[MightySunTzu]

Hey there angies,

Originally Posted by angies

Wow salut to the fasting experts. There is so much info on this post about fasting. I certainly will follow this thread with much interest.

Welcome to the post . Hopefully before we're done, you'll see a lot more information yet .

Originally Posted by angies

I am not at all a good faster. I have tried twice 1 day fast and did feel pretty good afterward but I love food and all the activities and social aspect of it so I find it is hard to stick with a fast for long.

Everybody loves food . What's not to love? I am no exception and i'm betting that neither is ginkgo.... and nor is Jesus for that matter . I would say the primary difference between somebody who fasts a lot longer than somebody else is that they make a very strong commitment to it. It's easy to get tempted to stop... and the person with the strong commitment won't... or at least won't as soon.

Another element is a person can become a stronger faster through experience. My very first fast of "2 days and 5 hours" seemed like the hardest thing i ever did in my life. Then a month later 3 days wasn't so tough, then 5, then 10. Learning about it can make a person stronger too. Knowing all of the good that is going on in your body (and mind, soul and emotions) and being excited about it makes it quite a bit easier to resist the formidable temptation of food. I suppose it comes down to coming to a place within yourself where the fast is more important to you than any food temptation. The temptation can be so strong that it might be compared to being faithful to your wife when you have a sea of opportunities to cheat on her (or even just one).

As to the social activities with food, i enjoy going, but i just don't eat... and no amount of "peer pressure" will change that... and i tell you the truth, there can be a lot of it. People with good intentions really believe they are doing you a favor if they can get you to eat, but not knowing whatsoever the reasons you have for wanting to fast and the phenomenal benefits you will receive.

Often times, even if i "wanted to" break the fast i couldn't, because i am a big believer in the essential aspect of "easing out of the fast very gently" to gradually reawaken your hibernating digestive system... with 1 day of live juice (and some fresh veg. broth) for every 4 days of water and then 1 day of fruits and vegetables (about 90% live) for every 4 days of water+juice.

So if i am 7 days into a fast and go to a barbeque, however tempting those beef ribs might be, there's no way i would be so undisciplined as to eat them. My digestive system simply wouldn't be ready for this (nor even something quite a bit simpler) and I would be deeply commited to drinking juice for 2 days before even biting into a grape.

And it's not that a grape would harm me... but it would be quite easy for one's appetite to run wild at this stage. Too much fruit (or vegetables) too early can get you into trouble, but juice is so exceedingly digestively simple that it would be very difficult to overtax your system with it.

Originally Posted by angies

Can I ask the experts a few questions. How do you handle the mental aspect of fasting. ie. Do you miss food or have any craving?

Food is awesome, so it's hard not to miss it, but i think an experienced faster finds ways to miss it less. For me i would have to say it's about focusing on my goal and not allowing anything to get in the way. I won't let myself get too deep into craving food... i'll "crave" my goal instead. By the way, cravings are generally quite a bit the lesser by the start of day 3 or 4. One important reason is that ketosis is a powerful appetite suppressant. Most cravings after this point will be entirely emotional accompanied by no feeling of physical hunger.

Originally Posted by angies

Is there any activities that you purposely set out to do to get your mind off food?

At this moment 3.9 days in, i have no such need, but when i am (or was) feeling hungry or tempted, reading helps a lot, working if you feel up to it, socializing, watching a good movie... and walking actually serves to directly suppress my appetite. I enjoyed a nice hike in the forest today. Appreciation of nature is quite deeply enhanced.

Originally Posted by angies

Do you still doing your normal daily activities such as working and running errants or you go on some sort of holiday mode?

I can fast within most of my normal activities, though fasting is "nicest" when ones commitments are minimized. Holiday mode would genuinely be ideal... but on the other hand, for some fasters, working might make the time pass more easily. One fast i worked a hard 8/40 and i was on my feet the whole time. I would much rather have been doing something more relaxing, but i had to do what i had to do. i notice that my upper back gets very tired very easily. I believe it's because the muscle glycogen is gone and the glycogen took 4x its weight in water with it. A faster's muscles are not their normal pumped up selves.

Another limitation as i mentioned above is that I greatly relax the intensity of my cardio and eliminate any weight lifting. I also avoid lifting 50 pound bags of cement. Quite literally, i avoided that today as some cement work was being done at my house and part of me wanted to help. I would be able to lift it, yes, but it would be a very bad idea in a fast... far too strenuous. If my work involved heavy lifting, i wouldn't opt to fast... I would, however, fast on friday/saturday/sunday and juice fast/feast monday through thursday. The first day of a water fast a person will generally still be plenty strong.

I experimented in one fast with intense cardio and actually was able to do it for the first 4 days, but felt really wound up at bedtime (not unlike being overly caffeinated)... my heart rate was revved up instead of being delightfully relaxed the way a fast normally makes it... and was still amped when i awoke the next morning. These symptoms convinced me to take it easy with brisk walking being the upper limit.