Maga’s fasting journey

Hi everyone,

I have been pondering about going on a fast for a few days now. I have been getting a lot of digestive issues and related sinus headaches because I am intolerant to a lot of foods - gluten, dairy, some grains, oddly enough peas and figs too. Also now would be a great time to do it since I am primarily home bound. I plan to start my fast tomorrow - Sept 17, 2020 and go upto 4 to 7 days. I am not new to fasting - have done a 40 day master cleanse, many juice fasts usually under 14 days and very few short water fasts - however I have always messed up breaking the fast. Always. So I decided to post and get some guidance from the forum on this and posting makes me accountable too. Another thing is that it takes me a few trys to get through the first day and start the fast which I want to avoid this time too. I saw the fasting stickies video and made my self a few too.

Major challenges anticipated:

  1. Tried to maintain a good pre fast diet but failed miserably. So the detox symptoms will be bad. Need to push through the first 3 days no matter what.
  2. My family and social life revolves around food (like everyone else) and this will be very challenging. Have some social occasions coming up.

Goals:

  1. Fast up to the point of experiencing extreme mental clarity. At that point I need to reflect on life goals, plan and action to navigate personal challenges. For this I need to at least do 4 days.
  2. Focus on the refeed and post fast diet. A smaller fast is better for me as long as I break it in the right way.
  3. Heal the gut. Decide on a diet plan after that works in the long term.
  4. Get organized.
  5. Get a break from everything.
  6. Get over the vape habit and quit it forever.
  7. Focus on an exercise, yoga, meditation or light exercise routine whilst fasting and later.
  8. The point is to feel energy and not tired after the fast which will come through dietary changes.
    

Cheers,
Maga

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Day 1
Day 1 started last night at 10 pm. As of now there is no hunger… but I saw breakfast and immediately felt like eating. I need to avoid the kitchen. It’s not going great since I have a lingering headache from yesterday which I have been experiencing almost every week. Also I saw the Unwell episode on Netflix and it really upset me. Anyway, I will take it one day at a time and only focus on water until bed time.
Maga

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Day 1

Day 1 will be complete in an hour and a half. WooHoo!!! Here are the highlights:

  1. So far I have thought of breaking the fast 500 times at least. Not because I was hungry, but because I was very tempted by food. I should not enter the kitchen.
  2. Felt headachy on and off through the day. This is a lingering headache from eating dairy, not a detox symptom. I thought of having an advil, but then just pushed through.
  3. Napped, well slept, for 3 hours and it was amazing. I will probably be up at night now, but thats fine.
  4. I started on a breathing exercise for when I got a craving to vape. Extremely helpful and easy. Just deep inhales and exhales really really deep for 2 mins or until your head feels all tingly.
  5. Made pancakes in the morning for the kids. Much harder than I thought. I need a strategy to be stronger and not give into the moment. Today taking it one day at a time has worked. I just told myself - Get through 10 pm, complete day 1 and then decide what you want to do.
  6. My starting weight is 93.5 Kgs. I dont expect to have major weight loss that I can sustain. So will remeasure towards the end of the fast.
  7. I need to carefully choose what I watch and read about fasting. The Netflix unwell show was not a good choice last night.

Happy fasting all!!!

Maga

This introduction was long overdue, and I put it off for 3 days… so here goes-
Intro
Hello everyone. I am Maga and am looking for a reboot in my health.

Why
I am doing this to change my food habits and health in the future. I want to feel more energetic and not suffer from a food coma all the time.

Long Term and Short Term Goals:
Long term goals: To incorporate a fasting lifestyle with quarterly 5 day fasts and regular omad/2mad diet.

Short term goals: To complete this side, gain some mental clarity and then do some planning in all areas of life. I need to break the fast properly – maybe to break the fast with a juice fast and broth for a few days and then OMAD or a 16/4 IF.

What are some struggles you face or you have faced in the past
Mental fog, food coma (due to intolerances), generally slowing down, lack of focus and over indulgence in food.

What is your game plan?

  • Do this fast for at least 4 days or until I feel mental clarity.
  • Break the fast properly – Broth/Juice for a few days and then OMAD for 4 days
  • Fortnight 1 day juice fast
  • Quarterly 5 day water fast.

How do I feel right now?
I am on day 2 now. Feel a bit bored with the extra time. Need to keep busy. Excited to reach day 4 and see how it goes.

How will I feel once I achieve my goal?
It will feel like a much needed win amongst all the chaos. The real achievements lie in my choices post fast.

Daily Affirmation
Keep on keeping on. See food as medicine – Ask yourself how this food will benefit you before putting it in your mouth.

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Day 2

Day 2 is done – yay!! Here are the highlights.

  • Headache was very minimal through the day, but has shot up now.
  • Had multiple very light BMs. Will not talk about that.
  • Tongue was completely white today.
  • Got some weird tingling sensation on my face too.
  • Was around food all day. Cooked and was around junk food. I did experience some food for thought and even more thought for food. But managed to stay away.
  • I was actually thinking if I will ever be able to control the frequency of meals, be able to avoid foods that I have grown up with since they don’t suit me for an extended period and I concluded that it would be feasible to do healthy foods at least for half the week – with a few cheat meals. Now I am thinking it was just a waste of time thinking about food so much – just take it a day at a time and be conscious of what you put into your mouth.
  • Feel like I have been grinding my teeth a lot which adds to the headache.
  • I was doing a pure water only fast until now. But if things get to a point of me caving in, I will have black coffee or a pinch of Himalayan salt or a electrolyte drink.
  • Overall today was easy but annoying. Easy because I knew I would not break my fast. Annoying due to the headache. But I am excited to get through day 2.
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Day 3

Day 3 iwas done last night… kind of… Here are the highlights.

  • Totally screwed up today. I did not eat anything, however I did vape in a moment of weakness. Then I almost thought that the whole fast has become useless and I should restart. But eventually I decided to stick to it and just focus on doing better henceforth.
  • Had multiple light BMs - all water - its a bit scary.
  • Tongue was completely white again.
  • There is some cake slice with chocolate chips in my kitchen. I smelled it 50000 times at least. Just smelling it is so wonderful. I also have been sniffing some other dishes prepared today.
  • The headache gets better and worse through the day. Overall its a lighter than yesterday.
  • Tomorrow I will achieve the initial goal of 4 days, if all things go well… however I may extend by a few days to reach that state of mental clarity.
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Short post before I forget.

Today was great. Feeling good. My wife is really concerned about me and thinks I will drop at any second. She asked me to stop torturing myself and I just said ‘fasting is my path to spiritual, mental, health and personal growth.’ Not sure why I never articulated this before because its totally true.

Long story shot the words had more of an impact on me than my wife :slight_smile: :innocent: She still thinks this is insane.

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It’s hard for people who have never researched it. Many people still think you will die if you don’t eat for a week. Just a lack of education. Glad you are able to hang in there. I find it harder when the people closest to us aren’t supportive. Maybe you could share a fasting video on Youtube with her?

Glad you are still checking in!

Exactly. Over the years shes seen me fast on green juices and do a 20/4 or OMAD… but never a pure water fast. I will send a video to her and hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion.

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** Day 4 **

Day 4 was easy. Here are the hightlights:

  • Slight negligible headaches.
  • I can breathe soooo deep today. Its like parts of my lungs have opened up that I did not know existed.
  • Sinus has cleared up signigicantly.
  • I am getting in the zone now.
  • Meditation was 10 times more powerful.
  • My wife is fed up with this… so now I need to put up with it… I am hoping I get a few days more. Lets see.
  • Again 2 BMs water only. Dont know whats going on.
  • I tried to do a walk for 30 mins and that was fun, but I am unable to do any vigorous exercise. Just dont feel upto it. I am inspired by other posters and will try to do more tomorrow.

Happy fasting everyone!!
Maga

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Day 5 - Easy and Boring. Here are the highlights

  • Have a bad rash behind my neck. WTF. This had happened to me a few times.
  • BMs still only liquid.
  • I may need to break the fast soon as my work from home days may end next week. Cant afford to run to the restroom every hour or have surprise BMs. Let’s see. For now I have decide to do it till tomorrow until work plans are finalized. It’s really a shame to quit for this reason when I am feeling strong. I think I will transition with bone broth on day 1 and juice on 2 and an OMAD. I will be incorporating bonebroth for the first time since I hear it does wonders for you gut. Please let me know if there is any vegan or vegetarian equivalent of the bone broth in terms of benefits.
  • A bit disappointed that I have not reached the state of mental clarity that I love.
  • I love smelling food now and that’s enough. However it can get dangerous so I need to stop it.

Cheers
Maga

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Keto Rash is pretty common. Heres an article about it:
https://perfectketo.com/keto-rash/

As far as BM’s… could be electrolytes making you go more often. Magnesium will definitely do that as well large amounts of salt. Not sure if you are using those?

I don’t think there’s an equivalent alternative to bone broth as it is heavy in protein but you can find vegetable broth at the store if you need a replacement. Just won’t have the protein.

I love smelling food on fasts too. I make my sons meals and get a weird pleasure from watching him eat! Probably not a good thing, though!! Very tempting.

You’ve done really well so far! Hang in there as long as you feel able!

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Awesome link about the ketogenic rash. I am just going to see if it heals itself.

About the BMs… I am just doing distilled water no electrolytes or salts. It does feel like deep cleaning if you will though but very inconvenient.

I am primarily vegetarian but occasionally eat meat whilst out of the house. We never bring it home. But I will give chicken or lamb broth a shot since people say it does wonders.

Another update… my wife and I have a call with a wholistic healer who fasts tomorrow or day after depending on his schedule. This is someone we respect so it should do the tick.

Thanks a ton for the info!

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Day 6

Day 6 was blah.

  • Felt low on energy and did not want to do anything. Literally, I just wanted to sit.
  • Various detox symptoms - pain in my right leg and when it disappeared, my left knee started to pain for sometime. Very manageable but a bit strange. Felt excited about literally nothing today. I was so bored of this that I actually had moments when i wanted to quit, but after day 3 its easy to ignore those impulses.
  • @yasmin Is it possible to have a way to post SOS messages, maybe another board or something we write in the subject line like “SOS” if we have thoughts of quitting. Others can weigh in and it may save a few fasts. I know you should listen to your body, but sometimes there is temptation of food and sometimes after the hard part is over its just becomes a bit boring and dull like I experienced today. The ground rule may be that if you think of ending prematurely first post an SOS and wait for a few replies.
  • I did not have any BMs, but felt not great through the day and kept burping. Think its related.
  • Had a headache in the evening too.
  • Anyway, I want to continue this but my circumstance will not allow me too. I am thinking maybe a day or 2 more if I am lucky. So I have made a refeed plan and posted it. Please give any input here. Any advise would be helpful. I needed to cusotmize it to optimize gut health and food sensitivities. Link: The reefed plan - feel free to advise or tweak or add or remove stuff
  • Now I will try to sleep but not getting any. Hoping tomorrow is better and euphoric. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,
Maga

Day 7

Day 7 - Rollercoaster. Could not post last night so doing it now.

  • Could not get sleep until 3 am amd then vomitted some liquid that looked like slime water. Gradually felt better thereafter.
  • Was irritated with low energy and itchy rash until 5 PM. After that I slowly started to feel amazing. At that point I thought I should extend the fast a lot more.
  • I need to have a plan to focus on more productive things so that I am not bored. I did some gardening last night.
  • I applied coconut oil on the rash and the itch disappeared … but the rash is still there.

Cheers
Maga

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Day 8
Day 8 - done!! was a breeze. Initial goal achieved as I did 7 days!!

  • The rash continues and not much else to report.
  • Feeling sleepy early today so that’s good.
  • Deciding to hang on until I can.

Edit: Slept for a hour an worke up… my mind is super active. Body can use the rest.
Regards
Maga

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how long are you going for @maga? Hows the rash, Is it going away and is your wife on board now?

Hey Klye,

Thanks for checking in. In a surprising turn of events the supreme court (aka wife) has granted an extension. I sent her some videos and then we talked to this wholistic doctor who is an avid water fasting practitioner. That seemed to calm her down by 50% but shes still really freaking out. This morning she told me she would recommend fasting for her brother since he is a heavy smoker. So big win. She keeps asking me how long but honestly I dont know. It’s about feeling better and I want to stay in ketosis as long as possible which will happen only during the fast. To be honest I am hoping it cures a lot of abuse that I have done to my body and the weight loss is seductive - almost 11 kgs! It’s very shallow but I get inspired when I fit into my old suits and shirts that I could not button. Please dont judge :relaxed:

On the other hand if the rash gets worse I may throw the towel in. It’s in a very small area behind the neck. The itch gets annoying. But coconut oil soothes it. I think its getting better but my wife sees no difference. It’s on the back of my neck so I cant tell.

BTW the conversation with the wholistic doctor was riviting and we shared many common thoughts. He asked to to check out the china study and I told him to check out Paradise trap. He also told me about a keto device that helps you check ketosis levels. Will share the link when I get it.

Cheers
Maga

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I’ve been vegetarian most of my life and occasionally I’ll go vegan if I cant get local eggs or dairy. I’ve read The China Study and I wouldn’t waste my time reading it unless you want a highly biased (statistically selective), judgemental, and dogmatic view of particular diets. I hope I’m talking about the same thing you are talking about?

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Yup I believe it’s the same book. But I have no idea about the contents. I am not sure how being vegetarian is related but for the most part I am too. Will take your advise especially since I am not a great reader… I may try to find a summary on youtube for 10 mins since I am a bit intrigued but will keep your thoughts in mind. Thanks for the info!

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