I completed my water fast yesterday. I fasted for 17 days and 3 hours, which is longer than I’ve ever fasted before. This post is a summary of the experience, building upon what I shared on Day 6 of the fast.
Motivation
This isn’t the same world people lived in 100 years ago. The unfortunate truth is that we now live in an environment filled with toxins that our bodies weren’t evolved to efficiently eliminate. These toxins include pesticides, herbicides, pollution, heavy metals, plastics, animal hormones, pharmaceuticals, radiation, and more. We’re exposed to such toxins merely by drinking water, breathing air, and eating food, so consuming toxins is a part of everyday modern life. We’re all toxic to some degree or another, and some people …show more content…
So I was driven mainly by curiosity and the potential mental benefits.
The Fasting Experience
I had my last meal (a green smoothie) on the morning of August 25th, so I called the start time at 10:15am that morning. I figured it would be easier to begin the fast in the morning after a meal, and in retrospect I think that was a good idea. The first several hours of a fast are pretty easy, so I wanted those hours to be during the daytime. That way when I began feeling hungry, I’d get to sleep and advance the fast for several more hours while sleeping. If I had begun the fast after an evening meal, then I’d be wasting a sleep period on the easiest hours.
Because I ate that morning, the first day was indeed pretty easy, and I was just as productive as usual. I felt hungry in the evening, and by then it was time for bed.
Days 2 and 3 were the hardest. I felt hungry a lot, my energy was low, and it was hard to concentrate. I couldn’t get much done those days, but I expected that to happen, so I took it easy. When it felt difficult, I reminded myself to just take it one hour at a time. I loved when it started getting dark since then I could sleep through several more hours of the fast. The first three days took the most self-discipline of the whole fast. My goal each day was just to endure until
Motivation
This isn’t the same world people lived in 100 years ago. The unfortunate truth is that we now live in an environment filled with toxins that our bodies weren’t evolved to efficiently eliminate. These toxins include pesticides, herbicides, pollution, heavy metals, plastics, animal hormones, pharmaceuticals, radiation, and more. We’re exposed to such toxins merely by drinking water, breathing air, and eating food, so consuming toxins is a part of everyday modern life. We’re all toxic to some degree or another, and some people …show more content…
So I was driven mainly by curiosity and the potential mental benefits.
The Fasting Experience
I had my last meal (a green smoothie) on the morning of August 25th, so I called the start time at 10:15am that morning. I figured it would be easier to begin the fast in the morning after a meal, and in retrospect I think that was a good idea. The first several hours of a fast are pretty easy, so I wanted those hours to be during the daytime. That way when I began feeling hungry, I’d get to sleep and advance the fast for several more hours while sleeping. If I had begun the fast after an evening meal, then I’d be wasting a sleep period on the easiest hours.
Because I ate that morning, the first day was indeed pretty easy, and I was just as productive as usual. I felt hungry in the evening, and by then it was time for bed.
Days 2 and 3 were the hardest. I felt hungry a lot, my energy was low, and it was hard to concentrate. I couldn’t get much done those days, but I expected that to happen, so I took it easy. When it felt difficult, I reminded myself to just take it one hour at a time. I loved when it started getting dark since then I could sleep through several more hours of the fast. The first three days took the most self-discipline of the whole fast. My goal each day was just to endure until