I don’t really recommend fasting to anyone.
But this is on my mind because I’ve just started a three-day fast.
It’s not for the faint of heart, I can promise you that. But even if you’ve got the determination, should you do it? Is it worth it?
I don’t go out of my way to recommend it, but I wouldn’t try to talk you out of it, either. There’s a lot of information out there about the benefits of fasting. One popular idea right now is that of intermittent fasting, wherein you eat your daily meals within a short time period (like eight hours) and refrain from eating for the other 16 hours a day. (There are various “styles” of intermittent fasting.) With a few searches, you’ll learn a lot about the benefits of fasting and possible risks like headaches, dehydration, and heartburn. Oh, and hunger.
In the end, like anything, it’s a personal choice. I can tell you how and why I do it, and I hope you’ll look into it more before deciding if it’s for you. Potential health benefits aside, I do think it’s a good exercise in willpower and self-control for stable individuals who aren’t at risk for eating disorders. It makes you realize to what extent your life moves around food.
Even to me, someone who does it occasionally, it feels extreme. My boyfriend fasts regularly and swears by it for gut health and overall well-being. My aunt tried it once and had to quit after a day because she wasn’t doing well with it.
As for me, this is my fourth fasting experience.
The first was just after I’d been bitten by SOMETHING under my arm, and in addition to the grotesque red bumps there, grotesque red bumps started showing up on my face. I figured, I’m not going out anyway, I might as well stay in and not eat and hopefully help that go away.
The second time was when we were living a very social life in Panama. There were constant dinner parties and happy hours, and at one point I just felt like I needed a reset button, and fasting was my reset button. Three days without food, and I felt clean again.
The third time, I was sick with something I couldn’t determine, so I gave eating a rest to let my body focus on killing whatever was trying to kill me.
And this time, I was weeks off a dental crown, and the tooth was still sensitive. I started wondering if maybe there was a little infection that could be more easily dealt with if my body wasn’t digesting (and chewing, for that matter).
I don’t fast on a regular schedule. My four fasts have happened in the last four years, and I make a specific choice to do it based on what’s going on in my body. I believe it has helped me clear out issues that were not clearing quickly enough on their own. I do feel better after I do it.
This is how I do my fasting:
It last three days, a full 72 hours.
I drink even more water than normal, and I squeeze a lime or lemon into it.
I schedule my fast over a three day period when I know I don’t have anything else I have to do. The first day I’m just hungry, but by the second day I’m also pretty weak. And cranky. I don’t want to be wasting energy, so fasting days are days of reading, watching movies, and working at the computer.
I end the fast with a very light meal, maybe a fruit smoothie.
When I’m eating normally again by the next day, I feel normal again, too. There are no negative lingering effects, at least not for me.
Have you ever tried fasting? How did it go? Why did you do it?