My first 24 Hour Water Fast
This is a big deal for me, because I always think about food. What to eat next, what to buy next, new/old recipes, how to make something better. At first, I considered doing a 10-day or a 3-day fast but the thought of it was stressing me out. I ended up stress eating! I finally chose to do a 24-hour fast. After my first meal at noon, I decided to start then but it was difficult to not eat the rest of the day. I ended up eating and breaking the fast. I had started off with a green juice without any fruit. I think just the taste of something made me crave food.
Then I remembered that I could hold off on eating after not having anything at all after waking up. The next day, I started the fast after my 8pm dinner so it would end the following day at 8pm. It was easier than I thought it would be. Here are some things I did to make it happen:
Keep drinking water to ward off hunger. I am following the Water Cure.
I waited until later in the day to switch to carbonated water (Pellegrino) with lemon. This is so that I have a little variety but mainly, it makes me feel full and satisfied.
My energy level tapered off as the day went on, which was what expected. I didn’t want to spend all day in bed or resting, so during the day, I spent my time wisely: working, organizing, cleaning, etc. When I was low on energy in the evening, I sat down with a book or watched a movie. If you need energy, have some green tea, no sugar or honey.
I didn’t feel hungry until the 22nd hour and kept myself busy with writing and chatting with a friend until the fast was over.
Once 8pm hit, I planned on eating light to avoid negating what I had just accomplished. In setting a small, realistic goal, I was able to accomplish it and feel motivated to repeat fasting. As I write this, I just completed my 2nd day of alternate day water fasting.
There are many options in what kind of fast you could take on and how long: juice fast, water fast, liquid fast….the duration: 1 day, 10-day, 28-day, etc. how often: intermittent, weekly, monthly. Whatever you choose, you must figure out what works best for your eating habits, and your schedule. It’s a good idea to ease into any type of fast. The symptoms that accompany a fast will be magnified with poor diet and health to begin with. And lastly, if you make a mistake and go off your fast, don’t beat yourself up. You just need to do a better job planning your next fast.