no pics (hotel internet is being janky…)

Read Fasting Part 1: Preparing for a Self Imposed Famine here.

 Or Fasting Part 2: the Beginning here.

 Or Fasting Part 3: 33hours in here.

Or Fasting Part 4: listening to my needs after 60 hours here.

Vitals:
Weight: 162lbs
resting pulse: 47bpm
Blood pressure: Unknown

It’s the beginning of day 8 (172 hours) and I feel I’ve gotten everything I can out of my time without solid food.  There are undoubtedly still lessons to learn, but they would come much later in the fast.  My body has dealt with this extremely well (go body!) and I look forward to an even healthier life system in the future. 

Bowel movements have been a key progress-marker along this sustenance journey; however I’m going to keep them out of this discussion.  You are welcome to ask about them in private if you are interested, (and do! If you are thinking of doing a juice fast yourself).

Here are a couple specific updates in key stages of the second half of my fast.

Day 4 and 5: Wilderness Travel
This weekend I spent 2 days and 2 nights exploring a new part of the world in the Lost Creek Wilderness with some awesome friends.  It’s a land of green beauty, rocky mysticism, and alluring evenings. 

For me, it also included extreme physical strain, hunger, body rebellions, and carrying a lot of juice.  I broke through some walls along the way dealing with carrying a 57lb pack on minimal nutrients.  It wasn’t an overly strenuous trip by normal standards, but for me, a half a day backpacking followed by a couple hours of day hiking and rock scrambling in the sun was the limit of my body’s energy. 

By far the theme of the trip for me was joy; joy of being in a beautiful world with great friends enjoying Colorado summer.  I slept under the stars each night, going to bed late and getting up early, listening to creek bubbling, and the natural wilderness.  It was a place to fill up on emotional purity, life-force, and instantaneous energy, while my body continued to deal with lack of stamina.  In the end it did.  I reached a place of understanding with my body on what could be done on minimal nutrients, and what was out of reach.

Day 6 and 7: Steady State
My body feels good, although doesn’t have the stamina it usually does (especially in the heat). 

My mind is clear, but my quick-witted smart-engineer self has some serious troubles.  My street smarts seem to have abandoned me, and I notice my driving awareness has decreased, and overall powers of observation and analysis are sub-par.  I zone out often, and let my thoughts wander throughout the universe.  This is refreshing in a way, and would match well with a walk on the beach, but working with flight hardware on JWST it is infinitely frustrating.

Socially, I feel completely adept, easy with conversation, entertaining, and confident.  This is a result of dealing with a huge blanket issue in my life (the fast) making the little stresses no longer matter.  I ignore them and move through conversations easily and confidently. 

I feel confident I could maintain this level for the next two weeks without much difficulty, but I don’t see the benefit in it.  I’ve learned the major lessons, and am struggling to keep up with my other life priorities.  I miss the social aspect of food, and the enjoyment I get out of planning meals and sharing them with friends.  So, I will begin the process of ending the fast.

Many friends have suggested breaking it with a steak/burger/beer/pizza etc.  And although it’s temping, I am absolutely sure my body has no ability to handle such foods right now.

I’ve started taking probiotics to get my digestive tract geared up to full strength before reinitiating solid food.  I’ll start with fresh veggies and fruit (if I can find good ones here in Alabama) and follow up with brown rice, and whole grains in very small portions, while continuing my intake of juice for nutritional needs.

This will most likely take a couple days, similar to my preparation phase before my fast began. 

I look forward to this next phase of listening to my body and its needs.  We’ve become very close over the last 9 days (including 2 days prep) and I hope to stay acutely aware as I move back towards a “normal” diet.