Fasting Chronicles Day 17

Fasting Chronicles Day 17:

The day started off busy. The usual lunches, snacks and breakfasts, but right away I could tell the energy was not there. I think some of it has to do with knowing that this is almost over. I am not going to lie, I am looking forward to it ending.

Many errands to run today, so I really need something to get me going. In addition to water, I decided to make coffee to take with me, so I can sip on it.

So many stops to make. Health food store, grocery store, stationery store. I was so happy to come home throw myself on the sofa for literally 5 minutes, before starting work.

While working and writing emails, I was clear in my thoughts and I felt I conveyed my messages very clearly. The information just seemed to flow and all I had to was type it. As weird as this experience might sound, it is an event many people who fast have confessed to.

There is a common misconception that fasting only involves starving yourself and that it entails days and weeks of enduring pain from not eating. The truth is that there are many different types of fasts, that individuals can embark on. Most involve eating or drinking or pushing the time you eat.

Types of fasts:

Intermittent Fasting: 
Intermittent fasting or IF involves having a set window for when you eat. Most people will do what is called a 16/8. This means you have an 8 hour window to eat and you fast for 16 hours. This 16 hours includes sleeping time. For example, if your last meal the night before was at 6pm, then you will have your first meal the following day at 10am. You then would have from 10am to 6pm to take in your calories. 16 hours is usually the agreed upon minimum fasting period for IF as it takes 16 hours for the liver to deplete its glycogen stores. The idea behind this is that, during your "feasting" window, you will take in food that is good or better for you. With this type of fast, you also have the flexibility of decreasing your feasting time and increasing your fasting time.

IF does not just involve hours of fasting, it can also be days. Some people fast for 1 day and eat for 6, or fast for 2 days and eat for 5 and so on. This type of fasting is quite customisable and can be geared to personal tastes, requirements and abilities.

Juice Fasting:
Probably more popular than IF is juice fasting. This type of fast involves having solely juice for 1 or more days. Fresh juices, preferably freshly squeezed from a juicer is best. The intention of this fast is cleansing of the blood and flooding the system with nutrients from the various fruits and vegetables you juice. It is also meant to detoxify, cleanse the organs (especially liver and kidneys) and rejuvenate your system, which may have been plagued by bad eating habits, or other vices such as smoking or drinking. One downside to juice fasting is that it can be very expensive and with constant juicing, you will find yourself throwing away lots of pulp, which is quite beneficial in providing the body with fiber.

Bone Broth Fast:
This type of fast (done correctly) is intended to flood your system with minerals and collagen from bone broth soup that has been cooking for at least 20 hours. I usually have my broth going for 40 hours before consumption, to ensure the marrow in the bones are broken down. This particular fast is especially good for individuals that are suffering a lot of joint and muscle pain. This soup also has a lot of healthy fats for cell regeneration.




Raw food fast:
The raw food fast is meant to give participants a rest from cooked food. The focus should be on fruits and raw vegetables. Even though it is raw, don't try to get around things by having sushi. Eating by colour is the name of the game here. Greens, blues, reds, purples, oranges. The downside of this type of fast is that with too much fruit consumption, it could drive your blood sugars higher than one would like.

The night was pretty quiet. I didn't feel too well though. My stomach is still feeling rough, especially when I haven't had anything to drink. The sucky thing is that I am so over water and tea. 

Watching videos of pigs being roasted actually helped to pass the night and help me to forget my stomach for a bit. My broth was delicious. Right temperature, right taste, right everything.

Once again, stayed up later than I should have, but oh well, this is the story of my life.

Day 18 will soon be upon me. Thank goodness.

Thank you for reading.

MA

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