Re: There goes my fast! oops
Hi Marieln,
I wanted to say too that i believe u made it thru the hardest 24 hours of resisting cravings. Had you been able to resist for one more day, i really believe it would have been quite a bit easier to resist eating on the third day and beyond... until for me the day i am going to break the fast... that can be quite strong in its level of temptation as well... or it can be mild... for me the last day can go either way.
re: "My desire and old habits are so strong along with my mind that tries to justify just one bite. It's like being an addict or something." All I could think about is the taste and feel of food in my mouth. I was beginning to fantasize how nice life would be if only i could have a waffle with strawberry jam..."
Again i believe you have begun to strengthen yourself against this by making it thru 24 hours in your first fast.
This might not work well for everybody, it might even work badly for some, but it actually helps me a lot not only to avoid smelling food when i can... but to actively engage in smelling food once my cravings are strong (which by the way is often triggered by smelling food, something that is at times unavoidable). Smelling the food once the cravings have become strong actually works for me in helping to get past these cravings... almost as if i somehow satisfied the immense desire to eat just by smelling the food... (in my last fast i was smelling home made salsa, sometimes for 2 hours at a time).
re: "You gave me some great advice.... drink 3 glasses of water and check-in 30 minutes later and reassess craving."
I am so happy you found this helpful. It works very well for me.
re: "I've done the
Master-Cleanse for ten days with success. I'm wondering if I should start with that again? And then begin
Water Fasting just once a week for 24 hours. Or do one day a week
Water Fast between my MC... I guess anything is possible :)"
It is interesting that you were able to do
Master-Cleanse for 10 days without craving waffles and jam, but things went so very differently in the water fast. There is a "rule of thumb" to fasting that we should ease into it and of course ease out. Easing in generally would mean eating only fruits and vegetables perhaps for a couple days (or at least a day), then drinking only juice for a couple of days (or at least a day), then launching into the "water only" fast.
Part of what this accomplishes is the taming of our bodies, one giant but more managable step at a time. If we get our bodies used to fruits and vegetables only, juice only becomes a pretty easy transition. Once we are used to juice only, then water only becomes a relatively easy transition. By contrast, going from pizza one day to a
Water Fast the next can be very difficult.
Similarly the
Master-Cleanse could be used in this way as a stepping stone. The first day or two or three could be MC days... and having then tamed some of your cravings with this less restrictive "fast", your body and mind and emotions will be better prepared to step into "water only".
With your goals as they are, i believe you want to
Water Fast for several days consecutively and that one day a week would fall short of accomplishing your objectives.
In summary, you could try the "easing into the water fast" concepts, then once inside, you could try the 3 tall glasses of water and the 30 minute walk tactics. If you felt it would be useful to you, you could try avoiding smelling food, but then once the craving has become overwhelming, let yourself smell it all you want until the craving passes. Between these "tactics", i believe you will find it quite a bit easier to make it past 24 and 48 hours and who knows how much longer once you make it past the 2 most difficult days.
I really believe with these tools, you will find the food cravings will be diminished "enough"... to the point where your desire to accomplish your goals will outweigh and overpower your desire to eat.