Phaeton wrote:
AngelRho: I have gone 14 days without eating twice now. One of the effects catching me totally by surprise the first time was getting more social after five days. Way more social, I would seek out folks and do one on one dialogue with them. Better than running a fever.
The effect would last until the 14th day when it became very difficult to walk more than a few steps. Friendly guy I was. I was trying to see how long I could go without getting caught and the chummy behavior was a dead give away.
Not eating and/or not sleeping produce many chemicals affecting behavior, enough so that deliberate fasting and/or insomnia could be considered drug use.
Very cool. Day 40 was this past Saturday, btw. I got a nasty cold at one point two weeks ago, which always makes me miserable any, still had to play in church that Sunday, at a funeral the next morning, and by Tuesday was feeling much more energetic. Was pretty much worthless for about 3 days there. At that point, though, it was becoming obvious that I was starting to slow WAY down, so I was staying home every chance I got. I also had these overwhelming urges to cook soup (go figure), and I just enjoy the simple pleasure of prepping and processing fresh produce by hand. Just me, whatever plant material I happened to be working with, a knife, and a cutting board. And I'd sit on the couch and watch TV all day doing this.
Last week was the worst. The nausea had been building for two weeks, and I'd get dry mouth so bad it would wake me up at night. I lost count of how many liters of water I was drinking a day, and I started depending on little naps throughout the day for rest since sleeping at night got so difficult. The intense sick feeling would come back if I didn't at least sip a little water every few minutes.
I'm eating again now, obviously, but it's a severely restricted diet. 4 ounces of orange juice right after a liter of water first thing in the morning, small bowl of soup for lunch and dinner. Here's my soup recipe:
~2 cups dark vegetable stock, I like Kitchen Basics vegie stock
An ounce or two of milk
A small amount of butter, maybe half a teaspoon or so
Teaspoon of olive oil, preferably EVOO
A pinch of creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere's)
Black pepper and Cholula to taste
Microwave until the butter melts, and there you go. Go easy on the seasoning--it's not cool to overdo your sodium after a fast!
The point of the butter and EVOO is that while it does make the soup a bit oily for my personal taste, it's best if I can wean my body off burning its own fat while slowly reintroducing natural plant sugars and naturally occurring sodium. Plus, EVOO is a natural GI lubricant that should help me move the mail a bit easier when the time comes (no BM in over 40 days tends to make one a bit colicky).
I still FEEL like I'm fasting, though. I'm still too weak to do much physical activity--just holding my 9-month-old wears me out. I don't feel like I need the water quite as bad, I'm starting to retain water a little bit now, but I still find I'm drinking at least 4 liters a day, which isn't a bad thing for anyone. However, my morning weigh-in is consistently lower every day. Apparently my sugars are still just low enough to stay under my insulin radar. I take that as a good sign. Most people tend to make rapid weight gains after a fast. I seem to have gotten around that for the moment.
The main thing, though, is fasting isn't something to mess around with, so if you do well on extended fasts (more than 5 days), take care of yourself. There were times after my first two weeks I felt like I was on top of the world. Getting a cold just two weeks from the end made me feel extremely vulnerable and doubtful. Taking the time to meditate while slowly dicing fresh tomatoes just the way I like them, cooking soup during my evening burst of energy, and serving my family while watching them enjoy the food I prepared was one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had. I've also felt I've been addicted to food and sex, and it seems I've largely lost interest in both. It's like getting lap band surgery and chemical castration at the same time. So imagine the intensity of drinking 4 oz. of OJ and tasting mostly sugar, or the above soup recipe and being able to identify the ingredients of the vegie stock by taste alone. Or getting more pleasure satisfying my wife in the sack than getting something out of sex myself (due to electrolyte imbalance, likely hypovolemia, I lack the cardio strength to, er, "complete the task." Tried that once, and it ended up being much more trouble than it was worth). But recovery has to be a slow process, and I'm starting to realize that the real challenge is not in making it through the fast, but resisting temptations and maintaining my newfound perspective in the coming weeks and months ahead. Survival for me is going to be easy. Replacing bad habits with good ones is the challenge, and that requires having a plan.
For the most part, though, it's always been about spiritual growth, not dieting, and I'm convinced that's a better high than any drug out there. When I broke my fast, I had my wife join me outside to watch the sunrise. I read from the Bible, said a prayer, mixed oil and salt with my first glass of OJ, and poured it on the ground--nothing mystical or magical, just a way of saying, "thanks." I'm not trying to go all "holy roller" on anyone. I'm not worried about all the chemical processes on my brain or whatever, but the whole combination of experiences was nothing short of euphoric. And then when I actually did start drinking the next glass of OJ, it took nearly an hour to get through one 4 oz. glass. I've come to believe through the whole experience that the more we are concerned with spiritual aspect of our lives and strive for a proper balance in all areas of life, the better our perspectives will be overall and the less dependent we'll have to be on artificial means of finding and maintaining that balance. Fasting isn't necessarily answer, but I worry that to often drugs are used as the answer when they don't have to be. I don't even think that religion is the answer, as important as faith is to me, because faith/religion is not all about "warm, fuzzy feelings" all the time. Sometimes it is, but that's not the the main point. But I do think if one gets the soul in order, the rest will follow. And that can feel pretty darned good!
***NOTE: I don't question that drugs are often necessary for us to get our heads right. I've seen bi-polar folks without meds and it's not pretty. However, I'm concerned that unrestricted drug use is responsible for increased risky behavior, self-destructive behavior, and bears consequences physically and emotionally for those close to the abuser. People shouldn't be denied access to necessary meds. Unrestricted access when NOT necessary, overmedication, and failing to seek alternatives is just flat irresponsible and, consequently, dangerous.
14 Oct 2012, 10:36 am
