Hello good folks,
I only made it 2.1 days dry before moderate to strong persisting thirst in my dry mouth and throat and the beginning of dry peeling skin on my lips led me to drink, but i decided to satisfy thirst with water-only (in this case for .5 day, satisfying even mild thirst throughout this period) before going back into the next dry segment which has been about 20 relatively comfortable hours so far. So currently i am 3.5 days into this combined dry/water-only fast.
My longest dry fast to date was a reasonably comfortable 4 days about a month ago followed by a very difficult and uncomfortable 3.5 days about 5 months ago. I would like to reach about 10 days combined total this time with about 8 of them dry, maybe something close to 2 days dry followed by .5 day with water-only repeated 4 times. This would be the approximate protocol only if i can handle 2 days dry each time. Not knowing how dry and thirsty i might become, i may have to settle for 1 or 1.5 days dry in some instances, but we'll see how it goes.
I have learned and learned well through the aftermath of the very difficult 3.5 day dry fast not to push myself too deep into thirst. In that instance i fought med-heavy mercilessly persisting thirst for about 24 hours before finally drinking and experienced 10 days of dehydration-induced nausea as a result along with drying skin in many places and even some blisters.
Indeed dry fasting is the most powerful of all methods of cleansing and healing, but it is possible to take it too far and i have learned through experience to respect my body's limits. Let it be stated that for some people, 7 and even 14 days dry does not lead to such strong thirst or symptoms of dehydration. I realize and accept completely that i am not one of these individuals, at least not at this stage of my life.
Back to the current fast, i did the first 2.1 days dry in what i will call semi-rigid fashion which for me means no showers, baths or swimming (because the body does indeed drink through the skin when thristy), but i did brush my teeth with water-only, wash my hands and other limited strategic places and even soak my feet in cold epsom salt water, the latter partly as a compromise to help slightly appease the fairly strong thirst i was experiencing. I resisted a moderate persisting thirst for the better part of the 2nd day before the thirst increased a notch (to med-heavy persisting) and i decided to drink.
I am hoping for and anticipating some continued heart healing in this fast. Past water-only fasting of 30, 36.5 and 17 days, each with many less aggressive dry segments (mostly 15-20 hours until reaching semi-moderate persisting thirst) along with the 4 and 3.5 day dry fasts and about 3 months of aprox 16 hour daily dry fasts have allowed my body to take a badly damaged heart to about 90% healing and my goal is to reach 100+.
Exercising modestly, not pushing too hard, but i did isometrically train my muscles in the first 2 days of the fast (while i still had more energy) to try something new. I don't believe those workouts will produce a gain in size, but i do believe the muscles will be stronger and healthier as a result, utilizing weaker recycled protein sources to build up stronger ones.
Otherwise i am jumping on the trampoline and walking, each at a comfortable pace which at this point is pretty slow to moderate and doing these a couple times each per day. The trampoline sessions are only 2-5 minutes and the walks 10-15. Existing in a state of heightened calm, the gentle walking is a delight to my soul, sometimes feeling a bit like walking on clouds.
I do have to work somewhat, but i am trying to work as little as possible and lay in bed reading and otherwise relaxing as much as i can. I am also making a point of laying in the mid-day sun for a few minutes each day to capture all of the benefits brought forth through this worthwhile endeavor.
As another welcome perk of the fast, i would expect to burn about 5-6 pounds of actual fat over the 10 days (should i remain strong in my resolve to go this long), enough to create a noticeably healthier overall body composition with perhaps about 8-9% body fat and some fairly well defined muscles. I will of course lose a lot more than 5-6 pounds overall, but i know from experience that even through healthful eating and exercising this additional weight (the weight that does not include the 5-6 pounds of fat) will return within about 2 weeks, most of it temporary water and intestinal content losses, but i also expect to gain some muscle that is eager to be trained and fed and probably a little bit of fat because though i eat healthy foods, my goal is to build my body and replenish nutrient stores, erring on the side of eating a little too much.
I believe that fasting primes me to build muscle more efficiently once i begin eating again, primarily due to a heightened ability of the body to assimilate nutrients and i believe that each cell in my body will become stronger and healthier.
Finally, when i ended the 4 day dry fast (about a month ago) i did so feeling pretty good (meaning that i didn't knowingly break it in mid crisis), but the very first morning upon awakening i had a sore throat which persisted for about 2.5 weeks(!) and about 2 days after breaking i had developed a night time and morning cough that persisted this entire past month until i began this fast... and the cough was gone about 1 day into it.
I broke the 4 day dry fast with distilled water initially, but an hour or two later i had some herbal tea with honey and some fruit, followed a couple hours later with some vitamixed vegetable soup. My guess is that the 4 days dry stirred up some toxic activity and i didn't give it enough of a chance to exit my body (with a longer water-only segment) before greatly slowing the cleansing process, trapping within me what would become the sore throat and cough. I see this fast as the means by which to completely eliminate any remaining trace of those issues.
As to refeeding and assuming i proceed with the full 10 days, i would expect to break the last dry segment with at least .5 day of water and follow this with about 2 days of largely organic juices, both raw (some fruit juices, tomato juice, carrot/beet/celery/parsley) and cooked (as in collards or other heavy greens/garlic/onions/celery/chili peppers) and herbal teas, then eating largely organic whole fruits and vegetables for 2 or 3 days before finally introducing other healthful foods.
Feeling pretty good now, not at the top of my game, but able to pretty much do the things that need to be done without too much discomfort.
Hi Sun!
gotta say, "cascade fast" has a lovely ring; sounding more like a fountain than a dry well! Maybe opening the inner fountain, hmm?)
:-)
(( (looking around to see where Vidda is, since it always feels like she's nearby, when you show up)))
well, you've become a fasting professional, since you first began.Sounds like you're now approaching it as an Olympic sport--which I think makes sense, given your athletic past, right? (and wasn't it pushing that too hard, that led to the heart issue? Sounds like you are learning to go easier... just a gentle nudge/reminder.)
One thing I wanted to ask--hope it's not prying or rude;
have you done any EFT or Ho'oponopono work, say? (both of which involve the miracles of heart-opening/healing through forgiveness, in large part.)
It turns out that all healing IS release from the past, as a good teacher told me, and I've begun to see (with my own eyes--not so much form the head as form the heart). One of the main ways the past persists is through holding self or another (or many others)in a state or 'condition' of un-forgiveness. I mean this in the same way the word disease is not to be taken as an accusation, or 'blaming the victim', as people call it, but as a simple fact of imbalance: ie. dis-ease, pointing out to a person where s/he has attacked her/himself.
wishing you all the best. I'm quite sure you'll become one of the world-class fasters--and a guide to many others.
(so easy with yourself, yeah?)
Always a pleasure to read of your new experiences.
Chiron
"Very interesting read about Mighty's experience with dry fast."
Thank you Vidda, always happy to have your support :).
"Currently we reached heat index 110F and may go up today , so naturally I think about dehydration when one is mentioning dry fast. "
Yes no doubt such heat will lead to shorter dry fasts in keeping safe.
"Havent even red anything about its benefits, I am sure they are plenty.. "
I hadn't read much either until quite recently when i began to read translated Russian literature. Since i think you (and others) might be interested, i'm going to take this opportunity to share some of this which i already posted on another site.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/health-fitness/64788-3-5-days-into-dry-wat...
Best to you : ).
"well, you've become a fasting professional, since you first began.Sounds like you're now approaching it as an Olympic sport--which I think makes sense, given your athletic past, right? (and wasn't it pushing that too hard, that led to the heart issue? Sounds like you are learning to go easier... just a gentle nudge/reminder.)"
Hey there Chiron, thank you for your reply :). Well i made the one mistake accidentally and unknowingly pushing too hard in a run and now i am doing what i can to allow my body to repair itself from this, that which i believe will optimally help to restore my body including my damaged heart to fullness. If i felt this did not include dry fasting, i would never choose to engage this activity. So far i am very happy with the results and believe i am close to being 100% restored. With the 16 hour per day dry fasts, i have chosen to do this believing it to be the best course for my health, much the way you have chosen to water-only fast for 19 hours each day. If i came across as one trying to win some kind of competition, i believe i have very much misrepresented myself :). Thank you for this idea and i have never tried either. The closest i came to EFT was beginning to look at a youtube video, perhaps provided by you. Perhaps at some point i will take a closer look, but for now the tapping actually kind of irritated me just looking at it :). Thanks Chiron :). As far as going easy, i decided to stop this combined fast at 5 days. Have been eating only fruits and veg (and herbal tea with honey and organic miso soup). Might slip back into something since i'm not sure i am completely done this time around but we'll see. Is there any fasting on the horizon for you?
"One thing I wanted to ask--hope it's not prying or rude;
have you done any EFT or Ho'oponopono work, say? (both of which involve the miracles of heart-opening/healing through forgiveness, in large part.)"
"wishing you all the best. I'm quite sure you'll become one of the world-class fasters--and a guide to many others.
(so easy with yourself, yeah?)
Always a pleasure to read of your new experiences."
Hi Sun! ( I always see your face superimposed over my son's, when I say that. nice-nice!)
"but for now the tapping actually kind of irritated me just looking at it :)."
Ah, I can dig it. I can. :-) And there are a lot of practitioner's videos that turn me off the whole thing.
But, this is a perfect place to begin!!!! . "Even though this EFT tapping really irritates me...." Seriously. I do hope you try it at some point--only because I think it'd be a grand experiment for you. I dearly wish some of the old and great Gary Craig videos were still up--like the one where he tells a woman with a blood disorder "diagnosis", who's quite down about it, and very weary, "so that's what you're doing", (but not in an accusatory way, in a very gentle lighthearted say), and then leads her through the whole tapping routine--to have her laughing, and her energy up-up!, and her "after" live blood cell pictures now show "perfect oxygenated blood". (which we the viewers see) The before EFT image (like five minutes before) was of serious "rouleaux" . It is my favourite EFT video, but can't be found now. So sorry I did not save it. I suspect Gary Craig was under some pressure to "retire", as well as to remove videos. why?????!!!! Well, there are just too many rabbit holes to go down, and not enough time in life to just be happy, and meditate.
But, well, it works. the EFT. The Ho'oponopono is wonderful!!!! I can't speak highly enough about it -- it's kinda like you forgive yourself for what the world is doing--and you quickly see there is only really ONE (of any of us). What a marvelous glimpse that is. I hope I'm not repeating myself ad nauseam.
Fasting on the horizon for me..?
I was about to begin a summertime fast, on June 13. or that's what I had in mind, and had been doing a lot of juicing in prep. I also planned to get a Kala Thinline concert ukulele....fell in love, after weeks of research. ( in case anyone wants to take a look: a beautiful instrument, not the jokey uke at all)
But it was not to be. Visiting ER with my companion on the eve of the thirteenth, so they could see whether he had a kidney stone possibly, or a strained muscle (we intended to leave, right after the diagnosis), our lives have been completely altered.
The person he was no longer exists--since he fell, hard, in emergency care and broke his hip. He has a pre-existing condition that meant he walked with a staff (a tall one) and had an unusual gait...
Now, he is in "rehab", learning how to walk as other normally able-bodied people do--but WITH the condition; which means that rehab physio for him is something like climbing a mountain.
So...no water fast for me, as yet--since I've been making good use of all my training to get geared up for one. ;-) But I have not got sick, not even a scratchy throat, and this has been an incredibly stressful time. So, I'm very grateful for having the presence of mind, or the nudge form the Universe.
EFT has helped both of us, with some of the near-meltdown moments, such as when he developed Bell's Palsy, or before this, when he was on a forced dry fast (with IV fluid, it's true) in combo with morphine, while waiting for 48 hours to have his broken hip partially replaced. I had no idea hospitals could actually keep someone in suspended animation for up to 3 days before doing such (emergency) surgery. This is NOT like doing elective surgery where a person has some mental preparation for the whole journey that is about to unfold.
As a matter of fact, today, the full moon, is 28 days to the previous full moon--He had his surgery finally, at the exact full moon... and is now in the thick of building a new person, so to speak. It's an amazing, astounding thing; hard work. I am very glad I had prepared "for my water fast".
:-)
best, C