Many people think about fasting in January for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you need to renew your body and soul. Did you gain weight during the holiday season? Maybe you're feeling sluggish or toxic and need to cleanse your body in such order. Or maybe you want to fast for spiritual reasons, such as a breakthrough in your personal life or for revival in this land. Whatever your reasons are for fasting, here are 10 tips to ensure you fast smartly.
1. Prepare Your Mind
Before you begin, think about why you want to fast. What do you want to achieve? It's important to have the right mindset before you start or you may lose heart early on. Pray for discipline and a strong will to complete the fast.
2. Stock Up
Shop for everything you'll need before the day you begin. Not having everything you need on your first day is a sure way to fail. If you're doing a juice fast, for example, look at the recipes you'll be using, and make sure your shopping list has all the ingredients.
3. Drink Water
As led. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of purified water while you are fasting so that you can flush away toxins and waste.This will also help you to stay energized. Dehydration can cause you to feel tired and hungry.
4. Go Easy
Avoid exhausting work! Gentle exercise, such as walking, is good, but don't overexert yourself. Your body is working hard to eliminate toxins, remove damaged cells and restore vitality. This important work is often not completed when we eat regular meals. That's because the body focuses its attention on digestion throughout the day. Fasting frees your body from this daily chore so that it can work on cleansing, repairing and healing. It's like taking a week's vacation to thoroughly clean your home. While all this important work is going on inside, you want to give your body the rest it needs. Take more breaks. Go for walks. Get fresh air and sun. Go to bed early, as powerful healing hormones are released while you sleep. Relax before bed by taking a bath, reading a good book or listening to beautiful music.
5. Choose a Plan
Many people think fasting means a strict water fast. Some people even try to follow the model of some Biblical heroesno food or water, which can be dangerous . But there is more than one type of fast. Choose the one that is best for you.
Water fast - A strict water fast for more than two or three days is not recommended unless you can completely rest and are medically supervised.
Juice fast - Freshly made juice is rich in antioxidants that bind toxins so that they don't damage cellsand those antioxidants are critical, especially during a fast. On the juice fast, you can drink vegetable juices, purified water, coconut water, veggie broth and natural herbal teas throughout the day. I emphasize vegetable juice because fruit juice has too much sugar, which can cause spikes and dips in blood sugar, leaving you tired. However, you can use a little fruit to flavor and sweeten veggie juice recipes. Unlike in Biblical times, where the air, soil and water were virtually pure, we have thousands of different chemicals pouring into our atmosphere every year now. Most of our food is sprayed with pesticides and packaged with preservatives, additives, dyes and fillers. (Therefore, you ought to choose organic produce.) Our water is treated with chemicals, and our air is assaulted with industrial pollution.