We are staying in the mountains, at a ski Resort, Borovetz Hills, just out of Sofia ... approx 2 hour drive depending on the traffic. We are here on our 5 day retreat and fruit fast. Tanya asked us before we left NZ if we would be interested in doing it and we said yes ... so here we are.
The menu is as follows ...
8 am ... herb tea and 1 teaspoon of honey
10 am ... 700gms of fresh fruit ... or a fresh fruit juice ... not smoothie ... can't mix your fruits either, we have to have the same fruit at each sitting e.g. all grapes, or apples, or nectarines etc.
Noon ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey
2 pm ... second serving of 700gms of fruit
4pm ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey
6pm ... third serving of 700gms of fruit
8pm ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey.
At 9am every day we are weighed and blood pressure taken by a qualified doctor. We have had an ultra sound to check our organs ... ECG for heart ... I have had a bone density test and Vitamin D blood test, Pete is having his colon irrigation today! So we are closely monitored. There is yoga ... dancing ... stretching exercises ... chinese gymnastics ... a pool ... sauna ... aromatherapy room and massage. Each day there is a walk in the mountains. We have been up Mt Rila to see Bulgaria's highest peak, Musala, what can I say ... amazing! We have a delightful woman, Daniela, who translates for us while we are here. Usually the fruit fast is 30 days, we are here for the last week.
So far so good ... we are not body hungry, but appetite hungry. Pete said he would like steak and bread ... I would love some Vic's bread and yoghurt and cheese. I think we will only need to do 10 days rather than the full 30. The doctor said he was not expecting us to be so healthy and since our blood pressure is not dropping too much and urine tests every morning are good he said we should be able to do the rest of our fruit fast while in Turkey. We have a build up program when we start eating normally again, 5 days and I think it is like 1 potato a day or something like that, building up gradually to eating again.
Our blood results came back today ... it is official, the Doctor said I am nearly perfect...I am guessing you already knew that though. We had a meeting with the head Doctor and Director of the clinic and she has given us some dietary suggestions ... no dairy for me or meat ... no white bread, sugar or meat for Pete. Pete's suggestion is to manage his insulin spike that he gets and to drop his fat percentage and mine is to drop my fat percentage. My bones in my legs are really good but my calcium is dropping in my arms ... they recommend 1 tablespoon of raw sesame seeds ground in a coffee grinder ... add honey and eat last thing at night. The sesame seeds need to be eaten within 15 minutes of grinding. That should be pretty easy I think. We are to continue to do a fruit and tea fast once a week. I am pleased that Pete has been able to get to the bottom of his tiredness ... not necessarily new news. We have seen two rather provocative movies on food and diet ... Food Matters ... Fat Sick and Nearly Dead ... check them out if you are interested.
We were a little nervous about coming on the fasting retreat ... we were not too sure how we would manage without food for 10 days ... especially when there is so much yummy food to eat here in Bulgaria. We have been surprised how easy we have found it. Being part of a group of people helps and the on going support is very helpful. There are about 50/60 people here from all over ... Dubai, US, New Zealand, Europe ... seems like it is very popular. We are not feeling tired ... we have done a couple of longs walks ... around 2 hours... and we did not feel fatigued or hungry. I do find it hard walking up the stairs to our room on the 4th floor though ... I have to take them slow. We are so pleased we came to Bulgaria, Tanya, Steve, Rosi and Pavlin have made our trip here so memorable and enjoyable. This country is wonderful ... we have loved everything here so far and have not been disappointed at all. I suggest you put Bulgaria on your bucket list and soon!
We leave the retreat on Friday and on Monday we fly out to Turkey ... we are really on our own then. We are a little nervous ... Tanya has loved showing us her country and has been a very enthusiastic and passionate tour guide. I am not sure how we will get on in Turkey being left to our own devices. No one to translate for us ... take us to out of the way places like Teshavo, that as a tourist we probably would not have seen. Our guide now is Lonely Planet. Mike and Chris suggested places for us to go in Turkey ... that has been very helpful. All part of our adventure though. That is part of the reason that we have done this ... to challenge ourselves a little. We know there will be parts that will be more challenging and difficult than others.
I have been reflecting lately on the discomfort of some of our travels so far. There are things that we notice in ourselves and each other that we don't like much that have been avoidable when working or busy with daily routines of life. Now that those routines aren't present we notice 'stuff' comes up and it is hard to ignore. There is no getting away from ourselves, maybe drugs and alcohol might work short term ... our heaviest baggage is ourselves. I have found it hard to let go of my fitness routine ... Pete has found it hard to let go of work. We still get anxious or stressed about the same things we did in ChCh ... location does not matter ... 'where ever you go there you are!' (Kabat Zin).
More Photos ...
I love the colours and textures of traditional Bulgarian clothing
Coat and bag ... all hand done
Another photo from our room ...
The menu is as follows ...
8 am ... herb tea and 1 teaspoon of honey
10 am ... 700gms of fresh fruit ... or a fresh fruit juice ... not smoothie ... can't mix your fruits either, we have to have the same fruit at each sitting e.g. all grapes, or apples, or nectarines etc.
Noon ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey
2 pm ... second serving of 700gms of fruit
4pm ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey
6pm ... third serving of 700gms of fruit
8pm ... herb tea and teaspoon of honey.
At 9am every day we are weighed and blood pressure taken by a qualified doctor. We have had an ultra sound to check our organs ... ECG for heart ... I have had a bone density test and Vitamin D blood test, Pete is having his colon irrigation today! So we are closely monitored. There is yoga ... dancing ... stretching exercises ... chinese gymnastics ... a pool ... sauna ... aromatherapy room and massage. Each day there is a walk in the mountains. We have been up Mt Rila to see Bulgaria's highest peak, Musala, what can I say ... amazing! We have a delightful woman, Daniela, who translates for us while we are here. Usually the fruit fast is 30 days, we are here for the last week.
So far so good ... we are not body hungry, but appetite hungry. Pete said he would like steak and bread ... I would love some Vic's bread and yoghurt and cheese. I think we will only need to do 10 days rather than the full 30. The doctor said he was not expecting us to be so healthy and since our blood pressure is not dropping too much and urine tests every morning are good he said we should be able to do the rest of our fruit fast while in Turkey. We have a build up program when we start eating normally again, 5 days and I think it is like 1 potato a day or something like that, building up gradually to eating again.
Our blood results came back today ... it is official, the Doctor said I am nearly perfect...I am guessing you already knew that though. We had a meeting with the head Doctor and Director of the clinic and she has given us some dietary suggestions ... no dairy for me or meat ... no white bread, sugar or meat for Pete. Pete's suggestion is to manage his insulin spike that he gets and to drop his fat percentage and mine is to drop my fat percentage. My bones in my legs are really good but my calcium is dropping in my arms ... they recommend 1 tablespoon of raw sesame seeds ground in a coffee grinder ... add honey and eat last thing at night. The sesame seeds need to be eaten within 15 minutes of grinding. That should be pretty easy I think. We are to continue to do a fruit and tea fast once a week. I am pleased that Pete has been able to get to the bottom of his tiredness ... not necessarily new news. We have seen two rather provocative movies on food and diet ... Food Matters ... Fat Sick and Nearly Dead ... check them out if you are interested.
We were a little nervous about coming on the fasting retreat ... we were not too sure how we would manage without food for 10 days ... especially when there is so much yummy food to eat here in Bulgaria. We have been surprised how easy we have found it. Being part of a group of people helps and the on going support is very helpful. There are about 50/60 people here from all over ... Dubai, US, New Zealand, Europe ... seems like it is very popular. We are not feeling tired ... we have done a couple of longs walks ... around 2 hours... and we did not feel fatigued or hungry. I do find it hard walking up the stairs to our room on the 4th floor though ... I have to take them slow. We are so pleased we came to Bulgaria, Tanya, Steve, Rosi and Pavlin have made our trip here so memorable and enjoyable. This country is wonderful ... we have loved everything here so far and have not been disappointed at all. I suggest you put Bulgaria on your bucket list and soon!
We leave the retreat on Friday and on Monday we fly out to Turkey ... we are really on our own then. We are a little nervous ... Tanya has loved showing us her country and has been a very enthusiastic and passionate tour guide. I am not sure how we will get on in Turkey being left to our own devices. No one to translate for us ... take us to out of the way places like Teshavo, that as a tourist we probably would not have seen. Our guide now is Lonely Planet. Mike and Chris suggested places for us to go in Turkey ... that has been very helpful. All part of our adventure though. That is part of the reason that we have done this ... to challenge ourselves a little. We know there will be parts that will be more challenging and difficult than others.
I have been reflecting lately on the discomfort of some of our travels so far. There are things that we notice in ourselves and each other that we don't like much that have been avoidable when working or busy with daily routines of life. Now that those routines aren't present we notice 'stuff' comes up and it is hard to ignore. There is no getting away from ourselves, maybe drugs and alcohol might work short term ... our heaviest baggage is ourselves. I have found it hard to let go of my fitness routine ... Pete has found it hard to let go of work. We still get anxious or stressed about the same things we did in ChCh ... location does not matter ... 'where ever you go there you are!' (Kabat Zin).
More Photos ...
Herb Tea and Honey
One of our fruit meals ... Nectarines ... the best I have ever tasted!
Toilet with Bidet and heated toilet seat ...
Sunrise from our room ... I wish I was Gail right now ... then maybe our photos might be better composed.
View from the top of Mt Rila ... these are mountains not hills ... stunning.
Lake at the top ... reminds me of Mt Cook
This is for Tom, if he reads our blog ... the wood is stacked like this at each end and then stacked normally in the middle. Apparently it keeps the wood securely in place ... I noticed this is how wood was stacked in the US as well.
I am really curious to hear more about how you fruit fast continues. I have seen both documentaries you mentioned, and find myself thinking often on the food we give our body's. Although I'm not yet living the full food lifestyle I wish, I have made some hopeful adjustments, I think.
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