Ahh.. Food.. Come to me baby! Delicious sweet potato with a sunny side up egg, served with a perfect avocado… And maybe some sun-dried tomatoes – or did I eat all of them?!
As soon as I’ve posted this post, I’ll break my 21 hours fast. Hang in there Alex. I’ve been starting to play around with intermitting fasting – again – this week. Something I started doing quite regularly on and off 3 years ago. However, the last year it has only happened sporadically like every other week. When you’re not used to longer fasting, well, then it momentarily can feel like someone cracked your head open like an egg, and the mess is floating out all over the place (can’t stop thinking about them..). Weak, hungry, itching in the body, distant from the world and a bit foggy, yet in some strange way that’s hard to pin point, absolutely amazing.
I can’t explain it, but it’s something about. Especially when these tougher moments disappear, because it’s a temporary state. Like right now I can feel myself coming out of that awfulness, into the better place. But I won’t deny that the last three hours required some serious willpower to keep me going. And not die.
What’s intermitting fasting? Well basically it means that you have an eating window of 8 hours and then a fast of 16 hours. These time windows aren’t set in stone, but the idea is to put your body in a fasting state which you transfer into after around 12 hours. Anyways, there’s a bunch of claimed advantages, some backed up with stronger studies some perhaps not so much. A quick googling gave me this article “7 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Fasting” (source) and they stated the following benefits:
- Fasting Can Help the Aging Process And Increase Longevity
- Fasting May Help Promote Weight Loss, Predominantly Fat Loss
- Fasting Can Help Reduce the Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes
- Fasting Can Offer Protection Within the Brain
- Fasting May Offer a Promising Therapeutic Potential Within Multiple Sclerosis
- Fasting Can Switch on Specific Repair Genes: Autophagy
- Fasting Can Offer Protection from Certain Cancers and Help Mitigate the Side Effects of Standard Treatment
I don’t buy into these too serious. Let me rephrase that – they are not the reason for why I’m fascinated by fasting and have tried to implement it as a regular thing in my life. Or well, I do have a goal of living to at least 130, so the longevity part for sure interreges me and was what first arose my curiosity. No, for me the number one reason is the practicality of not having to think about food for so long. It’s black and white. When I’m not supposed to eat, I’m not going to eat. That’s the end of it. And I don’t need to keep battling my mind to convince me otherwise. To clear my mind like that and be free, man do I love it.
The second reason I think it’s amazing is due how you train yourself to resist urges. Which actually increases your willpower long-term (video link ) – even though it drains the shityou’re your willpower when you’re not used to it. Today really was a struggle, let’s just say that. And that’s also why I chose to do my weekly challenge ( approach-a-girl-every-day-and-start-a-conversation) on my way to work instead of on my way home. If you’re curious to find out how it went when I started talking to a random girl this morning on the train, check out this live stream I just did below.
Besides that, I’d just like to invite you to try some fasting out. It’s interesting and helpful to get to know your body. Before I’d ever tried it, I thought it was impossible for me to go without food for more than 6 hours. It would kill me. Now I know I can make it for days. I think the longest I’ve went was something like 48 hours. It makes me flexible and okay in situations where food isn’t available ( yeah that happens sometimes ), and just that in itself is worth a lot to me!
Have a great evening!
/Alexander
