It was not intended to be an annual ritual, but is inadvertently turning out that way. I will catalog the numerous surprising benefits of fasting, my motivation and a wealth of fasting knowledge over the next few days, perhaps weeks. My body has ordered one, so I will comply.
This video on the right is an introduction to my fast, and a bit on why I am undertaking it. More links, videos and information can be found at TedDunlap.net and BitterrootBugle.com
I fasted in August of 2020, again in August 2021, and am adding this one for much more serious reasons than the mild desire to lose some weight and perhaps learn first-hand about the detoxification benefits of nine or ten day fasts.
I documented my previous fasts at BitterrootBugle.com, Idaholiberty.com and TedDunlap.net. Here is a list of those published at TedDunlap.net with this one from last year being a good source of links and fundamental information: https://www.teddunlap.net/8-day-fast-lessons-experience/
My first two fasts were inspired by a vague feeling that I ought to undertake a detoxification regimen of some kind and a gifted link to an excellent video I share below that gives the history of Russian doctors rediscovering the power of fasting along with numerous studies from around the world where the concepts were greeted with skepticism, challenged, clinically tested and proven correct.
*NOTE: Technical difficulties prevented me from including the inspirational, informative video at this time. I will share other videos later.* Here is a websearch for fasting videos: https://search.brave.com/videos?q=fasting Please NOTE that while much easier, intermittent fasting does not detox like a longer water fast does.
While I happily share bunches of articles and videos on the subject, I disagree with one aspect most of them share: You must have a doctor’s supervision. I’m sure if I talked with lawyers or doctors they would agree that I really ought to say that too. Okay. Do that.
Meanwhile, I figure humans and other animals frequently ran out of food without doctors supervising the time they then spent searching for fresh food sources. I am two-for-two fasting 9 or 10 days without that all important supervision. Since I have been operating many years now as my own personal health practitioner, I’m gunna stick with him. I don’t recommend that for anybody but me.
This bit below is from one of those many links I included. It does not exactly match my experiences, but many parts do.
What Happens to Your Body When You Start Fasting?
The following points describe how your body changes or reacts to water fasting:
Day 1
This day is perhaps natural for those who do 24 hours fasts regularly but can be very difficult for those who try out fasting for the first time. Some people might feel headaches or even nauseating. Don’t worry the nausea is just because of the acid produced inside your body for digestion. You might also end up drinking lots of water.
Day 2
This day can be even harder as the fasting becomes more real. Also, you may suffer headaches and body aches. Sleep deprivation is the most common change on day 2.
Day 3
Some might experience a burst of energy on day three as the metabolism gets adapted to less food. Some people might even experience extreme cold if you’re fasting in winter as food gives warmth to your body.
Day 4
You might get even less sleep on day 4. People start to realize that how much amount of energy is wasted on digestion and how one can survive even with 4-5 hours of sleep a day.
Day 5
Some people suffer constipation by this day. Add a pinch of salt in your water to prevent the reduction of sodium levels in your body.
Day 6
On day 6, you might feel body or back pain, which might linger for hours. You might even feel emotional changes. Also, your body will start to show weight loss. Your breath also starts to stink due to detoxification. Due to the release of toxins from your body, your sweat will also stink.
Day 7
Like any other day, you might feel some hunger pains. Also, you might experience some deep illness resurfacing or pain in some old injuries. It is perfectly normal as the body with this does some more in-depth cleaning and eliminates the sickness or pain permanently.
Day 8
You might experience pain in different parts of your body. There is nothing to worry about as the body gets time to heal itself, and the pain is just the part of it.
Day 9
By day 9, you start to feel more refreshed, and the world seems bigger and brighter. You might even notice your heart getting softer, and you think more about the emotions and feelings deep inside of you. The urine might also get darker during this time.
Day 10
Day 10 feels more energetic. You sleep well during this time. Also, the motivation surfaces to finish the 10-day devotion to detoxification.Health Benefits of Water Fasting
Water fasting has various health benefits, including:
Lowers blood pressure
Improves heart conditions
Heals old injuries and illness
Reduction of oxidative stress
It also helps destroy cancer cells from your body as they also starve due to lack of sugar
Water fasting also results in Autophagy, which is the process of cleaning of old cells and building new cells.
Fat loss
Losing weight
From a great article on Extended healing fasts are these important considerations:
… Experiencing a healing crisis:
Although in one respect an extended fast simply continues the notion of a 7-10 day water fast, it is also much more powerful because it gives you the opportunity to experience deeper ‘healing crises‘. As described in the article on the 7-10 day water fast, a healing crisis often occurs towards the end of the first week of water fasting, as the symptoms of old illnesses, injuries and traumas resurface, before being permanently expelled from your body. A similar process often occurs around the end of the second week of fasting – and this is the reason that if you decide to extend a 7-10 day water fast, it’s worth aiming for at least 14 days. This second healing crisis tends to call forth deeper issues than the first healing crisis, or, alternatively, finishes resolving those issues which were not fully cleared during the first healing crisis. In other words, it’s from the beginning of the second week of water fasting that your body can begin to heal from more serious health issues. Simply, up until this point, your body has been cleansing the toxins of everyday life (and especially so if you haven’t been fasting regularly).
For the deepest and most serious health issues, whether physical or spiritual, healing crises often occur much later into the fast, whether 20, 30 or even 40 days. There’s no way to accurately predict when they will occur. You can only trust your body and let nature take its course…
In my particular case this year I believe a 20 day fast is my target. I do not want to fix on that number, but get it in my head that I have some serious detoxification ahead of me.
My prior experiences were of fixed duration as my wife was gone on vacation leaving me to operate however I wished, and quite importantly, to not have any regular meals tempting me off my mission.
Interestingly, once I entered ketosis on day 3 or 4, I began to have evening fevers, inspiring me to bundle up and go off to bed. They always broke in the middle of the night whereupon I would un-bundle and sleep well into morning.
Since my current fast is dictated by a medical concern, a lump in my throat, that is inspiring me to get serious and do the right thing for it, I intend to extend this fast as long as I must to complete the detoxification. I expect that to be clearly signaled by the end of the evening fevers.
Fortunately for me, I have prior experience transforming from a body operating exclusively on steady caloric intake to a body operating exclusively on stored reserves. Better still, I journaled my experience so that I can begin with a foundation of knowing how I REACT. I share those two below in PDF format.
Again, this is my experience. Should you decide to take a similar trip, Your Mileage May Vary.
August 2020 Fasting Journal