around the 5 R’s:

1. Remove the source of the toxicity.
2. Regenerate the cell membrane (where all ‘communication’ in the body occurs)
3. Restore cellular energy
4. Reduce inflammation
5. Re-establish Methylation

This is accomplished through 3 specific targeted phases of detox for maximum effectiveness, results, AND safety: Prep Phase, Body Phase, and Brain Phase over 90 days or more. I walk you through each phase so you know exactly what you’re doing and why!

While you can do this True Cellular Detox at any time you wish, our next group True Cellular Detox Challenge starts on February 12th, 2018.

I’ll post the registration info soon, but for now, email me if you’re interested: AskDrColleen@gmail.com.

 

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Part ONE of this series

Part TWO of this series

Part FOUR of this series

 

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Up Next:

Part 4 (final step): How to EAT from this point forward so that I don’t ruin everything I just accomplished??