Fasting is a very old medical intervention dating back to antiquity. It costs zero (or arguably saves you) money and provides tons of health benefits.
I did a juice fast a couple of years ago, but I didn’t feel all that great. Then I got pregnant and nursed for quite some time, so after I weaned my son off, I wanted to get rid of the last couple pounds, but more importantly, to reset my hormones and metabolism.
This time around I went for a water fast. First time I tried it, I did it for four days. I was surprised at what was happening to my body that I decided to fast again a month later. A few friends joined and we began sharing what we were experiencing every day.
I learned a lot of interesting things about the whole experience.
First day is tough, I was hungry, and my hands just wanted to put food in my mouth. I distracted myself during lunch and dinners: hot herbal tea and walking around on my lunch breaks. Dinners were particularly difficult because I was preparing food for my son. My husband helped me by taking over feedings and I spent dinner time in the bedroom.
Just after the first day, my body started doing interesting things: all kind of aches and body trauma I accumulated over the years surfaced, for about an hour, and then fizzled out. This was happening on an hourly basis, especially during the first fast. My sleep wasn’t the best, it was filled with strange dreams and memories that were stuck in my subconscious. Even though I didn’t sleep well, I felt rested and had a feeling of mental reset.
Managing hunger was relatively easy especially between day two, three and four.
My rheumatic pains would intensify at night but were almost nonexistent during the day. All in all, at the end of both fasts, my autoimmune symptoms were significantly improved. In fact, I was able to jump in the morning for the first time in many years!
I also had all kind of minor symptoms, like increased mucous, itching and tearing of my eyes. These too came and went fast. My mood was very even and positive. One day I was walking and singing, totally not like me!
When the fast was over, I felt a tremendous sense of gratitude, compassion and love for everybody around me. I appreciated the meal that I broke my fast with in a way that I never did before, I savored every bite and discovered all over again, what a great miracle life really is.
I lost quite a bit of weight, which I didn’t gain back, felt healthier, with more energy and wanting to get a lot more stuff done.
Even though it took lots of will power to make the five day fast happen, the benefits from it were so great, I am adding fasting to my strategies for health.
Big City Mom
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