Ok, we have reached 16.5 days and the fast continues to go well... still no nasty symptoms of any kind, not even a moment of heartburn.
As with each day leading to this one, i continue to hike, walk or bike 2 hours per day. Physical hunger remains absent and cravings in the past 3 days have diminished from what they were in the days leading to them... making the whole adventure proceed with even greater ease than it had been
. Mixed nuts remains my food of choice to whif on a little bit, even if cravings are well under control. I only do this on some nights once i settle in to sleep for the night which is when any cravings, however slight, tend to arise. Enjoying the aroma of the nuts is a sensory delight, one which makes the day a better one
.
I continue to feel well and keep wondering if a "healing crisis" will arise to make the fast even a little bit difficult. Still dealing with the coated tongue (coated mouth may be more accurate), most especially first thing in the morning and to a lesser extent throughout the day. At this point, 20+ days is looking like a near certainty. As i said in the last post, it is primarily a matter of patience and also of enjoying each day immensely. I do still miss food, sometimes a lot, and i am very excited about getting to the point where i can enjoy it again, but it can definately wait. The many benefits of this fast will be magnificent... so it is well worth the sacrifice.
I actually "dry fasted" (no water) for about 18-20 hours per day for 3 days then launched into a 40 hour dry fast which was very difficult for me. 20 hours seems to be what my body is happy with and i can do this comfortably, with only minor feelings of thirst in this time. I am confident my body's water reserves can handle this very nicely. However, in the 40 hour "fast within a fast", i was pretty thirsty the entire 2nd half. I took a couple of days to fully rehydrate and now i will be back to drinking to thirst within a 4-6 hour window (surrounding my 2 hour period of exercise) and then dry fast the other 18-20 hours per day for each remaining day of this fast. My "thirst" is demanding about 6-8 cups and this would be considerably less without 2 hours of walking.
No more bowel activity since day 10 and 11, but that's ok and to be expected.
Weight Log at 16.5 days:
Scale weight and "estimated real weight" upon start of fast: 192
Scale weight today: 164.75
Estimated real weight today: 178.6
Overall weight loss: (which still still still means nothing to me
): 27.25
Estimated real weight loss (fat loss): 13.4
Estimated temporary weight loss incl. water, intestinal content and other (i consider the small amount of protein i am losing to be temporary as well, expecting to put back double that amount within a very short time upon refeeding): 13.85 Note that this 13.85 pounds will most assuredly be back on my body within 2-3 weeks of breaking the fast.
Feeling pretty great. Next mini goal is 20 days which i am very excited about.
Thank you Mamaducky,
"In addition to your daily physical activity, are you also working?"
No, i am on holiday which makes it very nice.
I just closed down my business about 5 weeks ago.
Hi 2cb4 :),
"Your ankle pain I hope has gone for good. I wish I could have borrowed your body for my vacation, it would have served me well! "
The stubborn, deep ankle pain (which only hurts when i stretch it a certain way) is about 75% healed now. It sounds like your body was fine... you probably exercised more than me, no? 
"I know what you say, live whole foods are key. I had lost sight of that and became, I don't know, entangled in a lot of the extraneous additions. Nuts and seeds, which should have remained in the background, became front and center! Funny, I added a great number of things to my diet to enhance my health I believe may have done the opposite!"
Well your instincts that these foods will enhance your health are good, but your timing was a bit premature
. Did you find yourself bogged down as if your body was being digestively overtaxed? I tried to emerge from my 10 day fast (3-4 months ago) skipping juice, going strait into fruits and vegetables and this (getting bogged down) was my experience. After a day of feeling "not so well", i stepped backwards to juice for 2 days and then felt great. Then on the 3rd day when i went back to fruits and vegetables, i was absolutely ready.
"Yes, you nailed it when you said getting bogged down. Just an over all feeling of lethargy. I shall incorporate the juicing, I would not have thought of stepping backwards like that in order to move forward."
With immensely high nutrition and very low digestive challenge, you should quickly see the lethargy vanish in a live juice diet (and fresh veg broth). After 14 days of water only, that's where the fasters body belongs for a few days. I would recommend 3 or 3.5 days of juice... then 3 or 3.5 days of fruits and vegetables (predominately raw and beginning with juicy fruit) before you should be completely digestively prepared for nuts and other foods.
"You mentioned having experienced quite a few fasts of various durations. Is it beneficial to fast repeatedly and habitually? Is it something which should be incorporated into a health promoting lifestyle?"
Since our bodies are consistently gaining toxins faster than we can eliminate them, i have to say yes
. With this in mind, Paul Bragg fasted one day per week and 7-10 days 4 times per year. It's certainly possible that this was more than necessary. Chrisb1 has expressed that after "fasting to completion" many years ago, he needs only to fast for 4-5 days at a time... but i don't remember the frequency he mentioned. An immensely nutritious diet with a lot of raw fruits and vegetables along with consistent exercise will help keep us relatively clean in between fasts and indeed this lifestyle adaptation is key.
Hi 2cb4,
"To fast with the change of seasons , four times a year, and possibly once a week?"
4 times a year sounds good to me, though i have never cared for the idea of single day fasts. I'd rather save it up and do it all at once
.
"It seems to make much sense. To cleanse the body of toxins would be a great benefit to avoiding cancer, would it not?"
Cancer and a million other diseases which are born in a toxic environment, yes.
"My father, most recently, removal of his bladder, prostate and appendix. It has been a wake up call. A most insidious disease."
Really sorry to hear about this 2cb4. My dad died fairly recently from the complications of adult onset diabetes, a disease which fasting can prevent and reverse.
"I intend to do all that I am able to avoid its snare. The food choices from here on are paramount, along with exercise as you state, but the incorporation of fasting in a more routine way leaves me much for me to consider."
Yes, i believe continued, consistent preventative fasting would be an important, even essential part of an immensely healthy lifestyle along with as you say healthy nutrition and exercise.
Warm regards to you too
.
Hi Mighty Sun,
Wow it sounds like you're sailing through this fast, a testament to healthy eating pre-fast. I do admire you for being able to do 2 hours of physical activity on a daily basis. I wasn't able to even do 15 minutes.
Just wanted to say congratulations on a job well done so far, it can only get better as time goes by.
Willow
Hi Willow,
Thank you much for your thoughtful reply.
"Wow it sounds like you're sailing through this fast, a testament to healthy eating pre-fast. I do admire you for being able to do 2 hours of physical activity on a daily basis. I wasn't able to even do 15 minutes."
I agree, the healthy eating really seems to have made the difference... as well as the 10 day fast immediately preceding that period. As to the 2 hours of exercise, i believe both healthy eating and healthy exercise pre-fast led to that. I got my heart into pretty good shape with very intense cardio while eating, so 2 hours of walking seems like "a walk in the park" by comparison, though i will say that ror the vast majority of the fast i haven't felt like doing anything more intense than this.
"Just wanted to say congratulations on a job well done so far, it can only get better as time goes by."
Thanks again. Yes it is really going well. 17.5 days now with no discomfort
.
Mighty