attempting another 24 fast - complete

4 hours ago I completed my second 24 hours fast in 8 days.  I still don't know if there is a benefit to doing this but I have an open mind.  I weighed in once this past week and had dropped 3.5 lbs.  During the afternoon I felt low on energy but didn't struggle to complete the time.  After dinner I had a BM and will be turning in soon with no hunger.

I spent the afternoon at Binder Park Zoo.   I'm often struck by the number of obese people in Michigan.  I am one of them according to my BMI so I'm working my way to just being overweight.  I am hoping fasting can help me change my overall eating habits so that I can reach the goal.

attempting another 24 hour fast - 16.5 hrs complete

I've made it to 10 am the following morning and feel much the same way I did last week.  My stomach is telling me to eat something.  I read a free online book in pdf form called quickfast.pdf.  It says that the symptoms that you experience in fasting are actually the body starting to rid itself of toxins.  Telling myself that I'm not actually hungry but getting cleaner is a technique I'm just starting to use.  Most of the day I'll be spending at Binder Park Zoo which is 90 minutes away.  I'm trying to keep my mind occcupied.  I'll report later, hopefully to be successful and see what worked.

another 24 hour fast - mission aborted

I decided to pull the plug on this fast after just over 6 hours.  I took a nap after work and woke up feeling weak.  Of course this is expected with a fast.  But for a novice like me to be in that place after 6 hours did not bode well for the next 18.  I had a lunch-size meal and am now feeling better.  So I'm starting anew as of 7:20pm and will go through the night and then see how I do tomorrow.  This was my first attempt during the work week.  I'm not going to draw any conclusions except that today wasn't the day.

another 24 hour fast - others' experiences

I've never been very good for keeping secrets.  If I try something bold, I usually tell people about it.  As with fasting, the conventional wisdom about telling others your goals is mixed.  Some say it's best to tell people so you'll be accountable.  Others say just telling people about a goal creates a false sense of fulfillment that prevents them from carrying it out.  I've spoken to friends and others that are for, against, and indifferent about fasting.  The people that are indifferent haven't done one.  But that doesn't stop non-faster from having an opinion.  A Colombian co-worker always criticizes fasting when I bring it up.  In fact, today she told me I was attracting free radicals.  A friend from California by way of Mexico is a huge champion, and says the body needs to take inventory through fasting.  Opinions are as varied as people, so I think if you're curious about it you should try it for yourself.  If you don't want to go to 24 hours, at least try 12 and see if you get hungry.  I have a co-worker friend that's trying it too.  Maybe trying something with another will help.

Starting another 24 hour fast

I've decided to do it again.  Getting back to work brought back to my old eating habits.  Cereal for breakfast, banana, peanut butter toast, carrots with peanut butter.  After eating Chinese lunch (salt and pepper shrimp) and downing two large diet Pepsi's I felt this would be another good occasion to fast.  I'll do periodic updates throughout the next two days.

24 hour fast - hour 24

I finished the fast over an hour ago!  I felt weak as the last two hours dragged on but knew the end was near.

I'd like to say that it was a positive experience overall and I recommend it to anyone without any kind of medical condition that prohibits fasting.  I believe 24 hours is a reasonable amount of time for a beginner.  I also strongly believe (but almost never practice) that humans eat much more than is necessary.  In the USA we are bombarded with advertising of food, and also eat three meals a day and snack too.  Fasting may be a way to fight back against this culture of eating and the habits we've developed for years.  I plan to do another fast soon.

24 hour fast - hour 21

At about 6pm I'll be eating some delicious shrimp poblano tacos with beans.  That's about the only solace I have for my growing hunger.  I have no reported physical benefits of fasting at this time but a small measure of satisfaction for not giving up.  It would be easy to quit now and say 21 hours is enough.  By the way, who decided the 24 hours was the magic number?!  My stomach is growling.  Shortly we'll be going out to an outdoor yoga fest/concert where a friend is performing.  I hope that will keep my mind off food.

24 hour fast - hour 20

After a slow 15 minute swim I went to the grocery store.  When checking out the cashier asked me how I was doing.  I said it was a tough day because I was fasting.  We got to talking and she has done three day fasts on various occasions.  She said she takes vitamins to help her get the nutrients she needs and is either working or cleaning to keep her busy during the fast.  When I asked how whether she felt better at the end, she said yes because her body needed those nutrients.  Based on how she looked I have a feeling she normally eats a poor diet which leads to dietary deficiencies.  Her fast allows her body to spend less time digesting food and more absorbing nutrients.  Only about 4 hours to go!

24 hour fast - hour 19

My wife made some pancakes for the boys this morning.  There are a few leftover sitting on the kitchen counter.  Oh how I would love to eat them.  Hunger plus sights and smells tasty food creates moments of discomfort.  My new tactic is not to even look at them.  This hour I'm going to take a risk.  I'm going to leave the house and go for a swim of not more than 10 or 15 minutes.  I'll report back in an hour.

24 hour fast - hour 18

I've now reached 75% of my goal, which is coincidentally when I've faltered during past attempts at fasting.  I think those times will help me finish these last six hours.  Perhaps out of foolish pride I'm starting to question whether 24 hours is enough time to get the benefits of fasting that I've read about online.  Maybe next week I'll try doing 36 hours.  If you're reading this and have any experience with this please post a comment.

24 hour fast - hour 17

Sleeping from midnight to 11am did wonders for moving through this fast.  Upon waking I felt some hunger.  At one point this morning I woke up and had some gas from yesterday's food so I know there are still some digestive-type processes going on.  Onward ho!

24 hour fast - hour five

11pm, The Kitchen is Closed.  On hundreds of other nights during the year this is when I'd go for that late night snack.  I don't need to read journals or articles about how late night snacking leads to weight gain.  I'm living proof!  Maybe one more post tonight, if not then after waking.

24 hour fast - hour four

4 down, 20 to go.  I've never run a marathon but I imagine I feel similar to the novice marathoner that just finished his or her fourth mile.  They're moving along, confident in their training and preparation, and not anticipating the rough seas ahead.  I've run enough half marathons and 25K races to know that tomorrow will be difficult.  Today at work I learned of a concept called "attitude regardless of circumstances".  I know  I've created circumstances with years of poor eating habits.  Tomorrow my attitude will be paramount.

24 hour fast - hour three

After that nap I decided to go out for a walk with the family.  I no longer feel bloated and now am in the state of being neither hungry nor completely full.  This usually a danger period for me because my mind thinks about food before I do.  What snacks and drinks am I going to have later?  A rum and coke with chips?  Or a healthier choice of a bowl of cereal?  Tonight it will be neither.  Getting to the state of hunger is what I think is the key to losing weight.  When I force myself to feel hunger I only eat two meals a day, which is theoretically cutting my caloric intake by 33%.

24 hour fast - hour two

I spent the better part of this hour napping.  The big dinner is still being digested.  One of the reasons I'm doing this is to experience fasting firsthand .  Possibly like you, fasting is just something I've investigated on the internet.  There is no shortage of stated benefits and dangers of fasting online.  I'll tell it to you straight.  I'm 39 years old and am 50 lbs. away from a "normal" BMI.  I am very active physically but do not lose weight because of my eating habits, which I'm convinced is predictive of so many of our health factors.  I'm occasionally sluggish and have trouble concentrating at work.  There more posts to come.

24 hour fast - hour one

It's just past 7pm and I've completed the first hour of a 24 hour fast.  It was quite easy to do as I ate spaghetti and meatballs for dinner before 6 o'clock.  I have some experience fasting in the past year.  Occasionally on a Saturday I'll see how far I can go.  Usually at about the 16 to 18 hour mark I succumb to hunger.  This time I'm going to blog about the experience as a way to crash through that mythical wall.  More to come soon.