Fasting Update

      Hello, world. :)

      I am feeling fairly weak and useless physically at the moment. Nevertheless, I am happy and well satisfied with my decisions. I suppose the the EFT has been useful. After weeks of trying to start fasting and stopping after a few hours each time I have finally gotten going. I skipped breakfast the first day and then had healthy light snacks throughout the rest of the day. I had an almond and a small taste of an artisan feta at the farmers market that first morning and about an ounce and half of that same sheep's milk feta around 4 in the afternoon of the same day. So Friday and Saturday were not true fasting, but they were my start. Yesterday and so far today I am fasting. I haven't even done the EFT yet today but if I start really being tempted to quit I will go do it. In case anyone is wondering, I did take the Lord's supper on Sunday, which maybe some people would consider cheating on a fast. But I intend to take it again next Sunday even if I am somehow still managing to stay on my fast.

      One nice development has been that when I was super hungry yesterday in the late afternoon, which of course happens when starting a fast, my husband encouraged me to continue on and be on a fast. He said, I'd feel better about myself which really shows that he understands this situation and that will make doing this easier. When I did my 5 day fast earlier in the year he was really scared that it would be a bad thing and it made it an additional worry. I felt that maybe I should quit if he was against it. Now I suppose I don't have to worry about that.

      Sometimes people drive when fasting and other people don't. You really have to wait and watch and see how it is effecting you. I slept in the morning far later than I usually do. I woke up with a start at 9:12, apparently having realized in my sleep that I have a chiropractic appointment. So I got up as quickly as I could in my bleary eyed state and threw my clothes on and made it to the chiropractor by 9:31, just one minute late. By the time I got home I felt weak enough that I knew I won't be driving anywhere else for the next couple of hours. Hopefully I'll be better later in the day.

      With my three to four hours of extra sleep, I hope I am giving my body all that it needs to detox and do whatever other hard work it does while fasting! So I certainly intend to stick with this through tomorrow morning at least. I know many people start out with strict goals as to how many days they intend to go. I find that I do much better emotionally if I just start with the hope of going for a long time and the determination to be flexible and stop when I stop without any self-recrimination no matter whether is longer or shorter. I know from long time fasters that if you just keep going, eventually you get to a state of "true hunger" after a prolonged period of no hunger at all. My thought is to try to get to the no hunger stage and stick with it till I have a reason to quit whether that be "true hunger" or some pragmatic reason associated with the circumstances in my life. Although I know it would be the maximum health benefit to go till I experience the feeling of "true hunger", I imagine that I will quit before that for practical reasons.

      When you fast you have to be ready to do less. Additionally, when you fast, you have to plan on how many days you will need to spend "refeeding". You cannot fast for more than a day and then just suddenly start eating normally. Your body will have a very bad reaction to that first meal and no telling how long till it recovers and you can eat normally. Some people recommend that refeeding equal the number of days that you fasted. But long time fasters tend to recommend that if you have fasted for more than 3 or 4 days you will still not need more than 3-4 days for the refeeding process. At least one has said the same thing, except 5 days instead of 3-4. I have decided that it must be a very individual thing and that it will probably be easy enough to figure out for each person once they have fasted for more than 4 days because the fasting makes you so very aware of your body's cues.

      Most of the information available on the internet about refeeding is from vegans, juicers and raw foodist, groups that tend to be open to things such as fasting. But fasting is a universal. It is not the exclusive domain of those who hold any specific food or health philosophies. And if you search hard enough you can find modern people who are advocates of raw milk and/or high fat diets who also have experience with fasting. I am considering doing my refeeding with fat and protein this time around rather than with raw fruit. I'm also considering doing a bit of a prolonged refeeding. I will at least stretch it out more than three days where my body will remain in ketosis for the first three days of refeeding... like a broth fast to follow the water fast.

      What I know for sure is that I have some time to formulate that plan. I am fasting today. So I am going to go now and enjoy the benefits to prayer and meditation that come with the fasting state! Have a blessed day, friends! :)