Fasting: Get More by Having Less
We’re in the middle of our series on vision and today I wanted to talk about fasting. That may seem odd, and you may be thinking, “I might lose my vision if I stop eating.” I’m right there with you buddy. Hang in there, I promise I’ll bring it around to how fasting can actually help your vision.
I had this experience maybe 10 years ago, when I was going through my day, and I felt a slight pain in my stomach. I was caught off guard by it until I realized what it was. I felt hungry. It was a surprising realization because right after that, I realized I hadn't felt hungry in probably years. Living in America, we have access to all kinds of food at all times of the day. I hadn't realized I had developed a habit of eating before I ever felt hungry, which was why I was never hungry. Quite a luxury we have, don't you think? It was also around that time that I realized I wasn't eating very healthy food and my energy levels weren't so great either.
I decided that I needed a healthier diet and tried out a few different things. I started with your normal calorie restriction where you starve yourself, but obviously, that didn't work very well. I then tried counting my macros, which had good results, but my then-girlfriend (now my wife) hated that I couldn't eat anything with her. Eventually, I landed on intermittent fasting. It felt really difficult at first. I could only eat within an eight-hour window, which meant eating two meals a day when I was used to eating three meals a day. I was hungry and anxious to eat. I lasted one week before dropping it.
I don’t know what it was, but I decided to pick it up again about a year later. I believe we were a few months into the pandemic, and I was at home most of the time and didn't feel that hungry. This time around, it almost seemed like breathing air, meaning it was really easy to do. I was surprised by the ease, as well as the results. I lost some weight within the first week which was nice. I was surprised that I didn't feel hungry like I did the first time around.
Feeling encouraged by this new version of me, I became curious about fasting for longer periods of time. I read about water fasts and things like that and decided that I wanted to try to fast for as long as possible. I lasted about 36 hours on only water, tea, and coffee. Do you know what was surprising? I wasn't even hungry when I broke the fast. I broke it because I knew I had received maximum benefit from the fast (I heard that research shows maximum benefits around 36-48 hours), and there was food in front of me.
What stood out the most during the fast wasn't how hungry I was, it was how much I wanted to eat, even though I wasn't hungry. When I had nothing to do, I found myself walking through the kitchen, opening up the refrigerator door, or looking for snacks, even though I knew I wasn't going to eat anything. I didn't realize how attached to eating I was.
The thing with fasting is, you don't really know if you need it or want it until you've fully removed it. Successfully doing a 36-hour fast from food helped me break the habit long enough of needing to eat all the time. And by doing that, I actually have grown in appreciation for food. I also recognize faster when I fall back into old habits and can make a change sooner.
Do you know what you're doing on autopilot? Do you know if the things you're doing are things you really need to be doing? If you have things on autopilot, how in control of your own life are you? What could or should you take off autopilot? Is it social media? TV shows? Or maybe it's soda or alcohol. If you're not sure where to start, I recommend going back to the Wheel Of Life exercise I've talked about in the past. You can get the exercise with instructions at https://www.kevinkoocoach.com/wheel-of-life1.
As always, let me know your thoughts and answer. I love it when people write in to share their thoughts. I do actually read and respond.
Kevin Koo coaches people in personal, business, and leadership development while ignoring his grumbling stomach. Contact him at kevinkoocoaching@gmail.com
