Fasting - is it for you?

I fast for 24-36hrs once a month – why?

I started this about 3 years ago, but it was very off and on, it was a method I had used numerous times throughout my life if I had an upset stomach, diarrhoea, sickness or just felt a bit dodgy. I used the process of simply not eating to clear my system of whatever ailed me – and it works, pretty much 100% of the time. If I had a “proper” illness, I might abstain from food for 6-8 hours then “try a bit of toast” and see how my system reacted.

I started properly practising the fast last year. From time to time I have a poor reaction to some foods, I am probably a little lactose intolerant or would be better on gluten free perhaps, I don’t know, and to be honest can’t be bothered to find out. Pizza gives me a little…I don’t know, indigestion maybe, something a bit dodgy about 60% of the time, but I like pizza so I live with the risk…whoa – life on the edge eh?

I did some research on fasting a while back, but it seemed to mainly focus on the nutters who fast for 30 days or more! It talked about the effects on your system and that how after a number of days your body produced different hormones or started to break down fat or something – don’t quote me, do your own research.
However, I did find an article that talked about shorter fasts like mine, and it said sensible things like; it gives your bowels a rest – think about that for a moment…

Most of the people & animals on this planet NEVER STOP EATING, you probably don’t. We mainly eat out of habit not hunger – let’s face it, the vast majority of people have never honestly experienced hunger, not real hunger, certainly not the swollen stomach condition many will remember seeing on the news. Even less than that though, just proper hunger, no, probably not, and many would argue why should they? We live in a world of plenty, food is easily obtainable and very cheap. I will not stray here into world hunger or the role the food bank plays in apparently affluent areas as it’s not something I know anything about, but for the majority, food is ubiquitous, and the choice then to deprive yourself of food is exactly that, a choice.

So why then do I do it?

Well there are a number of reasons;

-       It resets my body

-       Gives my body and specifically my digestive system a rest

-       It’s great for will power – I have never found it hard, not really, there are times during the process when I could easily quit it and eat, but the feeling of failure prevents me, that and the fact that I would have to start again from scratch. Also it’s good to test your will power and flex your will power muscle now and again.

-       I might need it one day – I “put myself through it” because (I am probably perverse) I think that one day I might need it. Life is about experiences and there are things I think I ought to experience, some good, some not so good. What if I couldn’t eat for some reason, it’s good to know that I would last 36 hours without breaking a sweat.
A colleague of mine dieted using fasting, he has problems with his legs so exercise is difficult for him, so he used fasting as a way to reduce his weight – he meditated a lot I understand to help him through it. It worked for him really, really well, he must have lost 4-5 stones.

My process – it’s just so simple!

I usually fast on a Friday, not exactly sure why, but there is something about the last working day of the week (I work for myself so work 7 days a week, so this makes even less sense) it just feels right. I eat as normal on the Thursday, go to bed, get up on Friday morning and do my normal routine, which is; up between 5am and 6am, go for either a 15min jog or walk with the dog, return home do about 15 mins of exercise, press-ups or sit-ups. Then I drink my Aloe gel with Argi and take a couple of supplements; Omega & bee pollen and that’s it food wise until usually around 9am the following day, though I have gone as long as noon and thrown in a 6 mile run before noon and still without food, no problems at all.

I drink water and peppermint and/or other herbal teas, as much as I want, I might even have a glass or 2 of squash. It’s the tastes I miss, and the herbal tea and squash fill that gap for me. So right now, writing this it is quarter past 2 in the afternoon and I have the feeling of an empty stomach, not desperate for anything, not light headed, not fatigued, just that feeling of an empty stomach and now and then it makes that gurgling sound – but I say that that is not actual hunger. As we never stop eating, this feeling is mistaken for hunger, when I say it’s just an empty stomach, that is quite a different thing.

After the fast, I eat my normal breakfast - I don’t leap out of bed even earlier and crash into the kitchen ripping the cupboards off the walls looking for food, actually the morning is not the most difficult time. I just do my normal morning exercise/walk routine and have breakfast after – which is usually a milkshake, and then I will have lunch at the normal time and I am back into my routine - I don’t fast because I believe there is any problem with routine.

The toughest time?

Hmm, I have been thinking about this whilst I type. It goes in phases, not really depicted by the clock, but I have never actually noted the clock, I think that like Schrodinger's cat to monitor my state like that would make the time drag and make the process more arduous than it needs to be, so that is not for me. But I have times when I get mild stomach pain which I refer to as an empty stomach, when I get these I either just ignore them or make a drink to take my mind off it.

It is often said that thirst is mistaken for hunger, so I ensure that I am very positively hydrated, and also that it takes 20mins for the brain to register that you are full-up, which for most of us means that we have already consumed the pudding before we even realise! So how long does it really take for us to realise that we are hungry and what does that feel like?

The results of fasting have been that it has changed my feelings and relationships with some foods, namely chocolate and other sweet items. I find that I crave them less and they don’t taste quite as nice anymore – I see that as a positive, others would disagree.

I like to have control of myself, I don’t like the idea of addiction and so don’t get addicted to things. I will continue to fast and aim for once a month, usually, like today on the last Friday of the month, that just makes it easy to remember. It is not religious, and my family and friends think I am odd – nothing new there! I don’t do it for them though, I do it for me, I feel it is very good for my body and I actually enjoy the achievement each and every time I do it – I think I have only actually failed once, not sure why now, but I convinced myself to give up so I did, but that was a long time ago and I do not plan to give up again.

Fasting - is it for you?

31^st May 2019