damaged heart, planned fast to completion.
I believe it was November when i felt strongly that it was time to fast again. Unfortunately i was too busy with work at the time and was thus unable. I continued to eat with immense nutrition (including many vitamixed smoothies each day), and to engage in short duration high intensity cardio, perhaps 200 of these over the past 12 months, each of which i believe made me just a little bit healthier.
Then about 6 weeks ago, tragedy struck. In each of my 200 intense cardio sessions, each time without exception, my legs tired before my heart and the % of max heart rate i reached pushing as hard as i could in each workout was generally between 90-95%, never above 98%. About 6 weeks ago i took a run with extremely well rested legs for running having done other types of cardio over the past month to rest my knees... and before i realized what was happening, i looked at my monitor and saw 102% :(. At this point i slowed down but it was too late and substantial damage had been done.
For the first 3 hours after i walked inside, my heartrate which normally would have returned to about 60-65 bpm sitting (about 50 laying down) within no more than 3-5 minutes was holding steady at a racing pace of 100 bpm while laying down. I felt i nearly fainted a couple of times, but just tried to relax. Finally after about 3 hours, the rate went down to 90bpm, then after about another hour it was down to 80. Still about 30bpm over what it would normally have been laying down, but i was beginning to feel considerable relief at the progress i was making.
That night as i went to sleep, i experienced something i had never known before... a resting heart that would begin to race. To a person who has never experienced this, it felt like my very life was hanging on a thread. Several nights i went to sleep wondering if i was going to wake up.
Over the next few days, throughout the day and at bedtime i was repeatedly exposed to this unnerving experience. After a couple of days i had grown accustomed to it and was considerably less concerned about it, having as well by then read that this is common and generally harmless... and finally after about 4-5 days, the racing heart rate finally stopped appearing and hasn't returned since. The cessation of the intermittent racing heart was to me the 2nd stage of major improvement in my situation, the first being 3 hours after the run when my heart rate finally went from 100 to 90.
Since then i thought i was home free, but my heart has continued to be sore and weak over the following 5 weeks or so. I can barely walk up my (uphill) driveway without straining it.
When the problem first arose, i thought i had better continue eating for a while in case it was somehow electrolyte related and this is what i did. After the initial two breakthroughs, there has been about 5 weeks with seemingly no improvement.
4.6 days ago based upon the condition of my heart, i decided to begin my next fast, strongly believing that no other course of action could bring healing to my heart as effectively or as swiftly. Before the incident, i had been excitedly yearning to fast again, eager to further perfect my health, perhaps achieving the elimination of all toxemia in a 2nd fast to completion, but now i had what was perhaps a life or death reason to pursue this endeavor... or at least an "i want to walk up my driveway without making my heart hurt" reason.
I Lead into this fast with about 16 ounces of carrot/beet/celery juice daily over the past 2 months as a part of my overall healthful diet, a successful gallbladder flush about 2 months ago and about 4 days of coffee enemas (also about 2 months ago) to stimulate cleansing of the liver.
In any case, the fast is underway and i am feeling good. The heart is still weak and i expect it to take many many days of fasting to heal (perhaps the heart will not be healed until i have fasted to completion, and this only if the completion is of the clean tongue variety).
Relaxing as much as possible, exercising only gently (2 minutes of mini-trampoline 7-10 times per day, feet never leaving the platform) and only with the intent of moving the lymphs to aid in the process of detox, keeping heartrate below 50% of max.
drinking only to thirst, only distilled water, and when i am not sure whether or not i am thirsty, i am not drinking until the feeling of thirst is more pronounced and convincing. With actual thirst, when i drink it is tremendously enjoyable. I never feel i have to force it down or gag on it, and it never makes my stomach feel uneasy. I would say i have been averaging 2-4 cups per day. deeper into the fast i anticipate even less need than this to satisfy thirst, perhaps 1-2 cups per day.
Though i view weight loss as an unimportant and over-emphasized aspect of a fast since so much of it is temporary water loss, i will endulge those who may be interested. Starting weight: 182, current weight 174. What is important (to me and i would think should be to everybody) is actual fat loss and i will estimate this at about 1.5 pounds so far. Water loss is about 6.5 pounds.
As with my previous fast of about 9 months ago (which went 30 days), I plan to fast to completion and i hope this time to encounter a clean tongue to accompany the ferocious return of genuine hunger... (In the last fast i had only the return to hunger signifying that i ran low on a key nutrient before achieving a total cleanse.)
Coasting at this point, enjoying each moment, and i believe the hunger i felt in the first 3 days is behind me with one of the strongest appetite suppressants known to man now in place (ketosis).