About Fast on Friday

A fast is a means of resting your digestive system completely so your body can do some valuable housekeeping. If you want to try fasting then join us for a regular fast each Friday. As well as juice fasting for the entire day, you will fast for mind and spirit and make Friday fast resolutions.

Each ‘Fast on Friday’ allows you to experience what a mini fast is and gives your body a chance to regularly and cumulatively do some necessary clearing and maintenance work. At the same time, you can build up your confidence with undertaking fasts. Maybe the answer for you is to make Fast on Friday a regular fixture in your life?

Fast on Friday is an online cleanse group brought to you by Manifest Health Limited. http://www.manifeshealth.co.uk/

Fast day eating program

The following is an a suggestion, adapt this to your needs.

• A glass of pure water with a slice of lemon in it on rising in the morning, this may be followed later by a herbal tea
  
  
• All day long remember you need to drink plenty of mineral or spring water - take the water with you wherever you go. Sip it all day. You need to drink at least 2 -3 litres.
  
  
• Fruit or fruit and veg smoothie for breakfast ('chew' every mouthful) You may add a spoonful of supergreen food powder to the juice if you wish.
  
  
• Every two hours or so throughout the morning you may take a vegetable juice OR a diluted fruit juice (typically diluted 50% water and 50% juice) OR a mix of fruit and veg juice together. See our recipe section for ideas. ‘Chew every mouthful’.
  
  
• Midmorning you can enjoy another herbal tea.
  
  
• Lunchtime onwards (and every two hours or so through to 6.30 pm) take a vegetable juice. (chew every mouthful). Don’t forget, NO more fruit juice after midday. You may add a spoonful of supergreen food powder to the lunchtime vegetable juice if you wish.
  
  
• Late afternoon you can enjoy another herbal tea.
  
  
• Dinner time (no later than 6.30pm) have some potassium broth – take it warm with any solids sieved out. Recipe is: Add a basic mix of vegetables ie 3 chopped organic potatoes, 3 chopped organic celery stalks, a handful of mixed organic greens like kale, turnip, collard, parsley etc. Wash all vegetables carefully and place them in a stainless steel saucepan bring all the mix to a light boil with the lid on. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, and after it has cooled a litle, strain and dispose of chunks, keeping only the broth.
  
  
• 8.30pm: Herbal Tea (Chamomile will help you sleep for example)
  
  
• Water for the rest of the day (wait at least 30 minutes after drinking the night cap tea)

Fasting mind and spirit

Fast on Friday is also a way of gifting yourself time to fast from other aspects of your life that affect you too, this especially includes fasting for mind and spirit.

1. You need to fast from any negativity coming out of you in words, thoughts or deeds for the entire day. (This is perhaps the easiest in this list to control!) Choose instead to focus on things you are thankful for in your life, contemplate on things that uplift your spirit. Find something good in everything.
   
   
2. You need to fast from any negativity that may reach you through any form of communicative media (newspapers, phones, computers, computer games, emails, radio or TV broadcasts, books, magazines, music ... etc.) If you feel that you will be unable to control this for a whole day just set aside an hour where you consciously close yourself off from all of these methods of communication to prevent you assimilating their unsolicited negativity e.g. gossip, criticism, spite, envy, pressure, stress, fear, aggression...but do spend the rest of the day conscious that negativity can reach you in these forms so you'll need to mentally block these before they enter into your space - 'repel it, make it bounce off you'. Understand it is there but don't react to it.
   
   
3. You need to fast from any interactions with other people when they are being negative. You will need to simply and politely withdraw so that their unsolicited negativity is not absorbed into you. If it is impossible for you to withdraw you'll need to mentally block the negativity before it is absorbed into your personal space.

Fast day resolutions

Fast on Friday gives you permission to choose to change aspects of life. Don't wait for New Year!
Make changes - even if it's only for the Friday.

Bigger fast day resolutions might be to avoid addictive behaviour or trying to let go of a persistent habit you dislike.

Smaller fast day resolutions might be you choose to wash up a cup each time you've finished with it, or perhaps you choose to intentionally find a way to recycle things that you use that day that normally you would have just thrown away.

Fasting recipes

Here are some sample recipes to get you started. There are a huge number of recipes on the internet (make sure the source is reliable) and lots of books in print too. Don't forget to check out the schedule for the fast day so that you can plan for how many juices you'll be preparing and see if there are any other items you'll need to have at hand too.

Ensure all foods and utensils are spotlessly clean before use. Ideally buy organic produce. Use all produce raw unless stated. Core and de-seed. 'Skin/Peel on' but 'rind off' unless stated.
Juice these fruits/vegetables together in the proportions given here and ideally drink them straight away.
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3-4 carrots + 2 apples
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2 Apples + 2 Pears
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2 Oranges + 2 Grapefruits
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1/2 cup frozen strawberries + 1 cup orange juice
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4 Carrots + 3 stalks Celery + 1 sprig Coriander + 1-2 Cloves Garlic
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5 Carrots + 4 stalks Celery + 2 Cucumbers + 1 clove Garlic
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4 fl oz Carrot juice + 2 fl oz Celery juice + 2fl oz Parsley juice + 1 tablespoons freshly juiced + Ginger
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3 oz Spinach + 3 oz Celery + 1 oz Green Peppers + 1 oz Alfalfa Sprouts +
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Watermelon on its own!
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Many fruits and vegetables may be naturally high in sugars, watch out for this if it is important for you to avoid sugars! Dilute the juices or choose another recipe.

Check out the website for lists of which fruits and vegetables are alkalising and which are supposed to help specific ailments. It may help you choose the fruits and vegetables you'd prefer to use.

Have you got a great recipe to include? add it here for us all to share! Use the comment link below

Tips and hints

Plan your day carefully. Decide what you will be juicing and drinking and at what time of the day it will be. Decide this before Friday.

Think through the fast day. Is there going to be a problem time for you...how can you plan to get around this?

Don't do stressful or heavily competitive activities. Keep the day calm and simple.

Preparing meals. If you are responsible for preparing meals for others during the fast day why not plan to prepare foods which they'll love but that you don't particularly like. You'll be less tempted that way.

Plan ahead.
It’s helpful if you choose to eat light simple meals of fruits and vegetables the day before and the day after you fast.

Buy everything fresh and organic before the day begins so that you have everything to hand when you need it.

Mixing the juices as you need them throughout the day may not be ideal for you. Juices are best drunk immediately after you have made them but will stay fresh for upto 12 hours if properly refrigerated. Some juices taste better chilled anyway!

If you go to work, or if you go out for any length of time during the day take your juices with you in labelled jars or bottles so that you stay in control of what you are eating/drinking.

If 'will power' is a problem for you avoid places where you will be surrounded by people eating and drinking and don't choose to do things that you typically associate with eating.

Taste test some juice recipes and detox teas before the day so that you know which ones you'll be making and that you'll love the way they taste. Loving the taste of the juices is a critical part of the fast. It should be a pleasure to take part.

Sip water throughout the day rather than gulping it down. Have a bottle of water next to you all day. If you start the day knowing how many of those bottles you need to drink then it makes it easier. You need to wash out the toxins and spring clean your tissues so water is vital.

'Chew' the juice before you swallow it. Silly as it sounds chewing the juice will help.

Do you have any hints or tips you would like to add? Simply use the comment link below

Detox reactions during the day

Detox reactions during the day may appear. On a single day fast it is quite possible that you may not experience any detox reactions at all. In the days after the fast day it is quite possible that you may experience some of these reactions as toxins are released and eliminated from your body

Food cravings
Mood swings
Tiredness
Lightheadedness
Feelings of nausea
Cold hands and feet
Changes in energy levels
A coating on your tongue
Change in body smell
Headache
Darker than normal urine
Skin problems
Mucus

These reactions are likely to pass as soon as the toxins are eliminated from your body. Keep a diary so you can look back and see the pattern for the fast day and the days that follow.

Take part in a cleanse group

Would you like to take part in an online cleanse group?
That way you can share your experience with everyone taking part.
You can join in anytime and stop at anytime too. There is no charge for taking part.
If you would like to take an active part in a cleanse follow this link to register your interest.