Water Fast

Thursday I completed my first fast! I had considered fasting for a few years, but never felt healthy enough to do so, or committed enough. But lately I have felt that my dietary habits have been going downhill. It was time for a reset. So I chose a 24-hour water fast after reading several articles. (There are many different types of fasts - eg, dry, water, juice, fruit.) This story on NPR explains that it can be healthy to do a short fast up to once a week. It gives the digestive system a break and reduces sugar cravings (which I really need!).

Luckily my best friend agreed to do it with me! Having a partner makes it MUCH easier. We decided to start at 8pm. It is recommended to eat normally the day before a fast. Overeating would likely make you hungrier the next day. Normally I eat three meals a day, with a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack (usually a piece of fruit) in between. I ate normally Wednesday, but made sure not to snack or anything after 8pm. Hopefully that will become a habit!

Breakfast: Skipping breakfast the next morning wasn't too hard - I just drank a big glass of cold water. (And turned down freshly baked muffins.)
Morning: I was a little hungry after a few hours, but water helped. I turned down a fruit platter a coworker brought in.
Lunch: By lunch time I was a little tired and a tiny bit dizzy, but that passed. A pep talk from my bestie helped me through! And helped me say NO to the free pizza (what a day to fast!) and drink water instead.
Afternoon: By 4pm I started getting really hungry, but I was determined to make it! More water.
Dinner: The hardest part was getting home after work - all that food available! But I talked with my bestie again, and laid down to rest a bit. (At this point I decided that it was good to start the fast at night - it would've been really hard to go to sleep that hungry!)

Breaking the fast: We made it!! The best way to end a fast is with a light salad or soup, maybe just diluted juice. After a few hours you can eat more. Um...I started with a diet lemonade, then a salad. But I was so HUNGRY I went ahead and had some chicken too! Although I still felt hungry, I knew I was full after that, and made myself stop eating :)

The next day: I tried to eat normally. It was a weird feeling for me...I felt both more hungry and more full than usual, at the same time. I think my body was trying to catch up on calories, but my stomach must've shrunk a little, or maybe it just reset and told me where I should stop. I listened to the full feeling :) Fasting really made me reevaluate how much I snack and whether or not I'm really hungry. Rather, it helped me define the difference between being hungry and just not being full. All in all, I'm very happy I did it, and I'll probably try it again soon!

PS: Don't forget to ask me anything!