Well, most of the people who have started visiting this board know who I am and likely have read through my first two journals:
And
In short, my first fast was last May, lasted 11 days, and I did it for spiritual reasons. Basically, I was just looking to push myself mentally and physically.
Last fall, while working on my research, I put on about 20 pounds in 3 months and had gotten to a top weight of 252 pounds. I am 5' 8" and fairly stocky so my best or perhaps "ideal" weight is likely about 170-180 pounds give or take.
My new years resolution was to drop a significant amount of that weight. I wasn't looking to drop 70-80 pounds this year. It actually was to drop down to 200. I have been doing pretty well and maybe I'll even go for more than that, but first things first.
So in January I started my second fast with the intention of going 40 days in hopes of kick starting that weight loss by dropping 30 pounds (my minimum projected weight loss for 40 days of fasting) or more. Those that have read that account know that I had to quit after 18 days.
I do not consider that 2nd fast as a failure though. It's purpose was to drop a lot of weight and I did end up dropping 26 pounds in 26 days as my metabolism recovered. In the end, I managed to maintain a weight under 230 for the next few months. I was okay with this, since this was the weight I was at last fall before I put on all that weight.
During the months following the second fast I decided I would try a series of shorter fasts rather than one long one. My plan was to take advantage of the "metabolism crash" that one has at the beginning of a fast. I typically drop 8-10 pounds in the first 4-6 days and then things start to even out to a much slower drop rate in weight to about a pound every day or two.
On May 1st, I started a third fast with a beginning weight of 228 pounds. I fasted 5 days, lost 8 pounds, and then started slowly bringing food back to my system. Believe it or not, I started breaking the fast with OJ and then rather than breaking with soup, my first solids came in the form of salsa.
Why? Well, salsa has very very few calories and quite frankly tastes better than the bland soup suggested by Burroughs. I made the soup the next day (though I spice it so it is actually quite yummy and delicious).
I took about 4-5 days to break back to food and by the time I was back on a normal diet, I had managed to accomplish my goal of raising my metabolism back to normal without adding any extra weight. I was still around 220. I have been floating between 218-221 since the end of that fast 2 weeks ago.
I start my next short fast on Tuesday. My goals are the same: Fast until I drop about 10 pounds and then slowly break back into food without gaining any weight. Thus my goal is to get to some weight under 210 pounds and then do what I need to do to maintain that weight for a couple of weeks until I am prepared to do another short fast.
Since I have had to spend so much time maintaining a specific weight level. I think I have learned more about the "art" of dieting by simply trying to maintain weight rather than concerning myself with weight loss. I keep a tight tab on my current weight and as I eat bad on one day, I know the net result will show up in a day or two and I have to behave "better" in the mean time.
This means I don't have to worry about cheating per se, it is more along the lines of credit. If I want to go out with friends and eat something nasty, I'll do it without feeling guilty, but I also know I'll have to make it up the next day by eating a bit lighter. I try to never let myself have two bad days in a row and certainly no more than three in a week.
The trick is really to find the "normal" days. That is, the days where you eat what you want, but not too much and not enough that you'll put on any weight. These are the truly good days that I try to strive for.
Anyway, that is enough prattle for now. I'll get into more detail as the fast progresses over the next week.