ROTR

Well, that didn't take long. I feel kind of lame for breaking it so early, but there are just too many things that I'm worrying about, not the least of which is the fact that I was able to get some work done yesterday and today, but my energy level and ability to concentrate has dropped enough that I don't want to sacrifice that at the moment.

My wife and I discussed it a bit though, and now that we've both had solo "intro to fasting" sessions, we think that next time we fast it will be during the winter holidays, when people expect you to relax, take a break from work, and so on.

We are definitely going to keep trying every so often though. We've read too much about the benefits of fasting to totally give it up. I've also heard wide-eyed enthusiastic anecdotes straight from the mouth of someone who, for the last twenty years, has been going on a week-long fast every year during the holidays.

So, this time it's not going to last for me. Oh well! But this is definitely not the last time I attempt a medical fast. Living as healthfully as we can means we can expect to have many more years to attempt a fast every six months or so, and work our way up to a nice, ultra-cleansing 20-to-30 day fast.

Now to find something small and light to eat... :-)

Today, I can definitely feel my energy level dwindling. Doing some Schevo coding is still feasible and doesn't feel draining at all, I am keeping myself away from stress, and my wife is keeping stress away from me -- but nevertheless I am ready to lay down again for another nap. :-)

When I see food, see people eating food, think about food, or talk about food, I look forward to the moment that I reintroduce it. I've decided that I will do so on Saturday morning with a very light breakfast.

Until then, I am still looking forward to the whole experience, and looking forward to the end not just because I want to eat again, but because I want to see how my body feels after fasting.

I've waited too long since the last time I posted here, so I might as well write something about the week ahead of me.

As of about 25 hours ago, I started a water-only fast, using the same techniques that my wife used earlier this year. (For those who read that link -- yes, we're married now. That's how much I've been neglecting my blog!)

The primary reason for doing this fast is to attempt to slow down some annoying tooth decay that I simply do not have money to have a professional deal with. Too many years of drinking Mountain Dew and smoking cigarettes has taken its toll, and even though I've corrected my ways, my teeth are sadly in a state of slow decline.

The secondary reason (a very close second) is that I've wanted to do this for a while now for general health improvement and supercharging, and since I had complained about my teeth recently, my wife asked, "Why don't you try fasting?", to which I responded, "Well, why the heck not, I suppose!"

Now, here I am, 25 hours after my last meal. Over approximately the last year, my eating philosophy has been "whole-foods, plant-based" and my diet has followed that not quite strictly, but very closely. On top of that, over the last two weeks I've been ingesting berries, EFA-containing foods, and green leafy vegetables in even larger amounts to stockpile essential nutrients within my body.

So far, I'm managing pretty well to not get jealous of the rest of the family as they continue eating. I'm drinking a lot of water, and when you drink a lot of water, your body needs to rid itself of a lot of water. :-)

As my body still hasn't turned off its digestive system and switched its metabolism from eating-mode to fasting-mode, I'm feeling as well as a generally healthy individual could expect to feel after not eating for an entire day.

The next several days should be interesting indeed. Now, time for me to lay down with a good book and rest some more...

We got some exciting news: my girlfriend received word from her doctor today that the blood test she got yesterday indicated that it is safe for her to begin her therapeutic fast!

She has been living with asthma for the last nearly 15 years. She is currently dependent on three different medications to control its symptoms. This fast is her attempt at curing herself of asthma by removing toxins from her body, rather than merely controlling its symptoms by adding toxins.

She effectively started it yesterday, and her body is already flushing itself of crud.

My role is to facilitate a calm, stress-reduced environment for her, while simultaneously caring for her two sons (and my son when he visits each weekend), caring for myself, and getting enough billable hours of work time in each week to keep the finances in check and Schevo moving forward.

Thankfully, we have all had a lot of practice eating a very healthy and nutritious diet, and that helps tremendously in keeping my and the kids' moods and minds in balance.

I'm very excited about it all. I'm excited by the prospect of her curing herself of asthma -- if it doesn't completely get rid of it this time, she is going to fast again in six months after she replenishes her body's nutritional reserves.

I'm also excited about being thrust into a situation where I don't just want to take more control over my and my family's life, but must do so. I like who I am now, and consider myself one of the "good guys", but I also think the increased responsibility and rigor of my daily life for the next month will be character-building for me, in a positive way.

For those of you not familiar with therapeutic fasting, read the first chapter of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Fasting -- and Eating -- for Health.