Water Fasting Results :: Edit 3/16/12

Don't worry -- this won't be a very long post. Just a little overview of how my water fasting went.

I knew before Sunday that it would be my last day eating until Thursday (in theory), so I splurged calorie-wise and had Taco Bell for dinner.  This was partially one reason, but the Locos Tacos had just come out also and I wanted to try one so bad.  They're pretty amazing, just so you know.  With a full belly and a determined attitude, I began.

The first day went great; Mondays are usually quite hellish for me since I have to do observations on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as go to class.  Mondays are particularly terrible because my classes go from 2:20 until 8:20 with pretty much only ten minutes between each.  To top it all off, I have about a 45 minute drive to get home and was in a fight with my boyfriend (which, actually caused me to skip that 5:30-8:20 class).  Needless to say, I had plenty to distract me from being hungry.  My normal observation day breakfast is a Nature Valley trail mix bar...I wasn't missing much.  Lunchtime rolled around and my stomach growled once.  I shot it an angry look and promptly drowned it.  Due to fighting, my stomach didn't even care about dinner.  I ended up losing a pound the first day.

Day two was also pretty good.  My biggest concern was that Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the gym, and Tuesdays are my piloxing classes.  She's told us recently that you burn anywhere from 600 to 900 calories during the workout, so, naturally, I was worried about over-stressing my body.  I did notice a difference, too.  I was a little more tired than usual about fifteen minutes into the class; when I started feeling a little weak, I toned down my intensity.  I normally go about 5 miles on the elliptical afterwards, but I was afraid to, so I just walked the track at a nice pace for about a mile to cool down.  After my shower, I felt completely back to normal.  It growled twice at lunchtime so loudly that I thought it echoed in the room -- of course, that may have been because we were in the quiet Honors Lounge where several people study.  My friend scolded me for not eating, which is precisely why I had not chosen to tell many people about my decision.  Dinnertime, I retired to my room, away from the distractions of food, to drink water and play WoW.  At the end of day two, I hadn't lost any weight and was disappointed.

Day three was tough.  On my hour long drive to my observation school, I started feeling really weak and nauseous.  I drank a little bit and felt a little better, but it was still obvious that I did not feel well.  We stopped in the teachers lounge for my friend to use the restroom and there was a huge spread of breakfast foods.  My nausea attacked once more and I scanned the table.  There were pastries, breakfast casseroles, and sweets -- nothing I was too keen on breaking my fast for.  Then I saw a bunch of bananas.  I broke one off and ate it, as much as I hate to admit it.  After that, though, I felt much, much better, but I knew my body did not want day three to happen at all.  I did fine skipping lunch; I had a lot of lesson plans and papers to keep me distracted from my hunger.  Unfortunately, the universe had a different plan for me.  There was food everywhere and somehow, it kept getting offered to me.  I resisted until I got home, when Zach suggested getting McDonald's Shamrock Shakes.  I felt light-headed and sick again; I knew I had to eat something.  So, I broke my fast prematurely.

Today, I weighed and I had lost another two pounds.  I lost a total of 3 lbs, which puts me at down 18 lbs.  Still not quite on schedule, but it's better than nothing.  I am disappointed that a broke my water fast before time, but I knew my body was telling me that I had to eat something.  On the other hand, I was extremely proud of myself for sticking with it as long as I did, and my efforts were rewarded with weight loss.  To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to make it two days without eating, but I had no problem with it at all.  Just to be safe, I kept an emergency Slim Fast shake in my bag the whole time.  Now, I know that next time I water fast, I will be able to do the entire three days.  Hopefully that will result in more weight loss and feeling much better.  I have had more energy during the day, I believe, which seems a bit contradictory...72 lbs to go. I got this.

Ahem. I weighed this morning and lost two more pounds.  That means I've lost 20 lbs so far and have 60 to go. I'm on my way.