Tag Archives: 6 day fast

Day #5 – 6 Day Sept Fast

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Last night I broke my fast –
for Father’s Day.
It brought the family – or part of the family – to the dinner table.

The thing about fasting, it shatters the socialisation of the family. Dinner, in particular, is a time when we all sit down to talk, share what’s happened during the day, share what’s on our minds, we chat and laugh and listen. And we learn. I learn a huge amount listening to Jennifer and Henry, my eldest son, while we eat.

When I fast, that doesn’t happen.

There’s no chatting in the kitchen while the meal’s being prepared. There’s no expression of love in the making and serving of the food – because there’s no food. In times past when I’ve done longer fasts, what’s invariably brought them to an end is this lack of socialisation – it’s not starvation – well, yes it is – it’s starvation of family time together over a meal.

I had retasu ni tsutsumareta – a Japanese version of San Choi Bau. A very light meal, but it brought us all together.

So I broke my fast a day early, for the sake of family. I hope I didn’t disappoint any of you. Here are the stats:

STATS:
Weight: 81.8kg
BP: 125/70
Resting pulse: 55bpm

So in 5 days I dropped nearly 5kg.
I also lowered my blood pressure.
More importantly, I took back control of my mind.
And I feel cleansed –
All up, it was well worthwhile, even if I did fall short a day!

Day #4 – 6 Day Fast

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I stared at the egg.
I stared at the egg a long time.
It was a boiled egg.
It threatened me, that egg.
It threaded to derail my fast.

All I had to do was crack open its smug shiny shell, peel the shell off and – yummy.

But I resisted.
I walked away.
The integrity of my fast remained intact.

It’s interesting, the games your mind plays when you fast. Anyone who does an extended fast – and I call anything more than two days an extended fast – knows that the temptation to break the fast comes not through hunger, as such. It comes through desire.

Desire is different to hunger.
Hunger is a physical primitive function.
Designed to keep you, and the species, alive.
Desire is illusory.
Desire is sly imagination.
Desire is a femme fatale.

I didn’t hunger for that egg.
I desired it.
It was my femme fatale.
But I walked away.

Today is Father’s Day here in Australia. My wife and eldest son want to take me to lunch, or cook me a Father’s Day dinner.

Should I break my six day fast to take them up on their kindness?
I’ll let you know what I decide!

Day #3 – 6 Day Sept Fast

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Day #3 I struggled a bit, I have to admit.

Maybe because I didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Holding your resolve to fast is harder when you’ve had insufficient sleep.

.But I toughed it through.

I distracted myself yesterday by going out to EB Games and trading in my Switch for a Switch 2. Larger screen, better resolution and frame rate. What prompted this was a piece in the Washington Post declaring Hollow Knight a masterpiece. I learned that the follow up game – Silksong – had just been released, enhanced for the Switch 2.

Just by the by, Hollow Knight was made by an Australian mob called Team Cherry. They’re Adelaide based. Hollow Knight has sold more than 15 million copies since its release 8 years ago, making it one of the most successful independent video games of all time.

As I grow older I find it’s crucially important that I constantly work to reverse engineer my age. To become younger. And by that, I mean to think younger.

Video games are a great way of doing this. They’re an extraordinary form of storytelling – both visual and aural. Zelda – Breath of the Wild opened up another part of my brain. As did Journey, which I found to be as spiritual an experience as I’ve ever had. Seriously.

I love the puzzle games. Figuring out Limbo and Inside for me has been very challenging. Man o man do they test your cognitive abilities. Best way to keep dementia at bay, me thinks.

Of all those that play video games, only 6-7% are 65 years and older. I believe if more older people played video games, there would be less dementia. And less depression.

Also for me with Parknson’s, playing video games tests my dexterity. Subtle finger movements. That’s one reason I got the Switch 2 – the buttons and joysticks were larger. Makes it a bit easier.

Anyway – that’s how I distracted myself from a gnawing hunger yesterday.

My Stats:
Weight: 82.7kg
BP: 129/75
Resting Pulse: 55 bpm

As I expected, my weight loss levelled off a bit, otherwise everything else was pretty much the same. Now, excuse me while I go play Silksong…

Day #2 – 6 Day Sept Fast

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On day 2 I jettisoned hunger. In previous fasts it took longer.
This time it was just one day of strong hunger pangs.

Maybe because I’m relatively sedentary at the moment, writing my new novel. I did have a vigorous half hour session on my indoor stationary bike. Then another half hour of weights and exercises. Sitting down as much as I am at the moment, I need to find time each day to shake myself out a bit.

Interestingly, my stats are coming back into line:

My Stats:
Weight: 83.4kg
BP: 129/70
Resting Pulse: 53 bpm

So in 2 days I’ve dropped 3.3 kgs. I know this will level out somewhat over the next four days – that this initial weight loss is largely water – but even so I feel much lighter and I have more energy than I did before I started this fast.

A random photo today –

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Day #1 – 6 day Sept Fast (recap)

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Here’s how I start my day – with a double espresso.
Even when I fast.
No sugar. No milk. Just two shots of pure espresso.

Usually by day 4 of a fast my body decides that it doesn’t need caffeine anymore, and I can’t bring myself to drink it. I shift across to either Green Tea or First Flush Darjeeling.

Day #1 of my fast wasn’t so bad. I felt hungry but not hugely so. I weighed myself this morning and in just one day I’ve lost 2.1kgs. This is largely water and in subsequent days this loss will come down to about 1kg per day, sometimes less.

The hardest thing about fasting for any period, whether it’s 1 day or 6 days or 14 days, which is the longest fast I’ve done, is to fully commit to it. If you waver in your commitment, even in the slightest, you won’t last the fast!

It’s a little bit like walking a Camino, or making a movie, or writing a book, or entering into a relationship. You have to approach it with full commitment.

My Stats:
Weight: 84.6kg
BP: 148/78
Resting Pulse: 65 bpm

My blood pressure is a bit high. I should be in the 125-129/ 68-75 range. My resting pulse is a bit high too – it should be under 60bpm. It’ll be interesting to see how these shift over the length of the fast.

6 Day September Fast – Day1

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I posted this morning that tomorrow I would start a six day fast.

Well, I got to 3pm after not having eaten anything all day, and I thought –
why not start today?

So today has officially been my first day of fasting, after not having eaten since 6:30pm yesterday, Tuesday 2nd Sept.

I’ll check my stats later, but to let you know how I feel: I’m starting to feel hungry. I know the first day of a fast is always the hardest. Second day is tough too. Once I get to day three I’ve pretty much lost my hunger pangs altogether.

So what do I mean by a fast?
It’s really simple.
For the six days I will only drink water, or tea.
No sugar, no milk,
I’ll take some vitamin pills – that’s all.

This evening I came downstairs to the kitchen and Jennifer was cooking up some fruit compote for dessert tonight.

It tested my resolve, let me tell you!