I've set out to fast somewhere between 2 weeks and 4 weeks duration. I am only drinking water. I hope to document the experience here so that others may benefit. My background is engineering, not medicine, so nothing here should be taken as advice, only a journal of my experiences. I plan to document my daily experience during the fast and during the recovery. Some time after the end of all that, I will release a final report that shows changes in blood chemistry, blood pressure, and weight over time. Herbert M. Shelton has authored a few books on fasting and appear to be the best resource out there from what I can find. All his books are no longer in print so you have to buy them used. Although, I don't agree with 100% of his material, his books are a valuable resource and he makes many many good points. It is a good idea to consult with a doctor who has experience with fasting as certain conditions may prevent you from safely fasting.
I've chosen to undertake this fast in the hopes that it may improve fatigue & weakness symptoms I have been plagued with since late last summer. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in July of 2009. I completely changed my diet and eliminated all restaurants and prepared foods. That strategy successfully resolved all measurable problems that are typical with Celiac Disease. No nutrient deficiencies exist, and intestinal byopsies are now normal. For some odd reason, going gluten free appears to have triggered this fatigue and weakness that has developed since.
Day 0: (from my notes yesterday)
ReplyDeleteI worked the first day(5/14) of my fast having eaten the night before(5/13/2010). I work an office job so that made it easier to fast the first day while at work. By noon on this first day I noticed some increase in sluggishness, slight light headedness, and hunger pains in the stomach growing in intensity throughout the day. Also toward the end of the day began to feel a touch nausiated. Toward the end of the day the hunger pains were becoming uncomfortable. Feeling more tired than usual near the end of the day.
Also noticed my throat was slightly rough a little after lunch and late in the evening... interestingly this coincides with similar experiences when I was eating. A mild acid reflux issues preceeded the celiac diagnosis but was unresolved with diet changes although improved some. I believe this change was soley due to diet and not the elimination of gluten.
My muscles feel a little slower or sluggish.
Day 1: I am more tired this morning. My glucose level has been dropping and the amount of change appears to be slowing. I am at 64 mg/dL as of this morning. I notice today my heart rate is more easily elevated with simple activities. Hunger pains in the stomach are better this morning but may be increasing now that I'm up and around.
ReplyDeleteNote the time listed on this blog entries appears to be in the west coast time zone, so add 3 hours to them for east coast time.
ReplyDeleteMore on Day 1:
ReplyDeleteThe stomach pains are still present and at least as bad as yesterday if not just slightly improved. These pains are worst in the evening.
Still feeling slightly light headed and lethargic.
My glucose level shot up to 76 mg/dL which I think would indicate that I am now in ketosis.
Day 2 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteFeel more sluggish and tired today. Glucose level dropped back down to 64... I'm thinking now that the body must drop the glucose level overnight to conserve energy and raise it to meet the needs of activity. I'm starting to notice a thickening white coating on my tongue... I can feel it and see it a little. I still feel a void in my stomach, this has persisted since the beginning of the fast. Also, yesterday there was some minor intestinal discomfort and just a little gas... I'm thinking here there may be some residual fecal matter in the colon that has not left the body since there is no new material to push it through.
Day 2 / Evening:
ReplyDeleteYeah, weak & tired sums up today pretty good. The tiredness is weighing down on me pretty hard. I feel a little more nausiated. Surpisingly though, not a single headache so far yet. My head does feel lightheaded and a little strange but can't really explain it more than that. Its getting harder to do things such as cleaning and other things. When you do a fast like this, you definitely want to get all housework out of the way in the first 2 days, not that its impossible later, just more difficult. Glucose back at 71 mg/dL... so that seems to confirm my theory of morning & night differences.
Day 3 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis fasting is getting difficult. I have to really pace myself with things as simple as showering so as not to stress my body out. After minimal activity I find that my heart rate is normal but the intensity of the beats are strong. Not sure what that means.
I also find that this morning I significant dry mouth. I have been drinking roughly 1-2 cups of water per day. This seemed to be enough until today.
The void in my stomach is still present, but no hunger pains. Its interesting, the smell of food does not cause any hunger feelings but I still have a strong desire to eat. The desire to eat as not diminished since the beginning.
My weight seems to be dropping more than expected at a rate of 2-3 lbs per day. At this rate, in 3 more days I will have dropped 15-20% of my normal body weight... at which point I think I will break the fast. To go any further would require having full supervision and likely being bed ridden.
A strange thing happened very early this morning. After using the bathroom and turning off the bathroom light to be in darkness again, My eyes detected a halo of pulsating light in my peripheral vision for maybe 10-20 seconds and then it passed.
Day 4 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteAs of late yesterday, my body seems to need a lot more water to keep dry mouth at bay. I've been progressively feeling sicker and weaker. At 4 AM this morning I threw up but nothing came out since my stomach was empty. From what I've read I believe this is a positive sign and it means that the fat my body is processing is loaded with toxins. One of my goals during this fast is just that, expel the garbage. My head feels kinda flu like without the temperature. I feel some minor pressure/tightness around my forehead and this has been there for days and maybe on the rise to some degree.
Day 5 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteShowering has become extremely difficult. I feel very sick. I'm not sure I can carry on like this many more days if any. I seem to have an unquenchable thirst. I was extremely thirsty when I woke up this morning. Yesterday I drank maybe 3-4 glasses of water and today may be even more. I'm going to get a CBC blood test soon to get a better peek into how my body is handling all this.
Day 6 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteI still feel crappy. My main complaints are extreme weakness, a nauseating feeling in my stomach, and a tension in my forehead combined with an odd feeling I cannot describe. I think peppermint tea might be a good addition to soothe my stomach but I'm going to stick with the text book fast and not stray from just water. I still have a little gas here and there throughout the day. Even though Herbert Sheltons book discounts enema's, I think there could be some value there. My thirst is still strong and in the last day or so I've had more difficulty squeezing a drop of blood out of my fingers to test my glucose level.... not sure why this is.
Another really interesting thing: When I first started this fast I was losing 2-3 lbs. per day. In the last few days this has begun to taper off. As of today, I lost ONLY 0.25 lbs from yesterday. That is just amazing.
More on Day 6:
ReplyDeleteAlthough the symptoms I have been experiencing are unchanged from yesterday, I do feel slightly more positive today. Not sure what to make of this but it might be signs of a turning point in this fast.
Day 7 / Early Morning(2:3o AM EST):
ReplyDeleteThe weakness is weighing down on me really really hard since yesterday afternoon. The void I feel in my stomach is getting very irritating but I'm not so sure the term "painful" really covers it.
The blood test results from wednesday showed a few intersting things:
1. My uric acid level was elevated. Some theories on various forms of arthritis are that uric acid is stored in muscle tissue and crystalizes. I have never had high levels of uric acid in my blood before. So my guess would be that my body is removing it from muscle tissues. This could be the cause of the mild unknown arthritis I have dealt with for years.
2. My electrolytes were all decent except for sodium serum. My sodium level was condiderably below the lower limit.
Also, my heart seems to be just a slightly bit stressed since yesterday afternoon.
At this point I'm going to try some himilayan salt in a glass of water to try and push my sodium serum back up and see if this has an impact on my condition. If this fails to make an improvement, I think I will be breaking this fast later this morning.
I should also say I feel thirsty this morning prior to taking the salt. I mixed 1/16 tsp salt in a half glass of water. Now for some more sleep and see what happens later this morning.
ReplyDeleteAfter a few hours of sleep, I can't say I notice a significant difference. As a result, I will break this fast right now as of 6AM EST.
ReplyDeleteOther notes: To elaborate on the heart stress I noted before... its not that my heart rate has changed significantly but the slightest activity makes the intensity of the beats stronger... kinda like when you get scared and have a pounding heart beat.
My tongue is still coated white which means my body is still eliminating toxins... its unfortunate that this process is not complete. Between yesterday and today my weight dropped only 0.125 lbs.
Also, the only effect the salt water seems to have had is to make me even more thirsty.
To break the fast I will start with 1/2 glass orange juice, and then in another hour I will take a full glass and then and hour after that will try some small fruit.
Day 7 / Evening:
ReplyDeleteI broke my fast at 6AM by drinking a 1/2 glass of orange juice(non-pasteurized). Afterwards, I drank a full glass every hour or two. I didn't sleep well the night before so that varied the pattern. My intent was to take a glass every hour. From 6 AM to 2:30PM I drank a total of 5.5 glasses of OJ. At 4pm I tried a peach... since that went well, I had two kiwi fruits at around 5:40pm, then 3/4 grapefruit at 7pm, 5 strawberries at 8:35pm, followed by a 1/2 glass fresh carrot juice at 9pm. No digestive problems. It was interesting when I started taking the fruit, my digestive system kinda fired up a little(some gurgles and such).
Having all those acidic juices and fruits irritated my throat(kinda like a sore throat). This is an issue I've had well before this fasting, so may have nothing to do with this. I'd say half way through the juices I was fine and then started to notice it. If I had to do it over I think I would have alternated acidic juices with something more alkaline.
My weakness has not improved yet, but my stomach feels better since I started taking the juices. Not long after having the first 1/2 glass of juice, those heart issues completely went away. I also still have some dizziness instability when I first get up and this has been the case for days but I've always been fine once I sit down.
Other thoughts: to fast this long or longer, you really need to mind your back. My back is not in the best shape from so much time on the couch but I'll get over it.
Day #8 / summary:
ReplyDeleteThe mild dizziness is still present if I get up too fast as before. Very little if any improvement in my weakness but I expect as my diet starts incorporating more and more things this will start to improve. Today and yesterday I did very little, just enough to prepare food. I think rest makes sense at this point.
Today I ate vegan, mostly raw vegetables and fruits, with a bowl of cooked vegetable soup last(this had a variety of vegetables in a tomato base with some beans and quinoa. I also used some baba ganoj as a dip for some of the vegetables.
I've had a slight headache most of the day... this may be just from too much activity given my condition or maybe a missing nutrient... not really sure. This may also be related to another unknown issue thats been developing prior to the fast.
Next time around, I think having one of those shaped wooden chairs that support the back well would be a good thing.
I drank less fruit juice today to limit the throat irritation and that helped, but kiwi's and green peppers as well as 1 glass of OJ did cause some irritation.
My weight increased from the day before... its amazing how much fruit and fruit juices the day before can do.... about a 2 lbs increase. Also had my first stool today which hasn't happened in 5 or 6 days. My digestive system is solid, no problems. I think I will start introducing a little lean meat tomorrow and try to move toward a regular eating schedule. I have been eating a little food every hour or two throughout the day. My stomach definitely shrunk during this fast... almost in half. I can't hold nearly as much food at one time as I could before... it will probably take a little time to expand it back to the size it was before.
I've noticed over the last few days, my chest muscles are very weak, yet my arms and legs didn't weaken as much. My chest muscles are easily made sore from almost nothing and I really feel it around the sternum... coincidently this the epicenter of part of the stomach void sensation I had earlier... I wonder if it was purely muscular?
I should also add that although my fast seemed to give me trouble the further I went, I know of others that felt better day after day and even one case of someone working a desk job for a entire 2 week fast.... so there are no guarantee's on what to expect.
Day #9 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteI feel stronger this morning and I think dizziness is improved.
Day #9 / Evening:
ReplyDeleteGot outside a little today and that definitely helped. The mild headache issue is still there, sometimes better sometimes worse.... seems to get worse with activity which is consistent with issues I was dealing with before the fast. I did some driving today and that wasn't too bad but it did tire me out. Physcially although weak, I feel good... there is a refreshed kinda feeling in my body that is unique. My head is still feeling sub par... my alertness while driving was a little less than normal. My eyes also had a slight burn/dry feel to them as if they were extra sensitive to the outdoors... not allergy wise... kinda odd.
I introduced a little meat in the diet today, basically 3 eggs over the course of the day. 1 egg I drank raw after checking it for freshness thinking that it should digest faster than when cooked. Other than that stuck to more vegan soup, some potato pancakes fried in olive oil(i saw this on TV during the fast and just had to cook it up now that I can eat again), and more fruits and vegetables.
One of the things that was amazing about this process is that after the first two days of fasting, the desire to eat was purely mental. There was no physical want of food. Even watching cooking tv shows during the fast was no big deal. TV, Internet, and Netflix are definitely your friend during fasting(especially if you can do it all from your couch with a wireless keyboard). I did read some books but as I got weaker, TV just seemed easier.
Another thing I noticed during the fast.... toward the end of it my lungs breathed more shallow than before and it took just a slight bit more effort to take a deep breathe.
Day #10 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteStill getting stronger.
Another thing of importance when undertaking a fast is the timing of it. In my mind, if you are going to spend the time to clean out your system, its most important to build your weight back up with the highest quality produce possible. To best meet that end, you want to time your fast such that your recovery occurs while fresh raw foods are available locally from the farm and preferrably those foods are organic and pesticide free.
Day #10 / Evening:
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I notice... prior to fasting if I was late getting lunch at my usual time my stomach acid would be churning a bit waiting for food and bugging me. Today, if I miss lunch by an hour or two... no acid, my body is completely indifferent. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.
For the first time after fasting I did some laundry and bought some groceries. I'd say the bulk of my strength has returned at this point.
Day #11 / Morning:
ReplyDeleteAs of this morning I feel about where I started before I began the fast.
Other thoughts: Any cooked foods you anticipate eating right after ending a fast... it might be best to prepare this in advance and freeze them. Freinds and relatives may not be as picky on what foods they choose to prepare meals for you as you recover. During the fast, I noticed the tiredness/weakness I experienced was distinctly different from the fatigue/weakness symptom I had prior to fasting... can't put my finger on it, but without a doubt it is different. As of this morning I cannot report any significant improvement in that symptom I was hoping to shed but maybe its still early or I did not fast long enough to make an impact.
I have to say I feel amazingly refreshed this morning. I can't say at this point fasting has solved any of my problems, but it definitely refreshes your body.
ReplyDeleteMore thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. Fasting seems to be an excellent method to make a major change in diet. Say you want to go from meat eating to vegetarian. Since your stomach and digestive system is reset... yielding much less stomach acid and I'm sure other changes, It is far easier to switch to any possible diet. I could be eating 100% vegetables and my stomach wouldn't bother me one bit in any way. My stomach is also smaller than it was before and I can easily fill it up. This is not a bad thing, and if you switch to more nutritionally dense foods, you may never need it to be the size it was once before.
2. The environment in which I held this fast was a small apartment on a 2nd floor. This made it difficult to get outside as I got very weak toward the end. I think to keep your spirits up and help prolong the fast, easily accessible sunlight and outdoors is key. Sure I had a balcony that has no room for even a chair to sit out in the sun, but this was a disadvantage and made it difficult to get sun and impossible to just sit outside to be outside.
I noticed something interesting in the last few days. Since the time I started my fast til now, my mold allergy has been completely non-existant. I've had issues with mold for years and it would always make me a little congested and stuffed up after a rain or high humidity. We've had some very rainy days and a few humid days between then and now, and not even slight allergic reaction. Just amazing! This could be a result of fasting, my revised diet, or both. (I now eat meat at only 1 meal per day, with more fruits & vegetables in its place.)
ReplyDelete