42 hours of water fasting - My experiences and learnings

Someone rightly said, "our health lies in our hands"—the choice to be healthy, strong and thriving needs to be made consciously. And the determination and will to do should also come from within. No one can force you to suddenly take up a healthy lifestyle, or no one can convince you enough to give up certain things that are harmful to the body. You should feel a deep calling from inside, and then you can really do wonders with your body, mind and health. 

Coming from a middle-class family, I was always a healthy child, and that healthy child turned into an obese adult and carried that extra weight till a few years ago. On my son's 3rd birthday in 2015, I realized it had to stop somewhere, this emotional eating habit and blaming me being obese on external factors such as stress and inability to cope with the eating habits. The lifestyle had to change; I had to change. It didn't happen overnight. I read extensively, watched YouTube videos. I started with portion control, Leslie walks, strength training and could reduce a lot of weight. In 2017 I happened to come across this magical and inexpensive drug called "Intermittent Fasting". I stuck to it like glue on a paper and have been religiously following it, also on vacations and on weekends. Was it difficult? Yes, at the beginning. To convince me that there are things more beautiful than just stuffing yourself with food. My choices had to change; my thinking had to change. When my mind took to it, the body started showing results. 

Recently I read extensively about "Prolonged fasting". That's one step ahead of Intermittent Fasting, where you fast for more than 24 hours, e.g. 36 or 48 hours. I was already doing 18 hours of fasting every day. I thought of giving this a try. The side-effects of this fast were explained in detail in a video. I will post the link to it as well. The benefits were enormous, and that attracted me more to it. The growth hormone is responsible for keeping you young and healthy and glowing experiences a great spike with this extended fasting method. The brain demands glucose to function. When no food is available in the body for over 24 hours, the fat reserves are automatically broken down and utilized to supply glucose to the brain. So there is a win-win situation. You lose fat, which means an inch loss happens in the body, and it becomes evident when you wear your old clothes. As the body is resting from not doing the digestive functions every few hours, the other back-end repairs happen during this time. Inflammation is reduced, dead cells which are no longer in use are eaten up by the body through a process called "Autopaghy", and your body is rejuvenated inside out just within a span of 24 to 36 hours. This prolonged fasting is often called the "monk fast," which monks undertake to help them think clearer and try a life of abstinence from food periodically.

I had my lunch on Thursday, 20.05.2021, at around 3 pm. That was when my eating window closed. I sipped on the water for the remaining part of the day and on Friday, the whole day too. I was feeling cold and shivering on a few occasions, but that was natural, I had read, and it was not a matter of concern. On Friday afternoon, after 24 hours, the stomach started growling. I ignored. I was determined to do the fast successfully. But the day seemed so long, I hadn't imagined it really. I was busy with my online classes. I also did 40 minutes of strength training in the fasted state. There was no tiredness, no lethargy. I was just feeling a little weird that the time didn't seem to pass quickly like on the other days. It was not that I was brooding about food or thinking about food, but somehow the abstinence from food was making me slow done. As if someone had paused a day in my life, and I was desperate for the day to end. In the night, I got famished. The hunger pangs were coming in circles and going away after some time. But I decided to ignore it and chant the usual "Ram Naam". At 3:30 am, I was wide awake, fresh and ready to start working. That was also natural, I read. The body is less tired, requires less sleep and so waking up early was not unusual. I lay in bed till 5 am awake, and then later, I slept off again only to get up at 7 am. I felt fresh, light and extremely proud of myself to have completed the first-ever 42 hours of water fast in my life. I broke my fast at 8 am on Saturday, i.e. today, with homemade vegetable upma and half a cup of sugarless tea.  

A foodie like me who ate every 2 hours was able to do this. I think whoever decides to do it will see a difference if this is done regularly. I plan to take this up every month once on "Ekadashi", a very auspicious day in the Hindu calendar. I have also marked it on my Marathi calendar, Kalnirnay, for the rest of the year. 

I am very charged up and optimistic about this lifestyle. It taught me that nothing is unachievable if the mind decides on it. If I can stay away from food, I can stay away from any vice or any negative thing in my life. It will make me stronger and healthier, and I would be happy inside that would reflect on my outside. 

I believe there should be an over-abundance of love, positivity and care and not always an over-abundance and wastage of food that leads many people to eat mindlessly without thinking and without caring what they are really putting into their bodies. The body should be regarded as a temple, and keeping it clean and healthy, mentally and physically, is our task and should be our utmost priority. Our forefathers probably didn't know the science behind fasting. But the key to their good immunity and longevity lies in the fact that most of them fasted on different occasions under the name of different rituals or festivals and that long-forgotten science is taught to us newly by the Westerners. It's a pity, but better late than never.

Sharing the link to the video here, which I really liked. This person is a trainer and advocates for the Keto lifestyle. I just follow the tips that are best for me as a vegetarian. Do have a look and give it a try if you want to.