My 3-Day Water Fast
Lately a few friends and my husband's relative were being diagnosed with or even died recently from cancer. I also had students who died from it. The scary thing about it is that anything can cause it from the foods we eat, water we drink and even the air we breathe. We all know the research done from use of cellphones, airport security screening machines to wi-fi. Yet not many of us have done enough to unload our systems of the heavy metals, pollutants, pesticides, and the list goes on.... Another reason was the H. pylori diagnosis I received back in June. I was trying to find a way of treating this naturally before I try the antibiotics.
Since reading up and researching ways to combat the above, we have invested in a Berkey water system, an air purifier, started diffusing essential oils and put plants around the house.
One health summit I have been following was Chris Wark's Square One Anti-Cancer Program, where he mentioned the water fast. This piqued my curiosity, hence, this trial.
Day 0
I started my water fast on Friday at 8:30pm after dinner of pasta. Going on a fast in the evening definitely makes it easier. However, most people start on a 24-hour fast before trying it for 3 days. So try for yourself what makes it more achievable for you.
Day 1
On Saturday I woke up at 10am after 11 hours of sleep. Felt positive, had my first glass of water - 260ml. First hunger pangs noticed around 11am and started to distract myself by watching TV. The family had my favourite pasta sauce, which I cooked last night, for lunch. Argh! I had to move away to the conservatory to avoid the temptation. Decided to do my tax returns.
I was feeling quite weak in the afternoon and I inadvertently took a nap sitting in the conservatory listening to an interview on gluten. I must have been very tired because the talk was very informative. Felt I needed to do something to keep my energy up as doing close to nothing was not helping my cause. Washed the dishes, watered the plants and cleaned the fish tank afterwards and soon felt more energetic. Funny I only heard the first tummy rumbling around 8pm. General observation: wanting to eat is all mental. But I wanted to eat nonetheless.
Day 2
First thing I saw as I came into the kitchen - bananas! Woke up at 9am after 10 hours of sleep. Slept like a baby. I'm usually a very light sleeper, waking up in the middle of the night for no reason. For two nights now, I haven't had any acid reflux when lying in bed. I didn't have to lie on my left side to fall asleep. I was very thirsty though upon waking up partly due to the sun streaming through the curtains and gulped my first two 260ml glasses of water. Been keeping tabs on my water intake; yesterday I fell short of 2 liters (1860ml)! I needed to up my game. As we all know 2L is the minimum we need to drink on a normal day, fasting or not.
I couldn't stop saying I wanted to eat. Did some yin yoga. It was slightly challenging to concentrate but did it anyway. Mind over matter... 🧘🧘
Since I have been itching to repot my plants since yesterday I did exactly that. Took the weeds out too and cleaned the garden. I usually don't get headaches but had some slight aches yesterday and this morning. I felt really good, had lots of energy and did not want to eat as much as I wanted to. Although I must admit I haven't done much activity as I normally would on an average day. I skipped the walks to town and playground on both days to stay at home and focus on myself. Time went by so slowly. Felt like I was on a retreat! By the way, drank 12*260ml! 3L achieved! 😉
Day 3
After waking up feeling weak and queasy I waited an hour to feel better. Sadly did not. With my history of hyperacidity and digestive issues, I decided to break my fast 10 hours early. Still was an amazing experience overall. I would do this again next month! Not eating was not a physical problem for most people, who have done the fast. It really is a battle of willpower. Mind over matter. This conditioning that we have to eat three times a day is harder to break in one go. I need to do this more often to achieve the mental power to overcome it. At 10am I broke my fast with a banana, blueberries, chia seeds and coconut milk. It was delicious!
I'm amazed and happy I made it after 2.5 days!
Note for the future: continue with normal daily activities. These even help with producing more ketones to burn even more fat cells.
To explain as well why it is important to do 3-day water fast, a 24-hour one, and even intermittent fasting, here are some links to tell you of the benefits.
Generally a water fast is safe to do, however, please speak to your doctor or health consultant before trying it if you have medical conditions. It is not advisable for children, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.