I’ve already given you some tips on digital fasting in my article “Digital Detox” and in the spirit of Lent, I’d like to follow up on this.
From the basic cleansing of the body to the permanent change of diet
My day is usually very stressful. I commute back and forth between two offices and the university, have predefined (short-term) deadlines and take care of the household, partnership, friendship, voluntary work and my hobbies on the side. I notice the associated side effects relatively quickly: lack of sleep, eating too fast and unhealthy, too little exercise.
For most of you, these habit-forming behaviors should sound familiar. Going up against it often seems like some kind of insurmountable act.
Because of this, this year I decided to start my diet change with a detox. Some of you may now be thinking: “Oh great, another one who wants to lose weight with a radical fasting cure for two weeks”.
I disappoint this assumption right at the beginning: My claim is different.
With cold pressed juice to success
Since I also have to be physically fit in my job, I wanted to start a kind of “basic cleansing” of my body, creating a foundation on which I could create lasting change with a healthy lifestyle.
I can’t exactly say that there was a lack of suitable offers on fasting cures or detox remedies on the Internet. However, since I am a blogger myself, I also relied on the reviews of my colleagues here.
My decision ultimately fell on the juice cure of the Hamburg company Kale&Me.
Some of you may already know the founding story from their appearance on Höhle der Löwen. However, I chose Kale&Me mainly because I found the duration of 3 days (should not be a permanent starvation diet) and the price / performance ratio as reasonable. In addition, I liked that with a return shrine provided, you can simply return the empty bottles free of charge and they will be reused after cleaning.
The fasting cure for body and mind
The night before the fasting cure I slept very badly, but this was nothing new for me until then. The next morning, however, I already knew the moment I unpacked and read through the “instructions” that I had made my first Detox mistake: Instead of preparing myself for the upcoming cure with soups and light food, I indulged in pasta the night before. I shrugged my shoulders and thought to myself, “Well, it probably won’t have that bad of an effect” – I was wrong.
The Detox Experiment Begins
My day started with Pamela Pine. This juice is made of apple, pineapple, cucumber, lemon, mint and I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted a little bitter but not too bad. For many bloggers, this juice is the favorite, I can not join in this, because pineapple is unfortunately not exactly my favorite fruit.
The juices themselves have a very liquid consistency, so they are not comparable to smoothies, but rather to lemonades.
My second juice, Catie Carrot, tasted like apple, carrot, and lemon. The carrot is definitely the dominant flavor carrier here. Basically, I liked it very much and at that time I was also extremely optimistic that the juice cure would be a pleasant experience for me.
Al Avoca, made with pineapple, spinach, avocado and lemon, has become my absolute favorite. Those who like spinach will find this juice very tasty. Since the juices were to be drunk every two hours, my initial optimism was undimmed, as the hunger pangs I was afraid of were absent.
The mind remains strong, the body rebels
With Rosy Roots everything changed. Throughout the fast, I always had the feeling that just after this juice, my stomach suddenly thought to itself, “Hey wait a minute, is there something “decent” coming after this or is this all I’m getting?” The juice looks the best of all the juices with its beautiful red color, which it probably owes to the beetroot it contains,. Consisting of apple, carrot, beet, lemon and ginger, this juice tasted good to me, but I would probably not treat myself to it voluntarily outside of the fasting cure, since it has a very strong taste of its own.
During the fasting cure it is allowed (and even desired) to take also other liquids, for example in the form of unsweetened tea or broth. I admit, without these two components, I certainly wouldn’t have made it through the whole thing.
Kalvin Kale with the ingredients apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, kale and spinach put my taste buds to a particularly tough test on this one. The kale is very dominant here. You can drink it, but even this juice would not be an alternative office snack for me.
If you are very hungry, the 2 Bs, banana and broth help
In the description of Kale&Me included in the package, another tip for satiety was that you can also eat a banana (crushed with a fork). I didn’t have to resort to this alternative because, although I felt a hunger pang, I quickly got it under control with the other two options.
In the evening, the last juice, Amy Almond, came into play. The consistency of this juice is very thick and accordingly it feels rather like drinking a kind of milk soup. Accordingly, the ingredients, which consist of water, almond, date and Himalayan salt.
I confess: Of all the juices, this one demanded the most from me. I don’t drink pure milk or eat milk porridge or anything like that, per se. I only got this juice down thanks to my green yogi tea. While I understand that this juice is supposed to have a satiating effect throughout the night, I cannot agree with the opinion of a fellow blogger who claimed to have tasted marzipan out here. For good measure, my partner got to taste it (without a hint of what juice it was) and he confirmed that it tasted like drinking liquid cereal.
How our body controls our mind
“Be master of your body” or “The mind is strong, the body is weak” are the common sayings you always hear on TV or read about in countless guidebooks. At this point, I’ll muster up the courage to say: That’s nonsense. During my fasting cure, I realized that although I can conquer my body and its needs, it continues to dominate my mind. I’ve noticed the sugar withdrawal, constant persistent cold hands/feet, and gnawing appetite for various favorite foods. This had nothing to do with habit or boredom, but was a clear signal that my body had become accustomed to all the things I had previously unthinkingly allowed it to do and was now demanding them.
On the first day he thanked me for the forced withdrawal accordingly with headaches and listlessness. On the second day, he was a little more gracious and let the satiety rule longer, only to signal to me again in the evening that he did not yet fully accept the rule of mind I had imposed.
During these days, I experienced a wide variety of emotional upheavals and realized that my body tells me more about myself than I previously thought. While I realized I could get by with little “food intake” in the morning, I had reached my absolute peak for the day after the Al Avoca. I felt fit and full of energy and although I did not like the last juice in the evening because of the milk content, I must confess: I slept better during this juice cure than ever before. My sleep was interrupted from time to time, but it was deep and solid and I was able to fall asleep again when my sleep phase was interrupted, and I very rarely managed to do that until now.
My recommendation is accordingly:
Hören Sie auf Ihren Körper, denn dieser kann ihr Gemüt beruhigen oder in Aufruhr bringen! Click To TweetThe leap into a new life
Yes, a change in diet can affect your whole outlook on life. The first day after the fasting cure was heavenly. I started with a light breakfast so as not to immediately overload my body again and it was a pure explosion of flavor.
I would be happy to share my findings with you after my detox cure and thus also pass on a tip or two to you:
- Sometimes it’s not hunger but thirst that makes you reach for food. If this is also satisfied, listen inside yourself to see if you might be in a stressful situation, lonely, or bored.
- A glass of water before eating is considered a kind of “good morning/lunch/evening” for the stomach and signals it to activate the metabolism.
- Slow and deliberate eating is not often feasible in today’s world, but sometimes it’s enough to push aside the keyboard in the office, turn off the screen and turn down the phone to create a solid foundation for a quiet lunch.
- Sugar is not a poison as long as it is enjoyed in moderation. Don’t treat it like a drug you have to avoid for the rest of your life, but like a faraway friend they can only see (and in this case, taste) once in a while.
- A detox cure should only be undertaken with appropriate preparation, i.e.: enjoy a light diet beforehand, use a straw to drink during the cure and drink plenty afterwards and implement a permanent change in diet. If it is possible for you, do the fasting cure while you are on vacation. In this way, the body is not exposed to any further stresses.
- A fasting diet is a solid foundation to give the body the opportunity to eliminate any remaining toxins and start over.
- Your mind may be able to outsmart your body, but if the two enter into a harmonious symbiosis, complemented by a good diet, they will never stand in each other’s way.
- Snacking is not a sin, it is part of life (in small quantities) and makes life sweeter in the truest sense of the word. No one is helped to punish themselves permanently. After all, you are not a supermodel, but a self-confident woman who takes care of herself and wants to go through life healthy and fit.
Inquired:
Have you ever done a fasting cure? Did you experience “withdrawal symptoms” or a nagging feeling of hunger during this process? How did you deal with it and how did those around you react to your decision to fast?
About the author
Kinga Bartczak advises, coaches and writes on female empowerment, new work culture, organizational development, systemic coaching and personal branding. She is also the managing director of UnternehmerRebellen GmbH and publisher of the FemalExperts magazine .
