Eating again is a big deal when you’ve gone an extended period of time without food. If done too quickly, it can be an extremely negative, consequence laden shock to the body—and this is even after just 10 days. Think of the size and contents of my stomach right now: shrunken down and basically empty.
This is not the time to indulge cravings. Doing so would make me immediately sick to my stomach and would never be worth it. I need to be very careful about this process and ease myself in slowly and smartly. If you ever decide to do a fast—any length of fast—please please please remember Lao Tzu’s sage advice and Give as much care to the end as to the beginning!
Here are some of the steps I will be taking to ease myself back into the Land of the Eating as gently as possible:
- PROBIOTICS: A benefit of the cleanse is the full release of harmful bacteria, but all the beneficial bacteria have gone away as well. I will start taking probiotics tonight. Probiotics are highly recommended by nutritionists and doctors across the board, so I will continue this as a normal every day supplement.
- EASY TO DIGEST LIQUIDS: The first non-maple syrup lemonade thing I will consume will be a little bit of watered down orange juice. I’ll let this cycle through, gauge how I feel, then move on to a sip or two of almond milk and some low-FODMAP vegetable broth (basic veg broth minus garlic and onions). Believe it or not, this will fill me up for half a day.
- LOW-GLYCEMIC FRUIT: After my gut confirms that it’s OK with these now-foreign substances re-entering my system, I will move on to low-glycemic fruit like a handful of berries and grapes. Unfortunately, many of the lowest glycemic index fruits (like apples, pears, apricots, and plums) are not low-FODMAP. I will stick to low-FODMAP fruits and keep the quantity small so I don’t eat too much fructose.
- BROWN RICE & STEAMED VEGETABLES: Provided I’m still going strong, I’ll then move on to a small portion of brown rice with steamed low-FODMAP vegetables. I’m thinking bok choy, kale, spinach, and red/yellow/orange bell peppers. At first I won’t use any sauce. But when I’m sure I feel good, I’ll add some gluten-free low-sodium tamari (I found an organic one at King Soopers for $3 bucks) and eventually some coconut oil and a tiny dollop of peanut butter.
- STARCH & PROTEIN: Once I’ve got some substance back in my gut and I’m certain everything is cruising through like it’s supposed to, I’ll be ready for my baked potato with butter and some hard boiled eggs. Hooray!
It’s important for me to keep my water intake high. And, again, that’s something I really want/need to do in general moving forward. It is especially dry in Colorado during the winter. Oh, but it isn’t it still fall? you ask. Hahahahahaha . . . hilarious, you silly thing. It started snowing at 1:30 pm this afternoon and there is a 100% chance of it not stopping until at least 9:00 am tomorrow. We’re actually under major storm warning until 2:00 pm tomorrow and we’ve been told to expect impassable roadways downtown. Such joy!
It’s all good though. My boss already told me I can stay home if it’s bad out—which we both know it will be—and this is the perfect weather for hunkering down with a good book and not worrying at all about the temptations that lurk in the grocery store or that local fast food drive-thru with the killer all natural french fries!
Wish me luck! And I’ll raise a glass of watered down orange juice to you 😉
How to Enjoy a 50K 