Ah 2021, with all its ups and downs.
Health wise, it was a roller coaster for me. I
started eating a lot of foods that I quit for almost a decade prior. I ate sweets, snacks;
like chips, cookies, ice-cream, sugar, and even some meats, and a lot of dairy. I had many
cups of chai daily (tea with milk and sugar), and even fried foods here and
there. I guess I didn’t care much about health, with other priorities. I was also more sedentary than I had been in years. Needless to say, I did not feel like myself, nor was I happy with this path I took that lead me to feel that way.
Then I hit a point where I really wanted to get my health back!
So, In March I looked into water-only fasting, something I thought was super unhealthy and ridiculous just a year prior! Then, I did as much research on it as I possibly could, and my opinion took a 180. I don’t know how it appeared on my radar, but I was obsessed with learning everything I could on the topic, as it usually goes with me.
I was then determined to set my life back in order. I came into it with great preparation. I first decided it would be a 5 day fast, and slowly talked myself into a 7 day fast. When the time came it was a 8.5 day fast! April 12th-April 20th, with my last meal being the evening of April 10th. Long story short it was the most significant thing I’ve experienced health wise, and I've done a lot of crazy health journeys! I did drop 9lbs, and quickly regained most back from water weight and eating after, but I was very happy that I lost a good amount of visceral fat, and stubborn fat around my body, with reduced inches. I did have a dexascan to see my progress. I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, and that wasn't my goal going into it, but wanted all the health benefits and healing it offered.
My starting weight was 122.6lbs 5 days before the fast, then I did 5 days of keto to prep my body to be fat-adapted and lost 2.8lbs with a weight of 119.8lbs at the beginning of the fast and ended at 110.8lbs. My skin was never so clear, all my joint pain disappeared, and my taste-buds were brand new again! It was like tasting all foods for the very first time with all their natural flavor! I honestly think that was my favorite part, food was pure euphoria like never before! 98%dark chocolate had never tasted so incredibly flavorful and even sweet, along with every other food, especially fruit. I properly went through the re-feeding processes as well over the next several days, so I was very gentle on my system. Juicing veggies, then smoothies, then soft foods, cooked veggies, raw veggies, then introduced other foods. I won’t go into too much detail, as I’ll go through the process of my second fast in more details. Yes I did it again! But to conclude this first fast, it was a total success! If only I didn't go down hill with my habits months later.
