My roommate escaped work at lunch and we headed down to the station to an upscale grocery store to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. We broke our fast right there, with fresh watermelon and melon. Yum! I made some goodies later on, and did not intend to have any rich foods or salt, but ended up doing so in the end so as not to waste aging avocados and fresh (but salted) wakame, as well as some pickle-type things in the fridge. I’m afraid I was brought up with that “don’t you dare waste food” mentality, so I have a hard time throwing out stuff that I am better off not eating.

All the food was delicious, and my stomach and gut are doing just fine (although making lots of noises), but it’s a bit sad that you feel a bit down afterward; fasting puts you on a “higher vibration,” so whenever you eat again, no matter how healthy, you tend to feel low. The same sort of thing happens to me when I eat cooked foods now after maintaining a very raw diet for several days.

I still have an “Internal Cleansing Kit” from Blessed Herbs that I bought last year, but never started. I’ve been putting it off because it involves a lot of pills and potions that you take 4-5 times a day over the course of 3 weeks. I think now would be a good time to do this, after having finished with the colon cleanse and fast. You can eat on this cleanse, and I would assume a raw diet would make it even more effective.

I went to physio today for treatment for my shoulder injury, and also managed to see the doctor, as the clinic wasn’t busy. (I hardly waited - last time I wanted to see the doctor for a checkup there was a 2-hour wait, on a weekday. I don’t wait very well…) While I had him there I decided to ask him about my knee, which is still dodgy since I pulled and slightly tore my lateral meniscus while training for a marathon many, many moons ago (which I sadly never did accomplish - I pulled my knee less than 3 weeks before race day, on what would have been my longest time, at around the 30km mark. Amazing how things change - I don’t think I could run 2km now without collapsing!). The doctor said it would be a good idea to take an X-ray, and I acquiesced. Shock: I have osteoarthritis! Bone spurs have appeared on top of my right tibia bone, and the doctor figures my body probably generated them in order to protect my lateral meniscus. That sort of makes sense, as my pain as been of a very different nature in recent years. Pain? Yes, I guess I often am in pain, though dull. It’s funny how people can actually get used to and accept pain, to the point where they think it’s normal. The doctor recommends that I do physio, have hyaluronan injections (pricy) if it gets incredibly painful (probably not), and (sob sob) shed some weight. Yeah, yeah, I’m working on it! At least my shoulder seems to be getting better.

Today I had:

watermelon
melon
green tea
papaya
green salad with wakame, fresh hijiki (not the seaweed apparently)
cucumber with fresh tomato sauce (some salt in the oil-based dried tomatoes)
chocolate pudding with coconut (yes, this was over the top for break day!)

Today was the last day of the fast. Good, as I’ve just about had enough. I am ready for fruit! Bring it on!

Today a work colleague and I headed to a hotel neat Kachidoki station in Tokyo to meet two film producers from France. The meeting went successfully and we are going to write the English subtitles for a French film (with an all-Japanese, and Japanese-speaking, “cast”). It is a documentary of Osamu Dazai, a famous Japanese writer. I’d love to write more details here, but as the film has not been released, we have been instructed to keep the contents secret. The gig doesn’t pay much at all (it’s paid for through government culture grants, and much work is volunteer), but it will be a wonderful experience for my Japanese colleague and I, as we enjoy translation projects. Neither of us would have the confidence to do it alone, but with me focused more on the editing and my colleague focusing on the initial script, we think we can pull it off like professionals. It will be cool to have our names come up at the end of the film!

The meeting went well, but unfortunately for my colleague, when the producers found I could speak French, English started to take a second role. (no, they cannot speak Japanese). I’m grateful for the fact that it’s already been translated into French. This means I’ll be able to make reference to my second language to confirm my translations from my third (well, technically Japanese is my 6th, but I’ve forgotten the other languages- you don’t use it and you loose it, baby!) into my mother tongue.

After the meeting, we went to Roppongi mid-town to do some insanely upscale windowshopping (insane as in a USD4 thousand price tag on a sweater). As it was so hot and humid outside, and the store were far from crowded, it being a weekday, we had quite a lovely afternoon. I was the cause of guilt in my companion, however, when I did not eat at lunch, but she got over that fast. And I too will be over this fast tomorrow!

Today I had:

phyllium shakes and apple juice, lemon water drinks

It’s day 4 of the fast and I’m hungry again. I’m still requiring a lot of sleep it would seem, and waking up feeling a bit clogged up in the eyes and mouth. My liver was obviously activated today, as I released a lot of green slimy stuff (It’s supposed to be waste bile, or so I was told on my first fast in Thailand).

My roommate has still not gone to the toilet, so I tried to book us for a trip to one of Tokyo’s few, but increasingly popular, colon hydrotherapy clinics. Increasingly popular indeed - they told us to reserve spots at least one week an advance as they are always booked! You can actually give yourself a good colonic irrigation, but it can be… messy if you don’t have the right equipment.

We are out of lemons, and we both really need a treat as a pick me up, so I guess I should nip over to the grocery store. I just have to muster the energy. I feel fine, but can get dizzy if I move suddenly or too much. This didn’t start happening until today. Glucose reserves are low! Ketosis (when the body uses up it’s reserves and heads to fat for fuel) is hitting! The unneeded ketones are releasing through my breath and urine. Stay back!

Anyway, lemons are not only very alkalizing once in the body (surprising, eh?), but they also do wonders for cleaning the blood and lymph fluids. Joy! A tall glass of these freshly squeezed babies, watered down of course, is so refreshing in this heat, and all the tastier with a dash of raw honey!

I spend the afternoon grading today. Finished! Except… 3 students are failing, and because I am nice (maybe too nice), I am giving them an extra couple of days to frantically complete missing assignments.

Today I had:

psyllium shakes, apple juice, water, and soon… lemon water

Today I spent the afternoon at my laptop doing just a wee bit of grading but also spending a great deal of time assembling a new blog, one dedicated to raw food recipes. I have a few up already, but because I ended up using the Fantastico instant installer supplied by my host again (it does make things easy breezy), Japanese does not work. I wasted a couple of hours trying to install in manually, but I couldn’t get it to work. I do have one friend who is familiar with both coding and WordPress, but he’s out of the country at the moment… Drat. I want to make these recipes available in Japanese, too!

I did find a really nice theme for my blog, though. It’s not a food-oriented skin, but it very much matches the image I’m aiming for. I’ll post a link to it on my page bar once it looks presentable and contains a few more recipes.

Today was day 3 of my fast, and I experienced no pain. Hunger pangs have completely gone and I had at least one excellent bowel movement of giant black slimy pellets. (Yes, it is acceptable for fasters to talk shit!) My tongue is heavily coated now and my head feels clear. I did need a long sleep last night, however.

As for my roommate, he’s not so lucky - still hasn’t had that euphoric first major poop, and is experiencing headaches still. Maybe the process is faster for me because I’ve done it several times before (and eat lots of raw foods!)

Today I had:

5 psyllium mixes with about 5 cups of pasteurized apple juice
a few glasses of lemon and water with ice and a touch of raw honey

Today was day 2 of the fast. I woke of with the beginnings of faster’s tongue. In the full throws of a detox, the tongue gets a stinky, vile, white, hairy coating of slime. You can use a tongue scraper to regularly remove it. I often find I attend even more to mouth care when fasting, not just to help remove all the toxins and tend to dental hygiene, but because I can’t stand the detox feeling in my mouth.

I also felt less hunger. In fact, I almost forgot to take my second herbal shake today.

My roommate has a great electric massage devise, so we used it to massage our abdominals (It stimulates elimination in the colon). We are not doing any colonics or enemas (though we should), so hopefully this will help. On the Blessed Herbs program colonic irrigation or at least an enema are recommeded, but not necessary. Usually people manage to remove some rancid, rubbery plaque buildup from their intestines in day 2 or 3 with the herbs alone, and that’s what has happened with me before.I had my first big “release” late this evening. Yes, I feel absolutely fantastic afterwards.

Today I had:

5 psyllium mixtures with a total of about 5 cups of pasteurized apple juice

Today was the first day of the fast, and there were a few things worth noting for me:

1) I was much hungrier than I thought I would be. Of course I expected hunger, but the psyllium drinks have usually filled me up in the past. I felt really deprived a lot of the day.

2) I didn’t have any headaches. Usually the first day feels a bit like a hangover.

3) I had a major cramping experience later in the day. It felt like severe PMS. Actually I think it was an internal muscle spasm I picked up when making perhaps a bit too much effort on the can… Whatever the case, I was debilitated with pain, so I took a nap, and woke up just fine.

4) Normal bowel function ensued.

Today I had:

5 physllium mixtures with a total of about 5 cups of pasteurized apple juice

My roommate and I are starting a 5-day fast tomorrow, using the Blessed Herbs program (I’ve done it a few times before, with successful results.) You take these herbal pills in the evening, to activate and stimulate your liver and kidneys, and 5 times during the day, about every 3 hours, you take a psyllium-based powdered concoction with water and apple juice (should be raw, be we are opting for the more convenient and cheaper mass-produced, pasteurized, store-bought version - sorry, I don’t have to money or volition to juice all those apples. I could just take it with water, but I cannot swallow that disgusting, fast-bulking, jellied psyllium mulch without the salvation of some sweetness! Apparently, apple juice helps in this detox program, but I’m not sure about my personal take on juice…)

Anyway, because of this venture, today is eat-all-remaining-food-in-the-fridge day. Boy did we feast! (Doesn’t look like much when I write it, but trust me.)

Today I had:

watermelon
oranges
broccoli, cucumber and dried tomato humus (yum!)
zucchini pasta and tomato sauce (2 giant helpings)
avocado cacao pudding (lots!)
banana smoothie
papaya

Today I went out with colleagues and at first was delighted that there was a “healthy” vegan option on the menu of the dubious restaurant that was selected, so I decided to eat cooked, as I was indeed famished. Wow, there must have been a lot of unhealthy stuff in that “healthy” vegan meal, because I felt so down afterward, in every way. I just wanted to go home and lie down! I think there was MSG in there, as I felt really bloated, too. I’m sure the beer did not help. I did feel better, and hungry, later on in the evening.

Today I had:

green smoothie
spinach, walnuts, and orange miso dressing
raisins
papaya
vegan set- rice, baked potato in tomato sauce, greens, miso soup, salad (pickled?)
french fries!
beer
banana ice cream

Today was a rather cooked day. I gave into temptation under duress, when I know in retrospect I would have been much better able to cope with the days various stresses were I well-fed. Oh well. After a morning private lesson for which I was ill-prepared, I had to go to immigration today, and ridiculously, went to Chofu instead of Tachikawa (I reckon I got confused by the fact that there is a driver’s licensing center in each city, and I always remember where the Visa office is as it is next to one (of them)). In any case, it took me 2 more hours than it should have to arrive, and I was pressed for time to run around and get the appropriate official “stamps” to prove that I’ve paid for all necessary fees involved in processing my Visa. I have applied for permanent residency, but the office is so backed up that they said I could be waiting until next year. In the meantime, they are renewing my current one. The good news is this one is also for 3 years. That was unexpected, as I am part-time status now and figured because of this fact, I would only get a one-year visa. Great! I also bought a multiple reentry permit in case the urge to escape the country becomes overwhelming, despite my current financial situation (where there’s a will there’s a way.)

So back to food - between all the running around there were stops at the convenience store, noodle shop, and Starbucks. This is DESPITE traveling equipped with fresh fruit in my purse. Just wasn’t up for it today- what can I say? Plus currently, I am enjoying a raw fruit smoothie than has been infused with tequila. So kill me. I am going on a fast next week, so actually I should be eating even more raw, but in thinking about that my desire to eat mainstream food seems to have increased.

OK, tomorrow’s the last day of classes, so I’d better finish writing up the exams! (no, there is not that much tequila in my smoothie.)

Today I had:

fuzzy navel (oranges, water, vanilla, dates, pecans)
seaweed salad and cooked vegetables
veggie onigiri (rice ball)
packaged vegetable juice
soba noodles with wakame
herbed olives
soy latte
fruit smoothie with tequila
more herbed olives

After morning classes, I spent the afternoon grading, writing exams, chasing after potentially failing students, and uploading student videos. Then I went home to pig out and watch a movie. (Harry Potter 6 - rather slow-moving compared to previous films) Pretty average day.

I bought some books at the Kinokunia bookstore in Shinjuku yesterday - Michael Pollen’s “Omnivore’s Dilema” and Ani Phyo’s famous raw cookbook, and a couple of other bits and bobs that I really cannot afford, but managed to squeeze into my budget. I am also reading Pollen’s “In Defense of Food.” All great stuff. I am really looking forward to reading time this summer!

Today I ate:

green smoothie
banana
zucchini pasta and tomato sauce
raisins
soba and wakame
ruccula salad with walnuts and orange miso dressing
fruit smoothie

I spent a lovely afternoon in Shinjuku today catching up with an old Canadian friend I knew from my Miyazaki days that I hadn’t seen in, gasp, 13 years. She hadn’t changed a bit, only now comes equipped with a lovely husband and 2 beautiful boys! It tricky to move around Shinjuku station with a baby stroller; how would I know where the elevators and breast-feeding friendly places are? (Breast feeding is not a public activity in Japan.) We explored the mega Tokyo Hands store, had a huge lunch at a nice Thai place (kids food brought from elsewhere) and I ended up seeing the city through different eyes. My friends like it here, so they may just look into relocating back to Japan (the big Mikan this time).

Today I had:

green smoothie
Thai papaya salad
Thai spring salad
Starbucks soy latte
banana
green tea
zucchini pasta with 1) miso avocado sauce and 2) tomato sauce
fruit smoothie

This is actually day 105, and all I can tell you about day 104 is that I was so busy I forgot the eat for most of the day (aside from fruit) and then in a rush for an errand, suddenly became famished, broke down and ate a couple of store-bought onigiri (rice balls). Oh, and after all the deadlines were met, I cracked open a bottle of red, drank too much, got carried away auctioning on eBay, and woke up the next morning regretting my actions, so of. Another part of me is really looking forward to getting the goods I “won.” It was a lot of fun auctioning. I can see now why people might have gambling addictions. Not that eBay is gambling… really…

Today I ate:

papaya
raisins
banana ice cream and walnuts
rice balls
salad
bananas
??

I was really tempted today when my roomates’s order from Salvatore’s came in. They make, hands down, the best pizza in Tokyo. Not the cheapest, mind, but ooo la la. They even make a savory no-cheese version, but now that bread’s off limits (and it bungs me up more than ever) I will settle for just enjoying the smell. If I think of it like coffee, I’m fine; coffee smells about a million times better than it tastes. (OK, OK, the exception is espresso coffee with foamy soy milk and honey, but who makes that at home, anyway?)

I got a wee bit homesick today for the first time in years. My parents, my bother and his fiancé and daughter, and 2 dogs were heading out the door, and they called me to check in and say hi. That is hard enough as I wished I were there with them all. But then they told me they were headed to Algonquin Provincial Park. This is a park in lower Ontario where I spent at least 2 weeks of every summer as a child. Lots of memories: canoeing, portaging, marshmellow roasting on open fires, board games, exploring hiking trails, bear and raccoon encounters, first kisses… I’d really like to be going with them. Instead I am stuck here grading papers…. I hope my parents remember the bug spray. Not just mosquitoes, but them black flies sure do know how to take a chunk outa ya!

Today I had:

green smoothie
dried apricots
kiwis
green salad
oranges
lemon and water
pecans, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds
red wine

I spent most of the day doing grades for one of my university classes, but only got 1/3 through the amount that has to be done by the end of tomorrow, which will be a busy day no doubt. I did take a break to watch “Wanted,” a 2008 silly but entertaining movie with Angelina Jolie on tvshack.net. Had trouble getting back to work afterward, though. I find that I like to munch on stuff all day rather than have meals when working in front of the computer. Maybe this is because eating breaks up the monotony of all the calculating, etc.

Today I had:

green smoothie
humus, cucumbers, broccoli, and tomatoes
kiwis
chestnuts
aojiru (”blue juice” - powdered greens and water)
lemon water
raisins
red wine