I’ve tried fasting 5+ times so far and I wanted to share my experience.
- 1 two-day water fast in 2013
- 1 24-day juice fast in 2017
- 1 four-day water fast in August 2018
- 1 three-day water fast in October 2018
- 1 two-day water fast in February 2020
- And multiple one-day (24h) water fasts on Sundays from 2018 until now
Why on Earth would I torture myself and deprive myself of delicious foods?
The health benefits and the practice of discipline.
Over the years of testing different foods, eliminating foods, adding foods, I came to the realization that we don’t always need food. And…
Sometimes no food is better that food.
Not sure where I heard it and I doubt I came up with it 🙂
Yes, it might feel scary at first to even think of it, but you don’t have to start big. Get started with skipping a meal once in a while (Intermittent Fasting) and then do longer intervals: 18, 24, 48h etc.
Before I start I make sure to…
- Decide on a good reason WHY I want or need to do it
- Write the reason down and plan the day(s) (use a Calendar)
- Eat a light “last” meal, like a salad for dinner, preferably.
- Brew up a concoction of filtered water and salts. More below.
- And so it begins!
My Health benefits
- Better mental clarity (fast when focus is very needed)
- Maintain weight (after indulging for a period and I feel like “I’ve had enough” perhaps I really did. So I stop eating for a while.
- Actually lose weight – when I’ve not been successful at keeping weight down, a good kick to ketosis does help to restart my primarily low-carb way of eating.
- Fast healing – Whenever I get the sniffles and feel a little under the weather, fasting has proven to help me the best at recovery.
That’s my stab at it – I’m sure you can read all over the internet of the other great benefits, like increasing the stem cells in the body.
Things to be aware of during a fast
- There will be pain
- hunger, headaches, cramps, dizziness
- There will be your reptile brain shouting “GIVE ME FOOD!”
- reaching for the refrigerator and stopping yourself number of times might be driving you mad. Stay with it, teach your brain. Callus your mind.
To lower the dizziness and headaches I make sure to have the right and enough salts in my water.
Here’s how what I mix
- Potassium Chloride (1/2 tsp per liter)
- Magnesium Sulfate (1/2 tsp per liter)
- Sodium Chloride (Himalayan pink salt, 1/2 tsp per liter)
- Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda, 1/2 tsp per liter)
The Potassium Chloride and Magnesium Sulfate I get from a special salt I found in the shop. If you live in Denmark you can find SELTIN in Føtex. The rest should be fairly easy to get your hands on 🙂
I hate fasting and I love the benefits.
There will be more coming on fasting, where I will share more in more detail about certain fasts. Like my 24-day juice fast!
PS: Do consult a licensed physician if you are planning to try fasting.