Today I learnt…fasting isn’t for sissies

I’ve been fasting for the past few days and today is my first real day of eating food again, and thought I’d share my experience with you.

As my title says, fasting definitely isn’t for sissies! I did a 3-day juice fast, which basically mean that for 3 days I didn’t eat any food and only drank water and raw vegetable juice at meal times. Let me tell you the thinking behind it before you all think I’ve gone bonkers…

So there are various reasons for fasting (health and spiritual reasons) and mine were health-related. It’s said that fasting is a healing agent, giving rest to your system and eliminating impurities that have accumulated for years. The theory behind it is that during a fast, the energy that is usually directed towards digestion is available for repair and healing of the body and clears the mind. Seeing that I’m approaching 30 (still far away, but nonetheless, approaching) and I have never given my body a proper rest, I thought I’d give it a go. A bit of clarity never hurt anyone, anyway!

Sounds so good in theory, but in practice…holy moly it was difficult. You don’t realise how much time in your life is dedicated to preparing and eating food, and how much of a social role it plays, until you take it away.

I struggled…a lot…and not because I was hungry and weak – that feeling went away after about a day and a half – but more because the rituals of preparing food and eating are such a big part of my life. Without them, I felt completely lost!

It made me realise how much I love and appreciate food and how much I enjoy socialising over a meal or glass of wine and how much I love to cook. I have a new-found respect for everything that I consume. I have been privileged enough in my life to never have had to feel hunger for more than a few hours and this was quite a reality check for me. I was grumpy as hell for those three days (thanks to those around me for just putting up with it!), but nonetheless I am so glad that I tried this out. (Losing a kg or two was a nice side-effect as well).

I can’t say that I’ll do it again in a hurry, but I’m pretty sure that I will do it again in my life. It’s like getting a tattoo…sore as hell, but feels good at the same time.