Deluja’s fasting journal

[Deluja]

This journal will document my fasting experience. I’m embarking on an extended water fast. My goal is 50 days water and 23 day refeed. This might be excessive since I’m still technically a healthy weight but I’m on the higher end of that and have enough body fat to sustain me.

I’ve done several extended fasts, the longest was 30 days. I’ve been gluttonous lately and I feel like fasts are the best way to reset after an unhealthy eating period. I also want to fix my relationship with food. I’ve struggled with body image and binging and my whole life.

I also know the health benefits of extended fasting are plenty and although I don’t have any serious health issues, if there’s anything lurking I want to nip it in the bud.

I’m 25 lbs away from my dream weight and I haven’t been able to reach it through diet and exercise. Today for the first time I was able to visualize what I will look like at my dream weight and I’m more motivated than ever to reach it.

During my fast I will be drinking water, ACV, black coffee, herbal tea, pink Himalayan sea salt, potassium salt, magnesium pill, multivitamin and nutritional yeast.

I had my last meal at 10pm tonight and I’ll break my fast at 10pm on April 7th with a bowl of bone broth.

[Rs517]

"I’ve been gluttonous lately and I feel like fasts are the best way to reset after an unhealthy eating period. ". <— related to this statement! You’re not alone, what an incredible goal you’ve set for yourself. Congrats!

[Duscle]

50days? Awesome! Never heard of anyone doing this length of time. I am rooting for you. I will be following your amazing feat.

[Deluja]

50 is my max. I want to compete at least 30 days and I’ll take it day by day.

There have been documented cases of people fasting for over a year. As long as you have enough body fat, you don’t need food.

[Deluja]

Today is Day 1. I’ve just finished my second coffee and I’m feeling wired and anxious. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and haven’t had any hunger yet. I went for a short walk in the afternoon. We have catered lunches at work and today was my favourite restaurant. My boyfriend loves when I fast because that means I bring all of the meals home to him. It’s his birthday today and if he wants to go out for dinner I’ll go and officially start my fast tomorrow, but I’m hoping he doesn’t want to. Hopefully he’ll be satisfied with the restaurant food I’m bringing him, it’s his favourite too. I’m drinking water and staying positive. I watched Yasemin’s video on how to prepare mentally for a fast last night. It was really well done and touched on all of the important things to consider before starting a fast. I wish I had stumbled upon it sooner! Anyways I’m ready, I’m doing this, I’m going to be successful this time. The time is now!

[Compdude]

I wish you the best of luck and hope you get to join me in the 40+ club. Currently there’s myself @compdude who did a 40 and a recently completed 21 day, @anna who did a 30-day and @Eladsgarr who just completed a 41 day. You can check out our journals for info and motivation. Just a suggestion.

[Freedumb]

Best of luck!

[Deluja]

Day 2 today.

Thankfully my boyfriend didn’t want to go out for a birthday dinner. I haven’t told him I’m fasting yet, I want to wait as long as possible before telling him. I’ve had a few false starts before and don’t want any added pressure. Plus I feel like he subconsciously tries to sabotage my efforts. As soon as I’m fasting all of a sudden he talks about food non-stop and wants to order pizza or go out for dinner when he doesn’t usually.

I don’t plan on telling anyone other than him that I’m fasting. From my experience people get really weird about it and take it personally. It brings out their insecurities - if I’m changing then that must mean they need to change too. They pay extra close attention to how I behave and look for changes in my body. Their unsolicited comments and opinions make me self-conscious and stressed. They also tend to try to sabotage either blatantly or subtly. Last time I was fasting my sister sent me a bunch of articles about how fasting is bad for you. Obviously you can find articles to support any point of view, that doesn’t make it valid. My other sister would wave food and wine in my face and talk about how delicious it is and how I need to have some. Luckily my coworkers don’t pay attention to if or what I eat, except for one particular coworker who I only work with on Fridays. She’s always curious about what you’re having for lunch and if you don’t eat by what she thinks is an acceptable time, she gets really worked up and demands you eat immediately. It makes me uncomfortable and stressed even when I’m not fasting. I’m not sure how I will deal with her on Fridays.

I had trouble getting out of bed this morning and feel really sluggish. I feel better after coffee but still a little slow. I had a moment of intense hunger but it passed quickly. The baked goods at the coffee shop looked delicious today but they will still be there when I’m done and will taste so much better without the added guilt.

Overall I’m feeling really excited about completing this fast. I can’t wait to see the changes in my mind and body. I truly believe this will be life changing. I’m trying not to be too focused on the outcome and focus on the process. It’s amazing how much more time I have in a day now that I’m not thinking about what to eat, going to stores or restaurants, cooking or eating food.

[Freedumb]

I too incountered resistance from my family. I had no idea that anyone would care one way or the other about fasting. They certainly don’t care if I kill myself with sugar, but fasting…”have you checked with a doctor about this? It can’t be good to go so long without food! You are going to starve to death!”.

[Deluja]

I’m on Day 2. I restarted yesterday due to an unexpected social event.

I weighed in lower than expected so I think I will stop at 40 days. That also coincides with the end of the month so I will have my first meal on April 1.

Overall I’m feeling just fine. I had a class today and was alert. A little hunger, but not much. I’m currently curled up with a heat pad on my stomach.

Bf ordered Chinese tonight. At least he has been better about not talking about food around me. He stopped himself a couple of times.

Fasting is easy as long as I keep myself busy. It’s easy during the week because I’m at work, the weekends are difficult. Tomorrow I’m going to clean the house top to bottom, run a bunch of errands and do some work. That should keep my mind occupied …

[Deluja]

I’ve had some unexpected stress that lead me to turn to comfort eating. I’m going to take 5 days to prepare myself physically and mentally and I’m going to officially start March 1. My goal is to go through March without eating at all - 31 days. And after that I’ll take it day by day.

I’ve been reading about this potato diet that some users here have been doing. Maybe this is what I need for the next 5 days to kill my cravings. Does anyone know of this really works?

[Compdude]

Yes. I did a 14-day and broke my sugar/carb addiction and reset my taste palate before I started fasting. @anna also did a 10-day potato diet before fasting and she completed a 30-day fast in December.

I just finished Day 3 of a 7-Day Potato Fast. The purpose is for detox reasons this time around. I finished a 21-day fast about 2 weeks ago, and the elevated uric acid level from the fast combined with toxins released from burning decades old fat caused an arthritic attack last Thursday. In each of my entries I provide a little more information on the Potato Diet and YouTube videos.

The name of that Daily Journal is S2E4 7-Day Potato Diet Journal, if you’re interested in looking at it.

[Deluja]

@Compdude Thanks for the information. I’m going to try it for 5 days then restart my fast.

[Deluja]

I ate two diced air fried potatoes last night. I haven’t been hungry yet today and it’s 7pm so maybe potatoes are the secret to getting your appetite in check. I was planning on restarting my fast on March 1st but if this lack of hunger continues then I’ll keep it going.

[Deluja]

38 hours in. My brain keeps playing the trick where it tells me I can just eat now and start over again tomorrow. I don’t think I can handle another day 1, I have to keep going. Somehow giving myself permission to eat makes me want to keep going. I’m feeling fine, I haven’t felt much hunger at all.