Would you ever consider going without food? 5 days ago, I told you all that I was planning on starving myself for 3 whole days...
Here's how that went...
If you're anything like my parents (or former me), you might be thinking this:
I hear you! I love eating! Honestly, you'd be surprised how often I eat considering how small I am but food is one of my passions and I have a deep respect for it.
So why would I give it up then?
On my first day I wrote you all a blog, here that talked about what I was going to do, why I was going to do it and how I was feeling while doing it.
I had originally planned on following through and writing about it day-by-day but the thing about my fast this time was that things didn't go as expected (nor do they ever) and through it all, I decided that I would do a recap version for you instead focusing more on what you had brought up in the comments. If you're interested, you can definitely ask me any questions you have if I don't touch on them here!
Let's start off with this video I made, I let my thoughts free flow late morning of the day after my 72 hour mark ended to give you a look into how it all went. Take a look:
I want to address some questions that were brought up to me before that I think are really important and failed to mention.
How I Prepared:
- Mentality
We are talking mind over matter.
When you first start anything, you can never really know what to expect despite how much you research or ask around, nothing in life is certain, right? It's the same with fasting so I find that it's important to go in open minded, anticipating that there may be challenges, rewards or surprises along the way. I learned this lesson the hard way the first time I fasted which I'll tell you about another time.
- Remove Judgment
It's OK if I 'fail!' A perceived failure is judgment based on expectations. I will try my best, give it an honest attempt and ultimately listen to my body. If it's too much, I'm too tired, I can't do the things I need to do in my life, I know it is OK to give up (I can always try again, practice makes perfect!)
I used to judge myself and put myself through unnecessary stress trying to make sure I got to the finish line. I can tell you it caused me problems physically, mentally and socially for no good reason! When I was studying to be a nutritionist, this part was strongly exaggerated to us- "make sure clients feel safe to stop if they are not comfortable finishing their protocol." Well that was hugely influential to me because I always feel the need to finish everything I start- movies, projects, conversations, you name it!
Now, if I do need to stop before I had planned, that doesn't mean I should chow down on the next greasy thing that comes into sight, the exit strategy is still incredibly important if I want to receive positive benefits.
(I remember one time, I was fasting and decided mid-way through to eat some Arby's meat my friends had... I can't tell you how bad of an experience that was for me!)
- Physically:
I have found diet to be really important. I struggled with fasting when my body craved artificial flavors, processed sugars and deep fried pogos/corn-dogs (that was a big one for me!)
I have changed my diet to be plant-based, I eat 'clean' all the time, my daily meals are mostly fruits, veggies, nuts, beans and seeds. I don't eat wheat, dairy, processed foods or sugars and no meat products. Since changing my diet, it's made the transition into fasting a lot easier for me and the cravings less harsh and easier to dissuade myself from giving in to them.
The 'prep day', the day before most things stay the same for me, however I usually stick with liquids (fruit smoothie for breakfast, green shake for lunch and dinner.) Alternatively, I might have a salad or some type of vegetable dish for lunch or dinner, I just ask my body what it wants and I go with that.
I try to plan ahead so that I have used up all my fresh foods and don't make the excuse that I need to eat them so they won't go bad (my favourite excuse in the past!)
This time, being especially un-enthused to give up food, I ate a veggie stir-fry the night before and still managed to get through my fast with no problems! I am motivated by listening to my body's wants and needs and finding a recipe/protocol that works well for me!
Socially:
The Emotional Attack:
I have to warn everyone, my fasts can come with emotional outbursts!
Why? Well my body is releasing a lot of built up toxins, energy and you got it... stored emotions! I know it might not be convenient but I know it's important to view any releases as positive. When I think about it, if I don't like whatever it was that was in me that's coming out, isn't it better to be out now? In my experience the answer has always been, yes!No To The RSVP:
I let anyone that is close to me know what I am doing, before I do it. Since I have been doing this for a while (and have some wild tales of when my emotions went rogue) my social circle understands and are supportive. To alleviate any pressure on that, I try to just seclude myself a bit more than usual so that if I am feeling overwhelmed, I don't accidentally misplace those feelings onto others. This has helped me tremendously. I usually do everything I can to avoid parties, gatherings, anything where there is going to be food involved as it will be tortuous to have to turn down those delicious smells and sights tantalizing my sensitive senses.The Partner Fast:
Wooo-ey. Fasting together is a trip! I have learned a lot about fasting together- through experience, I know that things might come up, arguments might ensue, it's all part of the process! I just try to be kind and forgiving with the other knowing that each of us is processing. It can be hard, I have had a few big blow ups when I knew that fasting (being highly emotional) was the problem but because I was fasting, I was more emotionally unstable and unable to fully handle the situation. At the end, things always come clear to me, but it can be eventful (and stressful)!
The Aftermath:
OK so I've done it, I made it to my goal and have completed the fast!
Now how do I transition out?
- Tricks I Have Picked Up:
The transition out is really important, my body has just done some serious cleaning and now, it's going to need extra love and care. If I dive too quickly into solid foods, my body gets confused! I encourage myself to ease out with a gentle smoothie or fruits, I try to stick with liquids for a day or 2 coming out, again it's up to my body and I find that over time I am becoming better at knowing what my body needs and when it needs it.
This time, as I tell you in my video, I ate a piece of raw garlic. It's intense I am not going to lie to you- but I use it for its natural antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. I look at it like dropping a love-bomb down into my stomach to get rid of anything hanging around that I don't necessarily want in there!
Another trick that I learned from some medicine women in Belize, Central America was to eat a small spoon of papaya seeds. These are another natural antibiotic and anti-parasite and serve a similar purpose of the garlic. Depending on where I am and what I have access to determines which route I go, this is something I find highly beneficial for me (even thought the taste is absolutely dreadful!)
- 72 Hours:
I drank a lovely, papaya and water smoothie, with nothing else added as fruits have enough natural sugars for me as it is! I want what I first put in to be gentle and not irritate my empty tummy. I felt amazing after my smoothie and being bedtime, I got some (very clear-minded) writing done, then had a wonderful night's sleep with vivid adventures in my dreams.
- The Next Morning:
When I woke up I was excited to eat but I didn't feel I needed to. I started with my big glass of water (as always) and I had this shot of homemade kombucha vinegar (amazing pro-biotic, this way I can put some good organisms back in my stomach) before I had another smoothie with my leftover papaya, some sweet soursop and water and drank it slowly over about an hour. My body was slow at responding. My mind was clear and my thoughts were racing through my head trying to get my attention so I sat down and let this energy create itself to life!
I am serious when I tell you I actually wasn't feeling hungry yet! But I was excited to get into the kitchen and make something delicious- my food brain went crazy and I started making an amazing masala with garlic almond cheese... but wait... my burner wouldn't turn on (I have a gas stove)... maybe that's a good thing. My stomach wasn't ready for that kind of meal yet so instead I decided to go for a kale and spinach salad with cucumbers and a garlic vinaigrette and some homemade sauerkraut (more beneficial gut life) on it.
That felt wonderful and was received with open arms from my stomach. I'm happy that happened. I was about to jump in too deep too fast I think.
Diary (for those wanting a more intimate look into things):
I am going to share with you my journal entries and give a quick overview of the social, physical and mental aspects each day.
Day 2:
Social:
- In the morning, I was full energized, swimming around in here talking to you wonderful people but by the afternoon, my mind was tired... foggy. I couldn't read to respond and had to start typing I can't read this right now, need to come back later.
- I spent most of the day by myself with little interaction.
Physical:
- I woke up at 4am this morning! My mind was racing so fast, I couldn't sleep anymore- so many ideas to explore!
- I couldn't write things down fast enough or read fast enough, I felt like a sponge taking in everything excitedly!
- I didn't feel hungry or thirsty in fact, I was having a hard time convincing myself to drink water!
- By mid-day my mouth was so dry (I wasn't drinking enough water) and I started to want to eat (not need to, want to!)
- My workout was really just me laying on the mat, looking at the ceiling, creating new recipes in my head. My body was weak, tired and not impressed but my mind was at peak performance!
Mental/Emotional:
- I found it very emotional to be a part from my love, food.
- It's astounding how much my mind drifts to food. Normally I would be perusing recipes, creating in the kitchen, looking for something delicious to make and so without this huge part of my life, I felt some longing.
- My emotions remained pretty stable this fast which is a surprise! I found myself overwhelmed with joy over a hot shower that almost brought me to tears however ;)
Day 3:
Social:
- This was the worst. It was Saturday, the one day I go to the farmer's market for my... FOOD.
- I went back in forth a million times in my head about going vs not going and in the end drug myself over there but the swarms of people were too much.
- I managed to handle my interactions but all I wanted to do was get home and lie down.
- As far as Steemit was concerned, I had a hard time reading other posts... I couldn't get inside their head. I could read mine because I know how I think but everything else was too much!
Physical:
- When I got out of bed, I thought I was going to faint. My head was fuzzy, my body so heavy and everything was a blur.
- I could hardly walk and kept needing to sit down on the floor. I had no idea how I was going to get anywhere.
- Walking around seemed to help a bit but I felt very flimsy.
- I came home and sat down for a while before I decided to push my body to stretch, after that I felt worlds better!
Mental/Emotional:
- The market was hard, I placed a lot of judgment and expectation on myself which caused me to stress.
- I couldn't write, I could barely read and my mind started taking me for a ride.
- I thought I was going to crack but I kept looking to the clock, I was so close!
- Finally, I made it to 72 hours by dinner time and was so grateful for that! I had ideas of what I wanted to eat the next day!
The Day After: First Day After Fast!
Well, I told you I was missing being in the kitchen! ;) See the recipe for these delicious, healthy peanut butter cup treats here!
These chocolates were a treat for me to make but I will save them for later (it's still too close after a fast for these, for me!)
Those 3 short (even though they felt long)days lead me to a feeling so much better than when I had started! I mentioned to you that I felt like I was coming down with something- not anymore! I feel energized (even though my energy took a hit at one point), my creativity meter is filled up and I am ready to take on the world again! :)
I hope this piece helps get rid of some of the stigma attached to fasting and act as a window into what it was really like doing a fast and why someone might want to do it! I love sharing this kind of information with you and am looking forward to hearing from you!
PS: It's been 5 days since I started my fast, 2 days since I have ended and I am feeling like I'm walking on sunshine! π
PPS: Here's a picture of the veggie masala I ended up making for dinner instead of lunch... I sure did appreciate it so much more after missing it so much!
XO,
π
What an amazing journey. The longest I have gone without food was about 24 hours and I felt crazy hungry. But I think lot of it is just in your mind since really you can go a long time without food but water only a few days.
The part of it I hate the most though is your body first attacks muscle mass which honestly is hard to build up for someone doing it clean and right.
But for kicking sugar cravings etc I bet this could be very helpful if you commit yourself to doing it. Congrats on going 72 hours no foot and just clean water and documenting it.
Hi @heart-to-heart, well done, you can fast for 72 hours . I ever fast for 52 hours before. Fasting is good for our body. My darling share to me one year ago, he say fasting is good and he was fast every week for 2 to 3 days. I try it and just go for 52 hours. Now my darling are trying to fast for 7 days. I hope he can do it. He say every time he fast he will feel good. He ever try juice fast, But normally we fast and only with water, no food, no juice. At the beginning I feel it is hard to fast for a day but I try again and again , I feel great, I don't feel hungry and now I feel bad if I eat a lot. So, most of the time I only eat once a day. Or maybe fast 1 day or 2 days per week. Keep it up @heart-to-heart and take care :)
Hi @honey-pot! Wow, you and your darling are fasting together, how lovely :)
It is hard, sometimes the first day is hardest... it goes up then comes back down and starts to get easier in my experience. I have done a lot longer fasts but because I am a sucker for food, I like to just keep it to 3 days :)
Sounds like you two are doing awesome! I am excited to hear that more people know about this and are trying it! I always feel so good after a fast so that is why I wanted to share :)
Good luck, let me know how it goes for you if you try longer! It really does get better over time in my experience!
XO,
π2π
Yes you are right, the first day is hardest but it start to get easier when you do it often. I feel good actually after fasting for few days, I'm going to try also see how far I can go. Maybe I'm going to share about water fasting to people. Not many people know about it. You are doing very well. @heart-to-heart if you have time, have a look at my post before, there is some exercise that is really good. I think you have a healthy life too, so just wanted to share with you. See you again
Awesome blog, but fasting for 3 days is no biggy. Liquids are just very important. A friend of mine had to run a fast for 20 days to ensure that a tumor doesn't have the ability to grow.
I will tell you this though. Fasting is great, but being in an athletic position or if you carry more muscle mass, I would not recommend fasting for longer than 2 days. It takes the body an average of 72 hours of fasting to start getting into true hunger and thats when the body will start breaking down amino acids from your muscle mass into glycogen, because ketosis just isn't enough to support the body.
Great for detoxifying though. Did your tongue go white? hahaha Those are toxins
Hi Patrick :)
I wrote this as more of an introduction to fasting, I thought maybe by sharing my personal experience it would be helpful to those who might not know what it is or why someone would do it! I guess I explained that more in the first post! When I first learned about fasting I thought it was crazy and I would have loved to hear someone tell me their first hand experience about it so I tried to write it the way I would have wanted to hear it :) That being said, at this point in my life I have studied and experienced many aspects and lengths of fasting, once was actually quite long... it started out as a 3 day goal and I let it go until my body told me I was good. It was really powerful. I am athletic and I take care for that, I understand that there is a whole realm of health precautions to take into account, this was all trial and error getting here. My tongue has gone white before but not this particular time, I have been keeping myself as healthy as possible over the last few years of my life so I am hoping it means less to have to detox now ;)
Thanks for your comment! I have a friend that went 20-something days as well for the same reason! Our bodies are so amazing!
Have a great day! It was fun chatting with you about this :)
XO,
π2π
Nevertheless great article. That what you did is actually very beneficial every now and then. Toxins will build up no matter how healthy we are and thats a great way to rejuvenate the body. Kina like when you are sich. How mothers and fathers always told us to eat chicken soup and lots of vitamins when we are sick, but the actually truth is that we should not eat anything at all. Releasing toxins through a fast is much better to get healthy again. Go figure :P
Oh yes! I couldn't agree more! I never wanted to eat when I was sick and my parents always forced me to, but really, my body was trying to heal itself! Our bodies are so powerful! We just need to give them an opportunity to show us their super powers without always trying to control them! :)
Sending you healthy wishes :)
Well miss heart to heart. Congrats, you did the perfect thing :)
Well why thank you (now I just need to send this comment to my parents as social proof) ;)
A whole garlic? Now, I love garlic and eat it often just never on an empty stomach. Dose that make you gassy? Do you get bloated during your fast? What kind of exercise did you do? Would you avoid it next time since it looks like it took a toll on the third day?
Thanks for sharing!
I love garlic too! It's the Italian in me ;) Well yes a whole garlic clove (not head) is a really intense experience, kind of feels like it hurts almost at first when it goes down. I wouldn't do it if I hadn't learned about it from some medicine women I trust... it really does wonders for me though! Like I told you last time, because of my diet I don't get gas... I used to a lot when I was eating wheat and dairy but now my digestive system is healing! For the exercising, I still believe it's important to keep the blood pumping and toxins moving out so I would not skip it, but the first day I did yoga and stretched (which is a lot less than normal for me), the second day, I just stayed on my back on my mat and couldn't force myself to move very much, and the third day was a mix of yoga and just flinging my body around trying to get the blood to move around :P
I hope that helps more!
XO,
π2π
I thought about you yesterday while watching this documentary about how unhealthy meat is for you. They went into great detail on how some of them aren't just unhealthy, but also toxic. There are some identified as less toxic and that doesn't mean that they're better for you it just means that they're less toxic. My family struggles a lot with gassiness and I think that we finally found the root of the cause has definitely something to do with the amount of milk and cheese and dairy we consume. Your post came at a right time, thanks so much for sharing!
I do intermittent fasting with up to 18 hours of fasting per day every day. That way I don't loose muscle tissue^^
Hi @mergesort Do you mean you only eat 6 hours during the day? That's very interesting! I would love to know more! I'm excited to hear your response!
=)
XO,
π2π
Yes exactly! You get all the benefits of fasting during that 16-18 hour period. Eating during the 6-8 our period is different too. Most of the time I only manage to eat once or twice during that period. Here is video explains it a bit:
Incredible post as always @heart-to-heart ! Thank you for being so opening and giving with your content. I love your positive attitude toward garlic. It is truly fantastic! :)
Sharing your journal is an awesome insight too! Keep putting out quality content, its a pleasure to read!
Well why thank you @holoz0r, it's always my pleasure to share what I know and have experienced! I love garlic so much, I think it's one of the greatest things we have to offer our food ;)
I am not going anywhere and promise to keep on posting ;)
Have a wonderful day!
XO,
π2π
Great work @Heart-to-heart! Thank you for sharing this valuable information! We all could fast a bit more :)
I totally agree, I just don't know if everyone knows about it! I know 4 years ago I didn't so hopefully it catches on and people can get the amazing benefits :)
XO,
π2π
I could not help but upvote and resteem this!!! What an amzaing post this is - I love how you told the details of your journey :) I have done a 7 day watermelon fast which kicked my butt the first 2 days. After the first 2 days though, it was a breeze :) I have never done a water fast but really would like to do this real soon - my hubby and I have been talking about it but talkin ain't doin!!! Thank you so much for inspiring me to get moving on this water fast. I love you Friend..SUNSHINE247
How awesome! I have never heard of anyone doing a strict watermelon fast, fruit fasts I have heard of, so i guess it would be similar :) I would love that because I always want a big glass of juice and watermelons are the juciest ;)
I am so happy to hear it's helpful, I wanted to write it in a way that would have helped me so I am happy to hear it worked :)
Let me know if you do decide to do it and how it goes!
XO,
π-2-π
Well is was perfectly written :) Thank you again so very much!!! Have a GREAT start to your Wednesday..SUNSHINE247
take somthing in food, otherwise you will be die.
you need not to work hard like this at gym.
It's not for fitness, it's for a cleanse :) It's not dangerous when you know what you are doing, in fact it's been proven to cure many illnesses in the body and people have been doing it for thousands of years! But thank you for your concern!
Blessings to you!
Congrats on holding on and completing the fast as scheduled @heart-to-heart! Really impressed by your solid mental! You are one of the most amazing woman I have known infact!
I don't know if you did this, but i wanted to know if there was weight lost during the 3 days? Did you weightn yoourself before and after? That would be interesting though!
Congrats again dear!
@progressivechef
Long time fasting actually won nobel prize in 2016.
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2016/press.html
I do it time to time. Never went up to 72 hours though. Over 72 hours is dangerous as your body starts to consume protein -muscles-.
I also have a post about this from 2 months ago, I really don't like spamming other entries with my posts, so you can try to find it in my blog or if thats okay I can write it down here too.
"Over 72 hours is dangerous as your body starts to consume protein -muscles-."
Do you have any literature on this? I have actually been told that a minimum of 3 days is required to gain the physiological benefits. That the part of our bodies it starts to "consume" is the less-than-optimal cells, more or less 'cleaning up' our bodies. I have around 8-10% bodyfat and have fasted for up to 2 weeks and lost some weight but just a few days after eating again my bodyfat was down but my muscle mass stayed the same. I actually increased in strength a few days after ending a fast than before I began my fast. I have done 2, 2-week fasts and several 3-5 day fasts. Same phenomenon. I realize what I'm saying is anecdotal which is why I'd like to compare if you have any references!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/437499-how-long-can-i-fast-before-i-start-losing-muscle/
Autophagy starts as soon as your blood sugar levels drop to below normal, and this changes from person to person. Therefore it is very hard to find out the exact time to fast. I stay as active as possible in my first day of autophagy to burn as much glucose as possible and then prefer to not pass 72 hours.
Hi @readmore, I have heard the same thing you're mentioning about the 72 hour mark and yet have read several accounts that say that 72 hours is where the best healing starts so that is why I just try to trust my body and listen to how I feel to judge what to do :)
I will look over at your blog, thanks for sharing!
Hope you have a good day!
XO,
π2π
PS awesome post again. You got my follow @heart-to-heart
Wow you really put your heart and soul to what you strive for. And I thought to myself I was hardcore when I survived out of coconuts and potatoes for one week but only water for 3 days? Damn, I am not sure I can pull that one off. I donΒ΄t get why your posts do not get more attention, hence...
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Ohhh you're very brave. But it is complex to make this fast.
It's true, it's a very complex process but I hope this blog helps explain it a little bit for anyone wanting to know :)
XO,
π-2-π
Amazing post @heart- to heart:)
I can see a difference for sure! You look like you are so FULL of energy too! So are you going to change your diet at all?
Hi! I definitely am more energetic after a fast despite what is commonly thought! :)
I'm not sure what you mean about changing my diet? I have a very healthy, intentional diet as it is, I have cultivated it to suit my body over the last few years and am happy with the effects I feel from it :)