The correct way to break a fast after eating no solid food whatsoever for 10 days is gently and slowly with foods that are very easy to digest like homemade soup or perhaps eggs and fruit and maybe a slice or two of bacon as shown in the picture above.
So what do Paula and I do after completion of 10 days of The Milk Cure?
We throw caution to the wind and get us some Boss Hog, that’s what!
The Break the Fast festivities began about noontime this past Saturday at the annual Fitness Challenge Celebration for Paula’s gym – Jaguar Fitness.
A Primal Feast fit for a king complete with pig roast was the order of the day. We both sampled all the amazing dishes offered including veggies/guacamole, almond flour biscuits, and cornbread, sweet potato salad, etc. . . Â and of course Boss Hog.
As my contribution, I brought a large pan of artichoke dip at Paula’s request. We both got full very easily and did not eat the rest of the afternoon.
The Boss Hog was prepared the traditional Cuban way by marinating in orange juice the night before. The pastured pork was mouth-watering and quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted.
After the Primal Party, Paula went out to dinner with friends. From about 6 to 9 pm, she enjoyed bacon-wrapped scallops, cheese stuffed mushrooms, prime rib, salad, twice baked potatoes, and eek – even a piece of bread slathered with butter (don’t tell anyone). Beyond stuffed, Paula passed on dessert. However, other than being overly full, she suffered no ill effects.
As for Richard and me, we attended my daughter’s birthday skating party after the Primal Fest and ate the delicious birthday cake I had baked the day before. I even had a slice of (gasp) skating rink pizza.
What was I thinking?
Despite eating a wide and wild variety of foods on the fast-breaking day, I felt fine and suffered no ill effects. My digestion was clearly in tip-top shape after drinking nothing but grassfed raw milk for 10 days.
Richard and I are seriously considering drinking nothing but raw milk for one or maybe even two days a week from now on based on our positive experience. I did not drop any significant weight (started at 123.5 and ended at 123) which was my goal. Â I also definitely detoxed and feel nothing short of amazing for the experience.
Paula’s final weight after the fast was 117 – A decrease of 1.6 pounds. Â Her calorie intake over the 10 day period ranged from 1863 to 2663 for an average of 2375. Â Macronutrient ratios of milk were 55% fat, 25% carbs, and 20% protein.
Many thanks to all of you who joined us on this adventure!
We all plan on doing this again next year, so mark your calendars for Spring and source out your supply of raw grassfed milk from jersey cows with lots of cream if you don’t already have one so that you can be sure to participate with us!
I’m on day 2…
Just started my Raw milk fast. Had to wait to get the milk. Is interesting to read all the comments day by day. Helps me to have my perspectives in the right place. Thanks everyone.
Hi Sarah, I have a breastfeeding question. I have seen improvement with cod liver oil capsules. Because of the cost of the capsules (which I knew I would take) I have only been taking 40% of what is recommended. I know it helps and am ready to step up to the full amount with the liquid. Can I do half of the recommended amount of cod liver oil and then the other half of the amount with skate liver oil or stick with all cod liver oil? Thank you!!!
Sarah
Sure, you can do half skate and half cod liver oil. That’s actually what we do at our house and it works great. See my video on this for how we swallow it down with no problem – even the kids.
My daughter Emma and I ended our fast on Saturday night with a small portion of homemade chicken and rice casserole. The only other ingredients were King Arthur’s gluten-free all-purpose flour, cheddar cheese (not raw), peas, carrots, celery, raw cream, sea salt, and pepper. Emma started having irritable bowel symptoms. She didn’t eat anything else, just went back on the raw milk and kefir. After repeated trips to the bathroom it was clear that she did not digest any of the vegetables. Worse, by Sunday she was passing blood. She has continued on the milk with no more problems once the meal was out of her system. She and I are both dumbfounded though. She does have adrenal fatigue and Hashimoto’s. We did the GAPS diet for most of last year and transitioned into gluten-free in December. She has never in all her life had an incident like this. Any ideas what happened? She is afraid to eat anything now, so I made a pot of bone broth yesterday and she had a couple of cups of that in addition to some raw milk mozzarella, milk, and kefir.
We’re just approaching the grass growing season here in the northwest, (it was trying to snow last night.) We are so blessed to have raw milk readily available, but it isn’t cheap. How would raw milk deal with being frozen? If I could stock up with just an extra gallon every other week then I could justify the fast which I’d really love to do. Will I be losing benefits of the beneficial flora that way? Maybe I should just set aside my cash for a few months…
Found my answer. http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/Raw_Milk_FAQ.html
I am so happy I did this! I intend on doing it next year and, actually, I think I will fast one day a week. My grandfather ate anything he wanted 6 days a week and fasted one for most of his life….and it was a long, healthy life at that. I have never been able to fast because I always got too hungry, but I never experienced any hunger on this fast. It is great. Thanks. I learned a lot from this experience. It has taught me to really appreciate food when I get it! I now eat slower and taste every bite.
Sarah,
This is a great follow up topic to your fast. Although I haven’t researched a raw milk fast beyond the Mayo Clinic article linked to your original post, I have been cleansing for about fifteen years and with that will make some basic assumptions that the effects of the milk fast are similar in quality to other cleanses and fasts.
Although you didn’t feel any ill-effects, it’s important your readers understand that breaking a fast with heavy or processed foods can greatly diminish the beneficial effects of the fast. Consider that, as you discussed in your original post, drinking fresh milk is how we start this life outside the womb, and it is all the digestive system knows.
As we walk through this life, we are increasingly exposed to toxins from food/air/water, and our body uses some of these pollutants to protect itself from those same pollutants, forming a layer of plaque, mucoid plaque, on the intestinal wall. While protecting itself, however, it also diminishes the amount of nutrients we can absorb from our food, which is why dietary cleansing is such a valuable practice. When fasting, we’re attempting to return the digestive system to its original state. We attempt to remove the toxic build up to allow nutrients to more readily absorb through the intestinal wall.
As your body is releasing the toxic build up in your organs and digestive system, it is in a more pure state and therefore more susceptible to the reintroduction of pollutants. So when you give the freshly-fasted body junk, it’s like giving that junk to a young child or a baby.
All that said, the title of this post made my laugh, as I broke my first raw fast with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. We are human, after all. 😉
Sometimes you just have to live on the wild side …. who can resist Boss Hog for heaven’s sake? These opportunities don’t come around too often and I was willing to risk being sick to enjoy it. As it turned out, I was just fine 🙂
The food Paula and I ate was incredibly pure and fantastic at the Primal Party. I did have that one small slice of pizza at the roller rink. Not a big deal though I don’t think. Just a few bites. I normally wouldn’t eat it, but after not eating for 10 days, was going a little “hog” wild. Oh well …. no regrets 🙂
Sarah, I hear so much about mucous and that milk causes mucous and inflammation. Though I also know that raw milk, for me, is life giving.
For instance, I remember hearing, growing up, that you don’t want to drink mucous producing foods like milk when you have a cold.
Is the mucous and inflammation information pertaining to the pasteurized milks found in stores? Or is there some other set of facts that I have yet to discover? And if you have an article already available, please show me. I would love to clear the confusion and enjoy the milk without having to wonder about this!
@ Pamela: Most of the time when you read something about milk, it is referring to the pasteurized dead stuff. Anymore, raw milk isn’t talked about, it’s whispered about (until recently and until sites/blogs like these, where people believe in real food). That is not to say that some folks don’t or can’t get mucusy from drinking milk, but people can get mucusy from other things, as well. Too many sweets will do it for me. I don’t have anything at hand to refer you to, specifically about mucus, but you can always go through the articles at http://www.realmilk.com or use the search box at WAPF and see what pops up there, in regard to mucus or milk issues.
I did a milk fast several years ago with six other people, and of the seven of us only one had mucus issues. We only milk fasted for five days, though. That’s the way I intend to do it this time, as well. I plan to start in about a month when grass is green and milk is righteous!
Great job everyone! I’m still waiting for my cows to go out on spring grass up here in the frozen north to start my milk fast. I’m really looking forward to it! I have a considerable amount of weight to loose, but that’s not my main focus. I want to feel less sluggish and from all the comments, I believe that will be totally achievable. Thanks to everyone who posted their experiences too! Congrats!
Hi Sarah
Just starting the milk fast, in sync with our Spring Break, so that it isn’t so hectic with my children’s school & activities. Any tips for the mucous I am experiencing. I haven’t been able to tolerate pasturized milk since childhood, but this being RAW milk, I have been able to drink without blowing up. However I am still getting mucus/congestion.
I got quite a bit of congestion starting out as well .. I do think it was detoxing as it passed after a bit. Try some stinging nettle caps or tea .. it is a natural anti-histamine. Also, be sure to take cleansing mag salts baths to max the elimination going via skin and colon. This will help ease the mucous as well.
If you sprinkle some cardamon and cinnamon in your milk that should help, it’s an Ayurvedic thing.
Excellent suggestion. I had totally forgotten about that but I remember that my Ayurvedic MD once told me this tip some years ago. It makes the milk taste so yummy too especially if the milk is room temp.
It is so yummy. If I forget to put in my daughter’s milk, she says Mama! Mem-mem! (the way she says cinnamon). 🙂
I could not tolerate pasteurized milk either. Here is how I avoid excess mucous formation. Now I consume raw milk, but only after I clabber it first (set out at room temp til it thickens) and it becomes more digestible and has more healthy probiotics. Also avoid drinking it cold. I understand the mucous comes from undigested proteins. Warm it to room temp or warmer to digest it better. And make it into clabber or keifer (when you add a starter to innoculate it it clabbers faster, like overnight vs 8 days). When I make cheese I only choose recipes that do not heat above 103′, same temp as a healthy cow. That means no mozzerella, no ricotta because they get pasteurized in the making. I make cottage cheese and keifer or clabber cheese.