I Will Not Die

I woke up much better today. So far, getting up in the morning has been one of the most difficult things. Under normal circumstances, my alarm goes off, I shut it off, then I sort of doze on and off for fifteen minutes or so, then spring up and go. During this fast, I seem to barely wake at all, and it takes me sometimes a very long time before I really feel like I can going. So definitely no springing . During much of my reading, I read that a lot of people feel an abundance of energy during a fast. I haven’t really felt an abundance of energy, though the mental clarity can certainly disguise itself as energy. I can really seem to focus on things. I’ve noticed that the breath thing is stronger today, so much so that I can taste in everything. Um, hope nobody I’m around cares. The funny thing about the breath is that simultaneously, I probably have about the best oral hygiene I’ve had as an adult. The water only thing, while still brushing and flossing, out to clear out any undesirables. This weekend has been much easier than I anticipated. I assumed it would more difficult because I would around the house and consequently in the presence of cooking more often than I am during the week, but besides being playful with my wife during mealtimes (pouting), it hasn’t had a serious effect on me. The only thing that would make this even better would be if I could that hormone high I experienced early on back. That was nice.

Another interesting thing is that in everything I’ve read so far, so many people recommend you taking time off of work and remaining horizontal and resting as much as possible during a fast, both of which are too impractical for me, but even still, I’ve been fairly active between work, helping my friend move (a little) and even today I threw a football a handful of times with a friend. I definitely expected to be much weaker by this point. Maybe next time I do this I’ll do the 21-day fast .

Dereck :: Apr.28.2008 :: Health :: No Comments »

Ok, so after working myself up to what I thought was going to be a ridiculously impossible challenging task-going without food for God’s sake-here I am feeling just about fine. Don’t get me wrong, when I smell breakfast (or lunch or dinner) or drive by a Wendy’s I salivate as much as my eyes well up, but really, this isn’t very hard at this point. I simply don’t crave food. I’m not even really hungry either. My legs are definitely weak, I feel somewhat faint most of the day (especially after stairs) and some of larger muscle groups are stiff and don’t want to operate correctly, but at the same time I have a mental clarity unequaled outside of pseudo-ephedrine, and I have an indescribable sense of calm about me. On balance, I feel really good. Especially the calm part. That’s really why I did all this in the first place-to unplug, disengage and take a step back from my cycle of waking and eating and moving and fighting. After all the many symptoms I had during the first two days, I really just have two noteworthy ones: the muscle thing and the lung thing. I’ve still got three full days ahead of me, but if things stay like this, I’ll be fine for all seven.

Dereck :: Apr.28.2008 :: Health :: No Comments »

After all the enjoyable sensations I was having last night, I was disappointed to wake up feeling so bad. Heavy fatigue, low energy, irritability, aching lungs, shortness of breath, to name a few. It’s notable the degree to which I can so quickly become winded. The good news is that once I had been at work for a couple of hours, I noticed something: I wasn’t hungry. No cravings for food, at all. None. As the day went on, I felt better and better–more energy, alertness, and my mood continued to improve. The bad news is that I may have ruined my good fortune in the evening. A friend of mine was moving to an apartment and asked for help. Don’t let your friends move alone. I warned him about my strength and told him what I was doing, but went along anyways to cart off as much small stuff as possible. The small trips back and forth from their house to my car quickly wore me out. I almost fainted a couple of times. For the rest of the evening, I was weaker than I have been since the beginning. I was so tired in fact, that I couldn’t even manage to write this post during day three, but am now writing it on day four. One thing of particular note was that ketosis apparently began, definitively, late last night. I was sitting there near my wife when she remarked on my bad breath. Normally that would be strange because I’ve only had water, a single multivitamin, and more water over the last three days, and I still brush my teeth 2-3 times daily. I’m definitely cannibalizing now. When I woke up this morning, I was still extremely tired. I’ll post more about the rest of today, later tonight.

Dereck :: Apr.26.2008 :: Health :: No Comments »