Hi guys! Checking in from Day Four of my water fast, and I want to thank you all for the incredible support on this journey so far.
I am so dedicated to spreading the message of alternative healing with the world, so each and every time I hear from one of you who is inspired by my healing path I get so touched I could cry. We all deserve to feel our best, and it’s beautiful to turn back to holistic healing modalities in a world that has run rampant with quick fixes & corrupt pharmaceuticals.
More on that another day… but mainly I am so grateful for this platform and all of you!
Before we get into it I want to mention that this post was sponsored by the incredible family-run clean water brand Radiant Life, who is dedicated to providing clean water options for consumers (like me!!). I can’t wait to get into what they are all about (and know that you can use the code BLONDE to shop any of their products at a rad discount), but first, some updates for you!
Updates, Updates!
To be honest, I get a little nervous each time I share something like water fasting publicly. In the months leading up to this fast I had a few people asking me, “Will you really share that you’re going back? Don’t you think people will find that extreme?”
I get it, I do. Drinking only water for days on end and not eating any food can sound pretty extreme. But as the doctors here at True North say, it’s also extreme to overmedicate people, stick them with needles, hook them up to machines, eat fast food, eat meat ridden with chemicals and antibiotics, expose our bodies to toxins in alcohol + drugs, the list goes on with the extreme things we do in life + medicine, but people do it anyway… and in many ways those things are more accepted in society than fasting!
It’s very similar to when I tell people I eat a balanced salt-oil-sugar-free plant-based diet and they look at me like I’m insane. But I don’t look at anyone who eats burgers and fries from McDonald’s like they’re insane, so… shouldn’t we just be saying to each their own at this point?
I digress! I don’t ever want to come off as defensive. I have a deep love and appreciation for other people’s opinions and their care when it comes to what I am doing for my health. I also hope that my posts during this journey will help inform people that when a person is struggling with chronic illness or a range of other things, taking a break from daily life + daily food is a brave and deeply healing path.
So let’s get into it! Day One was pretty much a breeze. I got lucky with the weather in Nor Cal and got to relax and soak in the sun for most of the day, reading my books and catching up with my doctor from the last time I was here. (If you’re ever at True North, request Dr. Soler. He is amazing!)
I went to yoga to stretch it out in the evening and that felt heavenly. Sleep has been good, and I am filled to the brim with the overarching feeling of healing, expansiveness, and love. I know that I am having an easier time fasting this time around than my first fast in May because I have been following the SOS-free diet for 9 months now… so my body is easing into detox after a very healthy diet to begin with.
Day Two was another breeze for the most part, felt very strong, got a 1.5 hour massage that was heavenly, and slept really well.
Day Three it started to get a littttle harder. On a fast Day 3 is notorious for being pretty difficult. My leg muscles were cramping and my low back was killing me. My parents visited me (they’re the best) and we took a short walk around the neighborhood. I felt like I’d just sprinted my ass off at OrangeTheory! Then my mom & I watched Vanderpump Rules of course and it was great.
Now let’s see how Day Four goes. 🙂 Will keep you guys posted!
Keeping Our H2O Chlorine & Toxin Free!
Ever since I wandered down the water fasting path about a year ago, I have been exploring the importance of clean, toxin-free water.
I was horrified to learn that tap water can be full of heavy metals, chlorine, and additional contaminants like perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid which are both synthetic compounds that are known to cause a variety of health concerns. Not to mention Mercury, Aluminum, Arsenic, and Lead to name a very few.
I mean… the level of heavy metals in my own system alone in the last few years have terrified me. I don’t eat fish or meat or anything non-vegan for that matter, so that means a lot of the heavy metal grossness I have in my system comes from the environment & the very water I drink / use to wash my veggies. (I get my levels tested through my functional medicine doctor & Lyme specialist, and you can do the same! Just request the lab work!)
In my body the influx of heavy metals and other toxins have made my Lyme disease & co-infections run rampant. Lyme and other autoimmune conditions love latching onto toxins in our bodies because it helps them grow and makes the symptoms they already cause absolutely rage.
When I first broke out in full body hives, my Ayurvedic doctor first asked me where I was getting my water, and what kind of water I was showering in. I thought I was doing a good job of drinking purified water from my refrigerator but honestly I didn’t know the half of it.
That’s where this blog post comes in! I don’t want you guys to be in the dark about how you can get clean water the way I was. We are lucky to live in a place where we have access to clean water, but it’s not as easy as drinking out of the tap or buying a filter off of Amazon. Sorry, I thought that too!
How to Ensure Clean Water?!
In steps Radiant Life. I only wish I would have discovered them sooner. Radiant Life sells a variety of water systems for your home from the affordable & easy Countertop System, which I have and is an absolute life saver, to their more intensive systems like their Direct Connect, 14 Stage Drinking Water Purifier, & Series 4 Whole House Water Filter.
When J & Huddy & I move into our first home, I will 100% be installing a water filter for our full house, which is designed to remove the broadest spectrum of contaminants that may be present in your incoming water supply.
But for those of us who currently live in apartments or rent our homes, the smaller systems are great too and WAY better than nothing. I am obsessed with our Countertop System, which is affordable, efficient, versatile, and just acts like a water pitcher of sorts — except it’s way cuter and it’s stainless steel and sits on our kitchen counter with our plants! A.k.a Hudson’s favorite place to hang out.
The important thing is that it removes chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, heavy metals and VOCs from our drinking water and its filters also use a proprietary anti-bacterial system.
There is no installation necessary, it fits in with our minimalism decor, and its made in the USA.
For a full list of the contaminants Radiant Life protects against, head here. I am so fascinated by how major this list is!! I haven’t even heard of some of these contaminants and I absolutely do not want any of them in my fragile, healing body. ASBESTOS jumped out to me on this list… holy F, that is something I want to protect against to no end.
There are so many other toxins in tap water that we don’t even realize. Or if you’re anything like me for the last few years you realize it, but you think, “Well, if everyone’s still drinking it, it must be okay…” Learning to question that very statement about everything in the last few years is the gift that chronic illness has given me. But it shouldn’t have to come to that!
As outlined in the EPA’s List of Drinking Water Contaminants, long term exposure to chemicals in water called THM’s and HAA’s can also result in liver, kidney or central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer.
This post is not to scare you, but to help you make effective choices for your home and your health. And I know a lot of you reading have similar health conditions that I have, and we definitely need a leg up when it comes to healing our bodies and not introducing anything toxic into our homes and daily lives.
Plus… we want to be drinking water!! At least 8-10 glasses of it a day. Hydration is KEY in healing, longevity, sleep, being able to stay active, etc. So if we’re drinking lots of water, we’ve gotta make sure it’s pure.
You can use the code BLONDE at checkout with Radiant Life to get 10% off of any of their systems. The countertop system we have is so cute and it starts at $180… so that’s like 18 trips to Alfred Coffee in the morning (lol, if you’re me). It adds up, and it’s so worth it. ALSO FYI: this countertop system is out of stock for the next week or so but will be re-stocked VERY soon — so just keep it on your radar!!
Check them out and read about their approach. They are a family-run business and they use an ancient approach to modern healing. I am all about it and I am so excited to support them.
ALSO they have an in-house water expert who reviews home water quality reports to recommend the best system (even if it’s not a system they sell)—for free! You can check that out here. (How cool?!)
Now, off to… drink more water!! I have been doing a ton of relaxing and also spending this time catching up with dear friends and loved ones on the phone, while I still have the energy. I am doing a lot of intention setting & meditation as well. Fasting is such a nice time to get quiet.
Any questions for me?! I am so here for all of them! Can’t wait to hear how you like this water system if you give it a try. XO