Some people attempt the lemonade fast for weight loss, thinking if they starve themselves silly everything will change. They only learn that all the weight comes back on within the next couple of weeks. This isn't me. I'm the one who never thought I'd ever do such a thing. I don't weigh myself. I just use this fast as a time for reflection; to clean out physically (and emotionally) from all the toxins I've accumulated through the year. Some of us can get sick from this fast, feeling flu-like, nausea, with headaches and other bodily pains. It's just too extreme because our bodies are letting go of all that was inside (and what was in there just wasn't pretty). It's a chance for me to pray, to vision, to think about what's really important to me, instead of staying on that treadmill of life without thinking that it's too hard to go that fast all the time!
Many people judge me for doing this. Eat, woman, EAT!" they tell me. They can't wrap their heads around why I'd do this. And that's okay, because as they're judging me I'm living my life to the fullest. The way I want to, with no regret. Yes, I feel hungry during this fast, but so does half the world these days. The fast ISN'T just physical for me. It's the mental/spiritual side that I embrace each time I commit to this. I've also learned that what may work for me, may not work for you, and that there's as much research in support of this fast as there is opposed to it. Just like with anything, in the end, I listened to my own voice, telling me it was okay to embrace this fast for one more year.
Someone told me that women in a certain part of India fast on Fridays in support of the highest good for their husbands: (Honey, if you're reading this, well... we'll have to move to India for that to happen!) What happens for me next becomes magical. When I stop and quiet myself I realize that all those cravings are gone. All the talk inside my mind convincing me that I need to have that big piece of cake just isn't there anymore. What's left is me, and me alone. And I like it this way. In fact, I crave this time now.
Growing up in a family of five children, seven years apart, wasn't (to say the least) quiet. I would retreat to my room sometimes just to get away from all the noise. Sometimes I was sent there as a punishment and I remember thinking, "Heck, this just doesn't seem like one at all. It feels kinda nice to slow down and have space to myself to collect my thoughts."
And that's what my yearly lemonade fast has become. It's lemon/s to the rescue! They provide me with such solace far beyond their bittersweet taste. They're the color yellow, just like the sun that warms my heart. These lemons provide me with a time to carve out for myself (just like I did when I retreated to my room as a child). I am at peace. It really is the purging of the physical (bad foods, drinks, etc.) and the mental (negative thoughts, the judgments I have over others) that leave me. My mantra becomes, "Out with the old and in with the new."
If I did another form of cleansing or detoxing (e.g. the raw food, 21 day) I'd have to carefully plan, buy, prepare all of the ingredients, in addition to cooking and providing for my family's eating. Nope. Those other ways don't work for me at this time in my life. The lemonade fast has been easier for me because I don't have any choices over what foods to eat. I'm just simply existing on very little, and without all those choices, my mind can think about other things! What happens next is that I see more energy coming into my life, to the point where I end up requiring LESS sleep. I am able to parent, be a friend and a wife in a very loving manner. Ask my family! They have noticed the difference.
So there ya' have it. My reasons for these lemons, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. Who would've thought that these 4 ingredients could be so life-altering! Go try something new that you'd never thought of doing in your life. Take a risk. Get out of that "same old routine" you may be in. Mix it up. Live a little. You can always go back to your old ways. Always.
