Veronica's Daily Journal

[veronica31]

Hi everyone,

I’m embarking on a 10 day minimum water fast starting last night. I’ve reached a point where I desperately need a reset to detox physically and mentally. I’ve completed a 6 or 7 day water fast in December and felt great. The hardest part I find is at night - going to bed hungry and without alcohol. Sleep can be very hard for me during water fasting, but I need to remind myself of how great I feel in the morning. Another challenge for me was not dropping weight initially like most people here do because of rebound edema from years of damage I’ve done to my body. I did find using ketone sticks helpful to keep me motivated during that time, as I was reassured that I was indeed deep into ketosis and had to be losing fat.

My goals are to lose weight I’ve gained recently (dropping 15-20 pounds would make me feel amazing again) and to stop what I would call nightly compulsive overeating episodes. I don’t have a scale and generally avoid weighing myself (especially right now when I’m holding on to a lot of edema). However, clothes/the mirror are the best indicator to me about my weight.

Those of you who are completing long fasts or have done so in the past are huge inspirations to me and I will be using your experiences as major motivation.

[Compdude]

Nice to see you back! Cheering you on!

[veronica31]

Day 2 (37 hours in). Still very “hungry,” which is so strong and very hard to handle. Went on a walk yesterday evening with my mom and dog. I am working from home during the week which is a good distraction.

Woke up very puffy and barely urinating at all since yesterday, which is expected due to the damage I’ve caused my body. I won’t go into too many details, but years of abuse in the form of eating/pills. I resent that I’m not the typical person dropping weight like crazy in the first few days (I gain water from not using pills).

I checked my ketones and perhaps slight ketosis, but hopefully later today it will be stronger. I’m finding the fact that there is a May 1st group challenge going on right now to be very helpful and motivating and will continue checking in on that.

[Yasemin]

I’m happy you are feeling motivated !!! Love your journaling too! Keep it up, you got this!

[veronica31]

Day 3 (62 hours). Still hungry and I find that I have to keep telling myself why I’m doing this. The why is HUGE, so I need to just keep thinking about it over and over, and taking it one day at a time. Seeing that I’m in heavy ketosis from urine strips, despite not showing any weight loss, is very motivating.

Waking up, I seem to miss the planning of what I’ll eat. I find it hard to enjoy tv etc in the evening without having food to go with it. I’m still holding onto a lot of water, so I know my body needs more time to heal.

I have been drinking a black coffee in the morning, flavoured water (0 cal things you add to a bottle of water) throughout the day and peppermint tea. I haven’t felt too thirsty which is nice, so I feel like I’m drinking just enough water that I need without overdoing it (which is crucial based on my medical edema condition that I am curing).

Will be very happy to make it past day 3 - something about 4 days sounds so much more for some reason haha.

[veronica31]

Day 4 (87 hours). Didn’t sleep at all last night I’m used to drinking alcohol every night, so going without it is very challenging for sleep. Sleeping pills do nothing for me - I seem to have the opposite reaction, as demonstrated last night when I was up all night even with zoplicone (I won’t be trying those again, will try alternatives).

Still hungry, but happy to have made it to day 4. I still haven’t lost any “weight” due to water retention from detox from pills, but I am in heavy ketosis. Constantly recalling my “why” and other’s successes as I ride through the discomfort. Following along with May 7 day challenge group is very nice and I love that Yasemin is making videos again - perfect timing Looking forward to Monday when I resume my work from home schedule - a nice distraction.

[veronica31]

Day 5! (109 hours). Another night of trouble sleeping, but so grateful to be at day 5. Still hungry haha - I seem to remember last time I fasted this long that my hunger went down by now. Other than the hunger and lack of sleep, I feel good. The edema puffiness may even be going down some.

I’ve found that during this fast I’ve literally had to occupy myself on my laptop the whole time, rather than simply just sitting and watching TV. I need the brain occupation to take my mind off hunger - something to focus on. I plan on going for a walk later today with my mom and dog, which is another good distraction.

[veronica31]

Day 6! (over 132 hours). Last time I fasted in December, I made it 6 days I believe, but I’m determined to give this detox a real shot and change my life once and for all. My goal this time was 10 days, which would take me until this Saturday night - but I’m just taking it one day at a time.

Another night of no sleep, but otherwise feeling pretty good physically and mentally. I can’t believe how I literally can’t sleep without my crutches of food and alcohol. I tried magnesium citrate last night, and I’ve tried sleeping pills - nothing. I’m so used to using alcohol to knock me out at night.

Still hungry, but noticing the edema going down, so well worth it. Another good reinforcement for me to keep going is when I checked my ketones this morning, they were as high as it gets in the colour chart, so I know I’m burning fat Looking forward to tonight when I’m in Day 7!

[Compdude]

Keep it up! Proud of your persistence.

[veronica31]

Thank you so much! Your fasting is such an inspiration to me - thank you for sharing it and helping others along the way

[veronica31]

Day 7! (157 hours). I’m beginning to think my non-existent sleep is primarily due to alcohol withdrawal, as I was previously using it every night to relax and fall asleep (and had progressively been using more and more). I was up all night last night, eagerly waiting for the morning when I could do things. I read a good portion of an entire novel on my phone. Usually reading in bed zonks me out, but not this time. My brain seems to need constant stimulation and all night I just thought and thought about things I wanted to do today for work etc.

Surprisingly, I managed another walk yesterday evening with my mom and dog. I don’t quite have my normal energy obviously, but it was manageable (even though my mom is a very fast walker and I had to ask her to slow down a bit given my circumstances haha). She’s pretty supportive of what I’m doing because it means going cold turkey off the pills I was using for years. I live in my own apartment and my mom lives in the one next to me, so I’m not dealing with other people eating and cooking in front of me, which would be a huge hindrance. I don’t think I could ever do this without living on my own.

The edema is really going away now, and I’m finally noticing my body changing It feels great to start slowly feeling more comfortable again. I’ve learned from past mistakes and I really think this time will be a game changer for me - I know the second I take the pills again, I restart all of my hard work. I’m determined to get back to a normal, functioning body for good.

[Compdude]

Congrats on completing a week. That’s a major milestone.

[veronica31]

Day 8 (181 hours). Wow, feels great to have gotten this far. My initial goal was 10 days (minimum 7). I think I can make it to the 10 and go from there depending on the result and how I feel. The biggest thing for me when fasting is that I have so much mental energy that constantly wants to be used (even in the middle of the night haha). I love having tasks to focus on much more when I’m fasting. TV/movies aren’t as easy, and I need to be on my laptop with the TV in the background, as I can’t just sit and focus on a show or movie too long on its own. I feel good energy-wise and also perhaps a bit less hunger today than I had been experiencing . I decided not to go on a walk yesterday, as I felt I didn’t have the energy to enjoy it. Maybe today though.

[Compdude]

Wise to monitor to heed your body’s energy level. Happy to see you setting a new personal record with each day.

[veronica31]

Day 9 (204 hours)! I’ve noticed my energy has been increasing the past couple of days and don’t feel as week. I managed a walk yesterday evening with my dog. My mind still seems to be constantly racing all day and night, with thoughts of things to do etc. My hunger has gone down a bit more as well. My original goal was 10 days (which I never thought I’d make) and now I actually think I’m going to be able to do it. I’m not set on that though, as it was just a minimum - if I still feel good by then, then one day at a time

[Compdude]

Your body is adjusting to drawing on your fat stores for energy. Its an adjustment as its harder to break down fat for energy than glucose.

You’ll learn to fill the extra time. From my Daily Journals you’ve seen how I’ve been doing that! LOL

You’re past the hard part. Then next challenge is when you get to the visceral fat and start going through detox.

[kim_luis]

You can do it

[veronica31]

Thank you! Cheering you on as well

[veronica31]

Day 10 (230 hours). Lots of energy today - so strange - no weakness whatsoever, which is very different than the first few days when my legs felt weak walking around. Slept a bit better last night, maybe 6 or so hours. I’m used to sleeping in late on weekends after drinking too much alcohol, so it’s so different to wake up early. Since I feel the need to be occupied all of the time lately, I’ll have to keep busy today - walk the dog later with my mom, maybe tidy up/clean, the usual non-stop Internet browsing/Facebook haha. I’m going to keep going for now (2 weeks would be amazing, but as I said before, one day at a time).

[veronica31]

Day 11 (254 hours). So far the fast as done exactly what I had hoped it would - reset my body to naturally regulate its fluid again (although I may be still holding onto a bit of water since I’m not urinating that much yesterday and today despite drinking lots of herbal tea). I have incorporated some sodium in recently, so that could be it. A few more days and I should be good to transition to low carb. Another big reason I needed this fast is because of the binging habit that had become ingrained in my daily routine each night (most of the food was very healthy and low carb, like asparagus, shrimp, low carb wraps, etc.) but I was non-stop eating from evening until night when I was absolutely stuffed and bloated. I will need to really focus on not undoing all of this hard work by going back to that habit/comfort. It will be conscious effort to stop eating after a planned meal and do something else. The food (and alcohol) allowed me to zone out, making the time fly by in the evening. But it came with majorly negative side effects.

Today I’ll be walking the dog with my mom again later and maybe picking up KFC for her for Mother’s Day (her request, but I don’t have any temptation to eat it myself) and luckily, having my own apartment beside hers, I don’t have to sit around, smell it and watch her eat it haha. I’ve also been enjoying colouring this weekend in front of the TV as a way to pass time until the workweek begins again Monday (working from home).

Wishing everyone else a nice, relaxing Mother’s Day Sunday.