Well, I have just finished my meditation course and with it my fasting.
I decided to stop after seven days since there was not time to make it to two weeks before the end of the course and I wanted (needed) to be able to eat well when I finished so that I could be ready to ride off North to go get me a job and start paying my bills :)
Here are my conclusions from the extended fasting experience:
1) It doesn't get any worse than about day three.
After that, the days are all the same and you get into a comfortable rhythm.
2) It really isn't a problem for the body!
I lost weight each day and there were visible, measurable differences in my physique every day (notably my belt got tighter and tighter till I got down to the bone), but I was still basically fully functional. Everyday I walked about 10km and while I got quite a bit slower at going up hills after the first couple of days, It didn't get any worse than that. I have to admit of course that I am in a very mild climate and if it were very cold then of course the duration without food would be greatly reduced.
3) It is a problem for the mind!
So my body could deal with it no problem, but it is definitely quite a challenge for the mind! As I mentioned, the mornings were easy enough due to the overnight mobilization of reserves, but the afternoons were invariably when the cravings would arise. This would be much less of a problem if the mind were distracted by other things to work on but I put myself in the position of not really having other stuff to do so it made it harder.
Anyway, I think if you can last three days, you can go much further without too much trouble.
4) We need far less food than we think we do!
After this experience, I'm absolutely sure that I could go two weeks without food and be quite healthy. There are a couple of my friends who I would say could go the same distance with no issues (Greg Schmidt and Bill Mark). And for pretty much everyone else that I know, I'm sure that you could go twice that far (yes, 4 weeks without food!) and not have a problem! I was really thin after four months of Yoga and fruit and veggie diet so I had very little reserves. All of my friends, as I picture you, carry plenty of "reserves" and now, having tried the complete abstinence from food for myself, I'm sure it is far less necessary than our weak little minds make us think.
All that said, I have no plans to do the long term fasting thing regularly - Its not what Id call "fun" but it really isn't that bad.
Anyway, I can safely say that getting stuck somewhere without food for days on end is absolutely no longer any concern for me at all...
I decided to stop after seven days since there was not time to make it to two weeks before the end of the course and I wanted (needed) to be able to eat well when I finished so that I could be ready to ride off North to go get me a job and start paying my bills :)
Here are my conclusions from the extended fasting experience:
1) It doesn't get any worse than about day three.
After that, the days are all the same and you get into a comfortable rhythm.
2) It really isn't a problem for the body!
I lost weight each day and there were visible, measurable differences in my physique every day (notably my belt got tighter and tighter till I got down to the bone), but I was still basically fully functional. Everyday I walked about 10km and while I got quite a bit slower at going up hills after the first couple of days, It didn't get any worse than that. I have to admit of course that I am in a very mild climate and if it were very cold then of course the duration without food would be greatly reduced.
3) It is a problem for the mind!
So my body could deal with it no problem, but it is definitely quite a challenge for the mind! As I mentioned, the mornings were easy enough due to the overnight mobilization of reserves, but the afternoons were invariably when the cravings would arise. This would be much less of a problem if the mind were distracted by other things to work on but I put myself in the position of not really having other stuff to do so it made it harder.
Anyway, I think if you can last three days, you can go much further without too much trouble.
4) We need far less food than we think we do!
After this experience, I'm absolutely sure that I could go two weeks without food and be quite healthy. There are a couple of my friends who I would say could go the same distance with no issues (Greg Schmidt and Bill Mark). And for pretty much everyone else that I know, I'm sure that you could go twice that far (yes, 4 weeks without food!) and not have a problem! I was really thin after four months of Yoga and fruit and veggie diet so I had very little reserves. All of my friends, as I picture you, carry plenty of "reserves" and now, having tried the complete abstinence from food for myself, I'm sure it is far less necessary than our weak little minds make us think.
All that said, I have no plans to do the long term fasting thing regularly - Its not what Id call "fun" but it really isn't that bad.
Anyway, I can safely say that getting stuck somewhere without food for days on end is absolutely no longer any concern for me at all...
