"Alexander, how do you feel about water fasting?"
Weight: 155.4 Energy: 7/10 (average) Attitude: 7/10 (average)
Not hungry. Did not dream about food. My stomach is a little uncomfortable. If you haven’t fasted before and don’t know, your stomach will eventually empty and relax and feel good, but this morning it feels a little knotted up.
(2hrs later) – Today is MLK day, so the kids are off of school. It snowed last night, too! So we took a family walk to the library, about a mile and a half. After a visit to the bathroom when we got home, my stomach is feeling much better! I am about to head next door to make myself a cup of chamomile tea and spend some time sewing. … I guess I didn’t mention that I would be drinking tea. Anything without calories (sparkling water, etc.) is within the limits of my fasting allowance. Some people give up solid food and drink broth, fruit juice, etc. They call it a juice fast. Well. Juice has a lot of sugar, so it interferes with your body’s transition to burning fat (ketosis). Also, it is not too hard to consume a significant amount of calories via sugary drinks, so you also miss out on the benefits of calorie restriction (mental clarity, improved self-healing, giving your digestive system a rest).
Now, black coffee has only 1 calorie per serving. On the basis of calories, coffee would be acceptable. However, coffee is one of the most widespread, socially-accepted highly-addictive substances in our society. One of the benefits of fasting is the breaking of addictions and bad food habits, and allowing your body to reset. In order to get the full benefit of a fast, I recommend cutting out caffeine.
(Evening) – I did not take time to draw or write a letter this afternoon. I’m disappointed about that and will make sure it happens tomorrow. I have, at least, been journaling more.
One thing about being on a fast for 21 days (I hope), is that you can’t ignore the fast or just power your way through it. I mean, two days is barely getting out of the starting gate. I am going to have to consciously live this experience. Which is, after all, one of the reasons for doing it in the first place. It is amazing how much we manage to live inside of our heads and disregard what goes on around us. Fasting certainly does increase my awareness.
It may be that I started on a Sunday and today is MLK day, but I feel that time has slowed down, too. Already there have been a couple of instances where I have been asked to do something that, normally, I would have rushed to do. Now, I have either said I won’t be able to fulfill the request, or that it will have to wait. Giving myself permission to be in charge of my time is a good thing. That is part of what I want to practice with my daily drawing/writing.