At some point, the storages started running low and what was left was roots and bark to chew, perfect antidotes to scrape off excess created during winter. The excess provided sustenance during the meagre months.  

The “winter coat” would support us but it also could be too much. By too much excess I mean extra pounds, water retention, high cholesterol, mucous, congested lymph, congested liver and high levels of sugar in blood. These problems are a natural consequence of winter diet. However, in healthy people who follow seasonal diet they usually are, during this season, still at safe levels and not actual health issues. They do have a high potential of becoming problematic especially if fasting period is not observed.

Fasting in a time of abundance

Enough of history. The point is, fasting has always been on our late winter to do list. In fact, Mother Nature has created conditions for the fast to happen naturally by not offering much to eat at all. What grows now? Nearly nothing but hey, supermarkets are full of food.

Today, it is difficult to fast as we have abundance year around. The challenge to fast now is even more arduous as we have the food and we have to deny it. Foraging is easy, you only have to press a button and a ready-made meal is right at your door.

Proper fasting

Fasting has to be done within reason. Obviously, the starting point is to check you have no eating disorders.

The ability to fast is dependent on the stamina of your fasting muscle. Consider it as any other muscle: it gets stronger with exercise. Working out with this muscle is as any other challenge. You set your mind to it, do more of it and do it better, every time.

If you have never fasted, and/or have fear of hunger and you tend to eat abundantly, the worse favour you can do to yourself is a juice fast. The bodymind has to get used to fasting gradually so that it won’t go into tilt. Surprises are not highly regarded by the bodymind and can trigger a stress response which means unstable moods, inability to focus and insomnia to start with. Sudden abstinence of food will make the brain think there is scarcity of supplies so it will hold on to fat at any cost. And, and and! It will turn on the worst carb cravings ever.

Small intermittent fasting (SIF)

The most reasonable fast is a small intermittent fast where fasting and feeding windows are measured by the size of the fasting muscle.

One of the most reasonable SI,F able to give fast results means leaving 4 hours between meals, no snacking and no eating after 5pm. Next meal is breakfast around 8-9am. You can still eat three meals a day but keep the window of fasting longer and make sure your stomach is empty when you go to bed.

If you are thinking of SIF for losing the “winter coat” and to detoxify, evening fasting is essential. Morning fasting is definitely needed if you need to eat in the evening, but it does not have the same power to promote weight loss, healing and rejuvenation as evening fasting.

You can eat anything you like from the seasonal, organic and local offer. You don’t have to cut your favourite items (except all whites: cold milk products, sugar, flour and salt, think processed foods). You can still have healthy fats, honey and raw sugar to sweeten, starch at lunch and even a glass of red wine.

Also, fasting during lunch does not work at all. It makes you crave food like mad in the evening and without control. Anything goes at large quantities.

If your fasting muscle is getting stronger, you can try two meals a day: breakfast and lunch. Or, brunch and late lunch. No solids after.

Get used to the SIF with two meals and you can start thinking of two liquid meals and one solid: breakfast juice, lunch with carbs and supper a soup or even better, bone broth. This savoury juice is one of the healing miracle ingredients with ability to keep hunger way and repair a damaged and inflamed gut lining.

Greens, greens and more greens

Another thing you’d need to do is start adding loads and loads of greens to our diet. Ideally, if you are still in your three meal a day phase, I’d recommend you to take a nice plate of cooked greens as your supper. I like to cook kale and sprinkle a bit of toasted walnuts and feta cheese on top. I also cannot resist slightly charred broccoli tops with chilli and garlic. If you like to take a slice of meat or fish in the evening (before 5-6pm), have spinach or broccoli only with it and avoid carbs of starchy kind.

How to get started

Establishing a right kind of fasting and feasting routine can be a challenge. Come and see me for a consultation and we can find the best way to establish a healthy fasting routine. However, the best way to do it would be to join my retreat in Dorset where you are guided through the routines put in practice daily, under my surveillance, so that you understand and learn the benefits by your own experience. Our retreat programs are designed so that you feel satisfied by your food longer and remove cravings of snacks. You will soon notice how easy it is to follow and how wonderful it is to join the table and eat with proper appetite caused by a healthily empty stomach.  

We eat a light breakfast, a good substantial lunch, and supper if needed. This coming March retreat we will take advantage of body’s own need to cleanse tissue and purify blood. Helping the bodymind do its duty is a highly satisfying experience as weight, congestion and toxins come out with ease and results are easily visible from day after day.

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No time like spring time to be on a detox. If you are considering doing it you are timing it right because, right now, the body is keen on loosing releasing the extra pounds we’ve piled on. That fat is also the storage of toxins. Season appropriate weight loss diet is always the best way to achieve results.

Spring requires us to eat less and eat lightly. Small intermittent fasting and spring foods (such as sprouts and leafy greens) do the job perfectly. We should avoid heavy items such as dairy and meat and let the spring clean happen naturally by resorting to lightness more exercise. Sounds like a Weight Watchers plan? If you are trying to lose weight at this point by having plenty of fat and meat, you are working against the nature’s needs. That would be the way to do it in winter and that is called the ketogenic diet.

If you have noticed signs of increasing mucous, less immunity, hay fever, asthma, heavy headaches, depression, fatigue and lethargy, you need to start detoxifying and stop the process of seasonal disorders. Timing your meal right and resorting to spring foods is the way to do it. Not difficult yet highly effective. Check out the five basics of detoxing I’ve listed here below before you start. If you want a custom made your program or have someone to walk you through the process email anu@jivitaayurveda.com.

1 – Do you feel toxic?

Symptoms such as heaviness and fatigue even if eating healthy foods, loss of appetite, heavily coated tongue, smelly gas for days, bad breath and bad skin are some of them. Generally, if you do not feel well, even if “on paper” you should, it’s time to detoxify.

2 – What is your current life situation?

Detoxing requires relaxation to allow flow of toxins out of the body. Stress causes congestion and therefore stress and detoxing do not form a combo that brings good results.

If changes in your current routines are difficult to make to allow thorough relaxation, then it is possible to detox with less intensity for longer periods of time.

3 – Do you need to lose weight or avoid weight loss?

An ayurvedic cleanse does not necessarily mean weight loss. Toxicity can be found in people who are underweight or generally do not need to lose any. These detoxes are fortifying and nourishing.

4 – What are your beliefs about your success?

Denying food or acquired habits from our life during detox requires discipline. Discipline is easy if motivations are strong. Our beliefs need to support our detox program. Doing a detox because a magazine tells you to, is not likely to be successful.

5 – Gut health is Skin health

The skin outside tells the story of the skin inside or the gut lining, in other words.

I’d like to share also a few general pieces of advice about detoxes

• Simplify, simplify, simplify
  • Less is more in detoxification, or in other words, complexity is the enemy of execution. Simplifying meals, lifestyle, routines and social connections pays back in terms of the body’s ability to remove waste and discard toxins.
• Drink enough warm water and take ghee in the morning
  • Warm water (+37 degrees) helps to catch water soluble toxins and (healthy) fat is needed to pull out fat-soluble ones.
• Release abdominal tension and stop slouching
  • The tension in the stomach is one of the worst habits preventing good digestion. Tight trousers, belts and other restrictive clothing should be avoided, especially during detox.
  • Slouching is another bad habit created by people attached to screens. Amongst other things, it squeezes the stomach into a position where food is difficult to process and move down.

If you need help on the way, we have our 3-month mentorship program to create a unique experience of transformation and creation of sustainable healthy habits.

Contact Anu at anu@jivitaayurveda.com

The post Detox Basics – Considerations before starting appeared first on Jivita Ayurveda.