MasterSelf Year One Page 9
To recap:
10 Day 0: Sobriety
10 Day I: Skip One Meal*
10 Day II: Sunup to Sundown (SUSD)
10 Day III: Dinner Only*
10 Day IV: Fast Day, SUSD Day
10 Day V: Fast Two Days, SUSD One Day*
*The starred 10 Day Challenges are the extra steps to make it easier for beginners.
Now, we have reached the final goal: a 10 Day Fast. If you’ve made it this far, I’ll let you in on a little secret- if you can make it past three days, you can fast for as long as your body has fat to convert into ketones. Now, this is where I have to put the serious disclaimer:
If you’re doing a long fast, consider medical supervision.
Fasting is not inherently dangerous unless you have a pre-existing medical or dietary condition that involves taking medication or otherwise. If you have ANY doubt about what that statement covers, talk to your doctor. If you think you’re fine, still talk to your doctor, and if you don’t and something bad happens, don’t blame me for your decisions.
Remember Dr. Jason Fung’s Golden Rule of Fasting:
If at any point you feel sick, unwell, or otherwise, STOP FASTING.
If you’ve been fasting for a while, do so with watered-down fruit juice or other watery fruit. I broke my 40 day fast with apple juice and watermelon, and it was absolutely the best tasting thing I ever experienced in my life. (That’s why I think coffee and tea are cheating, by the way.)
Now, when you’re doing a fast longer than a few days, you need to be taking some sort of electrolyte, i.e. sodium, potassium, or calcium. The “easiest” of these to ingest is salt, although drinking saltwater sucks and you’re just going to have to deal with it. It tastes marginally better if it’s warm, but only so much. I normally do a small spoonful in a small glass of hot but not scalding water, first thing in the morning.
By the time this gets posted on the site, I should be a few days into my fast. I’ll be adding another chapter around the same time next week, so stick around! Let’s see how far I can go.
FasterSelf II: Keto-kyo Drift
As of the time of writing this, it is Saturday, March 31- day seven of my fast.
The best part about finishing this week is that the worst part is over. From here on out, it will get progressively easier for the next two weeks, assuming that my experience mirrors that of my first fast. We shall see.
There have been a few things that differed, however- the first being that I have been having very strange bad dreams involving accidentally eating food. They aren’t nightmares, but I have been frequently waking up only to realize that there isn’t any food in my bed that I could be eating. I’m not sure why this is the case, although my working theory is that, while my first fast was very easy because I was so excited, this one has been a bit harder and was definitely harder to work up to. As a result, there’s a lot more riding on it psychologically, and my brain is trying to process it. If that’s not it, I have no idea.
Another notable mention here- I don’t normally remember my dreams, so being aware of them this frequently is incredibly odd. There have been a few bits of unpleasant personal stuff mixed in there, which adds to my “brain-working-things-out” theory, but why I’m so aware of them is a mystery. Perhaps it has something to do with the ketones.
Speaking of ketones, I figure this would be a good a time as any to explain what ketones are. Normally, when you’re eating, your body converts your food into glucose- blood sugar. When you run out, which usually takes about a day, your pancreas releases glucagon, which causes your liver to convert your stores of glycogen into glucose. It’s kind of like having a car with a spare gas tank- when you run too low on blood sugar, you switch over to your reserve tank.
Eventually, the reserves run out. That’s where ketones come in- they’re created from your body’s fat stores. This is what fasting is all about- when you switch to ketones, your digestive system almost completely shuts down. When this happens, the rest of the body has more energy to focus on other things. One of those things is called autophagy- this is where your immune system starts to eat old and weak cells, like some scar tissues. After autophagy ends, your entire immune system is regenerated. This is a huge benefit, and part of why you start feeling so good when you fast for longer periods.
The other big part of that is the ketones. I’ve already started noticing that I’m thinking more quickly and creatively, and I’m needing less sleep. That’s a good thing, because I’m pretty sick of having dreams about eating a wheel of cheese- I’m sure you can understand.
Aside from that, nothing has been too exciting thus far. Hunger has disappeared, and I can comfortably watch people eat without losing my mind. I’m into the thick of the fast, so let’s see how I feel a week from now.
FasterSelf III: 3 Fast(ing) 5 Furious
If any of you out there are cleverer than me (or at least bigger Fast and Furious fans, which isn’t setting the bar very high,) you may have noticed that in my attempt at titling this series, I skipped 2 Fast 2 Furious last week. I know, this is a stoning offense- but you can’t catch me, damn it, so good luck with that. As such, this week is named after both the second movie and a fairly obscure meme reference, because why not, I have to salvage this somehow.
With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. As I write this, I have been fasting for exactly two weeks. Last week I wasn’t off to the greatest of starts- I had some pretty significant abdominal cramping and an upset stomach, but it turned out that that was easily fixed by switching to room temperature distilled water.
As I’m over 10 days into the fast, I’ve started to regain my fasting superpowers, the first of which is the ability to taste the difference between different kinds of water. This is actually more of a handicap than a superpower, to be honest, because it pretty much only makes most water taste like crap. Even distilled, which tastes the best out of everything (and I tried everything during my last fast,) still is only okay. Oh well.
One of the actually cool superpowers, however, is my sense of smell. Now, I don’t know about you, but I normally have a fairly weak sense of smell in my day-to-day, non-fasting life. On top of that, my roommates have cats (which I am mildly allergic to,) so that doesn’t improve things at all. However, now that I’m into the fast, I can actually smell stuff from across the room. I actually smelled the candy someone had in their mouth from the other side of a hallway at work, which is actually more weird than cool, but it’s a good example. Much like all superpowers, however, I have my own kryptonite. In this case, it’s the unwashed bastard that sat near me at the movies the other day. Needless to say, that sucked.
I’ve slowly been getting the fasting cognitive boost, as I’ve been continuing to have vivid, interesting dreams (fortunately no more food nightmares) and a steady stream of novel ideas throughout the day. My energy levels are also increasing, which has given me the motivation to start deep-cleaning the house. Though only a recent convert, I am a firm believer that the better one keeps their living quarters, the better everything else in one’s life will go. Try it sometime, you won’t regret it.
I got a great question this week from a reader named Michael that I wanted to share with you guys.
He asked:
“Garrett, do you find hunger the worst the first 24-48 hours? Can you talk about your experience of hunger (if any) after 48 hours? Thanks!”
My response:
“Great question, Michael. If you have never fasted or haven’t fasted in a while, you’re going to find that the hunger is the worst when you are doing a length you haven’t done before. What I mean by this is that the first time you skip a lunch, it will be the hardest. The first time you do a day, it will be the hardest, up until the third day.
That’s why my method gets you up to two day fasts before the full length one- because there’s no point in subjecting yourself to multiple three day fasts, it just rips the band-aid off once you’re comfortable ripping off smaller band-aids. Aft
er the third day, hunger diminishes until about day five, by which time it should be gone. However, there is a difference between hunger pangs, which last 5-15 minutes, and the cravings, which you will have to beat into submission.
One thing I do, and I don’t know whether I’d recommend it (I’m something of a masochist here) is actively seek out things that cause cravings- I’ll go to restaurants with friends, smell food, cook, etc. This is not pleasant at first but if you do it enough, you’ll completely eliminate all potential food temptations and distractions, allowing you to enjoy the fast.”
What I’ve been doing in the past week is surrounding myself with food. I watch the Food Network (I really like Alton Brown’s Good Eats,) and Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain. (Fun fact: when I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a combination of Anthony Bourdain and Dr. Gregory House- not sure why.) On top of watching food shows, I like to smell people’s food (if they let me, of course,) because doing this is the fastest way to burn out the “I need food” feeling. I don’t know if I would recommend it, because it may cause some people to break, but by making it harder for yourself in the short-term, you’ll make the rest of the fast painless.
That’s all I have for you this week. Until next time!
FasterSelf IV: Fast(ing) and Furious
At the time of writing this episode, I am on the 21st day of my fast. Currently, I’m celebrating having hit the 20-day mark by enjoying a San Pellegrino sparkling water. While I don’t normally enjoy these hipster-esque beverages, this is a pleasant change from my daily cup of saltwater and the endless quantities of distilled water that I’ve been drinking. As such, I’ll put away my pride for the next 16.9 ounces and enjoy this overpriced bottle of pretension as discreetly as I can by the window of this Starbucks.
The past week has been a breeze. I’m energized, productive, and motivated at essentially every hour of the day. By now, I’m about peaked as far as the ketosis mood and brain boosts go, so everything after this point is simply the waiting game. If my calculations are correct, I’m a quarter of the way through the fast, más o menos. While I’d love to hit my target of 80 days, I’d also be very, very happy if I was done sooner. Alas, only time and the appearance of “true hunger” will tell.
One interesting side effect of the ketosis that you may find interesting is that, once into the thick of the fast, one does not need to sleep as much as normal. Perhaps more accurately, I, personally, find that I sleep less when fasting. I’m not entirely sure why this is, but I have to assume it’s either simply a ketone thing, or that, because your body spends the first week or so healing itself and engaging in autophagy, the normal repairs it does at night do not take as long. Who knows?
There is one notable difference between my experience with my current fast and my prior 40-day. Last time, I was obsessed with food and cooking shows and cooking and smelling everything in the bread aisle at the grocery store. This time, I seem to have moved through that phase sometime in the last week. I haven’t figured out why this is the case. On one hand, it could be due to the fact that I’ve already been there and done that, which would make sense. On the other, it could be that it didn’t really start until the last ten days of the fast. Imagine, if you will, a six year old in the week leading up to Christmas morning, and you’ll have some idea of what it’s like being near the end of a fast. Except, of course, this six year old is a pseudo-Christmas Carol orphan who hasn’t eaten in over a month. Additionally, Christmas morning is actually a metaphor for a large piece of cheese or whatever food you prefer this metaphorical orphan boy to be fantasizing about. You get the picture.
Damn, this sparkling water tastes good. It pains me to admit that in ways you’ll never know.
I neither remember whether I touched on this last week, nor do I care to check right now, but another interesting fasting thing is that you can taste the difference between every kind of water. With normal water it isn’t the largest issue, but when you’re drinking electrolyte water (as I have been,) it makes an enormous difference. I will say that Core Hydration is, hands down, the best I’ve tried so far- it doesn’t have any sodium, which is great because sodium makes the water taste like a fish’s ass. On the flip side, AquaHydrate tastes awful, and the Propel electrolyte water verges on being actually nauseating, which is impressive considering my digestive system is both empty and not running. Go figure.
There is one issue that I’ve been running into- a nigh perpetual case of cottonmouth. It must be a result of the natural lack of humidity in this desert, but any time I end up doing something outdoors for any length of time, I’m immediately struck by a persistent case of dry mouth. I’m combatting this by carrying around one of my distilled water jugs when I go outside, but it’s only a temporary fix. I’ll be continuing to brainstorm better solutions over the next week.
That’s all I have for you this week. Until next time!
FasterSelf V: Fast(ing) Five
Welcome back to another edition of FasterSelf. As I write this, I’m on day 28 of my fast- it’s been a whole February since I started. I won’t lie to you, dear reader, I am currently drinking one of these damnable sparkling waters again. I know, I know, I should be ashamed of myself, and I would be, if they weren’t so good. Sue me.
What else is new? Well, due to the fact that in Reno, winter never seems to end, coupled with the reality that I’ve lost over forty pounds so far, I’ve been (literally?) freezing my ass off. Of course, as I write this it’s a pleasant 70 degrees outside, but I know better than to trust that at this point. I never thought I would say it, but I actually miss North Carolina’s lack of seasons for the first time in my life. This is deeply upsetting to me in a way you will never understand unless you heard me complain about NC weather for the majority of my time there. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for those of you who are laughing at that, we have no humidity and also In-N-Out, so take that, you rat bastards.
As far as the fasting goes, there is one major downside that I have thus far forgotten to mention- no matter how much you brush your teeth, your mouth will taste terrible and your breath will smell worse. Imagine waking up after a night of partying on a couch somewhere, teeth unbrushed, dentist weeping profusely- that kind of thing, minus the potential benefit of having the lingering taste of cheap liquor in your oral cavity. Nope, it’s just going to be the taste of mouth, but amplified in a way that can only be understood by someone who hasn’t tasted anything but mouth for the past month.
This is around the point where people start noticing that you’ve lost a significant amount of weight, so the inevitable (and innumerable) repetitive fasting conversations begin. Interestingly, however, unlike the last time I fasted, people seem to be familiar with intermittent fasting.
“Oh, intermittent fasting? I’ve done that.”
“No, just -mittent fasting.”
(pause for dramatic effect)
*Cue normal shock and awe*
I have thus far met two people that were not shocked (or awed,) which is a nice change of pace, in my book. It’s nice to know that other people are familiar with fasting, and it’s much easier to convince a crowd of people that you’re not insane or living out a death-wish if there is another person to back up your claims. (Look up the “First Follower Theory” for the science behind that.)
One strange occurrence this week is that I somehow managed to sleep for 12 straight hours one night. I’m not sure why this was the case, but it’s definitely notable and unusual for fasting. My theory is that I was a bit on the sleep-deprived end at work this week, and I may have just been repaying my sleep debt. Regardless, I hate sleeping for that long because you end up going to bed later than usual that evening, and the cycle perpetuates itself. In other sleep related news, I had another strange food dream last night, although it wasn’t a nightmare, so that was nice. Strangely enough, food dreams whilst fasting seem to be a great way for one to realize that one is dreaming.
That’s all I have for you this week. Until next time!<
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FasterSelf VI: The Fate of the Fast
Today is Day 35 of the fast. For those of you who have made it this far, I appreciate your commitment. However, I have some sad news. You may remember from the first article that I mentioned Dr. Jason Fung’s Golden Rule of Fasting. Well, unfortunately, it has come into play. Over the last week, I have begun to feel more and more unlike what I should be feeling like whilst fasting. I’ve been tired, I’m losing motivation, and I’ve started to notice my mood decreasing below pre-fast levels. In other words, not great.
Now, I try to be as scientific as I can in regards to my emotions and mental state. More often than not, mood and motivation are things that can be influenced by changing routines and habits. This is the biggest reason I have to stop the fast- I have to control for the variable that is my not eating. Strangely enough, I didn’t experience this last time, which leads me to believe that the fast is not the issue. However, because the other factors in my life that could be contributing it are not so easy to change, I have to test this variable first.