More Fasting Info

I finally got to read up on some of your blogs that I've been missing! I feel awful for being such a bad blogger and it has definitely hurt my weight loss efforts. Ugh. I've gained almost four pounds over the last like four days. How ridiculous is that?! I can say that some of it could be from water weight since I started eating again, but now I feel more determined to get back on track. As excited as I am about Valentine's Day, I sort of wish it wasn't coming up. I hate to have to eat now, but I'm determined not to let my weight loss obsession ruin this perfect romantic day.

So I'm on day two of my three day water fast. Yesterday was easy because I was doing a million different things and really didn't have any free time. I love being busy, it's awesome for fasting. Unfortunately, my roommate has class until 8:30 tonight and I have nothing to do except think about how hungry my stomach is and all the food sitting in the frig. Ugh. But reading blogs and typing here is such a big help to me. I have to type a paper though and I tend to want to snack when I'm doing boring homework. It's a really bad habit.

Jenna mentioned that her problem with fasting is caused by some serious headaches, so I thought I would attempt to outline some of the stuff your body goes through during a fast. Everyone's body is different and will feel different things, but it's good to be prepared for what can happen because it can be really uncomfortable at times.

Once you start on a fast your body will start an intense detox. Our bodies detox regularly without fasting, but since we're always adding more food the body isn't able to do it as seriously as it does when we fast. The whole process of digesting food and sending it all the way through the body is a pretty big job. When the digestive system gets a break, our bodies have more time to devote to cleaning up. Plus we aren't adding new toxins, so it's a much deeper clean.

One side effect of the detox thing that seems to happen to everyone is bad breath and a weird sort of white coating all over the tongue. You know how when you wake up in the morning your breath isn't ever very fresh even though you brush your teeth really well. I think most people think this is because of rotting food, but if you're doing a good job on your teeth and flossing! there shouldn't be any food left. It's actually your body doing a detox while you sleep. Let's say you eat dinner at six then nothing before you go to bed, it could easily be twelve, fourteen hours that you've gone without food. This is long enough for your body to be in a sort of mini fast and start detoxing. This was my least favorite thing that happened during my long fast. I was soooo self concious about it and terrified of kissing my boyfriend. But still, it's worth the weight loss.

Light headiness will be another side effect that's bound to happen. The only thing you can do is try to stand up slowly and if you feel faint, sit down right away. You don't want to bring attention to yourself by passing out.

I had some headaches while I was on the fast, but nothing too bad. From what I've read this seems like a pretty come side effect though. I did have a ton of stomach aches and it was miserable. It's hard to feel nauseous and sick for weeks at a time. Just have to focus on the amazing feeling of control and the pounds falling off. At least nausea helps to kill an appetite.

I've read about people getting more pimples and sores, but my face was actually totally clear while I fasted. I live in a very dry climate so I struggled to keep myself hydrated on water alone. We actually absorb most of our water through food because it sits in our stomachs longer so our bodies can actually make use of it. When we're just drinking water it can sort of go right through us, so dehydration can be a problem. I had a lot of issues sleeping. I would wake up and my mouth would be so dry and my throat would feel like it was cracking. It was pretty painful, but that was well into maybe the third week of my fast.

I would reccomend that everyone do their own research on fasting. Luck favors the prepared, right? I've been focusing on the bad, but there are tons of benefits beside weight loss. Anyway, I hope this was helpful to everyone and especially to Jenna. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do about this crappy stuff that happens, I wouldn't really recommend trying pain killers on an empty stomach.

Thanks for the well wishes, Kat! The encouragment feels so great right now. And R Harlow B, I'm glad you stopped by!

Lots of <3s to all of you! Think thin!

<3