I'm amazed and proud - Now the hard part begins....

Date:   11/13/2006 2:38:05 PM ( 18 y ago)

Sure, I fell about 21 days short of 30 (HAHA), but the first thing I would suggest to a first time JFer is aim high. I think that there is something to shooting for the max and then seeing how it goes. If I had pick 7 days, I would have missed the wonderful experiences of the past two days. If I had picked 10, I may have stretched it one more, for my benefit or not. I think as a first timer, it is best to go in shooting for as long as you can, but with the understanding that you'll know when you've had enough. The fact is, if you told me that I was only going to do 9 days when I started, I would have been disappointed. Now that I know what it takes to do 9 days, my perspective on that is totally different.

For me, I think limiting to apple juice was the reason for my success and ending early. I was going along just fine and hit a major wall. Every day was a struggle of some sort, but today it was over. Physically, I think I could have suffered through a few more days if I had to. But in my heart, I knew I was done. The apple juice made getting to day 9 easy. But I think it also played a part in not being able to get past day 9. Maybe not, I'm more certain of the former than the latter.

I noticed, reading back what I wrote, that I kept saying how easy it was. I think what I should have been saying was that it was easier than I thought, but by no means easy. It was pretty hard, but not as hard as one might think when you consider that you GIVE UP SOLID FOODS. I turned that into "easy" too many times.

Knowing what I know now, my next JF, if I choose to try one, would be shooting for 12-14 days. I would be much smarter about it. And having done 9 days, I think that is a fair target. I think I might try one in the spring. I don't know if 30 days is ever in the cards for me, I could see me getting good at 7-14 day fasts a couple times a year. AusJulie and Dazzle (30 dayers) should be extremely proud. Now I have what they accomplished in greater perspective and it is that much more impressive - and I was already quite impressed.

Losing 21 lbs in 20 days is really what I needed. I'm ready to start the next phase of this process. The one where I eat right, limit my calories, drink lots of water, become a regular runner again, and start lifting weights and doing abs. There is something about doing it with this momentum that seems better than if I had tried it 20 days ago. And my perspective on eating, well I don't know where to start with that. I am convinced now that your body responds best to LESS FOOD. We'll see if I'm smart enough to follow my own advice.

Besides the weight though, there is something special about the fasting that is hard for me to put my finger on. Spiritually, nothing really I can put into words. Well nothing significant, I don't think. Physically - AMAZING stuff happened, even in my "short" fast. Mentally, this was big for me. I can only imagine what another 10 days or more could bring.

I consider this experience an A+ success and I could not be happier. I'm going to check in weekly here to let everyone know how I carried the JF experience to my new life, post fast.

Forgive me for being all over the place. I'm happy that I'm going to eat and I'm happy that I made it as far as I did. I just can't stop saying it. It's my blog - I can if I want to, I guess.

I'll check in soon,
REEK



 

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