Fast - Day 2 (noon)

I am home this morning, as the car is in for repairs and I did not have access to a loaner, so this is a noon report.

Last night I had very vivid dreams, including a number of dreams where I eat! I am not sure if it is a coincidence or my dreams reflecting the fact that I am really starting to feel hungry, but I suspect the latter. ha ha

I have a caffeine withdrawal headache still, and I feel a little dizzy and nauseated, which I believe means my body has run out of the easy-access sugars and is switching to glycogen. I also have increased joint pain in my bad elbow (tennis elbow, two years ago) and my weak knee (injured in a slip four years ago). These might be related to the fast. Either way, I am in good spirits with no "grumpiness" or unaccountable rages which might be expected after going 48 hours without any food.

Medical Notes
Blood sugar levels drop on the first day of a fast, and the body switches to converting liver glycogen to glucose. This reserve is enough for about half  of a day, at which point the body switches to muscle glycogen.

Headaches, dizziness, nausea, and a thick coatings on the tongue are symptoms at this stage of a fast, and hunger can be very intense. The "basal metabolic rate" lowers, the heart slows, and blood pressure is reduced.

Fast - Day 1

As of noon today, I had gone a full 24 hours consuming only water. I was an hour late for work (got there around 9:00 am) due to blinding headaches... maybe I should have weaned myself off caffeine before this! Other than caffeine withdrawal, it hasn't been too bad. I've been hungry and craving some comfort foods, but nothing I cannot handle. Sailing went well, as I expected, and I did not feel weak or faint or nauseous. It was a stressful day (car problems... ended up getting it towed to a garage) so I did break down in the evening and drank a cup of black tea. I don't believe that this will affect the schedule of my fast, but I will have to avoid a repeat if I want to stick to a strict water fast.

Medical Note
The first full day doesn't include any physiological changes, as there is still food passing through the gut and ample blood sugar in the, er, blood.
 

Started Fasting

Yesterday, after sailing, I went home and ate a normal dinner with a can of diet coke. A little later, I enjoyed a Jamaican patty and another can of diet coke. Today, I had two more Jamaican patties for lunch, and that is that. I have four yogurt cups and a bottle of apple juice in the refrigerator, for emergencies.

After work, I went sailing (practice night) and didn't have any physical problems. A bit hungry, which is still true now that I am at home and preparing for bed. I probably should have even until the evening, so I wouldn't have to count my days noon to noon... but I'm not going to start over ha ha.

The real test starts tomorrow, when I run out of food currently in my digestion tract.

Fasting - The Plan

I will go into the reasons later, but I have been thinking of going on a water fast for several months now. Because of family concerns ("You are going on a starvation diet?!") and my racing schedule, I wasn't able to start until now. Well, this week.

Anyway, there is a lot of information out there on fasting, so I won't bore you with paragraphs and paragraphs of my opinions on the matter. Instead, I'll just post updates as I go. The plan is to start in a couple days, so that I can sail Tuesday and Wednesday without feeling overly faint. The coming weekend is my own, and I have a week of vacation I can take if needed. My hope is that the worst symptoms will be over by June 22nd, when I will be back to sailing.

So, with luck, I will eat my last solid food tomorrow, and will not eat or drink anything other than water until July! Now, I will be keeping yogurt and juice handy in case I feel overly ill or start fainting... but the plan is no digestion for at least three weeks.

Back to Sailing

It was another long winter, but finally sailing season is back! There are a lot of changes this year. First, I am sailing on a new boat. Well, not actually "new"... but a different boat, a Shark 24. Second, I am sailing with a new skipper, Eric, who's previous experience was quite some time ago. That said, he is doing a great job! But we need time to mesh as a crew. Third, I am doing foredeck, which means I far forward, dealing with the spinnaker and acting as more of a lookout. My previous three years of racing was to handle the main and jib sails from the cockpit of a Viking 28.

It is definitely going to take me a while to get used to the new boat, the new position, and the new crew, but after two sails (and one race) I am confident we are going to be competitive this summer.

 

View forward from the foredeck, while flying our spinnaker.

We are going out again next Tuesday for a practice, and Wednesday for race number two.