Why do a water cleanse?

Towards the end of last year, Andy (my Hubby) and I had slipped into bad habits and realized that we had been taking our bodies for granted and seriously disrespecting them. We overindulged in what we both ate and drank (for a variety of reasons), disregarding all the signals our bodies were sending us. We took food for granted and even though we were eating well we weren’t appreciating what we were eating at all.

New Year came and we made a concerted effort to change these habits. For me, this meant getting back on track with my ABC adjustments at Spirohealth, taking up exercise again and focusing seriously on my diet.

We were intrigued when a friend of ours told us that she had tried this ‘7 day water fast’. I had never even heard of it! Basically a 7 day, zero calorie program where you may only drink mineral water, at least 3 litres a day. It sounded completely ridiculous! However, looking a bit more into it we began to think that it might be perfect way for us to start to change our mindset about food and alter our unhealthy eating habits.

It is pretty drastic, the idea behind it being that our distant ancestors would have had enforced periods of fasting when food was scarce and only water was available. It is only in relatively recent times that we have become conditioned to expect to eat 3 meals a day, we wanted to see if we could break this conditioning.

There are many alleged benefits as well as risks associated with water fasting, all of which are widely reported online, but I really want to share with you my experience during those 7 days.

The first two days were really pretty easy and I didn’t notice any drastic change either physically or mentally. It was by the end of the third day that I started to notice a dip in my energy levels, going about my every day routine was fine, but when it came to any form of physical exertion I could really see myself flagging. Also, that was when the whole mental aspect of the fast became apparent. I hadn’t realized how much of our lives revolves around food, from buying groceries to discussing what we’re going to cook and then preparing a meal. It was really hard coming home from work and not having this to focus on. As the days went on this really did become a mental battle for us both, and we definitely relied on each other to keep going. My worst day was day 6, when I felt a complete and total lack of energy to the point where even walking down the street with the dogs was exhausting, but I was so near the end of the challenge and determined to see it through to the end.

Strangely I can’t say that I was ever really hungry throughout, if I did feel a hunger pang I would have a glass of water and it would pass. I guess that goes to show how previously I hadn’t been listening to what my was telling me, was I actually hungry or really a bit dehydrated?

At the end of the fast you gradually introduce food back into your diet, a juice & a light soup initially and then gradually incorporating more foods. I can’t tell you how full of energy and ready to take on the world I felt.

We are now much more thoughtful about planning our meals and are more aware of exactly what we’re eating & drinking (and how much). I do feel that those 7 days gave my body time to detoxify and definitely had the desired effect of resetting my view on food and alcohol. I’m not going to say I‘m an angel & eat healthily and cleanly all the time, life is definitely too short for that, but I’m definitely making better choices most of the time and feel healthier and better for it.