Day 12 and already my longest fast!

Hi all I am on day 12 of my second ever water fast. I'm feeling pretty great right now with the occasional spurt of fatigue but I'll get into that in a bit. I've found a lot of advice on these forums to be helpful so I thought I'd share my story for any newcomers who might be interested.

Two things happened in my life that prepared me for this (my 2nd) water fast. The first was my experiment with the atkins diet several years ago. I was doing it all wrong and considered it an excuse to eat nothing but steak and hamburgers (without the bun). I lost like thirty pounds and felt on top of the world until I started getting cramps at night in my leg. They would occur sporadically over a few days until one morning I was walking down the hallway and I had such an intense leg cramp that I collapsed to the ground and lay perfectly still until it passed. It didn't. Or at least, whenever I tried to move it would come back. Luckily I had my phone and began desperately googling "atkins leg cramps" where I found a lot of all-too-familiar info on potassium deficiency and stories of people being stranded in their bathtubs from cramps like mine. I called a friend and asked him to bring over some bananas. Two bananas and a few hours later, the cramps were gone. Why is this relevant? Because a potassium deficiency is one of the main worries during a water fast. Since I've actually been through that situation, I know what to look for and am no longer afraid of the problem. If I start to get anything resembling those muscle cramps I'll simply stop the fast. It's a load off my mind to not be fearful.

The second thing that happened to me to prepare me for this fast was my very first Water Fast about a year ago. I read an article in GQ and thought, "This might be just what I need to get my diet on track." It was a rough start. I had all the worst beginning symptoms that everybody talks about. Horrible headaches, sleeplessness, fatigue. It was around day 6 that I thought it might finally turn around when my roommate came back from work and had gotten me a philly cheesesteak. The smell of that sandwich coupled with my desire to not rebuke his kind gesture lead me to break my fast while devouring that philly whole. What followed was the worst week of my life. I had heart palpitations daily. It felt like that sandwich didn't move from my stomach that whole week. It wasn't till then that I learned you were supposed to break a fast slowly and deliberately with specific and healthy foods. Most importantly, I finally understood why the medics in Band of Brothers kept telling the soldiers to stop feeding the liberated concentration camp victims: Sudden food is a shock to your system after you've been without it. It can kill starving people. It made me realize what a heart palpitation feels like.

So anywho, I'm now on day 12 of my Water Fast and am having a MUCH easier go of it. I did a lot more research and preparation this time around and spent the weeks leading up to it eating healthy and exercising. I can't really say why, but I've had almost no "detox" symptoms. At one point on day 4, I had a shadow of the type of headache I had on my former fast. But that went away within an hour and I haven't experienced anything like it since. My first incident that made me nervous and think about stopping was on day 5 when my heart was beating very fast while I was trying to get to sleep. I would have some chest discomfort and my heart would sometimes skip a beat but it still didn't feel anything like my actual heart palpitations the year before. I searched this forum and others and basically surmised that while heart palpitations are certainly cause to consider ending a fast, a fast beating heart is not uncommon. I resolved to pay close attention but keep going. By day 8, it stopped happening, and I am glad I decided to stick with the fast. The weird turning point for it happened on night 7. You know when you haven't eaten for a bit and your stomach starts making that weird sucking sound? My friends and I would always say it was your stomach eating itself. Anyway, the last night that my heart was beating rapidly, I had that same sucking feeling up in my chest near my heart. I fell asleep not long after and ever since that night, I've no longer had that issue.

My only other issues have been the dizziness when standing up too fast and the occasional fatigue. The dizziness, as I understand it, comes from the lower blood pressure during a fast so I simply am slow to pop up. The occasional fatigue I'm not really sure about. It seems to be random and last about 15-20 minutes. One thing I've noticed is that if I force myself to move around (like a slow stroll despite the fatigue), the fatigue will not only go away but I'll seem to have an abundance of energy after. I don't really have a problem with it but I do worry it could strike right before an important moment or at a busy time at work.

Now onto the positive parts of my fast! I've always been skeptical about the positive effects people claim to have during a fast. Every time I'd see a post like, "My vision improved!" I'd just roll my eyes and skip to the next post. A recurring benefit I see a lot in this forum is the "clearness of mind" and I have to say I understand it now. I feel great. I really do. My mind feels pristine. I, see, think, and act clearly and with a confidence I've never had after downing a Big Mac. I'm really excited to keep this going since apparently day 16 is the "hump" that usually marks the end of most detox symptoms. The main reason I started this fast was because I'd been working out vigorously the 3 weeks prior and noticed very little difference. I realized my diet would have to change if I'm to make any progress so I sought to find a way to stop craving all the horrible foods I love. Mission accomplished. I was walking through the store the other day and all the foods I used to crave and make my mouth water did absolutely nothing for me. 3 months ago I ate a box of 20 croissants in one day. Yesterday I was looking at a similar box and thought, "Wow, I have literally no desire for them." It's like food was my drug and 12 days of water was my rehab. When I finally break this fast, I'll be starting a diet of healthy, nutritious foods without the burden of bad cravings. These 12 days have not only given me hope, but excitement about the future. I feel like I can do anything now!

The last pleasant surprise I noticed was my recent problem with cysts. I'd been getting recurring cysts on the back of my head and my shoulder that last year or so. They were always present and seemed to get infected and balloon every 3-4 months. Today I suddenly realized that they are gone! As in completely. I can't even feel a slight raise in the skin where they used to be. I'm pretty damn impressed. So, to anyone in this forum who actually bothered to read this overly long post, let me finish with a thank you for all the information and, most importantly, motivation to get me to undertake such a simple, yet life altering experience.