Well, I finished my fast.  Actually, I curtailed it by two days.  Today would've been the 10th day.  But because I was starting to really miss food (probably due to too much reading about nutrition and different kinds of diets) AND the discovery that my Auntie M. was coming to town and would want to take me out to eat (!), I started tapering off the fast yesterday.  By last night, I was eating pineapple jello on low fat cottage cheese.  Boy, did that ever taste good!  I also had some melba toast.  Everything sat well in my stomach, and I haven't felt the least bit uncomfortable, so it's full speed ahead!

I made the decision, as far as "diets" are concerned, to go with the Alternate Day Diet, since I have learned by experience that fasting is NOT the big deal I always thought it was.  After fasting for 8 days, you get used to a stomach without solid food in it and a stomach that growls every once in a while.  A growling stomach is NOT cause for alarm.  It DOESN'T mean I'm starving to death.  In fact, an empty stomach starts to feel like a friend in an odd sort of a way.

So, anyway, the days on which you eat are called "Up Days," and the days on which you fast or eat/drink less than 500 calories are called "Down Days."  I decided that since I did eat some solid food yesterday and last night, I'd make this first day on the "Alternate Day Diet" a Down Day.  So today, for example, I started out with 9 or 10 oz of fresh squeezed orange juice and a couple of slices of dried apple.  Before Sherry and Devon came over to walk, I made myself a lemonade like the ones I drank for the fast/cleanse.  (They're so good!)  Since then, I haven't had anything but water and a diet Dr. Pepper.  Later on this evening, I'll steam some of the fresh veggies I got at Sun Harvest last night.  When all that is said and done, I will have consumed about 300 calories today.  Oh yeah, I had a piece of dried apricot a few minutes ago.  I wonder how many calories are in that?

My sister would never believe I'm eating so healthy.  Or she'd wonder if I got hit on the head or something.  : )