As a result of our research on fasting and discussions with visiting relatives who are medical professionals, we were quite excited about trying it out for ourselves. We had never really fasted before in any systematic way so this was definitely going to be a challenge, as we both obviously love food! Below is the play by play of how it went. Given the success and how we felt afterwards, we have decided to fast on a weekly basis every Monday. I think it would be amazing to make it a group fast if any of you would like to join up! I appreciate how difficult it can be to try it alone. But, as with anything else, it makes it a lot more achievable in a group situation where you can receive and provide support.
I strongly encourage you to read the previous posts Healing of Our Bodies Can Begin with Fasting and Is Fasting Good For You? Pros and Cons. It is an excellent read about the research being done on how fasting actually allows our bodies to heal from the inside out.
January 6, 2015: It has been 38 hours! Our last meal was Sunday dinner. The original goal was to fast for 24 hours and then see if we could extend it to Tuesday morning. Well, I’m not going to tell you that it was easy. There were moments during the first day when I thought my stomach was going to start eating itself! But they didn’t last too long. I stuck with water and clear herbal and green teas during the day as shown in my post on Instagram on Jan 5th.
By dinnertime, I was struggling with whether to continue fasting. But Andre was not giving in, and I wasn’t going to let him show me up! So I decided to make a vegetable broth with carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas, some herbs and sea salt. I had a bowl of the clear broth but he decided to stick with only water. Although we went to bed feeling quite hungry and thinking about what delicious food to eat the next morning, the funny thing is we didn’t feel hungry this morning! Go figure!
I also checked my weight this morning, and I dropped 2 of the 3 pounds I had gained over Christmas. Yay! Just to clarify, however, that weight loss was not the primary objective of doing the fast. Detoxing and allowing our bodies the opportunity to heal was the main purpose.
So guess what? The beautiful plate of fruit and nuts I prepared for our first meal on Tuesday morning did not get eaten!! It was put away nicely in the fridge until 11:00am. Instead, we had a cup of herbal tea.
It felt great to not only succeed with our fast but to have extended it beyond the 24 hours originally planned. After eating the fruit and nuts and a healthy energy bar, I went to the gym to do a spin class!
If you are interested in participating in the weekly fasting, please send me an email at parkash@globalvegetarian.ca so we can get you started.
This is so cool! I’m excited and nervous! I need this! Just knowing I’m not alone will motivate me tons! Thank you so much! Namaste~ RaKelle
Don’t be nervous! It’s mind over matter. We can do it together and succeed 🙂 Namaste!
I can’t wait to start
I have tried the low calorie fast of 500 calories a day, but did not feel confident enough to try a full fast. Now that we have a group committed to doing this together I will definitely try the full fast. And I’m not surprised, Parkash, that you were able to extend the fast past the next morning. That’s the experience I have had also.
It really helps to know other people’s experience with fasting. Having a group will be good for all of us!
I can not wait to start .I heard so many good things about fasting that you provide thank you .love and light
That’s great! We are very happy to have you join our weekly fasting group. Please read the following blog posts in order to get an understanding of fasting and how it works, health benefits, etc. “Is Fasting Good For You? Pros and Cons”, “Healing Of Our Bodies Can Begin With Fasting”, and “Fasting Update – January 6, 2015”. It’s important to have some knowledge about it before starting to fast. I will send an email in the next day or so with fasting tips and advice.
I really want to try this !! Please let me know how and when the next fast is !! Sounds exciting !!
Wonderful! We start fasting every Sunday after dinner at around 7pm and break the fast Tuesday morning. If you don’t want to do 36 hours, you can break yours Monday night. But please read all the articles on fasting so you are well informed. I will send you more info via email prior to Sunday. We look forward to your company in our weekly fasting group!