A new strategy: the milk cure

[HungryinTN]

For the past few weeks I've let things go a bit, partly out of poverty, partly out of depression due to poverty and a complete lack of give-a-you-know-what.  I've lost a few weeks of productivity from stress, lack of sleep, drinking to put myself to sleep, and I'm having a really hard time breaking the cycle and getting back on track, so I've decided to go to an extreme of sorts.  My local farmer's market sells raw milk at a great price, and it is absolutely delicious.  I've been reading about the old school "milk cure" devised by doctors in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, and I've read a few testimonials of present-day trials of it that have inspired me to give it a shot for a week or two.  For those interested, here is some info: 
http://www.realmilk.com/health/milk-cure/.  I'll try to keep track of my experience.  Basically I will drink about a gallon of raw milk a day spaced out at roughly regular intervals, supplemented with filtered water and herbal tea.  The "bed rest" part isn't particularly doable, but I can avoid strenuous activity easily enough, since I spend most of my day in front of the computer anyway.  Also, I think I'll skip the enema...

I have to go out of town for a couple of days but will start fully on Friday. 

[Rita]

I'll be curious how your experiment goes.

[Barbara from New Jersey]

Hungry,


Colostrum is another alternative you might consider.   Dr. Andrew Keech has written many articles about it and he was featured in the forum last year.  You might want to check into this.  It would be less expensive than a gallon of raw milk every day.

[HungryinTN]

I may supplement with colostrum, but the price of raw milk where I live is not prohibitive - $6 a gallon.  If I'm drinking a gallon a day, then I'm eating on just $6 a day, and right now that is VERY budget friendly for me!   The only farmer I know to get colostrum for charges about $6 a pint.  I don't think I could live on that. 

[Suzhookem]

Hungry,


Have you considered fermenting the raw milk and making kifer? Been around since time began. Sending good thought your way.

[Lynda (Fl)]

I never thought of doing a raw milk diet.  Should be interesting. I always loved milk myself.  My family had small farms long ago and my mother had stories about the pasteurizing machine her uncle put in and how unique it was to her! Seems like we have had pasteurization forever but it's really not been that long.  Now we are reverting back to raw as better.  Love to hear about your result.

[VibeRadiant]

Yes, good luck and keep us posted - if you can.

[HungryinTN]

The milk cure:  Day 0

This morning is the beginning of my first day on the milk cure.  Last night I turned off all but red lights by around 8:00 and used my amber glasses to watch tv until about 10:00, at which time I turned off the screen, turned on some soothing relaxation sounds (http://www.soundsleeping.com/index.php) and got ready for bed.  I laid in bed for about two hours but resisted the temptation to turn on the television.  I do need some heavier coverage on one of the windows in my bedroom where a lot of bright light comes in from the street, however.  I did not attempt to read the book I took to bed, but should have.  My nighttime supplements included a cal-mag citrate, potassium gluconate, l-theanine, melatonin, and Power to Sleep, a combination pill of herbs, minerals, and omega-3's.  Once asleep, I slept straight through until 7:15.  Awoke without an alarm.  Total sleep close to seven hours. I did not lay in bed after I woke up and I exposed myself to the brightest light possible shortly after awakening. 

I am starting out the day with a Brita bottle of water and a cup of detox tea while my milk warms (you are supposed to drink it at room temp).  Also taking a milk thistle supplement and some N-acetyl-cysteine to generate glutathione. 

Morning weight:  175.2 (wishing I had detoxed a little more before beginning this...)
Body fat:  36.8

And finally, just for fun, morning song stuck in my head:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk   

Milk Cure day 0.5:  I don't know if it's the milk or just my shear determination to get focused, but I have had a pretty productive day, other than constant trips to the bathroom (a liquid diet goes through pretty fast...if I don't wake up lighter tomorrow I'll be amazed).  I've had two doses of a blended detox tea and a cup of parsley tea, three full Brita bottles of water, plus about six glasses of milk.  I'm try to keep below a gallon a day, mainly just to keep costs down.  I can pick more up tomorrow, but I only have one jar from this particular farmer, so I'll have to pay my jar deposits to get more, which means an additional cost of $4/gallon in up-front investment (it's $3/half gallon plus a $2 jar deposit your first time, then just bring the jar back after that - not a bad deal overall, really). 
My work has been focused, although I'm a little sleepy today for reasons that probably have nothing to do with milk.  I've been out-of-sorts for a while so it's definitely the most productive I've been work- or school-wise in a few weeks.  Everything else has been all about getting my house settled and my office organized.  But it is time to start doing what I get paid to do!  I'm about ready to call it a day for today, a little short of a full day's work, but I think tomorrow is going to be even better. 

[HungryinTN]

Milk cure day 1 results, etc.

I only drank about a half gallon of milk yesterday when I should be drinking closer to a gallon, but I basically just stuck to having a glass whenever I get hungry.  The texts don't have a lot to say about what obese and overweight patients should do, I'm sure because they didn't treat that many of us back then.  But one of them did state that obese patients could drink as much water as they feel they needed during the cure and decrease the amount of milk correspondingly.  So I would guess that I should still be okay.  I felt good.  I slept pretty well, although it still took me a while.  I went to bed at 10 PM and was asleep by maybe 11:30.  I woke up at 4 to use the bathroom, probably because I had a small cup of relaxation tea with collagen right before bed.  But I was able to get right back to sleep and slept until my alarm at 7:00 (actually slept through one at 6:35...oops!). 
I made sure to get to the farmer's market early to get my fresh supply of milk, but when I arrived, the milk truck wasn't there!  I walked around for a while in case they showed up.  A few minutes later they pulled up, but didn't have any milk.  I have a gallon and a half left of what I had, and they said they would have more tomorrow at their store on the farm (http://www.starlingmill.com/#!the-farm/ctk7), which is about twenty minutes outside of town.  I'm not sure if this will be my permanent source.  It is unclear from their website that they do not use antibiotics, though their philosophy would not seem to allow for their use.  But they also have a very small milking herd.  My old supplier (http://www.westwindfarms.com/) has a delivery route that runs about half an hour from here, but I never liked that they bottled everything in plastic and was excited to find a new source in glass jars.  There is one more local source I may try this week who sells through a local herb shop.  I'm going to call on Monday to find out how that works. 

My energy level today feels pretty high.  I still miss my morning coffee just a little, but not as much as I did yesterday. 

Starting weight:  175.2
Today:  173.6

Update:  Turns out my old raw milk supplier from Tennessee can't deliver milk to Georgia (they sell loads of other organic, grass-fed meat and such).  D'oh!  But at least my boyfriend can bring it to me when he comes to visit. 

[Lynda (Fl)]

I am reading The Big Fat Surprise and just reached the discussion on milk and the Mediterranean diet.  Seems the Harvard group that built the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid decided to ignore the fact that Cretans drank a cup of fresh milk daily, usually goat.  Even Ancel Keyes wrote a paper on this fact. When the author asked why they left milk off the pyramid, their answer was that saturated fat causes heart disease!  Looks like the Mediterranean Diet was just a bunch of cherry picked data from cherry picked countries. I find it ironic that Keys left out data and then people came along later and left out even more data.  You may be on to something here, Hungry. 

[Barbara from New Jersey]

RAW, FRESH UNPROCESSED milk from healthy, well cared for cows or goats is very nourishing.  Contains an abundance of easily digestible nutrients and bacteria for a healthy gut biome.  Dairy farmers have to keep their herds and equipment scrupulously clean. Yes, people did get sick from unrefrigerated raw milk stored in dirty containers and drawn from sickly animals.  Enter Big Ag, their lobbyists, Big Pharma, their lobbyists and anyone else who thought they could profit from processing milk in some manner.  Now we have milk that is "Ultra-pasteurized" which extends shelf life by bring the milk to a boil.  It also kills most of the good and necessary nutrition.  The lobbyists used the same scare tactics as the low fat people did to overwhelm or bribe government officials.

[Lynda (Fl)]

Exactly, Barbara.  Whole milk always made me feel good but skim did not. My family went low fat in 1961 and I remember craving foods with fats all through school. Drs repeatedly took me off milk, when it should    have been wheat.  Wonder I have any bones at all.  Keep us posted, Hungry, this is a fascinating diet idea. My Japanese friends considered milk a food and not a beverage to drink with a meal. They drank it instead of the usual foods. Smart people.

[HungryinTN]

I made a HUGE mistake today and decided to go for a walk downtown - you know, right past all of the open restaurants and their wonderful-smelling food.  I hightailed it right back home to my milk!  And while I was out, I stopped by the herb shop that sells it and should have three fresh gallons coming on Monday.  Yay!

[HungryinTN]

Day 2 went well.  I did experience some hunger and desire for food when I went walking downtown due to the restaurant smell stimuli, but overall remained satisfied throughout the day.  Energy levels generally stable, with a few tryptophan-induced slow-downs late in the day as the milk got warmer (I've been taking out how much I need for the day in the morning and leaving it on the counter all day).  I think I drank about 60 oz of water (3 Brita bottles) plus four small cups of herbal tea in addition to the roughly 2.5 quarts of milk I drank.  So far all elimination has been regular, with urination frequent, of course, in proportion to the increased fluids.  Constipation is said to be a constant side effect but one that is supposedly caused largely by drinking the milk too fast and too cold.  I've been sipping it slow and keeping it warm, and I supplement with a senna tea to keep things moving.  So far, so good.  If anything changes I will add psyllium husk. 

I slept well last night.  I fell asleep on the couch about 10:30, got up and went to bed around 11:00 and was asleep soon after.  Woke up at 5:15 and went to the bathroom but went back to bed and slept until 7:00. 

Morning weight: 172.6; By the end of the detox I will probably be back at my previous low of 168 - doubt I will get much lower.  I expect the weight I am losing is what I was intending to lose - congestion from my liver.  But once it's cleared out, if I can stay on track, I should continue to lose fat when I resume my normal diet, with a healthier elimination system in place to keep my body functioning at optimal levels.  If I had a BP cuff or glucometer or the money with which to buy one, I would be very curious about my other vitals.  But as it is, weight and waistline are my only quantifiable means by which to gauge my progress. 

[HungryinTN]

Hitting a wall here!  I think it has more to do with life-boredom than anything.  I've been enjoying the quiet down time for the past few days, getting work done, reading, watching junk tv when I want, going for quiet walks.  But I've definitely reached a point of needing some external stimuli.  Normally I might turn to cooking at about this point and enjoy some fresh zucchini noodles with hand-made grain-free meatballs.  But I'm really wanting to see this milk thing through for as long as I can.  I know it will pass but it is the first unpleasant moment I've had in this whole thing. 

[VibeRadiant]

You can make it to your end goal. Boredom can easily be overcome by many things; taking a bath, cleaning out a cupboard, walking the dog, cleaning out the fridge, making list of all the reasons you are doing this fast.
Boredom is temporary.   

[Rita]

Might be worth volunteering somewhere.   It may open some other doors for you… you never know.

[Rita]

I just found this raw milk diet experience:  http://www.yourfamilyfarmer.com/fresh-thoughts/i-really-shouldnt-tell-you-this

[Barbara from New Jersey]

Good Morning Rita,


I read this excellent commentary and then started to read the other topics listed on the left hand side.  He has an article about Pottenger's Cats and how those cats on raw milk thrived and those on variations of processed milk died out by the 4th generation.  Very interesting!  I'm going to read the rest of the articles as time permits. 


I grew up on certified raw milk and drank it until the state made it illegal.  I remember my first taste of "regular" milk and it tasted like a processed milk drink rather than the complex flavor of raw milk. 

[HungryinTN]

You can make it to your end goal. Boredom can easily be overcome by many things; taking a bath, cleaning out a cupboard, walking the dog, cleaning out the fridge, making list of all the reasons you are doing this fast.
Boredom is temporary.

This is the stuff that I've already done to try to quell the boredom...still bored.  Like I said, it's more of a life-boredom.  I'm stuck in a long-term rut right now, a lot of which is loneliness.  This is also part of an adjustment process to living without my daily "nightcap."  I've been self-medicating with alcohol pretty regularly for a couple of months now and it was starting to take hold of me in a bad way, which is another reason for doing the Milk Cure, which was touted as a cure for addiction in addition to many other ailments. 


Volunteering is definitely something that I'm going to do to get more connected with the community and meet more people.  Unfortunately there wasn't much I could do about that on Sunday afternoon!  The article from the Family Farmer is great, and was definitely highly motivational when I first decided to do this.  I go back to it every couple of days to help keep me going. 


I made it through last night's boredom successfully (not that I had a choice).  The biggest problem with the boredom is that the lack of external stimuli has really put a damper on my energy to get work done because it feels like I'm ALWAYS working - whether it'on the house, editing, reading, researching (history OR nutrition) - everything that I have to do and everything I do to pass the time, it's all work.  Normally I don't mind, it's just been an extra-long time since I've had a break of any sort and it will be a long time again before I do.  I'm going on a trip with my boyfriend later this month, but the only way I could justify going was because we could hit a couple of sites I need to visit for my research along the way.  It will be fun, though.  And will definitely NOT involve milk fasting. 


I didn't sleep well last night.  I got to sleep relatively quickly - bed by 10:30, asleep by 11:30.  But I woke up at 2:30 to go to the bathroom and had a heck of a time getting back to sleep.  It might have taken close to an hour.  I, regrettably, hit snooze a couple of times before finally dragging myself out of bed at 7:30.  Today is supposed to be my big day back on a regular (if self-imposed) schedule, another reason for the milk fast.  But I can barely keep my eyes open.  I think I had been dreaming something stressful right before I woke up at 2:30 that had me in a bit of a panic that I couldn't seem to shake.  Just bad bladder timing, I guess. 


Today's weight:  171.6 - three more pounds to recent low. 

Update:  I am breaking down and having coffee this morning (hey, the family farmer guy did it every day!    ).  I sat down and tried to work but I just can't concentrate.  Too sleepy.  Need caffeine.  I'm having my regular BP coffee.  I can't imagine it will interfere terribly much with the process...I hope...

[Rita]

Hungry-   I know what you mean.   My downtime usually ends up as work time, because I really never know what to do with downtime.

[HungryinTN]

Exactly.  I am kind of a workaholic, but a girl does reach a certain point when she needs the beach!  Even my shopping time lately has been work time because it's all been office supply shopping!  The sad thing is that as much work as I've been doing, I hardly feel like I've gotten anything done.  I lost a lot of time to the fighting-for-my-job crisis, which just threw me completely off track for a while, plus just getting my office set up and getting settled into my new house, generally, has been rather time consuming.  I am glad I gave into the coffee this morning, though.  Within an hour of my first sip I had sent off an update draft of the report I am editing for work right now.  The combination of the system cleanse I'm getting from the milk and the extra boost from the coffee (plus a little deadlines-approaching urgency) has me feeling very focused and energized now. 

[HungryinTN]

Lordy what a day it has been!  But I'm plugging away with my milk fast.  This has definitely been the hardest day so far, at least in the past couple of hours.  Saturday had its moments with the restaurant smells, yesterday was okay other than the general sense of ennui, but this afternoon has been a bit of a test.  Mainly I've been pulling my hair out over my checkbook and it makes me want to DRINK!  Plus I had to go get new tires and they told me I also need brakes BEFORE my trip to Raleigh later this month.  *sigh*  But here I am with my final glass of warm milk for the day, to be followed with a nice cup of hot tea.  Thankfully just a few more days until my fella comes to visit and give me a little break from the doldrums and the isolation.  And if I stick with the milk thing every day that he isn't here, my groceries for the rest of the month should come out to around $60 - not too shabby!   

I did get a lot of work done today, and mostly, up until trying to wrestle with my checkbook, it was a good day.  The coffee this morning was a good call, and depending on how I sleep tonight and what my morning weight is tomorrow, I might just go ahead and do it again.  Most importantly, I set myself up a schedule for the day and stuck pretty closely to it, which is a major step for me right now.  My life has been completely unstructured, and dominated by house cleaning and cooking and dishwashing, for the past few weeks.  The milk fast has given me a break from dishes and cooking, at least, to get back into a routine.  So far, so good, on that front, at least.   

[HungryinTN]

I slept well last night, from around 11:30 or so until my 7:00 alarm.  Not too bad for a chronic insomniac.  Weight down another .6 to 171.0.  Hydration level up to 45% from 44%, despite not having taken in nearly as many fluids yesterday as I did the day before.  All systems go. 

[HungryinTN]

When I went to pick up my milk today from the little herb shop downtown that sells it, I took a quick stroll up and down the strip beforehand.  After I was done walking, I went into the store only to find that the milk lady hadn't been by yet.  So I walked some more.  I think I walked for about two hours, altogether, all through the hills of my little Appalachian town.  In flip flops.  And I just noticed that my feet don't hurt.  At all.  That's pretty amazing.

[HungryinTN]

Another good night's sleep!  I'm a little groggy this morning because I woke up a little earlier than usual, but I was asleep by close to 11PM and awoke at 6:15.  Morning weight 170.6.  I think I'll have my coffee again.  If it's slowing my progress, it doesn't show up in my weight loss, sleep patterns, or elimination, so I think I'll stick with it! 

[Rita]

You seem to be doing really well on this Hungry.

[HungryinTN]

I do miss chewing food some, and I'm looking forward to breaking my "fast" this weekend when my boyfriend comes to visit, but in general it's been fantastic.  I was worried about constipation being an issue, but my senna tea seems to be taking care of that just fine.  I plan to go back to all milk during the week next week and the following weekend, with breaks on weekends just to make life easier when I'm with him (not that he couldn't stand to spend a few days - or weeks - on the milk cure!).  So it's not going to be a full 21 days straight thing like I would like to do, but I can't imagine it isn't still pretty beneficial.  Plus it cuts down on dishes and food waste, which will hopefully help me get rid of some of the critters I'm living with...

[Lynda (Fl)]

I admire your hard work, Hungry.  You've encouraged me to drink some more milk.  I'm sure my bones needed it.  It would be heaven to just wash a couple glasses each day.

[HungryinTN]

Just make sure it's raw!      


I've successfully made it through one more day.  I'm feeling good, all is well, but I am way tired of this isolation.  Normally, when I'm feeling more financially stable, I would probably have broken the fast tonight and taken myself out to dinner just to be out.  But the fast helped me stay motivated not to go out and my tight budget helped me stay motivated to stay on the fast.  I am definitely feeling the need for some extra probiotics or something.  I had some probiotic drinks for a couple of days and noticed that my tummy felt a little better than it has tonight or last night.  But I only have one more full day on all liquid, then I will probably only eat dinner on Friday and Saturday and brunch on Sunday, then back to milk!

[HungryinTN]

Didn't sleep quite as well last night.  I think I was just a little stressed about my new washing machine having crapped out on me.     Managed to get close to seven hours, though, sleeping from close to midnight until almost 7:00.  The biggest change I've noticed so far is that even when I have trouble getting to sleep, I stay asleep until close to wake-up time, which had been extremely rare for me.  I had been waking up between 2-4:00, which I read somewhere is an adrenal fatigue thing.  I feel much more steady all around, too.  I used to sometimes get these strange fluttery feelings in the evening, sort of like a bad case of jitters.  I had a teensy bit of that feeling last night, but stress happens. 

I'm going to try to skip my coffee today.  Sipping on some detox tea right now.  My weight was down today, but only a little, to 170.4.  Body fat was down a little more, to 35.7%, and hydration up to 45.3%.  My calves are soar from the long, hilly walk I took the other day, so may be adding lean body mass?  Either way, since this is my last full day on the cleanse until after the weekend, I'm going to try to really push the fluids and rest today. 

[HungryinTN]

Well I fell off the wagon with a BANG yesterday.  My internet went out at the house and I gave in to the prolonged boredom by taking my work out for dinner and a drink.  I'm a little groggy today but weight is still down - 169.8 this morning.  I will drink my milk today until time for dinner with the boyfriend.  I may have bought too much milk for this week, though.  May have to make some fresh cream cheese and butter out of it...

[Lynda (Fl)]

You've accomplished a lot, Hungry.  You lost weight, saved money and time (on dishes); not a small thing.  You go!

[HungryinTN]

Thanks, Lynda!  I look forward to being able to continue my fast, but I'm enjoying my weekend so far.  Last night I had the most wonderful filet and asparagus at my favorite local spot.  After dinner I talked my boyfriend into a long walk through the hills.  We had a couple of drinks out, but were home and asleep by 10:30.  I'm letting him sleep in this morning as long as he wants, but I've been up since 5:30. The alcohol definitely sent the progress I'd made into full reverse.  I woke up three times in the night.  Oh well.  Tomorrow is another day!

[Lynda (Fl)]

Aww, come on, Hungry, you didn't hit reverse; only the pause button!     Our bodies are much tougher than that, so don't worry about it ruining any thing.

[HungryinTN]

I had just been REALLY nice to be able to sleep through the night so easily like I had been the whole time on all milk.  But hopefully I will normalize again pretty quickly.  I was bad at lunch - I let myself get too hungry and ended up caving to the chips at the Mexican restaurant.  Dinner was less bad - chicken and vegetables (in a cream sauce...) with a side salad.  I think the sauce had gluten in it.  I've been hungry since dinner...But I just drank a glass of milk that will hopefully quell it, more or less.

[HungryinTN]

I slept better last night.  Only woke up once to pee.  Up 4 pounds today from Friday.  Liver congestion, I expect.  We went out to brunch this morning and I had a pretty good meal.  I've been drinking my milk all day to start the healing again, but I think I will probably eat a little something for dinner.  I bought a zucchini yesterday at the farmer's market and I'd like to use it. 

[HungryinTN]

New week, new starting weight.  Time to break out the detox tea! 

Today's weight: 173.8

[HungryinTN]

Oh what a wonderful day!  I went out and ran a few errands and ended up bringing home WAY more than I intended to, including some raw milk cheese (yay!), my favorite probiotic beverages found on sale, and some actual bottled organic pressed vegetable juice.  And, of course, I picked up my milk - three more gallons.  I didn't finish last week's milk, but I have decided to have some fun with it.  I just made my first (very small) batch of butter with some almost-clabbered milk that had set out for too long.  It was DELICIOUS.  I have about five quarts of the older milk left with which I think I will make a batch of butter and a batch of cream cheese.  Then I just need to figure out something to do with all of the whey and buttermilk.  Maybe just drink it? 

[Barbara from New Jersey]

Yes, you can just drink it or, if you bake at all, GourmetGirlCooks has many recipes using buttermilk.  You also can freeze the buttermilk in containers the size you would typically use and then defrost as needed.  Buttermilk makes an excellent salad dressing and a marinade for chicken to fry, bake or grill.


I'm not so sure about how to use the whey.  Perhaps someone else has some ideas.

[HungryinTN]

Yeah I definitely have some exploring to do with it!

Yesterday went well.  I was able to shake things up a little with the raw milk cheese and the homemade butter and I think that helped tremendously to stave off boredom.  Plus cheese is lower in carbs than milk, so yay for that.  I'm going to shake things up a little more with some fresh vegetable juice as my first drink, and wait as long as I can to consume anything other than water, to maintain an IF for cellular autophagy.  I don't plan to make this my regular habit, but I thought it might help speed along the detox part a bit.  Also skipping my coffee...the horrors! 
I'm going to attempt a larger batch of butter today, and maybe some cream cheese, too.  I think yesterday's whey is going to get used as a hair treatment.  I mixed a little of it in with some egg whites to use as a stretch mark treatment, too. 

Today's weight: 172.0; body fat 35.8%; hydration 45%

[HungryinTN]

Okay the thing that irritates me is that I STILL can't get rid of the fruit flies.  Am I going to have to do an extended water fast to get rid of the buggers? 

[mosey]

Hungry, fruit flies are a plague. Try pouring a bit of red wine or something sweet into a ramekin, cover with plastic wrap, secure with a rubber band & poke holes in top with a toothpick. They will go after the sweet stuff & can't get out. Good Luck.

[HungryinTN]

I already have those everywhere!  I can't figure out what they're getting into that is keeping them away from my traps.  I've been burning incense because that's supposed to clog up their little lungs and kill them, but they just won't go away!  And they're not drain flies, either.  They're fruit flies.  And there is nothing sweet in my house except for the traps!  So aggravating. 

[HungryinTN]

Another successful night of sleep, hoorah!  It's almost unbelievable how easily sleep is coming these days.  I'm still taking a couple of nighttime supplements for assistance, and it still takes me just a little longer than the average bear to GET to sleep, but once I'm asleep, I sleep straight through for anywhere from 6.5-8 hours. I stayed in bed until almost 8:00 this morning, which was probably a mistake that will come back to haunt me, but oh well.  It was lovely.  And my morning weight today was 168.6, which indicates to me that my elimination system has pretty much made a full recovery after the liver-clogging weekend (just in time for another one...with a road trip...).   The raw milk really seems to be helping me bounce back more easily from nights of "binge" drinking and tortilla chips, which is not, IMHO, an excuse to have them more often, but I am still glad to know that I have a powerful tool for better recovery when I do decide to go out and enjoy broader horizons on occasion.  If I did it more often, I doubt the milk would be able to keep up with recovery. 


This weekend will be a bit of a challenge.  Boyfriend gets to town tomorrow night and then we're leaving EARLY Friday morning for an eight hour trip and he wants to reach our destination by 3 or 4 PM (hence the sleeping in today coming back to haunt me...).  Then we'll have dinner with a friend of his, see a play, go to the cast party, and then get up in the morning and hit several research destinations for me on our way back, including one more night away from home.  I'll definitely be taking some milk with me, but because of the time between leaving the house on Friday morning and getting to the hotel that night, I'm not sure I'll be able to take much if the weather is warm.  I don't mind my milk a little clabbered but I don't want it HOT! 


My second batch of butter was a wild success.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with it, since I'm not having any meals at home until October...

[Barbara from New Jersey]

Hungry,


Freeze it.  October starts in 2 weeks.

[HungryinTN]

Will it still be as good after freezing?  Last night I had a couple of spoonfuls to get through when I got a little hungry late in the evening, so I can definitely use some of it up that way, at least. 

[Barbara from New Jersey]

Hungry,


Just wrap it very carefully and tightly.  Several layers of freezer wrap, taped, then covered with plastic to prevent any moisture.  I never had a problem with frozen butter or most dairy products.  Heavy cream does not whip well after freezing, but is fine for anything heated.  Of course, this is the available cream that is ultra-pasteurized, homogenized and from cows that are grain, not grass fed.  I have frozen the butter made from raw milk when I can get it.  Never had a problem.   You might want to call your supplier and ask their opinion and method about freezing the butter and other products made from raw milk.

[HungryinTN]

Lordy what a weekend.  I'm not sure disaster is strong enough of a word.  Thank goodness my boyfriend has a seemingly endless supply of patience with me. I got no work done, spent the entire time in terrible pain from constipation which is rather difficult to deal with comfortably when you're on the road, and ate miserably poorly.  Last night I even splurged on a $28 steak with Brussels sprouts and squash (my fella had picked up all of the bills thus far on the trip so I talked him into going dutch just the once so I could splurge without guilt) It should have been the best meal I've had in a long time but it was TERRIBLE.  I could barely eat it and ended up going to the Mexican restaurant down the street to get a margarita and cheese dip to console myself.  It wasn't the best idea, but it had been such a miserable day and I just wanted comfort.  Thankfully the bartender made the BEST margarita I have ever had in a restaurant, with high quality liquor and fresh lime juice, no added sweetener of any sort. 


Today's drive was the WORST.  I felt like I had a fecal impaction, plus I only slept three hours last night, and we had a four hour drive.  When we got home, we discovered that in my hurry to clean out the litterbox on Friday morning before we left, I had put the top back on backwards so the opening was against the wall.  My otherwise-wonderful kitty decided the next best thing was my bed.  All of this while still dealing with the terrible constipation pain.  After dealing with the bedclothes, I crashed and my boyfriend (wonderful man that he is) went to the store to buy me some Tucks and some milk of magnesia.  Thankfully they did the trick and I am almost back to 100% now, apart from the lack of sleep.


So tomorrow, back to detox...  But I will have a longer time without interruption this time - a full week before I have to travel again. 


On a side note, if anyone is anywhere near Raleigh, the Burning Coal theatre is putting on an amazing production right now.  I think next weekend is their last run stateside.  After that they're taking the company to London.  http://burningcoal.org/the-iron-curtain-trilogy/

[HungryinTN]

I still haven't completely recovered from my trip.  I felt so bad when I got home that I kinda went off the deep end.  I've gained 13 pounds in two weeks because I've been eating terribly (still 100% wheat free, but that's about as much as I can say) and drinking too much alcohol and not enough water.  My skin is breaking out, my clothes don't fit, and I have zero energy and motivation.  I've kinda lost my give a sh*t.  I'm not sure where to go from here, but I've just gotten a dishwasher installed today and I'm hoping that will help.  The milk cure was great when I was sticking with it.  I felt great, it totally simplified my life, I saved money, and I lost weight.  But the fact that going out to eat is basically my only chance for any kind of sustained human interaction - even if it is just with the wait staff - has made sticking with it exceptionally hard when I'm very much in need of the comfort of companionship right now.  Add to that the boredom of a mono-diet and it really is a recipe for disaster.  With a dishwasher, I will be a lot more comfortable cooking at home again, at least.  The bug problem has just been prohibitive because for every meal I have had to deal with an hour's worth of standing at the sink washing dishes - and that's just cooking for one!


In the final analysis, the milk cure is a great tool.  I will continue to incorporate a lot of nutrient-dense raw milk into my diet while eliminating all other forms of dairy from my daily regimen.  But the full-fledged fast does not fit my life right now, and I think it's time for me to admit that and get back to buying groceries and cooking at home.