Getting Ready For A SEVEN Day Fast

I am planning a seven day fast starting in 10-days. This is how I will prepare for the fast, so it is not a huge shock to my system, mind and body …

I am NOT new to fasting.  Over the past few years I have regularly followed an intermittent fast that involves NOT eating from 9PM in the evening till between 2 PM and 4PM the next day.

In addition to the fasting, I have developed my own diet that includes elements of the Slow Carb Diet, including eating the same meals for a week at a time, and one “kinda” binge day a week.

MY version of low-carb is actually closer to a Keto Diet which is on the really low side of low-carbs.

I am also NOT new to fasting for longer periods.  I regularly (once every two to three months) go on two to three days fasts.

Why Seven Days?

Over the past four months, my whole eating plan has deteriorated … almost back to the days when I weighted 280 pounds.

Why?   My mother, who is 91 years, fell down a flight of stairs and broke seven ribs and  broke a bit off her spine.  This changed both of our lives drastically.

In a nutshell,  I dove into a huge BLACK hole of depression.  I started “emotional eating” almost non-stop.  Because of my profound depression, just getting through the days was a struggle. The only “good” thing was food.

The trip to the hospital and back was one and a half hours of driving past one fast-food outlet after another.  Instead of cooking for myself … McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell and the Dairy Queen became my new dining room.

Finally I have emerged enough from my Black Hole to actually realize what I was doing.  I stopped the fast food joints and started cooking healthy meals for myself.   I am back on Intermittent Fasting.

BUT … I have gained too  much weight and am still into emotion eating.

My BIG reason for going on a seven day fast is to BREAK THE CYCLE.

I know from experience that the “imagined” weight loss won’t match the “real” weight loss.  But I also know from experience that when you are fasting, you have to get your mind off food and onto other things and activities.

I also know, that going from constant binging directly to a fast would not only be shocking to my body, but would be incredibly hard emotionally.

Preparing For My Fast

So, over a period of TEN days, I am going to get my body and mind ready for the fast.

I will take the first three days to transition into a strict Keto Diet.  Then during the next seven days I will follow the Keto Diet, eating the same things every day.

Eating the same thing every day, is part of the Slow Carb Diet.  It makes both shopping for food and meal prep really easy, you don’t HAVE to think about food.  After a few days of the “same foods” it also dulls your appetite and you naturally eat less.

I am anticipating my biggest challenge will be NOT thinking about food and finding something to keep my hands and mind busy.

For the past months I have been “numbing” myself by watching too much mindless TV.  Watching TV leads to mindless eating.   So … I will cut back.  I have also purchased enough yarn to knit an afghan.  Knitting keeps my hands busy, and when my hands are busy, I don’t (can’t) eat.

I also plan on just turning off the TV set and ramping up my writing.  I have two blogs that always need content and Medium.  You will be seeing more articles on all three.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery and purchased some chicken and shrimp and a basket full of greens. I also stocked up on some soup stocks and bought two pints of heavy cream in order to make sugar-free ice cream.

I threw out some sugar covered donuts and a pint of sugar filled ice cream.

Today is Day ONE of Ten

I have been back in the rhythm of Intermittent Fasting for a week now.  It is 11AM and so far I’ve had three large cups of coffee.  I’ll switch to tea or iced water within the next hour or so.

LOL … I am already anticipating baking a chicken breast along with some carrots and beans.  I’m going to see if I can last until  3 or 4PM.     My eating window will close at 8PM.

My plan is to narrow the eating window slightly every day for 10 days. This means that in the last 3 days before fasting, I will only eat one meal a day with a one-hour, narrowing to 30-minute window.

Updates:

I’ll keep everyone updated every few days.  I’m aiming at a smooth transition, but at the same time know there may be bumps along the way.

Do YOU Want To Join Me?

If YOU want to join me on my seven day fast, or even a part of it (two to three days) my advice is to ease into it.

Start by stopping eating by 7 or 8PM at night.  Don’t eat until noon (or later).  Keep on adding time to your fasting window.

Eat low carb.  Look at the Keto Diet and try it.  You will find that you actually feel satisfied and NOT hungry all the time.

In the past, whenever I did  3-day fasts,  I didn’t actually “set a date”  I just kept on extending the fasting window until I hit 24 hours.  Once I hit 24 hours,  I just kept NOT eating for another two days.    It worked for me, every time.   Try it.

Resources:

This book by Dr. Jason Fung has been my bible on all things fasting. It is what helped me get into Intermittent and longer term fasting.  It is informative AND encouraging.

You can find out more about Dr. Jason Fung HERE.