I lost about a 1/2 pound yesterday. My energy was good all day. I drank 2 quarts of milk and one quart of water. Before I went to bed, I had the thought that "Tomorrow I should not make coffee". I thought that was strange, but this morning, Day 7, I got up and had no desire whatsoever for coffee or "quiet time" either. I've had no headache even though it's now 3 p.m. YAY!
Interestingly, today was the first day that I have had any weakness. My legs felt weak this morning, and I wanted to drink milk right away. Also, I was overcome by a strange urge to clean the louvers on my closet doors. Hmm. I finished a quart of milk before 10 a.m. I have a feeling I may drink three quarts today. So far no queasiness.
Emma told me today that her tonsils have shrunk and are very soft. Before we started the milk cure, they were chronically swollen. She checks them regularly because she usually has tonsil stones. Now, in addition to the tonsils being normal size, the tonsil stones are completely gone.
I felt good all day. I am still struggling with my coffee demon. I made myself drink a pint of water before I could have coffee, and for the last few days I have been making myself stop drinking it before my cup is empty. Apparently my struggles have caused old Folger's and Maxwell House jingles to come to the forefront of my memory. Off and on all day, I would hear, "The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup" and "Good to the last drop". Once again I was struck by how American advertising is so antithetical to Catholic ideals. The marketers want us to focus on consumption instead of denying ourselves. We worship comfort and are willing to wear the ugliest clothes in the history of the world in order to meet its demands. I think about all the saints who wore hair shirts under their clothes, especially St. Thomas More, since he was a family man and lawyer, not a hermit. I dislike that my memory is poisoned with all these ads. I wish that this raw milk cure could dislodge them and flush them out like all the other toxins, as it occurs to me that Satan is tempting us just like he did Jesus in the desert, but he has gone high-tech and glossy. Get thee behind me, Satan!
I ordered three packages of kefir grains from Cultures for Health. I am going to make a quart of kefir every day: one for me, one for Emma, and one for my parents. I have made kefir before but only with the powder. Once I read how you can keep re-using the grains, I knew I had to switch. It doesn't sound like the grains replicate like Kombucha starter, so that is why I bought three. I want to make and consume a lot. I would like to switch to a kefir/Kombucha fast after this milk fast is over I was tempted to order Cultures for Health's gluten-free sourdough bread starter, but I decided to wait because on Saturday I mailed my order for a Kombucha starter kit from Laurel's Farm. I figured that is enough culturing to take on for the moment.
I have not felt weak at all during this fast, but yesterday I noticed an increase of energy, and my vision seems clearer. Normally I don't drink milk after 6 p.m. or so, but last night I did get hungry around 9:30, so I drank a pint of milk and went to bed. That made a total of 2 1/2 quarts. I slept well.
Emma read about the benefits of sunning your belly on The Healthy Home Economist, so yesterday we spent some time sprawled on the grass in the sun so she could do that. Cotton took a break from bird hunting to rub my face and whisper sweet mews in my ear. I didn't feel much like sunning; I really wanted to move, so I got up and made a brisk walk to the mailbox and then went inside to work on some spring cleaning. This belly sunning is supposed to be good for babies in utero, so I know that Emma is going to want to do it when she gets pregnant. I delighted myself for a couple of minutes this morning, imagining her future husband's quest. How will he solve the dilemma of accommodating Emma's overwhelming desire for modesty with her overwhelming determination to sacrifice for baby's health? I can see him driving her into the country to find a safe and secluded sunning spot for his little turtle, somewhere where she can be the only turtle on the log. And of course there will be a picnic with Kombucha and cod liver oil and grassfed calf's liver.
Emma wants to start eating again, as she is finding it harder and harder to keep drinking the milk, so much so that she is going hungry. I think she is down to a quart a day. This is not good for her adrenal or thyroid function. I suggested that she go ahead and eat, but as of last night she was still resisting. She found a tip in a book she is reading about raw milk fasts that said if you have problems with queasiness, which we both have had, you should drink lemon juice. I can't remember the particulars now. I'll find out and post an update.
N.B. Emma and I drank raw milk for breakfast and lunch and ate a regular meal for supper for three days before we started the milk fast on March 1. We each lost two pounds during this trial run.
DAY 1, Thursday, March 1
I sailed through this day. I drank a quart in the morning and a quart in the afternoon. Any minor hunger pangs went away with just a little milk. I am weaning myself off coffee by adding a little bit more raw cream every day. Other than a cup of coffee, I had nothing but milk. I got sleepy earlier than usual and was in bed by 9:45. I slept well. I could easily drink more milk, but then I wouldn't feel like I was mortifying my body at all, so I am trying to keep my consumption at a level where I am just below satiated. Besides, this milk fast is easier for me than the traditional Lenten fast of one full meal, two snacks.
Emma was not feeling well all day because of the beginning of her cycle and only drank a half a quart of milk. She did have some kombucha also.
DAY 2, Friday, March 2
I felt great when I got up. I thought my face looked less blotchy but wasn't sure. Then later Emma commented that my skin tone looked more even. I drank a quart of milk during the morning and a half a quart during the afternoon. Then Emma and I left for church to go to stations of the cross and the First Friday holy hour of reparation and mass. We took our milk with us to finish after church. On the drive down there, which takes about an hour, I was talking to Emma and suddenly could not speak without mixing up my words. I can't remember exactly, but I think I was switching the first letters of the words in the sentence. I was very aware of it and could not stop it. It lasted a few minutes. I noticed Emma had dark circles under her eyes. I don't know if this is because she didn't get enough to eat the day before and slept poorly or if it is an allergic reaction. She felt better today but still had queasiness off and on. We got through all the kneeling and standing up again of the stations fine, but while I was kneeling during the holy hour of reparation, I started to feel queasy myself, and my head felt odd--I guess kind of light. It was hot in the church. I sat down on the pew for a while and felt better, but I decided not to stay for mass. When I went outside I had a strong craving for really cold water. I didn't have any, and I didn't feel like going to get any, so I went to the car and waited for Emma. I didn't want my now-warm milk, but I made myself drink it. I felt better.
Emma spent 20 minutes socializing after church and seemed to be feeling good. On the way home she told me that she is having a hard time drinking the milk without food. She can guzzle it down when she is eating. By the time we got home she was feeling queasy again.
I was in bed by 10 and slept well. I think Emma stayed up late and watched a movie.
DAY 3, Saturday, March 3
I woke up with a headache. I am still trying to get off the coffee, but my heart is not really in it. I love sipping hot coffee and having my quiet time in the mornings. I have cut back to one cup, and I have given up having the coffeemaker come on automatically in the morning before I wake. It is the enjoyment of it that is my addiction at this point, not the caffeine. I always look forward to getting out of bed in the morning because the coffee is waiting! "This is the day the Lord has made! Let us get up and have a cup of coffee." Ugh! I don't like that in myself. So for the last few days I have been making it when I get up, hoping that having to wait will help me strengthen my discipline and break my attachment. There are so many truly wonderful reasons to get up in the morning. Coffee seems ridiculous in comparison.
I made eggs and toast for my husband. I sipped milk while he ate. It didn't bother me at all. I had a headache all day but felt fine otherwise. I worked in three quarts of water to help get the toxins out of my body in case that was why I had the headache. I took a long, hot shower. Afterward, I noticed that the skin on my legs and feet did not have the mosaic look they usually have from being so dry. I was sitting next to Emma during the rosary, and she remarked that the blackheads on my nose had disappeared. I guess I need new glasses! I wasn't even aware that I had any. I fried a huge batch of grassed beef cutlets and cooked some corn and green beans for Nathaniel and Herb. I wasn't in the least tempted to try them. So I do think this milk fast is helping to break my attachment to food. I am hoping that by the end, my mind will be clearer and I will be able to practice contemplative prayer without getting distracted.
Emma slept late today and yesterday. She still has dark circles under her eyes, but she noticed that her blemishes are healing faster and that two dark, rough spots she has had on her knees are becoming lighter. Worried about the dark circles, I asked her if she wanted to switch to bone broth, but she said, "no".
Day 4, Sunday, March 4
Emma has lost 3 pounds.
I have lost 2.5.
I had a terrible night. That last quart of water I drank at about 9 p.m. the night before demanded to be released around 2 a.m. I still had the headache and was awake a lot during the night. I got up around 6 and made coffee. I decided to cut back some on the raw cream to see if caffeine withdrawal was why I had the headache. It must have been, because the headache began going away pretty quickly, and I have been headache-free since then. I guess I was weaning too fast. I am not going to worry about it. I have cut back on caffeine consumption pretty drastically since Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, when I gave up iced tea. I was drinking it all day long and found it hard to drink water.
When I was getting ready for church, I noticed that hardly any hair came out in my wide-tooth comb. I have always lost a lot of hair and have to constantly pick it off my shoulders and back during the day. I asked Emma to look at my back and see if she saw hair. She saw one or two. If this keeps up, it will be a major breakthrough for me. I hate having to clean up hair in the bathroom and to always be worrying about shedding hair on my clothes.
I drank a half a quart of milk before we left for church.
Emma, Nathaniel, and I had a great discussion on the drive to church. It started when I suggested that maybe the reason the government makes it so hard to have access to raw milk is because it already knows what we are learning by this fast: a person can live on it alone and be healthy and happy. Healthy, happy citizens might rise up and rebel. The government does not like this. It's better to force the citizens to eat de-natured food that makes them sick and depressed and has the added benefit of enriching factory food corporations and Big Pharma, who in turn make giant donations/kickbacks to the politicians. Emma agreed, saying that all you need to be self sufficient is access to grass and a cow. Nathaniel suggested that the ideal would be to have that and live back in a swamp in Louisiana. He's been watching a lot of episodes of Swamp People, a show about Louisiana gator hunters, and just loving it. Not surprisingly, one of his all-time favorite songs is "Louisiana Saturday Night".
After mass, Nathaniel went home with Herb, and Emma and I stayed for a couple of hours visiting with friends. Fr. Zendejas has added a fountain to Queen of Angels' side "yard" and has installed long metal benches around it, so Emma and her friends gathered there. I noticed Fr. smiled really big when he drove by and saw them, chattering away on a bench. It was about 1:30 when we finally got in the car and drank some milk that I had brought along in a cooler. I was just starting to get hungry. I noticed that the milk made me feel a little queasy. I mentioned it to Emma, and she said it was happening to her too if she drank too much at once. When we got home, Emma took a long nap. I usually take one every Sunday afternoon, but this Sunday I lay on the couch and was wide awake, so I finally got up. I wasn't in the least bit hungry, though I had consumed less than a quart of milk by 4 p.m. Nathaniel set up a target in the yard and shot his bow. Later in the evening, he insisted that I watch "Swamp People", so I curled up on the couch with him and was thoroughly entertained. Emma joined us for the last twenty minutes or so. We tried to watch the The Pearl Fishers opera after that, but it was not a good version, and we switched to The Last Station, a movie about the fiery relationship between Leo Tolstoy and his wife near the end of his life. It was really good. We knew it had some sex/naked parts in it, so Emma had the remote ready to skip over them. Unfortunately, when the first problematic part began, Nathaniel and I squirmed for five seconds before we realized that Emma had been distracted by a text message. I got flustered, but Nathaniel had the presence of mind to call, "EM-MA!" to get her attention back to the screen and her censorship duties. It was pretty funny. I drank a quart of water during the movie. Nathaniel and I went to bed at ten, but Emma was hungry and stayed up to drink some more milk.
Emma and Fiona enjoying the lush Spring grass yesterday evening
Today is the first day of the Milk Cure. Emma and I are both doing it for our Lenten fast. We practiced this week by drinking mostly raw milk, raw kefir, and kombucha. Ginger kombucha mixed half and half with kefir is tasty and refreshing. We ate one meal with meat at suppertime.
Read about The Milk Cure 2012 here. It's a 10-day RAW milk fast being organized by The Healthy Home Economist. Make sure and read all the links, especially the inspiring story of the woman who is healing herself of Lyme Disease with a raw milk diet--100 days so far!
I am going to add another picture or two later. My internet is super slow right now, and it is taking too long to add each one. But just look at the grass in the one above. It's a fabulous time for raw milk here in southeast Texas. We have had lots of rain. Fiona is loving having some juicy grazing after the horrible drought we had last year. I'm sure her calf is loving it too. I think it should be gaining close to a pound a day at this point.
We don't know exactly when she is due, but her bag is filling out, so we are guessing that within six weeks she will calve. We will be so grateful to have our own milk supply again: I am having to drive to Winnie, TX, to buy raw milk from Pure Milk Farms. It's really good. We are especially excited about the prospect of a calf to keep Fiona company. She ran off again last week to hang out with some horses down the road. This time she escaped because a ground wire broke on her electric fence. We have three strands of wire. One day as we were driving home from a restaurant, my husband pointed out to me a herd of huge beef cattle. Then he had me notice their fencing. They were kept in their pasture by a single wire. Hmph.
