Fast
Fasting for body and soul - seven days without... without what actually?
Busy, Busy, Busy, and proud of it. Too often we measure our success by how much overtime we work, how little time we have to eat and how many meetings we can squeeze into one day. I’m one of those too. Not burn-out, but burn-on, constant stress and yes, don’t let any time to be bored. It is clear that this does not go well forever and that you don’t feel comfortable doing it either.
Because I’m a person of extremes, my time off is also a bit extreme and I’m trying to do something good for my body and mind. For 10 years I have been fasting regularly, once or twice a year, between 10 and 14 days, after doctor Otto Buchinger Art. That means no food, no caffeinated drinks, just water and tea. Clear vegetable broths from time to time, maybe if necessary.
What’s in it for me? Rest, I would say first. The body shifts from what feels like sixth gear as a BMW driver on the Autobahn to the first gear as a Trabi driver in the right lane. The world of thoughts, like the body, gets a kind of spring cleaning. It’s not always pleasant; One or the other gloomy corner hides more than cobwebs and feed stocks of the Arachnids, sometimes you have bad cards there. For me personally, not eating is always the least of the challenges. With good preparation, this hurdle is easy to overcome. Stepping into a deeper connection with yourself again, that can be quite sobering. Or as I said to a fellow fasting on day 5 of my last fasting: there is far too much I in my hotel room.
A field report follows. I’m not an expert. I’m still propagating a one-fits-all solution for all mental and physical problems. Rather, I would like to share what fasting brings me and how much the holistic Soyou concept reminded me of these experiences when I got to know it.
From the ancient traditions of Christianity or Hinduism to modern approaches to therapeutic fasting in clinics under medical observation – fasting has developed in many different directions. His acceptance in the context of combating various clinical pictures is always controversial. Only received in 2016 Yoshinori Ohsumi the Nobel Medicine Prize, when he showed how our cells are stimulated by fasting to operate autophagy – a kind of degradation and recycling of unwanted cell parts. So there is a scientific basis for the positive effects that describe both healthy and sick people during and after fasting. There are not many studies; Surprisingly, the big pharmaceutical companies have no interest in financing them. Nevertheless, there are countries whose health care accepts clinical fasting, for example, Russia.
It is important for me to clarify just a few facts in advance: Fasting is not a zero diet. It’s nothing to just take a few pounds off. Not a diet that can be lived alongside others without any hurdles. Fasting means stopping your food – an intensive intervention in our physical and mental life. Nothing that is impossible, because our bodies know the process and know what to do while fasting. However, a preliminary health check is required, a precise plan that includes such unpleasant aspects such as believers and enemas. It takes degradation and construction days, which requires a lot of basic knowledge, and it takes time, peace and space.
The local library, naturopathic practitioners, Google searches, doctors – there are enough sources to acquire knowledge. Reading this experience report can only be the beginning of an exciting journey.
Day 0: A slow start in the fasting hotel
My fasting journey begins with the firm decision to give my body and mind a break. on 12/31/23, yes I know. Whoever starts the same journey with me on this day must be at least a little crazy. The first day is a farewell to the food. Steamed vegetables. A week ago I let the coffee be, alcohol 3 days ago. You get to know the group and say goodbye to the old year with a non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
Day 1: First be empty, then see what you want to fill the emptiness with
The first day is surprisingly easy. The morning routine without breakfast feels unusual, but the focus is on the upcoming cleaning and regeneration. The Glauber is not a pleasant process, but necessary. You spend a few uncomfortable hours between the bath and bed after choking down the disgusting stuff hastily and with lots of apple juice. In fact, the health resort I am in is one of the Glauber’s salt springs in Germany. Without creating this emptiness in the digestive tract, the risk of negative fasting companion symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc. increases many times over. I will think twice more. Because I’m struggling with nausea, especially with this fast.
Day 2: Looking for employment
With the second day, a slight hunger moves into my stomach. The temptation to eat something at the usual time is definitely present. Especially since we come to the Lent three times a day as a group. to brew and all kinds of teas and water. The support from water and herbal teas actually helps to overcome the craving. A surprising side effect: the senses seem to become sharper. Which will lead to the fact that I soon refuse the freshly cooked broth, much too intense. Today I also wrote to my brother and asked what to do on vacation. Nothing to do here!? It’s good that we do fast hiking tours.
Day 3: Emotional roller coaster
The body switches from energy generation to carbohydrates to burn fat and muscle loss if you’re not careful. The initial fatigue gives way to an amazing sense of clarity. The renunciation of solid food becomes a meditation for body and soul. Sounds like promoting a dubious sect, but it’s true. I would only like it if the whole group didn’t just talk about food three times a day. That doesn’t make it any easier for me to dive into other areas.
Day 4: The body speaks
The middle of the week of fasting is reached, and my state of mind fluctuates between energy and a feeling of weakness. Stupid that my room is on the third floor of the old building. These stairs will soon become the biggest challenge of fasting vacation. It’s amazing how much emotional patterns are associated with eating behavior. The challenge is to consciously recognize and break through these patterns. I start thinking about the time after fasting. For the first time in a long time I’m looking forward to cooking. I’m making a membership on an online cooking platform and enjoy the thought of good food and the rediscovery of my appetite.
Day 5: The inner peace
On the fifth day, the body begins to clean itself. A feeling of lightness spreads, accompanied by amazing mental clarity. The feeling of hunger has disappeared, and the view of food, one’s own lifestyle, certain problems changes. During the penultimate stage of the fasting journey, a deep calm returns. I call it my Zen Zone. I can’t do meditation. Fasting, that gets me where others come through meditation. Hiking is really exhausting, lots of breaks, a lot of panting. It’s a good thing that massages and visits to the thermal baths are part of the fasting week. The focus is on detoxification, and the body seems to switch to a self-healing mode. Strong, in a nebulous way that is difficult to explain. Multitasking is not, but everything you do is done with incredible mindfulness.
Day 6: The goal in sight
I actually count the hours to my departure. Not because I’m unhappy or I’m feeling bad. On the contrary, a last 4-hour hiking trip to the highest viewing platform was the highlight of the day. But I’m sensitive. The smells of the broth, the types of tea, the mattress in the hotel bed, it’s not all my optimum. At home it smells better, my teas are tastier and I need more than a room for me. I’m ready to leave the group context and incredibly grateful for the conversations and people I’ve met. I want to go the rest of the way alone.
Day 7: The end of the trip
The last stage of my fasting trip in the hotel, in the group, has been reached. I don’t watch the other person breaking the fast with steamed vegetables, but leave early in the morning. Satisfied with what I dared and achieved.
For me, I continued at home for three days. The moment of the first bite after ten days of renunciation is intense. The body reacts sensitively to the returning food. The apple porridge is too sweet, the portion is too big. The next few days, the experience of fasting still has an effect for a long time – not only physically, but also on the mental level. Still a little high, but always trying out which foods, how, and how much are good for me.
conclusion
Seven days of hotel, three more days at home without food are a challenge, but also a trip to myself. The fasting week once again showed me how much my well-being depends on my eating habits, but also my lifestyle in general and how liberating it can be to consciously focus on food and performance forgo and treat yourself to a real break. I will do it again. That’s clear. Even weeks later, I’ll stay with regular cooking, lots of fresh ingredients, and in the footsteps of mindfulness, which always acts like an emergency brake when things go too smoothly in the roller coaster of my life.
I see the same three principles that I also encountered when fasting – mental cleaning, sport and food – in Soyou. I’m glad, because fasting in everyday life I couldn’t reconcile with my current high-pressure lifestyle. Soyou, on the other hand, fits in very well. Try it yourself.
