Butter, Cream, and Negative Fasting Experience (January 25, 2010)

Q: Rachelle writes, “Where do (organic) butter and cream belong?  Can I use a little butter on my sweet potato or a bit of cream in my tea or do I need to keep them in the flesh combo?”

We are able to include butter and heavy cream, which should certainly be used sparingly, because they do not contain large amounts of casein, the animal protein that sticks like glue in the intestines. Because butter is really a fat, and not a protein, it can be used with both starch and protein meals and can definitely be enjoyed on a baked sweet potato or yam.  Heavy cream should really be used with a protein meal except for the very beginning transitioner.  Add a small amount to your blended Cream of Broccoli Soup, or a tiny dollop in your Detox Hot Cocoa (made with hot water, stevia, and cocoa and carob powder). Use these fats in moderation for their flavor (like spices), not to add density to a meal.

Rande writes, “I did a 5 day juice fast recently and did not lose any weight (and I definitely have at least 10-15 lbs that haven’t wanted to go anywhere). I had 2 gravity colonics and a solid bowel movement each day of the fast. I was drinking quite a lot of juice and did feel like I was hanging onto a lot of water. I was very frustrated after this and my diet was definitely not as good for a couple of months afterwards It has been weighing on me heavily as I feel like I’ve been working very hard and stuck at a plateau.”

Thank you for your question, Rande. Actually, a low weight loss fast often means you’re really getting somewhere! First, check the fast for hidden factors. Juices should be vegetable and not fruit-based, and adding “extras” like coconut water and salty veggie broth will keep your body holding.

If your juices are fresh and veggie-based, and you are supplementing them only with tea and water, the answer must be in you. And if you’ve really been working the diet, eating cleanly, keeping the body moving, and processing emotional situations well you may just be at the perfect place for your body for right now. Kudos (or rather, carrots) to you! You may also have hydrated a large amount of waste (picture a dried sponge that’s now filled with water) which hasn’t moved yet. It will, and you’ve done the work of starting it’s process up and out. It doesn’t mean that this is the farthest your body will contract, or that you’re at your detox end-point by any means. But it means that you’ve been doing really good work, and that your body wants to stay where it is size/weight-wise right now.</span>

Believe me, I know how hard this can be to accept. We all battle with this at times. But detoxification means your body is releasing stored toxins from many places, not just fatty deposits. It knows best, and you can trust that as you continue the process it will continue to morph and change. The detox process is happening, and changing you dramatically, it just might not be apparent in the places you’re looking.  I’ve seen cellulite diminish before pant size, or hair grow in thicker and shinier before the scale budges. Or there might be nothing you can see, but instead something you can feel. I understand frustration, I promise. Hang in there, and your body will find its center.