Three-day Fast; Take Three

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive,

nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

~Charles Darwin

You may recall that I've completed a couple other three-day fasts in the last five years. Well, I've decided to do it again.

Previously, I thought I'd add it to my routine and do it every other month or so, but I haven't been successful at that. It's difficult to plan a 3-day fast because of the social and professional pressures of eating. So much of what we do includes or revolves around food.

So I'm starting tonight. Why tonight? Because I want the option of having dinner on Tuesday night or extending the 72-hour fast to something closer to 80 or 85 hours like I ended up doing last time. I recall it getting easier by the third day and thinking, "Why not just one more day?"

The benefits of a three-day fast are a cleansing of both body and mind. Your body begins to dump glycogen

Saturday 0-12 hours:
1:30pm: I ate a late breakfast and haven't eaten since, so I'm saying I'm starting my fast now.

2:00pm: Started making bone broth to eat when I'm coming off my fast. Bones of one whole chicken, several celery stalks, carrots, an onion, salt, parsley and lots of herbs like rosemary, thyme, etc.

7:24pm: Feeling hungry for dinner. Little headache. Drinking lots of water.

9:24pm: Took the bone broth off the burner. Cooled and strained it, pouring it into small containers. It smells delicious. Some articles about three-day fasts say that drinking bone broth (or even black coffee) are perfectly acceptable. I wish I believed that would be okay, but I feel like it's defeating the purpose. Especially since I make my bone broth with carrots which have sugar in them.

Total water intake on Saturday: 75 ounces


Sunday 12-24 hours:
10:42am: Technically this is still day one because it's within the first 24 hours. Feeling just fine.

Sunday 24-36 hours:
3:00pm: Brushed my teeth so I felt fresh. The taste of toothpaste also keeps me from feeling hungry or thinking about food.

11:40pm: Took a nap earlier today. Haven't felt hungry, but have been thinking about food. Didn't give KDJ a heads-up about me fasting, as I thought this morning that I should have. She made what smelled like a delicious artichoke dip for us to share tonight. I can hardly wait to eat it. It smelled so good. Thinking about food a lot. But not feeling like I'm going to die. Drank two cups of tea tonight. Traditional Medicinals Everyday Detox and one of Lavender Chamomile, which is my favorite.

Total water intake on Sunday: only 53 ounces. I think that was because I was at church and also took a nap. More tomorrow.


Monday 36-48 hours:
5:40am: Woke up and felt ready for the day. Forced myself to go back to sleep. Maybe my body doesn't need as much rest if it's not processing as much food?

Going without breakfast wasn't difficult. My morning was busy, so that likely kept my mind off of food. But I also almost wrote myself a sticky note to look at all day to remind myself not to eat.

12:30pm: Had two glasses of tea for lunch. Lemon & Ginger and Sweet Dreams. Wanted more. But kept drinking water.

Monday 48-60 hours:
1:30pm: I usually eat something in the afternoon and it was difficult to get away from that habit. Especially since I hadn't eaten lunch and seeing our breakroom at work stocked full with food I wanted: avocados, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, and jelly belly! WHY do I love jelly bellys so much!?!?!--it's a curse, really. It's funny because today seeing my co-worker munch on a handful of jelly bellys was the first time in the last three days that I've really craved anything sugary. I've been thinking more about savory foods.

Mmm. Savory. Thinking about KDJ's artichoke dip that I'm hoping to taste tomorrow night. Maybe that's too soon after ending my fast tomorrow at 1:30pm. But we'll see. I know my stomach has shrunk, so tasting a little will probably be all I can handle. But I need to get celery or something, so I don't carb overload on crackers.

3:00pm: Was hungry by afternoon. Not so much physically hungry, as mentally hungry. Maybe even socially hungry. But it's a little hard to separate them all.

4:00pm: I'm already looking forward to what I'm going to eat tomorrow. So I stocked up from the breakroom. An avocado. A protein drink, which I probably won't even drink until Wednesday breakfast. But just getting food and putting it in my fridge in my office somehow soothed the disappointment of not eating this afternoon.

5:25pm: My acid reflux symptoms (tmi: burping) were felt this afternoon and evening. Probably also because I drank a full 17 ounces of water in one sitting right before I left the office to come home. I haven't been as good about sipping all day long. Not sure why. Maybe that's what's causing the hunger a bit.

8:39pm: I have the hiccups.

9:00pm: Going to bed early. A little tired and just feel like sleeping since I can't eat anything. Usually if I'm hungry late at night, I just go to bed anyway. Eating late isn't a great habit and for some reason I can go to be a little hungry and not have too much trouble with it.

But I'm already planning my first meal tomorrow: bone broth that I made on Saturday. Then my second meal is going to be half an avocado, 2 hard boiled eggs, some nuts, and spinach if I can get it. Oh and some artichoke dip. :)

Total water intake on Monday: 87 ounces

Tuesday 60-72 Hours:
Not that hungry. Again just mentally or socially. But it was easy for me to turn down a doughnut today since I knew I was getting my delicious bone broth. :) Haha.

Total water intake on Tuesday:76 ounces

Three-day Fast.

"The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves the better to free ourselves. To fast is to identify our dependencies, and free ourselves from them."

~Tariq Ramadan

Utah County (point of the mountain)
taken from the Frontrunner train

On Wednesday evening I started a three-day fast. What? Why would you do that? Well, a couple of reasons. One, I was going to be fasting for 12 hours anyway in preparation to get my blood drawn for my yearly physical. Two, my mom has talked to me about the benefits of long-term fasting for my health and resetting my system. And three, I read this article about the immune system benefits of a three-day fast. As you know, I have had my share of health problems and illnesses over the past two and a half years (has it been that long?) and the idea of resetting my immune system was appealing.

But three days?!? Oh my. That's a long time. I'm not very good and certainly not regular in fasting for 24 hours, which is a customary practice in the Mormon Church once a month on the first Sunday of the month. I was not sure I could make it. I knew I could expect physical and mental discomforts, but I also felt that it would be a good opportunity for personal reflection regarding my eating habits, determining my motivations when it comes to food and how much of that is mental, and figuring out ways to combat my mental relationship with food.

Day One: Actually not too bad. On a normal day, I drink a lot of water, so I knew that wouldn't be a problem. In fact, I added about 30 ounces to my normal intake. Although on a regular day I eat breakfast by 9am, this time it didn't bother me. I had my water. I was good. By lunch time, I was a little hungry and I was smelling the goods my co-workers were having for lunch in their offices. I went downstairs to my car with my water bottle and took a nap. (Sleep is my other self-medication.) After lunch, I was a little uneasy at my desk, since usually I eat a piece of fruit or a sweet treat to get through the afternoon. But I knew I was getting my blood-work done that afternoon, so I powered through and took hope in leaving at 4pm to get that done. Interestingly, after my blood-work, as I got into the car, was the hardest moment. Typically when I'm fasting for blood-work, I have a little something to eat right after I'm done. This time however, I suddenly felt like I was starving myself. It's okay. Though I considered going shopping that night to keep my mind off of eating, I decided to go straight home so I wouldn't have the temptation of any food places. Since I wasn't eating dinner, I went up to my room and began blogging -- I have a lot of catching up to do. At about 7:30pm, I heard KDJ downstairs preparing her dinner and then within minutes I smelled the lovely smell of tacos. But I was okay because at that point I was proud I'd made it past the 24 hours mark. But don't get me wrong... being online there are food enticements everywhere! I began thinking of all the food I could make next week, when I will be easing my way back into eating. But let's be truthful... none of the food I'm thinking about is going to "ease" me back into eating. Four-cheese lasagna, sushi, cherry cobbler?

Also, right at about 7:30 or 8pm, my stomach started growling for the first time that I noticed all day.

Day Two:

I am now constantly thinking of all the yummy food items I could make. One pot pasta. Lemon blueberry cake. Phở. (Ooh, pho would be a good way to ease into eating again.) Pizza.

Right now I'm feeling irritable and a bit angry. I'm also feeling a bit light-headed. Every time I refill my water in the break room (today I'm already at 64 ounces), I get really sad that I can't fill up a mini dixie cup with snacks. There are three snack jars in the break room that are typically filled with things like nuts, or trail mix, or dried fruit. Today, I wish I could be snacking on yogurt-covered raisins. Or are they craisins? I don't know, but I'm starving myself, so I can't have them. This is ridiculous.

It's funny how I feel unsure of what to do next at every turn when I can't eat something. It's funny because it's not like I'm constantly eating on normal days, but maybe I am grazing a lot or something. Like last night when I didn't even want to be downstairs because I couldn't eat, so what was the point? I just stayed up in my room. Drinking my water.

Tonight, I happen to know that KDJ is planning to make black bean and mango salad. I want some so badly. Yum.

Day Three:

Well, interestingly, Day Three is easier than Day Two was. I guess I also know that I'm going to be eating dinner tonight too. That may help. I've already planned it. Phở. Yum. I can hardly wait it sounds so delicious. If you've never had it, you must try it.

I guess the thing I've noticed most in the last three days is how much of my life involves food. Social gatherings, sitting at my desk at work. I just think about food a lot. My relationship with food is complicated, I've noticed. Apparently, I eat out of habit, boredom, stress, anxiety, depression. Often, I found myself going to the fridge and just opening it up.

Water is my best good friend.

This has been an enlightening experience, which I plan to do again. Focusing on the spiritual and mental side of it has been interesting and I'd like to do that again. Interestingly, I've lost about 10 pounds. I'm sure it will come back as soon as I have the cycle of food in me, but it's nice to see that it can come off. Challenging myself and making myself come to terms with myself (if that makes sense). Maybe in a month or two. Maybe I'll be able to be more mentally controlled this time. Practice makes perfect, right?

But for now, I'll look forward to my delicious phở dinner tonight. Maybe I'll even get some Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. Delish.

.
.
.
.