Pre 3 Day Fast

I decided to do a 3-day fast.

I stopped eating about 4 hours ago, so I would still consider myself pre-fast. Thought I would share my initial thoughts and rationale. Will be interesting to see how it evolves over the next few days.

I wouldn’t consider myself overweight and I consider myself to eat pretty healthy. There are a few pieces out there about how fasting can be good for your immune system or for losing weight purposes, but that’s not really why I’m doing it.

Some of the times where I feel least present are when I am having some sort of craving or desire. One of those big ones was sleep when I became tired. I’d be with people or at an event and if I felt tired, it would take my attention off the moment and towards something else.

I don’t have to get into why I think that’s detrimental.

After trying polyphasic sleep for a week and a half, though, it totally changed my cravings for sleep. I still have a ways to go in that realm, but the ability to handle less sleep and crave it less has had an impact on me.

So, now, I’m taking a stab at another one of those big cravings that takes me out of the moment, which is food. If I’m hungry or I know dinner is coming, or even when the food comes, a lot of my attention becomes encapsulated in the food. I’d consider myself a bit of a foodie, but I think a lot of it just not being great at dealing with this craving.

After not eating for three days, I’m hoping I’ll have a better perspective of what it really means to be hungry, which will lead to being more present in situations where food begins to cross my mind.

The other piece is that I’ve found I learn new things about myself by pushing towards my limits, and I generate memorable experiences.

A few notes

• I’ll drink water and sparkling water and non-caffeinated tea, but will not be consuming anything that has calories
• I won’t be having coffee since I don’t want any stimulants. There are some variations of this diet that include coffee, but I’m opting out.

I ate a decent amount of food this weekend and today, but nothing crazy. I think day one won’t be too bad as I have fasted for a day every year on Yom Kippur for the past 7 years. By day 2 I bet it’ll be a struggle and day 3 will either feel more numb or it’ll be brutal.

Should be fun, though.

Will provide an update soon :)