text 1: fasting

˜Why are you fasting if you don t have to lose weight? , people ask me when I have been fasting. To most people the only reason for fasting is to lose weight. Fasting is of course an excellent way of losing weight too, but it is not the main reason for doing it.

When you are fasting the metabolism in your body is changed. Your body gets rid of dross products that have gathered during the years . You re-establish a natural balance. Normally you lose weight too, but most of it is a loss of water which you will regain when you start eating again as usual.

When you don t feel well or are feverish you fast spontaneously. Most animals fast at times and so do human beings in most cultures.

The safest way to fast is to use herbal teas and juice from raw fruits or vegetables. It is easy to produce these raw juices in your own home. Many people prefer fasting in a group , where they can support each other. If you suffer from any illnesses you should only fast according to your doctor s recommendation.

Most juices and herbal teas taste good, but if you dislike any of them, try others.

It is very important that you are mentally prepared for your fasting period and that you have decided to do it of your own free will. You can also prepare yourself by eating less ˜heavy food the week before you start. The day before you start you should eat only raw fruit and vegetables.

During the fasting period you only drink juices made from fresh fruit, berries or vegetables, and herbal teas. If you can, get clean mineral water (not carbonated). You should drink between two and three litres of lukewarm water, juice or tea every day. It is quite a lot of liquid to drink every day and you feel you are drinking something all the time. But on the other hand, you don t feel hungry. It s the habit and social side of eating you will miss most.

You should of course avoid ˜poisons such as coffee, ordinary tea, tobacco and alcohol. The cleaner your body gets, the more sensitive it becomes. Besides, it is rather pointless to ruin the good effects of the fasting process by bringing new poisons into the body to replace those you got rid of!

It s very important to keep your stomach going. You must get rid of all the dross. It if stays in your intestines or in your stomach, you may start feeling bad. You can use various sorts of herbs that will keep your stomach working.

When I fast I keep on working as usual, but I normally start during a weekend . I feel well all the time. A reason for not being among people too much is that your body doesn t smell so good from the dross products! You should always do some exercise during the fasting period. Especially if you don t feel well it s important that you keep moving instead of going to bed.

When you end the fasting period, you must be very careful about what you eat. For the first breakfast you can eat half an apple. You will be amazed how little you will need to feel satisfied! For lunch you can have some vegetable soup and for dinner some raw vegetables. And you keep on drinking the same sorts of juice as before. The next day you add some cottage cheese and yoghurt, and you keep on adding a little extra every day. If you eat too much you can end up having terrible pains in your stomach.

During this period you have a very good opportunity of changing your eating habits. Your body is as clean as ever. It s a radical experience and you can feel how important it is that you eat the right things.

After the fasting period you feel strong and happy that you did it.

comments on text 1

Now that you have read the text and marked a few keywords it is time to decide what the learning map is going to look like. Begin by drawing a picture in the middle of a sheet of paper, symbolizing ˜fasting . Make a circle or a box around it.

If you want to make the learning map entirely without help, don t read further until you have finished your own learning map.

At the beginning of the text you are given two motives for fasting: losing weight and getting rid of dross products in your body. Put ˜motives on a thick branch and the other two on twigs drawn out from the branch. Add other words after these two on new lines.

Other branch words you can use are, for instance: preparations , method, how to end .

Draw pictures wherever it is appropriate, use colours, arrows and other signs, highlight important words.

comments on text 2

Text 2 is very different in its construction from text 1. The story of the McDonald s chain of restaurants is a chronological account of how it all started and later developed. There are also remarks on the business idea, which you have to take into the learning map somehow. Look for the main keywords the first time you read it and build the learning map clockwise, using events and years as your structure.