Since I am not a dietitian or doctor,  I must say this first.   Before starting any fast or diet plan, please consult your physician.  Okay, now that I have made that disclaimer; eliminating certain foods from your diet is a great way to jumpstart any diet, remove unwanted waste and various toxins from your body, and even transition to a vegetarian lifestyle.

Cleansing your body of all the waste that processed foods and meat leaves behind in your system before becoming vegetarian or starting healthier eating habits will help your body reap the benefits of a healthier change in diet.

Fasting is a natural way of removing waste from your body without using stimulants, laxatives, and pills.  Do not be alarmed by the word “fast.”  Fasting can be done gradually and completed in less than 10 days.

After you have successfully completed a fast, you will want to keep you body as healthy as possible.  One way of doing this is to adopt a vegetarian diet and make sure you use a diverse range of vegetarian meal plans and recipes to help nourish your body and support your health.

Let’s try an easy 6 Day Fasting Program

Day 1- During the first day of your cleansing, you will need to eliminate all meat (this includes fish and chicken) caffeine, alcohol, junk food (you know, chocolate, sweets, chips and dip, soda…the usual suspects) from your diet.  You will also need to drink a lot of water.; at least 64 oz of water a day.

2nd Day – Now that you have eliminated the junk food from your diet, you will need to stop eating all canned, frozen, and other processed foods. Absolutely no canned or frozen vegetables or fruits; only eat the fresh, organic, and natural stuff.  No canned beans either.  If want to eat beans or any other legumes, use the dried beans that you can buy in bag or in bulk.

3rd  Day – Now that you have eliminated all meat and junk food and process foods from your diet, you will stop eating all animal products such as eggs, cheese, yogurt, and animal milk.  It is still okay to consume soy based products such as soy yogurt and soy milk.

4th Day – On this day, you will need to exclude all grains and legumes from your diet.  This means beans, bread, rice cereal, oatmeal, couscous, and any other grain and bean family members (don’t worry; this is not a permanent elimination).  You will be able to enjoy these healthy and delicious foods once again.  I promise.  Remember, drink a lot of water to facilitate the fasting and cleansing process.

5th Day – Remember this is a fast, so we must eventually eliminate all foods, no matter how healthy they are for us, so that our body can naturally cleanse itself. You will need to stop eating the ever so healthy vegetables.  At this stage of your fast, almost all foods have been “banned” from your diet except for fruit.  Feel free to enjoy all the fresh, sweet, and juicy fruit your little heart desires on this day.  Fruit is the last food to be removed from your diet because fruit is mother nature’s natural cleanser and is full of fiber that helps keep your body’s digestive system performing at optimal levels and helps removes waste that other foods leave behind.

6th Day – This is judgement day. You should not be eating any foods at all. Not one drop of food should be hitting your lips.  It doesn’t matter how healthy the food may be for you.  You should only be drinking water and fresh vegetable and fruit juices.  When I say fresh vegetable and fruit juice, I mean the real stuff.  You may need to dust off the juicer and use fresh and pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to make your own juices at home.  This way, you know that the juices you are drinking are not loaded with sugar and sodium and you can feel great about drinking your fresh juices knowing that you are not reversing your fasting efforts.

Don’t fret if you don’t have access to a juicer.  Not having a juicer will not make or break your fast.  Just try to purchase juices that don’t have any added sugars and are organic.  Try not to drink too much of the bottled juices during the fast.  You will need to continue this fresh juice and water fast for another three to five days.  How long you continue this fast is totally up to you.  I would suggest not fasting any more than five days.

You will not be living off fresh juice and water for the rest of your life.  After you have completed your fast, you will need to start incorporating healthy foods into your diet, day by day, the correct way, so that you are not “shocking” your body with food.

I have tried this fast several times and I love it.  I feel great after I have completed it.  How about you?  With the new years right around the corner, why not start out “clean and fresh.”  What fasting programs have you tried before?  Curious minds want to know!

P.S.  Stay tuned for the article on how to break your fast.  This is where it gets good and you can start introducing foods back in to your diet.  Only the good foods though.  We are going to leave all of the crap out of our diets.

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