What 29 days of fasting taught me
Today was my first breakfast in 29 days. For the last 29 days I joined roughly 1.8 billion people- about 24% of the earth's population - in fasting during the month of Ramadan. 18.5 hours a day. This is what I learned:
Humility:
We are not independent creatures. We are totally dependent on food. No matter who you are, without food you would die. Period.
Gratitude:
There are people around the world without regular or guaranteed access to food or water. My fasting was voluntary and I knew there would be food at the end of it. I can't imagine what it would be like to not know when my next meal would be.
Self-discipline and personal growth:
Abstaining from food is hard. Fasting not only forces you to rethink your habits but also forces you to simply get on with things. Your stomach is shouting, "feed me!" but your brain has to override these signals and say, "wait!" Mind over matter.
Focus:
Numerous studies have highlighted the beneficial effects of fasting on the brain, including an increase in BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and HGH (human growth hormone). Speaking personally, I noticed that fasting focused my thinking and I was less distracted, more in the moment, feeling every moment. Also, you do not waste energy doing and speaking unnecessary things.
About my relationships with food:
In this modern world food is a major part of our lives. I would like to say that I am in control of my eating habits but fasting has taught me that I am not. I like food too much! Like most people I probably eat a lot of things that I later regret and also probably eat a little more than I really need to.
About what I eat:
When I broke my fast at 9pm having not eaten since 2:45am, somehow I really only wanted to eat good, wholesome, nutritious food. My cravings for stuff like cakes and chocolate etc. was hugely diminished. I also drank more water than usual. I learned that I can simply do without the junk that I'm used to.
In conclusion:
After 29 days of fasting a feel humbled but refreshed. It was a very revealing experience. I feel like I have a different attitude towards food. Going forward I think I will be much more aware of what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat. I am also grateful that I can even eat at all, when there are millions of starving people around the world.
I would definitely recommended fasting. Give it a try. Sometime. You might surprise yourself.
So, you fast for 18.x hours per day; is that fasting?
I was thinking the same lol.
It's known as a diurnal fast when food is not eaten during daylight, such as during Ramadan.
Hi @surfyogi! Well I guess people have different definitions for fasting. In my case I was just goin without food and water for approx. 18 hours. 😊
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience from your fast. Nice timing, as just this morning I was learning about Dr. Amen-Ra, who is a proponent of this kind of fasting to be incorporated with other tenets of physical exertion and mindfulness for overall wellbeing.
That's another great point that I failed to mention! I have also heard that doing physical exercise while in a fasted state increases levels of certain beneficial hormones even more, such as BDNF. Thank you for your comment!
You didn't fast for 29 days. You still ate every day. And you could have eaten more in those few hours than most people do all day.
Hey @barncat! That is very true! Like I said to @surfyogi, I guess people have different definitions for fasting. In my case I was fasting for approx. 18 hours everyday without food or water.
Nice post, how much weight did you lose? I also do intermittent fasting with usually a 1 hour timeframe... But at the moment I'm eating twice a day. How I do it is I really concentrate on my bodies feelings that means, when my brain sends a signal that I'm starving! I simply ask myself, am I about to fall over from being underfed or are my critters hungry for sugar?! It's usually the latter and I can easily refrain from eating. Right now I'm eating twice a day because we've been writing a lot of new recipes. In fact I've just posted my first plant based recipe, for a delicious burger. Anyway I agree fully, Fasting is awesome!
That's really cool what you sad about listening to your body and then 'consulting' your brain! That's something I learned when I was fasting- that sometimes it's just our bodies craving sugar etc. It is really empowering to overcome your base urges in a healthy way. I don't know how much weight I lost exactly because I wasn't monitoring my weight. But I was monitoring my waist and I lost nearly 3 inches!
I have been fasting for 9 days in a row. Not 18hrs a day, but no meals the whole day. Once in a while I took a biscuit with some cheese in the beginning. After 1.5 days my body was not looking for food anymore. I cannot explain, but fasting like this awakes your spirit. As I did not accompinied it with excersice a lost only 2kg. It has been claimed before that minimal food is the route to recovery of all kinds of illnesses including cancer. It could also reduce the risk of developing cancer and heart disease. Without knowing we eat a lot of intoxicated foods. I personaly believe that chemicals used in the plastic packaging does our body a lot of harm. A report of the WHO had some concerns over the exposure in young children environmental chemicals that seem to interfere with human hormones. Phthalates in soft plastics have also been linked to allergies and asthma. As you will see fasting has a lot of benificials. I am planningn to fast every 2 days in a week.
I enjoyed reading this (:
Really interesting reading!
I got that fasting without any doubt forges body soul and mind!
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