A short blog today on this weeks fasting challenge "72" which turned into 48 :)
130pm Sunday
Why? From a simple question by my wife "shall we fast for 3 days?" because her sister in Dubai had tried it and felt good. My initial reaction and thoughts to long fasting efforts are always 'f*ck no!' or something very similar. Given the current world lockdown I thought why not challenge myself and write down what I went through?
When? Sunday 2pm to Tuesday 2pm
Last meal - A strange/delicious combo of Pasta salad, roast potatoes and cheeseburger
The plan
I assume the first 24 hours will be okay, a 2pm to 2pm day-long fast is about the easiest way to get it done. My main (assumed) challenges will be:
- Concentrating for some laptop work after Monday afternoon
- 12pm Virtual class on Monday - lack of energy/enthusiasm?
- Boredom after Monday afternoon
My training will be the usual 60-90 morning walk and then maybe some Yoga/bodyweight strength work around 5pm daily depending on how I feel (Im ok with no training for 3 days)
Have a rough plan in mind to keep as mentally active as possible
1pm Monday
To be honest, the only thing im feeling coming into 24 hours (1 day) fasting is boredom. What does that say about general eating habits of humans? Do we snack and eat through necessity or pure entertainment? As this goes on I think its key to commit to 2 things:
1) Landmarks - I will walk, stretch or do yoga for 90mins to finish off each 24 hours
2) A genuine reason/goal for the challenge - As this gets harder im going to inevitably ask myself the question "why are you doing this?". So I've decide that for me this is a quick 'reset' and a chance to fully rest and recover and to relax. So I will stretch often, possibly meditate (for the first time ever) and even nap if I feel like it over the next 2 days.
8pm Monday
The over-riding feeling im having now is boredom. Its neither hard or easy. I wasn't very productive today and time seems to be going backwards! Ive noticed my house is a little quieter as we are both trying to conserve energy. We've also turned the AC off because were a little cold. If im honest I wasn't feeling really hungry, but I just wanted food and the possibly the ritual of eating. An empty stomach meant couldn't really go to sleep until midnight - a bit of a 'no mans land' feeling.
Expect some boredom pangs and time 'standing still'
1pm Tuesday (1 hour remaining)
Woke up this morning and felt okay, slight feelings of light-headedness but nothing crazy. Checked my Garmin this morning and my heart rate was a crazy low 32 in the night at times and I slept quite well. Im feeling 'something' but im just not sure what that is and already asked myself the question "Is this is all worth it any time after 24 hours?". Went for a 90min walk at 1130am to end the 48 hour period and it was pretty tough going in the heat but definitely helped to get out of the house and get some sunlight, blood flow and burn some calories.
I called the end of the fast at 48 hours. I didn't think doing 72 was going to produce anything other than more lethargy so i stopped... and ordered a healthy poke bowl, It wasn't as great as I anticipated!
What I learned
- 24 and 48 hour fast are completely doable
- 24 hour fasts 1-4 times per month is optimal for me (2pm-2pm being the easiest)
- Lowering carbohydrates for 3 days before fasting I feel would help the process
- Plan your breaking-fast meal well (light and easily digestible foods are best)
- I feel 'good' fasting, it definitely gives me something positive - I couldn't tell you 100% what that is though
A day later and I genuinely feel quite good, generally 'lighter' with morning energy and im back writing blogs for this week. Im down about 2kgs on the scale and my eyes look more awake. If you're reading this and want to give 24 hours a shot - I would recommend it as a useful self experiment in learning more about your relationship with food. Its not actually that big deal - Fasting has been dubbed crazy by certain corners of the health and fitness industry when in reality it has played a significant role in religions throughout history and still continues today - Perhaps we all need a fasting period for optimal health and to appreciate the abundance of food we enjoy?
Has anyone else tried longer fasts? What happened with you?
Comment and start a discussion in the group :)