Fasting for your health

While I do occasionally fast for spiritual purposes, this post is about fasting for weight loss and health.

About 6 years ago I was trying to lose about 10 pounds of baby weight and joined a gym.  While talking with a trainer I remember telling her I was willing to work out, but I didn't really want to change my diet.  (Carb addict!).  She looked at me and said losing weight is 80% diet.  That moment began my journey of figuring out how to control my weight whether or not I had the time to exercise.

As I was researching I came across a website about Intermittent Fasting and read the ebook called "Eat Stop Eat".  The basic idea was to fast for one or two 24 hour periods in a week.  I decided to give it a try, fasting from dinner to dinner two nights a week.  Over the course of a few weeks I dropped 5 of the 10 lbs I wanted to lose.  I ate any yummy food I wanted on EAT days and still lost weight.

Then some of my friends and I decided to do a 10 day juice fast.  Really, I did it to support them, and didn't believe when I started that I would actually stick with it.  Turns out I am the only one who finished.  It was amazing.  Over the next year and a half I did another 10 day juice fast, three 7 day juice fasts some 5 and 3 day juice fasts.   I blogged about this journey here.

Fasting has been proven to help regenerate the immune system.  And after that year of intense fasting, I rarely got sick for the next four years.  Then, this winter, I got my first cold in years.  So, I knew when summer hit it was time for another longer term fast.

I am currently on day 3 of 5 and in the fasting "sweet spot".  The first two days are rough.  As your body uses up its glycogen stores, hunger is strong, and headaches can be a problem.  But then around day 2 to 3 a switch occurs.  Your body enters a state called ketosis, where it burns your fat for fuel, and the hunger is not nearly as strong, and you get more energy.  Today I biked over an hour total even though I hadn't eaten anything since Friday at dinner.

I am sharing my journey because it has made me a healthier person.  I lost the 10 lbs. I wanted to, I got a stronger immune system, and many other health benefits too.  If you are interested in giving fasting for health a try, let me know, I will encourage you along the way.  And you should know that there are many many ways to incorporate fasting into your life.    (Intermittent fasting, alternate day fasting, eating within a daily window, longer term fasts, etc.)