The 3 day water fast, is something I have always wanted to do to just challenge myself and check if I could gain control over my senses. All my life I have always been a person who finds out new eateries and makes a plan to go there. Coming from that background, its definitely hard to think about 3 day fast. Me recent experience which i have written about here made me read and listen to doctors who are doing research over fasting and its benefits.
I am also not new to fasting, thanks to my mother that she started the practice of Ekadashi fasting when i was very young. That practice was just not her’s it became the practice of our home. I have sneaked out to eat something on few days and very disciplined on some days.
Bhagavadgita talks about how important it is to control one’s senses and since I was fortunate to have undertaken three month class under a guru it was explained very well. I wanted to challenge myself in that aspect of controlling my senses. My weakness being food, I was convinced that it should the be first thing that I am gonna try. I finished the 3 day water fast today and writing this jot down how i felt over the three days. Please note that I do not have any metrics since I didn’t measure anything religiously. This is more of my feelings and how I felt after the 3 day water fast.
Day 0 – Aug 16th, 2021
I wanted to merge my plan of 3 day fasting with an Ekadashi. I decided that my fast will start from the next day. Also I did not want to miss the festive food on Aug 20th, 2021.
The least meal I had was at 5PM in the evening and then I continued to be active with lot of walking.
Total Steps : 6610
Day 1 – Aug 17th, 2021
My first day of fasting, It started the day with a 5.60km run without any fatigue or difficulty. The rest of the day went by pretty well without issues. I continued to drink water at regular intervals.
Total Steps: 13,053
Day 2 – Aug 18th, 2021 (Ekadashi)
When the second day started, I knew I had to be stronger than yesterday. Woth water intake, it was easy but I did feel a little offbeat or tired by 2PM. I was able to still sustain my fast by changing my mind towards other things like work, read and playing some music instrument. By evening I was fine and I could also manage a walk. I did a slow pace walk while I spoke to my mother to update on how i felt.
Total Steps: 10,820
Day 3 – Aug 19th 2021
The final day when I woke up, I felt more stronger than all three days and the thought of food did not come into picture at all. It was like any other day where I kept myself active, Was able to focus better at work and I also felt I had lot of clarity in my thoughts. I also managed to walk/run 6km on this day without any issues. I also felt I could go longer with this fast.
Total Steps: 15,783
Day 4 – Aug 20th, 2021 (Varamahalakshmi festival)
My sleep quality was so much better over the last two days that when I woke up I felt energized and did not feel the need to have food. But I decided to break my fast and plan for a longer fasting period next month. At 11pm I had some breakfast and also had lunch later in the day. I could easily make out that i ate more than what my body asked for.
Total Steps: 638 at the time of posting this.
Conclusive thoughts
- Fasting is easy if you can divert your attention towards something else.
- Hunger pangs are temporary and they go away shortly.
- I perform better (exercising) when I do it in a fasted state.
- Weight lost : Close to 10 pounds which I will regain after re-feeding.
- Visible change in my body measurements.
- Great mental clarity.
- A sense of achievement that you could control your senses.
- You would want to do it more often.
Thank you for reading this and I plan to do 4 day fast next month and write about it as well. If you want to do the same, I would advice that you consult a physician before.