How about a change in topics? Something quite a bit less sweet and with less "substance".
I will be stuck in a class room for the next three weeks instead of a baking lab and so I have decided to try a new adventure I have been contemplating for a while - water fasting. Some of you may have just cocked an eyebrow or did a double take. :P Yes, a water fast - a fast in which all I consume is water. For the next three weeks, I will have time to relax and rest as the class is only two hours with five shifts of four hours in The Marketplace (where we will practice the customer service skills discussed in class). This will be a good time to attempt the water fast since readings indicate to expend the least amount of energy as possible and to minimize stimuli.
During the summer, I tried a three day juice fast, followed by a period of being raw vegan. Why do I do this? Why not? I am always up for an adventure, especially those geared towards improving one's health and one's relationship with food. Readings and research claimed that the juice fast (and raw vegan diet) would bring about detox symptoms, however, I never experienced neither the detox symptoms nor the heightened mental clarity I was hoping for. The only side effect I noticed was that my dreams became more vivid, which was actually very cool. I believe the main factor is that I did not fast for long enough. I have been reading Celestine Chua's articles documenting her experiences through a 21 day water fast. Her research showed that detoxification doesn't fully kick in until the 3-5 day.
Despite common belief, a healthy person should be able to survive solely off their body fat for at least a few weeks. The 3-square meals a day system isn't necessary. After the glucose from our food and liver is depleted, the body will turn to muscle as a source of energy. However, after a few days, the body then will switch to using fat. This is known as ketosis. Our fat cells are what stores the majority of toxins in our bodies and as the body burns it for fuel, the toxins are released and detox symptoms occur. These manifestation of the detoxification can often be weakness, dizziness, bad breath, aches and soreness, mental fog, as well as a purging of old deeply hidden emotional and psychological issues. This site is an easy to read reference on not only what fasting is, but what to expect during it. I believe that my juice fast ended too early for my body to switch into ketosis and that is why I didn't experience any detox symptoms.
Another fact I found interesting was the idea of true hunger. True hunger is not the rumbling we feel in our stomachs but a feeling in the throat. I have also read that in books advocating a vegan eating-style. I am really interested in how this feels. Currently, this idea seems very foreign to me. Eating is so integral in my life. I think about food almost all the time, many social events involve food, and, of course, I'm surrounded by food in most of my classes. My future career will be about making food! The idea or act of eating is never out of reach.
Celes did a lot of research beforehand and I won't repeat it here, but if you're interested in learning more about it, go here. She documented every day of her 21 day fast and it is a very interesting read.
My goal with this water fast is to rebuild my relationship with food. Over the years, I have lost my ability to discern when I am hungry and when I am not. Some days, I can eat and eat and eat and never reach that "full" feeling, but neither would I feel "hungry". It was strange and disturbing. I believe this stems from a fear of hunger. That may sound strange, but I would always make sure to have some sort of snack on my person. At the time, I reasoned that that snack was to be a preventative measure against snacking on less healthy and immediate options. But upon a deeper inspection of my feelings and relationship with food and eating, I realized that I felt anxious when leaving trusted sources of food (my fridge). Deep down, I really really didn't want to experience any sort of hunger. As soon as my tummy would rumble, I'd stifle it with the closest edible item I could find. I had never truly experienced hunger, but I feared it and did anything to keep it at bay.
This leads to my second goal of experiencing true hunger. To not have food cravings and desires on my mind until I absolutely have to eat sounds liberating. I am not saying I will stop thinking about baking, not at all! I would just like the incessant nattering in the back of my mind of fake food desires to stop. :)
My plan is to go one day at a time with the intent of completing 7 days. From there, I will decide if I will continue or not. Ideally, I want to water fast for 14 days. That will hopefully give me enough time to ease myself off the fast and get ready to be back in the baking lab for the following Monday. You may be concerned that this is not healthy. Water fast are, in fact, the fastest and most direct method of detoxifying your body. Also, I can choose to stop the fast whenever I feel things aren't going well or something is wrong.
Ideally, one should spend at least a few days preparing for a fast. It is important to gradually transition into any type of restrictive plan (it is just as important to transition out of it gradually). Truthfully, I should have followed a fruit and juice diet for a few days prior and I may regret this later, but we shall see! It seems that the biggest obstacle is enduring hunger pangs the first three days. After that, many stop experiencing hunger entirely. For the next while I will be posting my feelings and experiences, be it a success or failure.
I had actually intended today to be a preparation day. I had planned to visit the library for some reading material and to eat only fruits and juice. Then I was going to embark on my water fasting adventure tomorrow. But, I was too excited. I dived right in.
Day 1 Summary
Right on time, my tummy started grumbling at 8am for breakfast. It wasn't an intense hunger pang, just a gnawing feeling in the background. It continued for a couple of hours and lessened slightly around 11am where it spiked with intensity. I still went to the library but started feeling mildly nauseous on the train ride back. Good thing it's a short ride! Aside from the gnawing, I felt cold and weak. Not very cold, but a cold deep inside, the kind that's hard to shake. I checked the mirror and my lips were tinged blue.
I made it through class and then slowly walked back to my room. The rest of the afternoon went by fairly smoothly. But when evening hit, so did the hunger pangs, with vengeance. All I could do was think about food. One thing I did notice, however, was that the strong desire to eat originated from my mind more than it did my stomach. That's not to say my stomach didn't feel like a gaping hole caving in on itself. I laid down and let my mind indulge itself in fantasy world of food. After a while, the pangs subsided slightly and I passed the rest of the time until bed playing games.
I guess overall the first day went fairly well. While I knew I was going to be feeling weak and cold eventually, I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. Interestingly, I found walking more difficult and tiring than going up stairs.
Summary
Water drank: About 3 litres
Weight change: 0lbs
Detox symptoms: none so far
Overall feeling: physically weak and cold, but mentally strong and determined
I visited the Marketplace on my way back to my room and look at that! My checkerboard cookies are on the sale floor.
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