Joe Zia here, manager of ZIA Zensations.
Before I proceed, please note I am not a physician and the following account is for informational purposes only and should not take the place of your physicians advice. I nor ZIA Zensations accept any liability or responsability for misuse of the information contained herein.
I am currently conducting a five day fast that consists of only water and I thought it wise to document and share this experience with our readers.
Why on earth stop eating delicious food????
Most people are well aware that the majority of sickness comes from our gut. Maintaining a healthy gut can help ward away cancer, among many other sicknesses. I have gone through a few fasts in the past but only of about 3 days at a time. I’ve read about people feeling better on the 4th and fifth days of a fast and I was due for a gut reset so here I am… None of my beloved food for FIVE WHOLE DAYS! As for my normal eating I eat just about everything from steaks to pizza and don’t forget to put cheese and bacon on all of it. I also eat pretty healthy in the sense that I eat lots of greens and salad and almost all of our food is prepared by my lovely wife and with natural ingredients.
Humans have existed for about 5 million years and agriculture started about 12 thousand years ago, so between those 2 dates it stands to reason that more than 99% of our evolution was lived as hunter-gatherers. In this scenario our diet was much simpler and our eating was much more sporadic. It was common to go stints without eating. I am a firm believer of our digestive systems being a product of the foods that were available in the areas where we evolved. So it also stands to reason that the body was designed for taking a break from food every now and then.
Nevermind the fact that fasting has been practiced for thousands of years in recent history and is proposed by all major religions, It has also been proven that fasting induces autophagy and ketosis. Autophagy is important because your body naturally eats up damaging cells. Ketosis is where your body uses ketones in place of blood glucose for fuel.
Day 0 Sunday
I started the fast on Sunday July 1st at 9 pm after eating a wonderful meal at my dads house (Khorme Sabzi if you must know). So no
special preparations here. Some recommend to do a colon cleanse prior, I didn’t do that.
Day 1 Monday
This is where it gets ugly. Woke up at 7:30. No breakfast no problem. Lots of filtered tap water throughout the day. Normal bowel movement about 10:30 am. Went to work as usual and come about 5 start to feel a little headache and some food cravings, no big deal. Around 10 pm when I got home more food cravings. Went to sleep at 1 am and slept through the night.
Day 2 Tuesday
Not a happy camper today. Woke up at 8 am. Felt a little weak and a some food craving, powered through. Normal albeit small bowel moment around 10:30 am. Prepared some “gourmet” water with 1 tsp himalayan salt in the morning. went to work as normal. Drank lots of water throughout the day. Headache, brainfog and weakness persisted throughout the day. Drank a small glass of water at 11 pm with a tsp of braggs organic mothered apple cider and a tsp of baking soda (must be added gradually or it will bubble over), not too bad with a giant water chaser. Slept at midnight, woke up once and returned to sleep.
Day 3 Wednesday Independence Day
This one was tough. What kind of wackjob fasts on the fourth of July? Woke up at 8 am drank water. Drank more salt water around 9:15 am. went to work normally. Normal bowel movement around 11:30. Still with headache and a little weak. Went swimming at 6:30 pm and drank lots of water. Got home at 10 pm watched some fireworks and thought about some bbq ribs. had my apple cider / baking soda water and went to sleep around midnight. Woke up a couple of times and returned to sleep I couldn’t turn my mind off.
Day 4
This is where it gets interesting. This is uncharted territory for me and this is supposed to be where you feel better. Well, not a whole lot better. Woke up 8 am with a slight headache and weak. The headache was a little less than day 3. Had my gourmet salt water at 9:15. Work from 10am to 9:30 pm. Very little bowel movement at 10:30 am and a few farts here and there. Some body aches in the afternoon just below the left ribs. Headache was very light in the evening. Had the ACV / Baking soda cocktail at 11 pm. Slept at midnight and woke up once then returned to sleep.
Day 5 Final day
WOW, I thought this day would never come. Just one more day. Woke up at 8 am, drank water, had my gourmet salt water at 9 am and off to work. No more headache. Still a little gas. No bowel movements. Lots of water throughout the day. Still a little weak. No food cravings. Went home at 10 pm and dug in to a extraordinarily delicious kale, spinach, arugula, bell pepper, cucumber, salad with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds on top and with a lemon, apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing with a pinch of salt. Slept at 1 am to permit some digestion. Woke up a couple of times in the night.
Day 6 Ease off the fast
Got up at 8 am had some probiotic green fruit juice 4 oz. Made me two eggs in olive oil, some raw spinach, kale and arugula along with an avocado, salt and pepper, it was glorious! Drank lots of water and left for work at 9:30 am. I don’t eat much during the day anyway, so no food throughout the day. Powered through the day on just water. Got home at 10 and enjoyed a delicious dinner feat consisting of Amy’s organic lentil soup with homemade bone broth, added some fried jalapeños and sunflower seed, ate with organic raw greens of spinach kale and arugula. Light bowel movement at 11 pm. Slept at 1 am. Slept well with no interuptions.
Day 7 Get back to normal
Woke up at 8 am feeling good, energy levels back to normal. Drank 16 oz of water. Sat down on the rowing machine and did about 12 minutes at a moderate pace. Drank 6 oz of probiotic green fruit juice. Dug into breakfast with two eggs with bacon and fresh jalapeños, avocado, and some fresh raw greens on the side. Had a normal bowel movement at around 10:45 am. Proceeded to have a coffee with no sugar. showered and went to work at 11:30 am. Going to have dinner tonight at my dad’s house so I figure I’m ready for whatever they throw at me.
Takeaway
I did this fast to cleanse my body, reset my intestinal flora, and enter into a keto state where my body burns fat instead of sugar for energy. The idea is to keep my body in a keto state. So very little sugar and lots of proteins, veggies, nuts and seeds.
While I was on the diet I did feel weak throughout. There were energy improvements on day 4 and 5, but nothing like normal food induced energy. I normally exercise every day and didn’t feel the energy to do it during the fast. I also felt bad breath which I assume is from entering a keto state in which you commonly get acetone that comes out in your breath and urine. I like to add a drop of peppermint to my glass water bottle. That helped mitigate the breath situation. You can do non physical work while fasting. I would even venture to say the more occupied you remain the easier it is.
It is always good to abstain from everything for a week such as coffee, tea, alcohol and even food in general. Just to ratify your independence from them.
Overall I would highly recommend fasting for many reasons:
- Cleanse your body – Clean your intestines and enter autophagy where your body burns plaque buildup on your intestinal walls. Starve any bacteria such as candida.
- Enter ketostasis – Force your body to obtain energy from ketones generated by your kidneys that come from fatty acids. This is more efficient and better for your body.
- Lose weight – I lost 8 pounds. It is important to maintain discipline post fast so you do gain it back.
- Eliminate any addiction – A great opportunity to eliminate all food addictions such as sugar, coffee, tea, and alcohol.
- Heighten awareness of your body – A perfect time to get in tune with your body and remember to eat to live rather than live to eat.
Interesting piece of information, hope you’re doing well!