Part one of this column was published last week in the February 13, 2019 edition.
Sunday Morning 5 a.m. – I hit the snooze button several times but got out of bed, made a really strong cup of chai tea and went to work. Again, I had plenty of energy to do all the heavy lifting, but I did not feel quite as strong as normal. Why am I planning my lunch meal for Monday? It seems to be making me hungry. I am pretty sure that these are just feelings and urges because I got a lot of work accomplished. I’m not wasting away or languishing for lack of food. I may be hungry but I do not feel what I used to call “starving.” On Wednesday I weighed 213; on Sunday morning I weighed 204. That is pretty significant. I know I will gain some back when I eat normal meals again; however, I should still have a net loss. Toward lunch time some of my co-workers started asking me if I was okay and that I looked a little green/gray. At about 5 p.m. one of my managers noted this as well. On my way home I called a nurse that I know quite well, my mother. I asked her about being gray/green. She suggested I break my fast early which is what I did.
Sunday 6:48 p.m. – I broke my fast. That means that I fasted for 102 hours and 48 minutes. My goal was to fast until Monday at noon which would have been 120 hours. I was short 17 hours and 12 minutes. I could say, “It’s such a shame that I did not have enough discipline,” but that is not the case. When I fast, I need to listen to my body. I did feel fine and had plenty of energy. I took the cue however, and decided to break my fast. It was a great challenge and a healthy one as well. As Dr. Fung might say, “This is not a ‘forced’ fast, I can break it at any time and for any reason,” even, just for the ‘health’ of it, and so I did. I ate a bowl of steamed vegetables with a little butter. This did not unsettle my stomach so I joined my family for a Sunday night dinner of hamburger sliders. I bypassed the bun in favor of a hamburger lettuce wrap with onions, Dijon mustard, jalapeños, banana pepper rings, and pickles. It was delicious. For desert I had a small handful of strawberries and grapes. All is good and I feel great. On a side note, I am going to avoid grapes because they are extremely high in carbs and sugar, even more than other fruits and berries.
Did I learn anything? Yes! In the first two days I came to the conclusion that hunger is often tied to eating and when my body realized it was not eating my hunger abated. I also learned that many of my meals, snacks, and foods are eaten out of habit or boredom and not out of necessity. One of the best results I’ve noted about fasting is in my focus. After two days my focus seemed to zero in. I became more productive and of cognizant, which helped me greatly at work. Fasting as a diet and weight loss plan is also great; I agree with Dr. Jason Fung that fasting is cheap, simple, and an effective dietary tool that can be added to most life styles and schedules. I believe it is a healthy and useful tool for weight loss, and can help improve many health conditions as long as it is not contraindicated for medical reasons. This is my personal experience. I am not a doctor so please consult yours before trying fasting for yourself. According to the BMI calculation I am still overweight even at 205 Lbs.
