I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice. Consult your doctor if you are thinking of fasting.
I have fasted all my life. It started when I was a high school wrestler and did it to cut weight for matches. Then, I started doing it for religious purposes. Through the years, I’ve made it a habit and I’ve done it enough that it might be easier for me than most. Perhaps it’s because I know how my body will react.
The subject of fasting gets a mixed response, but fewer people seem to think it’s somehow inherently dangerous. It’s been prescribed by doctors and nutritionists all over the world and research has uncovered that fasting has more benefits than previously thought.
There are different kinds of fasting, but I’m talking about a modified, zero-calorie water fast. For me, believe it or not, it’s the easiest kind of fast for reasons I will mention shortly. I will drink coffee, black with no sugar, in the morning, and some tea or other zero calorie drink. Yes, I know there are some calories in those drinks, but we’re talking about so few that it won’t produce an insulin response.
I fast for several reasons, but primarily for the benefit of my body, my mind, and my spirit.
My Body:
Studies have shown that fasting benefits weight loss more than just reducing calories. Metabolic inflexibility, which is your body’s ability to burn more than one type of fuel, is decreasing especially among Americans. This is why obesity is such a problem. By fasting, whether for several hours a day, or for several days, you allow your body to burn all the carbs, then burn ketones, and then fat. By eating constantly, your body essentially forgets how to burn fat!
Studies have shown that in some cases, merely restricting eating time to six to eight hours a day can produce more weight loss than if you ate the same number of calories spread throughout the day.
In addition, extended fasting causes your body’s cells to get more efficient by replacing sick and deficient cells with new, healthier cells through a process called autophagy. It’s like a company that goes through a recession and must lay off the least needed employees to get leaner and more efficient. In fact, some cancer patients are put on some type of regular fasting regimen for that very reason!
Fasting is also a great way for the body to detoxify itself. One of the ways the body deals with toxins is to encase them in fat, so when the body begins to burn fat, the toxins can be released from the body. This is why people often feel sick when they first start fasting. They think it’s a bad thing, a sign they’re doing something wrong, when in fact their body is cleansing itself and becoming healthier!
My Mind:
The older I get the more I feel the effects of a bad diet. I used to love Chik-Fil-A milkshakes, until one day after I had one I had a sugar crash and felt very lethargic. I was bummed! That was when I began taking notice of how foods affect my mood.
If you have ever fasted for more than a couple of days, it’s likely you’ve experienced a dramatic increase in mental clarity. It usually happens for me midway through my third day, and most of the time, it comes on suddenly. Of course, you don’t have to fast to get this boost. I’ve heard of people on a strict ketogenic diet experiencing the same thing. Fasting gets you there faster.
In addition to mental clarity, fasting also helps me be more in touch with my body and how certain types of foods affect my mood and even my thinking directly. In particular, I’ve become more aware of leptin and ghrelin hormones and how they affect my behavior.
When you feel hungry, it’s because of a hormone called ghrelin. It’s the hunger hormone and it tells your body when to eat. It’s regulated by many things, including circadian rhythm, and can be thrown off from insufficient sleep. Have you ever noticed how much more likely you are to overeat, or crave junk food the day after you didn’t get a good night’s rest? That’s ghrelin.
The good news? After a period of fasting, your body’s production of ghrelin decreases. In my experience, the first three days of fasting are the hardest. Afterward I don’t experience hunger and I don’t lack energy. This is why I think it’s easier just to completely go without anything that causes an insulin response, because your body never stops producing ghrelin and it makes long fasts miserable.
My Spirit:
Fasting has been done throughout recorded history for religious reasons, and nearly every religion in the world practices some form of fasting. I’m a Christian, so I’ll approach it from that perspective because that’s what I know, but I’m not proselytizing. Here is a quote from Isaiah:
6“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke? –Isaiah 58:6 NASB
Fasting is a form of self-denial that promotes healthy self control. The benefit from the process transfers to other areas in your life. Perhaps it’s because eating is central to survival and there are powerful mechanisms within us that drive us to find and consume food to survive. In a sense, your body is telling you what to do, but when you fast, you are telling your body what to do, and the change is significant.
The habit of fasting builds self-control. Like bodybuilding, regular “workouts” build control muscle that you can use elsewhere, like, say, to stop smoking or to stop worrying. You can fill in the blank. Self-control is one of the things I desire most because so many other good things come from it.
So consider trying it. In the next post I’ll talk about how I fast.
For your life, health, and peace of mind,
Phil
So health insurance is my day job…
