The biggest downfall in water fasting is not being prepared. These water fasting tips will help you avoid the pitfalls, helping you to create the most supportive environment and guide you toward a smooth and successful fasting experience.
A water fast becomes a sort of "lifestyle change" as so many patterns and routines become disrupted. Hopefully, these water fasting tips, and ones you find on your own, will make that transition a bit easier. Every time you fast, you will gain more insight into the process, making it easier and easier.
Commitment
Water fasting, as you can imagine, requires a great deal of commitment. Some people find it easy to make a decision and then stick to it no matter what. Others struggle with second thoughts and doubts, or are more prone to give in to the temptations. You know which type of person you are, and most of us are the second type.
And there's nothing wrong with that. We're creatures of habit and when our routines and habits change, we usually feel discomfort. This discomfort can be turned into a sense of excitement if you choose.
During fasting, it's usually just the first day that we feel the pangs in our stomach that we equate with hunger. And it's usually the first few days that we "miss" eating, even after those "hunger pangs" have ceased. If you're new to fasting, you might be surprised (and enlightened) by what you miss about eating. Just the action of chewing can become something you crave. Some miss the hand to mouth action of feeding themselves. But, for most, it's the full, satisfied feeling in the stomach, that not only feels good physically, but provides a level of emotional comfort.
Each person will gain unique insight into their relationship with food and eating. That's part of what fasting is about and one of the many benefits of fasting. Don't ignore this aspect. Examine your feelings and responses around food and the lack of it, and use that information for greater personal awareness. This can truly be an exciting time of personal insight and expansion.
Rest
It is highly recommended that you not work during a water fast, and most importantly that you not work during those first few critical days. If you work in a totally loving and supportive environment, it might be okay to work during the latter part of your fast.
If you work in a non-supportive environment, particularly one that is highly charged with strict deadlines or difficult co-workers, just don't even go there. You may feel more emotional than usual during a fast, because your emotional and mental patterns will be undergoing a sort of cleanse of their own. (See Emotional Benefits of Fasting for more on emotional cleansing.)
If you really must work during part of your fast, and this might depend on how long you're fasting, at least reserve the first 3-5 days to be away from those pressures and the pressures of being around the "eating public". This applies too to those who work from home. While fasting can be inspiring toward your work if you love your work, avoid the parts that are stressful. This time is best spent in partial seclusion, or full seclusion, depending on your personality.
Just a reminder here that may tip the scale in favor of taking some vacation time: body odor and bad breath are quite often a side effect of fasting as your body eliminates toxins and wastes.
What to do with your time
You might be surprised at how much time is freed up by not eating, time you used to spend cooking, cleaning the dishes, food shopping, and thinking about and planning your next meal. You may also find you need less sleep. We're not talking about insomnia here, but rather sleeping more soundly and so, requiring less. Not having to digest food, which is such an energy-intensive activity, frees up energy too.
Plan ahead by at least having several ideas in mind for things to do. And have the supplies on hand for any activities that require them (especially for any activity you're planning to do in those first few days when you may not be able to drive safely).
Treat yourself with a self-spa--take long baths, moisturize your skin with natural, chemical-free moisturizers, give yourself a manicure or pedicure, do a facial. Begin the practice of dry skin brushing to help eliminate toxins and stimulate the lymphatic system. Many like to sun or sit in hot tubs or saunas, but these can be dehydrating, so proceed with caution.
Catch up on reading (only non-stressful, preferably uplifting). For the best book to read on water fasting, see here. Buy it or other books on water fasting, or check them out from your library.
Walk or do yoga or mild stretching exercises
Start practicing breathing exercises to help with detox and increase lung function.
Spend more time than you usually do with your pet
Take time for long meditations and prayer
Pick up that neglected hobby or passion - drawing, painting, writing...
Re-connect with friends that have fallen off your radar lately (but not any who will try to twist your arm into going to lunch)
Keep a fasting journal, recording your feelings, impressions and insights. From this journal, you will discover your own unique set of water fasting tips to use for your next fast.
Support
Having the support of those around you can be SO helpful, but not all of us are surrounded by people who understand the desire to fast. If you do have such friends, utilize their support and experience as much as possible. If you don't, at least tell one friend what your plans are; it's good for safety reasons to have
someone objective watching your fast.
Forums are a good place to find "fasting buddies" as well as a large group of people who are supportive of the process, but you have to remember, you are your number one and best advocate for what is best for you. Also, as addictive as such social media can be, don't let it take over your time or you'll miss so much of what takes place in your inner world. Fasting offers the most as a personal experience, not a social experience.
Additional preparation
The better your preparation in the days before your fast, the more physically comfortable you will be during the early part of your fast. In the 2 or 3 days before, eliminate any and all processed foods, sugar, white flour, and wean yourself off any caffeine products. Just like a cleansing diet, this will begin the process of your body flushing out, making the transition to water even easier.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to follow a raw diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, during this pre-fast time, and longer than 2-3 days if you can. This will significantly reduce the uncomfortable side effects of fasting - the headaches, nausea, and flu-like symptoms that are so common in the first few days of a fast.
If you didn't prepare sufficiently and find yourself having severe side effects, don't be afraid to slow things down with a small piece of a fresh juicy fruit. Trust your own judgment when this feels like the appropriate thing to do.
While you won't need the sight or smell of food to remind you of food, do your best to clean up your surroundings and remove food items from sight and smell; little things like putting up the fruit bowl and cookie jar. If you live alone, you can tape the refrigerator door shut to stop the unconscious habit of checking its contents.
For those weak moments
While this usually only occurs in the first couple days, you may find yourself having periods of temptation to quit, times you fall into self-doubt. "Why am I doing this anyway?" "What's the point?" "This is too hard."
Don't beat yourself up over these thoughts. They're just a natural outcome of changing your usual patterns. It can be a lot like grief; you are grieving the loss of something that provided you comfort and was so much a part of your life--food. Quitting any addiction feels like this.
You can get through these moments by distracting yourself with other activities, like light exercise or taking a nap. Or you can face them head-on by reminding yourself this was a decision you made clearly and intelligently, with all of the facts and information before you. Get back in touch with the energy and mental set-up of the person you were when you made that decision. Re-read those facts and pieces of information, read the Benefits of Fasting page again, or great fasting quotes. Is it still a valid decision to fast?
Accept the now. Yes, it sounds very zen, doesn't it? It's actually easier than it sounds. Say to yourself, "this is the way it is." "This is just the way it is right now, tonight or tomorrow may be different, but right now, this moment, this is the way it is." "This is what I decided to do, this is what I wanted to experience." See if you can let go into that feeling that it is ok to be where you are. You're missing food. You're missing that comfort. And that's ok. Eventually, like all grief, there comes a point of acceptance. You are ok, even without that thing you think you want.
Not everyone has these weak moments. Some people actually feel great relief in the act of not eating, finding freedom from some chronic pain or freedom from the social or personal pressures to eat a certain way.
If you should give in to any temptations, don't fret over it later, just move on. A piece of food during a water fast won't "ruin everything", and quitting early means you can fast another day as a wiser, more experienced faster.
Colon health
It isn't necessary to take enemas during any kind of fast; they're actually considered disruptive to the colon's rest period. It's perfectly normal to not have a bowel movement for the duration of your fast. Eating high-fiber foods directly prior to your fast, perhaps including psyllium supplementation or using this colon cleanse recipe, should help make the first bowel movement after your fast easier. There are also suppositories available for this purpose.
Dizziness
If you should ever feel dizzy, immediately sit down; if there's no chair available, simply lie down on the floor. Fainting can happen and can, of course, cause injury. Dizziness is usually caused by the lower blood pressure fasting can bring about. Keep this in mind and don't stand up or get out of bed quickly while water fasting. Men are advised to sit down on the toilet should they ever need to urinate during the night.
Make it special
Get out your finest crystal water goblet, or buy a new beautiful one, to use during your water fast.
After the fast
Check out the diet posts I have on this blog for recipes and good meal plans. Processed and other chemical-laden foods won't taste good anymore, so many foods you were used to eating will be unappetizing now. Listen to your inner guidance for the foods that are appropriate for you to eat and be fully nourished by.
Emotional and mental benefits
One of the benefits of fasting is the effects it has on our emotional states. You will likely feel more emotional during, and perhaps right after, a fast. But this isn't a negative; it's actually a positive thing, because it's an opportunity for an emotional cleanse.
This is the reason it's so important to slow down during a fast, to be free of some of your usual obligations -- it allows time for inner discovery.
If you're rushing out the door to make some commitment, you may miss the opportunity to gain a new insight, to see things differently and more clearly, to let go of some emotional baggage, to experience the release of some long-held pattern.
The emotions that come up while fasting often appear with more force than usual. Your first response may be "Wow where did THAT come from?" and then, "Oh I'm just being overly emotional", followed by, "This really isn't such a big deal, I need to get over it."
You shouldn't brush these emotions under the rug. Let them be ok.
Some general examples of the type of processes that can occur.
How these emotional benefits of fasting manifest is difficult to describe. The actual process and details are unique to each of us, but below are some general scenarios that commonly play out. Often, they happen so subtly, we could easily miss it.
Scenario #1:
Once embroiled in an uncomfortable emotional turmoil and wondering why, you think, "Well that's the way I always react to this type of situation, it's just worse now because I haven't eaten." Then some curious little voice says, "So why DO I always react this way?"
Sometimes there's a clear answer to that question, and sometimes there isn't. But either way, there is often a release in that moment. Something has loosened its grip on you. You may not know what.
You may have asked yourself a hundred times before that very same question, "Why do I react like this?" But during a fast, there becomes a clarity of mind that sees through the fog, if not consciously, then unconsciously.
You become aware, maybe even just for a split second, of the unreality of what it is that holds you back. It isn't real, it's just a thought-form. Or it's just something that happened in the past. Or it's just something that scares you. And, as if by grace, the angst just sort of dissolves. There is an opening and a release. It happens so fast and so naturally, but you can feel you have changed in that instant. Some little part of you is free in a new way.
When we're lucky, these insights and clarity last longer than a split second. When they happen more consciously, we may get several minutes or several days or a lifetime, to peruse the insight and all its wonderful ramifications, and to play with our new-found freedom as we watch ourselves integrate this new tidbit into many areas of our lives.
Scenario #2:
You're emotionally upset and find yourself saying, "Well I'm just so ...[you name it, lonely, fat, undervalued, confused, scared]". Maybe it's something you've never admitted before, or maybe it's something you've always been aware of. But, while fasting, your reaction to this thought may now be different.
Instead of sitting under the weight of this horrible feeling, like you usually do, there is a new lightness to it. An air-iness. There is an awareness that this just happens to be how you're feeling right now, that this is just a moment in time, and that the next moment may be different. You realize how fleeting this awful feeling can be, and should be, and will be. That there is light in your world even while you're surrounded by this particular darkness.
Perhaps you will "see" in a flash of insight how you've designed and created your life almost as if you were TRYING to make yourself feel this way. "Well, no wonder I feel confused, look at what I surround myself with", you might think as you consider all the people, the attitudes, the circumstances you've invited and allowed in your life.
In this flash you might see how you could chose a few things differently, and how some of the really little things have a really huge impact on you, and how easy it would be to make these few little changes and how the energy would open up more for you and for the potential you know you have.
Scenario #3:
You open the same bathroom drawer you open every day, but today you feel utterly appalled by the sight. You think with exasperation, "This drawer is such a mess! It drives me crazy!" Then the little voice follows with, "Why do I put up with this day after day?" You have no answer.
Then the little voice says, "Why don't I clean this out right now." "It'll only take a few minutes." "It'd really feel good to put this aggravation behind me." Convinced the little voice is right, you begin cleaning out that drawer.
And if you pay attention, you'll notice while you're cleaning out that drawer, that you're feeling lighter, that some heaviness is lifting, some confused and aggravated part of you is calming, releasing, opening up, freeing.
No, it's really not about the drawer. It's deeper than that. It's perhaps a sense of taking control. Perhaps it's about letting go of stuff, of material things or even of non-material things. Perhaps it's letting go of a pattern of consistent aggravation or confusion. In any case, it's choosing something new. Choosing a NEW pattern over an old one. And that happens very easily and naturally when we're fasting.
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It's important we be open to all the benefits of fasting, not just the physical. We are so much more than physical bodies. There is SO much energy that is an integral part of us, forming us, creating and supporting us every moment. All this energy is intertwined and integrated on so many levels, one with another with another.
It may be absolutely beyond our ability to intellectually understand, but when an opportunity for a higher way of being occurs, we should grab it. And fasting does somehow create such openings.
After experiencing some of these "openings", you'll know why fasting has always been a part of spiritual practices. Certainly, fasting isn't the only way to experience them, but it's one that doesn't take years of training or study.
