My First Try: 24-hour Fasting
Hey loves, today, I’m gonna chronicle my first attempt at fasting for 24 hours. Fasting is a voluntary practice to not eat any kind of food for a determined amount of time. Some fasting options are more stricter than others. In certain instances, you are not even allowed milk, lemon, broth or honey. My choice is a 24-hour fast consuming only water, tea and coffee (with no added sugar, honey, milk or lemon).
There are favorable health benefits to fasting, however my intentions are for spiritual and emotional reasons. This activity is a detox. Will this be transformative for me? Who knows, maybe. That is my aim. I will update you as the day goes by. So here we go:
8:42AM - I almost had breakfast, lol. Woke up feeling peckish and almost forgot I devoted myself to fasting. Instead, I took a few sips of cold water to wake up my body. Next, I prepared a pot of lavender rose black loose leaf tea.
Lavender symbolizes grace, purity, devotion and calmness. In the Bible, lavender was mostly used for perfume and ceremonial oil. Rose encourages beauty and balance. Biblically, it represents rebirth.
12:30PM - A nice stretch and a couple of light moves around the house. I don’t want to engage in any heavy exercise or activity because it encourages a lack of energy that should be replenished with food. And since this is my first time trying a fast, I don’t want to take any risks.
1:14PM - Second cup of Tea. Will have a bottle or two of water afterwards to avoid dehydration and too much caffeine.
3:09PM - I’m not hungry but UGH! I’m in the mood to chew on something. 3:13PM enjoying some soft ice.
3:54PM - Just finished a mini dance session because I was feeling a little anxious. I played Les Nubians ‘Makeda’ on repeat. Did the job.
9:42PM - I’ve been having mini cravings. Like, I’m not starving but I can eat. The ice chips are helping A LOT though. I’m considering taking a nap and waking back up around 11PM to finish it off with a 1 hour meditation.
11PM - Time to meditate. My head is feeling a little woozy and I’m still hungry. Lack of water intake is perhaps why I’m feeling a little spaced out.
12AM - Victory!! I successfully finished fasting and didn’t cheat. God knows I wanted to. I think the turning point was when I logged into Facebook and a lot of food pics popped up on the timeline. Ugh, the temptation.
Anyhow, I’m SUPER sleepy and still hungry. Instead of nibbling on something, I’m gonna rest.
Friday, 8:34AM - Articles recommend reintroducing foods that are light on your stomach. Today’s breakfast is oatmeal, blueberries, honey, pecan bits, lots of cinnamon. Lunch/Dinner: a few slices of gourmet pizza. Beverages throughout the day has been strictly water.
If you are interested in doing a fast, please do your research before starting. There are certain diet rules, regimens and health conditions that may restrict you from participating. With all things considered, I am going to give fasting another try. Once a week or every other week is safe and sufficient to practice short term. Eventually, I may go into intermittent fasting. Have any advice for me on fasting? Please share below.
Different types of fasting have the following benefits: weight loss, improved memory, reduces the risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.