Yesterday, I just finished my challenge: 7 days fasting on water, where I committed myself to only drink water for 7 days (no juices, no tea nor coffee and no food) and well… I survived! I have to admit that after this time, I feel much lighter (not just because I’ve lost ~5kg) but because my brain is sharper, and my taste and smell got more sensitive. I was journaling during this time and decided to share my experience.
Day 1
Starting strong, from morning, no food, just water… after a few hours I was hit by a big headache, even a migraine because of lack of caffeine. It was hard to focus on any mental activities so I had to do something physical and keep myself busy. I decided to do some cleaning and re-arrangement at home.
Then cooking time came, I was cooking for family… the worst moment was that I couldn’t check how it tasted! I really, badly wanted to taste it… but NO! Luckily, the food was eatable — but not by me… :)
When evening came, I got hungry… really hungry… everything was tempting, smelled nicely. However, the good thing was that the headache was gone!
During 1st day, I think I drank 5–6 glasses of water
Weight: 60.50
Day 2
I woke up as usual, ~5:30, there was a headache but much lighter than yesterday. I felt quite OK, but a little cold. Had to warm up some water and drink it to get warmer.
All the food around me was tempting. Usually every 2nd day I run to the bakery in early morning for fresh bread and buns and prepare breakfast for kids to school. And… they smelled so nicely and tempting, but NO means NO! I drank a glass of hot water, it helped a lot. Afternoon, I was starving and would eat everything around. Evening cleaning after meals was also a pain — I would eat all the leftovers!
I felt hungry during the whole day, although pretty stable. Headache was gone! Which was a great relief, however I was sweating a little bit.
During 2nd day, I drank 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: … did not check
Day 3
I got up this morning at 5:30am, quite refreshed. Did some meditation and around 6:15am went for a small morning run, small, as I got tired quickly and just decided to walk, as I got quickly out of breath.
No headache. The whole day was pretty steady — no energy spikes. Quite calm. I have joint (knee) pain but it is not very bothersome. I felt a little revolution in my gut… but nothing serious. The energy level was steady, I did not feel any ups and downs.
During 3rd day, I drank 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: 58.7
Day 4
Morning quite OK, woke up ~6am this time, did some meditation. And went for a cup of warm water. Overall energy level is OK and I feel stable, but my head is playing tricks on me (I was dreaming about burger!). Basically, today I would eat everything that I can see! I have little doubts… ‘why am I doing this’, ‘what for’… as there is so much delicious food around me! I could just simply enjoy it. The most surprising thing was that I did not feel attracted to coffee. That was a BIG win!
During 4th day, I drank 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: 58.6
Day 5
Morning same as yesterday, same routine and interesting, feeling a lot of energy in the morning. Don’t feel like I need sleep anymore. Super light. During the day, all stable nothing special. The energy level low for physical activities but brain is working sharply. I did not feel hungry and had no urge to eat.
Water: 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: 58.40
Day 6
Well, 5:30am today, waking up seemed pretty easy and I got up fresh and recharged. I’m surprised how easy the wake up is. Today I feel a little cold and get chills over my skin. My hands have become quite dry and still the physical activities are quickly exhausting, but my mind is clear and I am getting a lot of tasks done, the focus and concentration are improving.
Water: 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: 56.40
I’ve lost 2kg within 1 day! Could not believe that.
Day 7
Morning, easy at 5:40. Feeling stable and well. Body is functioning but I need to avoid activities. I get tired quickly. I’m not hungry at all, I just know that I will drink water and that will be enough for me.
Water: 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: … did not check
Last day, the 8th day
Great morning, 5:30 and I feel very good and full of energy. Basically daily habit, water, the same energy, no drops, no headache, no need for caffeine. All good.
I know, that’s it, I’m done with fasting today and I’m going to eat. So my taste buds are starting to salivate — interesting, as I did not have this for 4 days.
At noon, I decided to start my meal. This is shake made from boiled broccoli with carrots. Wow, delicious! Just one cup, not too much as my stomach had no food for 7 days. During the day drinking more glasses of warm water and the dinner same as lunch.
Water: 5–6 glasses of warm water
Weight: 54.80
Conclusions
In conclusion, I’m surprised that I was able to survive without food such a long time drinking just water. Usually I get hungry a lot and have to eat. But… this was different, firstly when I got hungry I drank water, but later in fasting I was just drinking not because I was hungry, but just I did not want to be dehydrated. You have to be careful not to starve yourself.
I usually drank 2–3 coffees per day as I thought I can’t live without it, but during that time I proved myself that it’s not needed and my body is more stable without it. But still… will I be back to coffee…? ;)
What is more, I’ve lost over 5 kg in a week. Mind got more clear and much easier to force myself to act, plan and execute. Got more focused.
However, you have to be careful with physical activities because I quickly became breathless and could not exercise. So I gave up my morning run and cold showers.
Now I will slowly get back to normal meals. For a few more days I will limit myself to cooked vegetables as soup. But I will also add avocado to them. For breakfast I plan to drink a low sodium broth (with turmeric, ginger and cinnamon) for 2–3 days.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me! I wish you good luck!
Disclosure
Be aware, I did this fasting without any medical consultation, I did not prepare for it. I just thought about it and started the next day. Please check your health condition with your doctor before doing that.
Wish you all the health,
Grzegorz