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Fasting - Breaking the cycle

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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So I'm about 36 hours in on a self-imposed New Years fast. I've not had any solid food since before 8:00pm New Years Eve.

Other than a cup of coffee, it's been nothing but water.

I like to do this at least once a year, and usually near the end of a long holiday stretch where eating, sitting, and drinking are the main activities of the day.

I feel that fasting reconnects my brain with what my body really needs, rather than my brain being on auto-pilot and wanting to eat anything that smells good regardless of everything else. There is nothing religious at all about this process for me - it's purely a mental exercise in self control and self determination.

Of course about 15-16 hours of the 36 have been spent sleeping, but it's now past the point of having a strong desire to just eat.

It's amazing how much of your hunger can be erased with a large glass of water. Also amazing is how your sense of smell around foods increases with a fast. My oldest popped some popcorn last night and hot damn that smell lights all kinds of fire in your brain if you've been 24 hours without food. :shock:

I feel great this morning. Not hungry at all. I feel like I could easily go for many more hours without eating, but I'll make a small omelet here shortly to break the fast.

Happy January 2nd :mrgreen:
 
Dragonfly said:
So I'm about 36 hours in on a self-imposed New Years fast. I've not had any solid food since before 8:00pm New Years Eve.

Other than a cup of coffee, it's been nothing but water.

I like to do this at least once a year, and usually near the end of a long holiday stretch where eating, sitting, and drinking are the main activities of the day.

I feel that fasting reconnects my brain with what my body really needs, rather than my brain being on auto-pilot and wanting to eat anything that smells good regardless of everything else. There is nothing religious at all about this process for me - it's purely a mental exercise in self control and self determination.

Of course about 15-16 hours of the 36 have been spent sleeping, but it's now past the point of having a strong desire to just eat.

It's amazing how much of your hunger can be erased with a large glass of water. Also amazing is how your sense of smell around foods increases with a fast. My oldest popped some popcorn last night and hot damn that smell lights all kinds of fire in your brain if you've been 24 hours without food. :shock:

I feel great this morning. Not hungry at all. I feel like I could easily go for many more hours without eating, but I'll make a small omelet here shortly to break the fast.

Happy January 2nd :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Stretching the capabilities of your body a bit can be a very enlightening and enlivening experience. I don't typically do that in the form of a fast since, for me in particular, this doesn't tend to be my area of disconnect, but I completely understand where you're coming from. I think all of us have some sort of way in which we can get a little unplugged from our bodies, whether it's related to food and listening to our bodies nutritionally, our experience of sensation, or just our sense of wakefulness. Fasting, sky diving, hot food, creative sex, burning exercise -- at its best, it's all really just a way for us to remind ourselves to be connected to our own daily experiences in a world that can sort of numb us to that at times. There's more to feel in life than mechanical and instant satisfaction.

It's a cool little ritual you've got, and glad you're feeling well! Good to start small, breaking such a long fast, and enjoy your omelette with your newly sharpened senses.
 
I weigh myself pretty much every day. I know I fluctuate a few pounds here and there over the course of a week, but generally I'm pretty consistent within that window of roughly 2-3 pounds. Over the last 2 weeks, I've consistently been at the top of that 3 pound window and pushing towards 4-5 pounds. I know it's holiday snacking and holiday drinking and holiday not working, and holiday relaxing..... Every single bit of that is easily fixable and reversible.

Starting with a good rebooting of the brain.
 
Fast broken at 39-ish hours - oatmeal with a little local honey on top :mrgreen:
 
Dragonfly said:
I weigh myself pretty much every day. I know I fluctuate a few pounds here and there over the course of a week, but generally I'm pretty consistent within that window of roughly 2-3 pounds. Over the last 2 weeks, I've consistently been at the top of that 3 pound window and pushing towards 4-5 pounds. I know it's holiday snacking and holiday drinking and holiday not working, and holiday relaxing..... Every single bit of that is easily fixable and reversible.

Starting with a good rebooting of the brain.
Click to expand...

i'm also slightly above my five pound window, and i'm working my way back down. going back to weighing myself daily, and i decided to write my weight down every morning so that i can keep track of it. i have also been keeping a food diary since 2010, and that helps me a lot. all in all, i think i did pretty well during the holidays. i ate a lot less than during previous years, and i exercised a lot. also started lifting a month or two ago, so i'm not sure how that might affect my weight.
 
Last year at this time I was the heaviest I've ever been in my life. About 165 pounds. I'm 5'7" and at that time I was 51 years old.

I did 100 days of no alcohol and then after that I basically restricted myself to only drinking alcohol on weekends.
Got my ass back on treadmill too.

I got myself back down to very low 150's. I float between 151 and 153 very consistently.

During that time my cholesterol and bp dropped too. So I'm sticking with same plan for this year, but without the 100 day alcohol fast.
 
congrats and good for you, starting the year off right

I can't fast due to blood sugar issues but I can juice when I have a few days off...mean green tastes amazing and I lose food cravings after 48 hours and then the body craves healthy foods you can literally smell your salad as it is being chopped up

I love when I am in that mode
 
_Sal said:
congrats and good for you, starting the year off right

I can't fast due to blood sugar issues but I can juice when I have a few days off...mean green tastes amazing and I lose food cravings after 48 hours and then the body craves healthy foods you can literally smell your salad as it is being chopped up

I love when I am in that mode
Click to expand...

Is that the Joe Cross mean green recipe? Haven't busted out the juicer in far too long. You have just inspired me to do so. Thanks. :)
 
_Sal said:
yes that is the one, I need to dust mine off too.. :D

I'm not one much for the celery though, makes it too salty for me...
Click to expand...

Lol, I love celery, but have an aversion to fresh ginger. Tastes like furniture polish to me. :D Not that I've ever actually consumed furniture polish. :mrgreen:
 
Dragonfly said:
Uhh....wut???
Click to expand...

lol...


1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
2 apples
6 – 8 kale (Tuscan cabbage) leaves
1/2 lemon
1 in (2.5 cm) piece of ginger

first time around it may taste disgusting but after a bit your mouth will water when you smell it

I do not like the celery as it is a salty veggie so I add more cucumber ( I prefer to eat my celery)

this is juiced not blended although I do blend daily juicing is an extra nutrition boost because your body does not have to break down the fiber
 
countryboy said:
Lol, I love celery, but have an aversion to fresh ginger. Tastes like furniture polish to me. :D Not that I've ever actually consumed furniture polish. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

yes I have heard that from various people that the ginger isn't something they can down...I had to start with very little ginger but now I could likely chew it :mrgreen:

you don't find the celery too salty?
 
_Sal said:
yes I have heard that from various people that the ginger isn't something they can down...I had to start with very little ginger but now I could likely chew it :mrgreen:

you don't find the celery too salty?
Click to expand...

Hi, my name is cb, and I'm a saltaholic. :D
 
Dragonfly said:
I weigh myself pretty much every day. I know I fluctuate a few pounds here and there over the course of a week, but generally I'm pretty consistent within that window of roughly 2-3 pounds. Over the last 2 weeks, I've consistently been at the top of that 3 pound window and pushing towards 4-5 pounds. I know it's holiday snacking and holiday drinking and holiday not working, and holiday relaxing..... Every single bit of that is easily fixable and reversible.

Starting with a good rebooting of the brain.
Click to expand...
While you fast I'm gonna do this:

GEC1Y9H.gif
 
Dragonfly said:
So I'm about 36 hours in on a self-imposed New Years fast. I've not had any solid food since before 8:00pm New Years Eve.

Other than a cup of coffee, it's been nothing but water.

I like to do this at least once a year, and usually near the end of a long holiday stretch where eating, sitting, and drinking are the main activities of the day.

I feel that fasting reconnects my brain with what my body really needs, rather than my brain being on auto-pilot and wanting to eat anything that smells good regardless of everything else. There is nothing religious at all about this process for me - it's purely a mental exercise in self control and self determination.

Of course about 15-16 hours of the 36 have been spent sleeping, but it's now past the point of having a strong desire to just eat.

It's amazing how much of your hunger can be erased with a large glass of water. Also amazing is how your sense of smell around foods increases with a fast. My oldest popped some popcorn last night and hot damn that smell lights all kinds of fire in your brain if you've been 24 hours without food. :shock:

I feel great this morning. Not hungry at all. I feel like I could easily go for many more hours without eating, but I'll make a small omelet here shortly to break the fast.

Happy January 2nd :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Interesting. I went on a self-imposed fast for 7 days about a month ago. It was 7 days straight where all I drank was water. Since I didn't want to suffer any serious health effects, I would drink 1 large smoothie everyday consisting mostly of vegetables and fruit. I would put some peanut butter power as a source of protein.

POSITIVES:

Mental exercise; really helped me focused


NEGATIVES:

May have lost permanent muscle mass I may never regain. Nothing major but I believe you lose muscle before fast first.
I use to run 3 miles a day. During the self-imposed fast I was too weak to exercise. After the fast was over I had trouble regaining my normal exercise routine.

I really suggest when you fast to not start gorging at the end. Very tempting to do so but it will really cause havoc. I used to have complete control of my bowel movements to only go on Friday and the weekends. After my fast, it completely reset and I started using the bathroom at completely random times of the day.

I really pride myself in having an intuitive relationship with my body and stomach. Knowing when I am going to relieve myself always me to schedule my calendar. Saturday from 3 pm - 7 pm - That's when I am on the toilet!
 
Bucky said:
Interesting. I went on a self-imposed fast for 7 days about a month ago. It was 7 days straight where all I drank was water. Since I didn't want to suffer any serious health effects, I would drink 1 large smoothie everyday consisting mostly of vegetables and fruit. I would put some peanut butter power as a source of protein.

POSITIVES:

Mental exercise; really helped me focused


NEGATIVES:

May have lost permanent muscle mass I may never regain. Nothing major but I believe you lose muscle before fast first.
I use to run 3 miles a day. During the self-imposed fast I was too weak to exercise. After the fast was over I had trouble regaining my normal exercise routine.

I really suggest when you fast to not start gorging at the end. Very tempting to do so but it will really cause havoc. I used to have complete control of my bowel movements to only go on Friday and the weekends. After my fast, it completely reset and I started using the bathroom at completely random times of the day.

I really pride myself in having an intuitive relationship with my body and stomach. Knowing when I am going to relieve myself always me to schedule my calendar. Saturday from 3 pm - 7 pm - That's when I am on the toilet!
Click to expand...

Wow.....in a few different ways....:shock:
 
I once went on an ad hoc fast to avoid a bug my family was passing around. They were throwing up uncontrollably for days at a time, paired with diarrhea.

I started noticing some warning signs myself (a tinge of queasiness, paired with a lack of appetite), so I decided to take the hint, and I simply stopped eating for around 48 hours. I drank water instead, and maybe supplemented it with a candy bar, or a quarter portion of a small bag of chips.

After letting the diarrhea run its course for a single afternoon, my experience with the illness was pretty much done. I'd completely skipped all the other symptoms.

I also managed to lose a quick five pounds. lol
 
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