Sunday scribbles #27: Three and a half days without food, just water.

A couple of weeks ago I did something I have rarely done the past years: I watched a new series. There are many series out there that I want to watch, but it's no priority anymore. I just don't have the time to do so. With this one it was different, because as soon as I saw the trailer on imdb.com (yes, I get notifications about stuff they think 'might interest me') I marked the release date on my calendar. The series is called Limitless, and as the website says, it's about the following:

"A different way we can live better for longer: regenerating damage, maximizing strength, building resilience, shocking the body, supercharging memory and confronting mortality."

Now if you're not already excited about the synopsis: it's Chris Hemsworth who takes on this journey, you know..the guy that plays Thor. The guy that's ripped as fuck. A combination which you just can't miss out on, so hop on Disney+ and go watch it, you won't regret it. Now, what does that have to do with the caption about fasting for 3.5 days? Well, there's one episode where Chris takes on a 4 day fast, after which he goes hunting for fish, otherwise he'd have nothing to eat on the 4th day. I remember watching that episode on a Saturday evening. After having finished it, I felt an urge to try it out myself. With that urge also came a feeling of fear. It's hard to describe but I felt a bit scared, a bit anxious to try it out. I mean, it's something I have never done before. My mind was already starting to make excuses: fasting on a Sunday is annoying, there are super busy days incoming, you've got an active morning routine, two workouts to do, bla bla bla... At this point I knew I had to just try it out immediately and stop making excuses. With just 3 to 4 days you don't have to adapt your lifestyle, it's perfectly doable just doing 'business as usual', without food. And so it happened.. I finished my bag of chips and that was the last thing I ate before trying out my first fast of this duration.

Sunday: day 1 of the fast. Sunday morning I woke up, brushed my teeth and got on my spinning bike to kick off my morning routine. Followed by some pull ups, push ups and stretching exercises. I took my cold shower, after which I almost grabbed my protein shake. Nop, that's not just water so it's not allowed. I continued my day by heading to my father in law his workplace and continue working on the stands I was making for my exhibition. After nearly a full day there, I got home, put on some other clothes and took off to the climbing gym. Remember one of my excuses was that I had 2 workouts planned? This was the first of them. The climbing session went well, seeing I was living on the food that was already in my stomach from the days before. Late in the evening when I got home, I skipped another protein shake, and got behind my laptop to work on my invitations. Once they were done, I shut down my laptop and went to bed. I had survived the first day, and didn't feel bad at all. Occasionally I got hungry, but it's a feeling I'm already used to since I often only start eating at around 3 pm. It's the kind of hunger that easily goes away when you're staying busy. So far so good.

Monday: day 2 of the fast. Again I woke up, brushed my teeth and got on my spinning bike. I had to keep a steady 85 rpm, which was okay to do. I followed this up with my pull ups, push ups and stretching exercises. A cold shower to finish my routine also went better than I thought. I took off for work, which was a 2h15' drive. I have to admit that this was pretty tough mentally. Maybe I was exaggerating, but I was actually scared I would faint in the car. The day went well, and I got back home at around 14 pm. The following hour I made some reports for work, after which I worked for 2.5 hours on my website. The homepage had to be changed completely so it suited my exhibition. Once it was finished, I tweaked some last small things, after which the mobile version was totally screwed. I could not find the problem and for about 2 minutes I felt of having a near mental breakdown. It sounds stupid but I could've cried. I pulled myself together, calmed my mind with some short breathing exercises to bring me back in the present, and continued searching for the problem, found it and fixed it. I quickly left to the workplace to continue on my stands to hang my paintings. Time was scarce and I often had to push myself. Go hard or go home, right? I got home at midnight and immediately went to bed.

Tuesday: day 3 of the fast. After another short night in which I got 6 hours of sleep, I woke up, brushed my teeth, and yes, got on my spinning bike. I'm starting to repeat myself, aren't it? Well, where I usually keep a steady 85 rpm, I was at 54 this morning. Boy, this was hard. I was really feeling the lack of food and my energy level was at such a low point. I did continue with the pull ups, push ups and stretching exercises, but they weren't of the best quality. The cold shower to finish off my routine did pull me out of it and gave me the energy I needed to start my day. I took off for a 2h drive to visit the location I had planned for work. For work I visit different locations and perform a risk analysis on the bacteria called Legionella. This day I had a large prison planned, so I wasn't looking forward to it at all. I knew this was gonna be a long day. Seeing as I have to visit every place where water is used, I also had to visit the kitchens. The steamers were loaded with burgers!! All the fat draining from them, the smell reaching my nose. Fuck this fast. In the place where they make desserts, the cook even presented me with a freshly made chocolate muffin. I politely passed it down and felt content I didn't break. One moment where we took some stairs, I did feel as if I were going to fall down. The funny thing about a multiple day fast, is that you actually feel the process of ketosis. There are moments where you feel as if you have just run a marathon, but there are also moments where you feel you can take on the world. This, unfortunately, was one of the first. No worries, the other moments occurred as well, which felt pretty damn good. At 15 pm I got home after a 2h drive back, and that's when it really hit. No more than 5 minutes passed, before I put my stuff away and broke down on the couch. I slept for 3 hours straight. Seeing as I have started my fast on Saturday evening, and I planned on doing a 3 day fast, I knew I was allowed to eat late in the evening today. After waking up I went to the supermarket. Apparently I didn't buy the best kind of foods though. I was proud I did not buy lots of chocolates and sweets, but after consulting my Instagram followers, some friends suggested I'd delay the 'heavy meal' and start off with something light.

I got home after those groceries, and left again to the workplace to finish my stands. At this point I couldn't see my father in law his workplace anymore. I was pretty fed up right now, but it had to be done. At half pas 10 in the evening I got home, and I was allowed to eat (10 pm in the evening was the finish mark for the 3 day fast). I felt quite okay, so I decided to add another half day. I hopped on my Playstation 4 to play some Fornite with the squad and got in bed at half past midnight. Yes, where I initially planned on doing 2 workouts, I have only done 1 till now. With the lack of energy I was mainly feeling, I found it best to skip lifting weights. Benchpressing when feeling like this didn't seem like the safest idea, so I chickened out on that workout.

Wednesday: the final day of the fast. After waking up and brushing my teeth, I started my morning routine. I was happy to be able to keep a steady 85 rpm. My energy levels were far better than yesterday! When my morning routine finished, I rewarded myself with a hot shower, after starting cold. I did some work, and for the second time I went to the supermarket. I bought some yoghurt, so I could eat that instead of my big feast. I continued work until 11 am, after which I went to the kitchen to eat some yoghurt with nuts and muesli.

I have to admit, this did taste even better than before. I also tasted more than before. The 3.5 day fast came to an end. I have lost 5 kgs of weight, which will mainly have been water I think. After a couple of days I quickly regained 3 kgs. I didn't notice I was looking skinnier, until my girlfriend took a picture on the last day. Yeah, time to get back in shape.

When looking back, and talking to friends about it, I found it easier than I initially thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy to do, but it's perfectly doable. I loved the spikes in energy levels I have felt, mainly towards the end of the third day. When fasting you see food everywhere. Everyone on Instagram seems to be sharing food, and even during my sleep I dreamed of food. I've had many temptations during those days, but my concentrated power of will (thanks Fort Minor) got me through. With everything that I am doing to improve myself, and the quality of my life, I am noticing the fruits of my labor. I'm not there yet, but I'm setting my course and there's no thing more satisfying than taking control of your life.