Something is wrong...

I did the Master Cleanse for 3 weeks starting February 12, 2009 and I have been raw ever since. Just before I came off of the fast, I came down with some sort of cold or flu and I quit the fast because of feeling so lousy. I have now been eating raw and I cannot seem to feel good.

I am tired all of the time, sometimes such that it is a chore to just stand up. Is my body continuing to detox or what?

I know I am eating enough, I just can't figure out what could be missing nutritionally to make me feel this way.

Lately, I have a spinach-banana-pineapple smoothie for breakfast and fruit for midmorning snack (either banana, watermelon, or cantaloupe). For lunch I either have raw soup or salad with cashew based vegan ranch dressing or a little of both and for dinner I either have another salad or zucchini spaghetti with raw marinara and raw nuts or fruit hours later as a snack. I drink plenty of spring water during the day but I have been so tired I haven't felt well enough to exercise since before I got sick 2 weeks ago.

The other aspect is that I had been at the hospital almost everynight last week visiting my dying grandmother and I wonder if it is possible I caught something awful.

Does anyone have any raw-related advice to share or experience to draw from. I haven't felt this crappy since my cooked starchy dairy-laden vegetarian days and I understand that I am supposed to be feeling full of energy and totally alert and I am so the opposite.

Thanks for your help.
Kaja

It sounds like your body is cleansing. What I do when I feel fatigue like you described is to stay at home from work and go to bed. I also try to eat either very lightly or not at all until I feel better.

Good advice from Bryan!

You might consider also that you could be experiencing some serious stress concerning you grandma.

When you feel up to it, take a walk outside maybe.

Best wishes to you. Hope you're feeling better soon.

I was just making my way here to ask this or a similar question. I have been raw since the new year and for the past few days I am experiencing what I can only describe as an electrical tiredness. I have never felt this drained or deeply tired in my body but I guess its just detox and will pass.It better!
Hope your dealing with your Gran's situation ok too.My two gran's passed over last year.Both wonderful and amazing women that I will always miss.Not an easy time for you.Stay strong.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2009 12:02PM by ROIRRAW.

Vitamin B12? I would just take a multivitamin to see what effect it has. Also if you are low in protein (from a starvation / fasting clense) then you are prone to colds. Can't remember which specific amino acid or protein will get rid of cold though.

Maybe your body was in the middle of healing something and didn't get to finish the job ? If thats the case you could be tired for awhile as your body completes the work.

i hope you feel better
i'm sorry your grandmother is dying

peace

sunlight,

I think it's good advice to rest and decrease your calorie intake so your metabolism can concentrate on forging immune cells and recovery from the bug you had. Remember that stress really hammers the immune system, and detoxing on top of that would really tax your reserves of energy. My advice would be to focus on your mental well-being, to dealing with what's happening with your grandmother, and fuss as little as possible about your diet. That is, I'd consume only enough "easy" foods to give me sufficient energy for the hospital visits. Everything in its place and time. I wish you peace, dear.

when i did the master cleanse for a similar amount of time i remember reading never to finish a fast when you are feeling icky because you are detoxing your body has basically dumped a bunch of toxins in the blood and when you add extra food you slow the cleansing process down causing that stuff to stay in the blood... which could be causing your fatigue... I'm with brian... rest and eat as little as possible.. maybe even revisit the master cleanse as it does give you the energy you will need while being with your Grandmother...

many blessings

love laugh and dream

here is my take on it: (i am not a health pro so i am giving you opinion from my personal experiences and Knowledge)

i recentlyt comploeted a 7 day juice fast on about feb. 21 and am still just completing the total transition back to eating.

the flu-cold like symptoms which you described are definitely in the realm of detox. a difficult decision to continue or not when in the middle of a fast. personally i think that because of the circumstances you could naturally expect an increased recover and restoration time especially if you do not have a long history of dextox and fasting.

i aslso agree that stress and the responsibility of making certain you went to the hospital had its play into the total equation of your present condition.

the foods you are craving are "multitudinous mixtures" and its possible that the combination may be also working against your soonest recovery.

i would recommend juicing and mono diet of raw and lighly steamed veggies and broths. eat one kind of food per sitting and give it enough time to digest before introducing another. also stop eating anything within a 4 hour period of going to bed a nigh ...a nice big cup of camomile-ginger before bed time would be sufficent using only enough sweetner to make it tasty for you. raw honey would be fine. start the wake up with a 10 glass of warmed water with a half lemon or so squeesed into it 30 min. before eating anything. keep your fruitr smoothies simple and be mindful of ever ever combining starches with proteins and also avoiding any other adverse food combination which your taste buds may tempt you into. being mindful of proper food combining will assist your body in restoring a slightly alkaline ph which is an absolute necessity for preventing and correcting "germ related" pathologies such as cold and flu.

the germs do not like habitating in a slightly alkaline ph (6.8 to 7.2) get some ph paper to monitor ph a really good idea for evan if you are not feeling ill. drink juices which are prepared from green leafies and add a clove or two of garlic and chunk of lemon (organic with the peel) and store in the refridge if you cannot juice fresh through the day. celery and parsely with some cucumber will be fine...also dandelion is a good liver cleanser and can be gotten free in your back yard or clean foraging site. pick it whole and be sure to include a small portion of the root. 2 or 3 oz. several times a day is optimal but do whatever you can. your liver kidney connection is more than likely in need of tonification which dandelion will do a great job at.
you can also add a clove of garlic to the dadelion with good results for your condition. i hope you have a greenstar juicer because it is the only only one that lets us juice the greens and leafies which build our best health. also a one day or 36 hour juice fast will be ok. add chia seeds to your smoothie for energy and intestinal bulking. salba is an excellent strain f chia which i would recommjend highly. also if you are experiencing stomach add some ginger to your juices.


wow what long post....

jj

jj,

Awesome advice for us all; will file away for future reference--thanks!

I don't know for sure but it sounds like about 900 calories a day, whereas you probably could use twice as much. It would only be natural to feel out of sorts on such a level of restriction.

I'd eat a lot more food if I were you.

The hospital is a contributing factor. I doubt you caught anything but the mental part is a real drag. I can't stand hospitals, they make me sick. I mean in the mental sense.

I am feeling much better. Thank you, everyone, for your advice. The good part too is my grandmother made it out of the hospital! I was called last wednesday and was told that she had 2 days to live. She is doing much better now and she is at the nursing home to recover from pnemonia (sp).

I appreciate the advice (so much). I think it must have been detox symptons as you all suggested. I am going to save this just in case I start feeling nasty again.

I know it sounds strange but as I was day after day feeling awful, I thought I might have to go back to cooked food to get over it and I am so happy that I didn't. I know that raw is the way to go and cooked food will only make me unhealthy and more worn out. I have pretty much moved past my cravings for cooked food...except for crackers and potato chips, which I will attempt to make in the dehydrator.

I have found my favorite staple in the raw diet...frozen peas defrosted in warm water, eaten with a sprinkling of himalayan sea salt. The salt settles my cravings and the peas are soooo good and warm.

Maybe I will have to try the cleanse again in a couple of weeks to finish up what it didn't finish...for those of you who have done the cleanse....does your tounge ever really turn pink while fasting? The book says to fast until the tounge turns pink and mine never has during the 3 times that I have done the fast...even after 3 weeks. Am I just that unclean? lol.

Again, thank you all for helping to get me over my slump. I am so happy to be feeling better.

Peace.