The prelude - How I lost sixteen kilos and put it all back on

I’ve been morbidly obese since my mid-20s. A bad diet, sedentary lifestyle, and sheer ignorance led me to a horrible mental and physical health state. Over these years, I’ve followed different diets, workouts, and other health regimes only to abandon them later. I’ve been a repeat offender of breaking faith in myself and trusting the process of becoming better. Being a foodie, I’ve always found food to be my best non-living buddy. Whatever the emotion or occasion, it gets resolved and celebrated with food that I love. This toxic habit compounded over the years and made me feel wasted.

In mid-2017, I changed my lifestyle and made myself more aware of my body and mind. In under three months, I lost just under sixteen kilos. I followed the diet and lifestyle changes suggested to me by a thyroid specialist from the US. The core of what he suggested was intermittent fasting and a low-carb diet. I followed it religiously. It was the best I ever felt about myself. And then I shifted into my new house, celebrations began, and the toxic habit kicked in again.

From 2017 until August 2020, I went on random schedules of intermittent fasting. The randomness came from breaking the fasting regime for festivities, emotional swings, stress, and most of the time for no specific reason. So I kept losing weight and I kept putting it on. I didn’t track my weight, but I knew it was getting over and above the dangerous limits. Your body starts giving you signals.

So come July 2020, I decided to start with small steps to bring in change. Alongside intermittent fasting, I added a workout schedule. I picked up a routine that I could stick with. It had 10 burpees and 10 pushups. This cycle was repeated five times a day. I did this for almost 20 days, and like always, it fell apart.

Most of the first half of August 2020, I was feeling terrible. My sleep was not getting better, and I was getting hungrier at weird times. Overall, I was uneasy - internally and externally. It was horrible. It was weird and unexplainable. Most of August went by, and just when I thought all this was getting worse, I took ownership. I said to myself, “I’m going to do three cycles of the 7-day water fast in the month of September 2020.” Super ambitious, super vague - I just made up my mind.

One thing I learned after educating myself about my health is that big transformation comes from being disciplined, being consistent, and trusting oneself. I lacked those qualities when it came to my health. In all of my previous half-hearted attempts, I also realized it’s a mind game.

The start - an over-ambitious goal

So I set this goal to do a 7-day water fast and repeat this three times in the month of September.

I had done a 5-day water fast previously, and it was transforming. Since I wanted to notch up my previous best, I aimed for the 7-day mark.

Knowing my past, I knew I could do it.

Why I’m doing it - it’s different now

Now I’m not doing this as a fad or to go on another dream run to cut short the transformation journey later.

This time I have a purpose.

Simply speaking, I’m doing it for a selfish reason:

“To feel amazing about myself”

“To feel proud that I’ve taken ownership of my physical health”

“To live an active physical life that will be a minimum benchmark for my daughter to aim for”

I want to do this with the purpose of learning to master my mind and stop being a slave to cravings. Cravings of any kind.

And water fasting is the best way to achieve that.

The method

As the name suggests, water fasting means fasting only with water, no food.

I needed to have 2-3 liters of water every day and keep myself well hydrated.

The goal was to do this for 7 days to reset and refresh my body and mind.

Water fasting is something that I learned after reading the book The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung and learning from materials released by Dr. Berg. They explain the science and logic behind the fasting method and how it can change your life for the better. This is not an easy thing to do. It needs a lot of mindset shaping and grit.

I knew I could do this as I love challenging and experimenting.

90-hour water fasting process

Now you may ask: What happened to your 7-day water fast? Did you fail again?

We’ll get to that in a bit.

My 90-hour water fast lasted from 8:30 pm on August 31, 2020 to 2:30 pm on September 4, 2020.

Now let me explain the process of the fasting first through these three steps.

Stage 1 - Pre-fasting

August 31st was Onam, and for lunch, my wife had prepared a limited amount of nutritious coconut-based dishes.

I had small portions of the vegetables and curries with a little rice for dinner. That was the last meal before fasting.

So on August 31, 2020 at 8:30 pm, I officially started my 7-day water fast.

Step 2 - During fasting

During the fasting process, I had just water. I had 2-4 liters of water on average per day.

Out of this, around 700 ml of water had a pinch of salt and a lemon squeezed into it. This was to avoid any dizziness and headaches. And the other 700 ml of water had a pinch of salt, lemon, and a few drops of apple cider vinegar.

Now what these added elements in water do is they provide the much-needed minerals that you will deprive yourself of during the water fasting process. There are many theories and counter-theories about whether you should or should not mix these elements when water fasting. I went with what I knew was best for my body. And that decision was powered by my self-awareness. This is a good transition to the next step where I share why I could not complete the 7-day water fast.

Step 3 - Completing the fast

On the fourth day, around the 84-hour mark, I felt my hands and feet going cold. And I hate that feeling. It is the same feeling I have when I have done the extreme Ayurvedic Basti treatment. And the after-effect feeling is unbearable for me. So I became aware of my body’s sensations and decided it was best to complete the fasting at the 90-hour mark. One thing to be noted is that I did not feel tired, weak, or lethargic during these fasting days. I just preempted an avoidable situation and took this decision to cut short the fast.

Step 4 - Breaking the fast

I broke the fast with a bowl of vegetable broth. It had some veggies, water, salt, and spices slow-cooked for a while. Ashwini, my wife, prepared this broth when she learned I’d be breaking my fast at 2:30 pm. She also cut a bowl of watermelon, which I could have only a few pieces of. The golden rule when breaking a prolonged water fast is to have only liquid items. Make it easy for your body to start responding to food again. Later that night for dinner, I had an omelet, a small portion of salad, the same vegetable broth, and a little peanut butter.

So did I really fail with my fasting plan?

Not at all. In fact, I was wise enough to make the decision to end my fast early. Self-awareness is key when you set ambitious goals for yourself. And there is no shame in readjusting and realigning your goals knowing what is working and not working for you. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.

The benefits

So rather than listing the staple wiki-type benefits, let me tell you what I felt.

I felt recharged and energetic. I had a few dandruff patches, and they all vanished. I felt light and more mobile. I slept well and could get up early. I could focus and concentrate on things more. Overall, I felt in control of myself.

The core result

I lost a total of 5 kilos as a result of these 90 hours of water fasting. My body responded exceptionally well to this fasting. And I think the 90-hour mark is more suitable for me now. This means I have to reschedule my fasting plan for this month.

The road ahead

Now that I have tested the maximum that I can go with my fasting, I know the 90-hour mark is perfect. I plan to continue this 90-hour fast on a monthly basis for the rest of this year. This will be alongside my OMAD (One Meal A Day) plan that my wife and I are following. There will be some cheat days where we might deviate from the plan, but…

I have set a fitness goal that I need to reach by January 20, 2021. That also marks my daughter’s eighth birthday. She loves Goa, and I want to take her there again. The last time we were in Goa was for her seventh birthday. This time when we go to Goa, I plan to be the athletic and fittest best version of myself for her.

Should you do it?

As your friend who has tried it out and gained positive results, I will tell you, “Yes, you must do the water fasting. It will change your life.”

At the same time, I will also warn you to educate yourself first before jumping into this blindly.

And even after you do your research, do the following:

  • Please consult a doctor if you have any preexisting conditions

  • Do a full-body checkup - blood reports, scans, etc.

  • Consult with the full-body checkup reports and share your fasting plan with the doctor

  • Iterate and adapt the plans you see or read. Don’t be too tough on yourself.

  • Always be self-aware.

These are the recommended readings:

Books:

  • The Obesity Code - Dr. Jason Fung

  • The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting - Dr. Jason Fung

  • Dr. Berg’s New Body Type Guide: Get Healthy, Lose Weight & Feel Great - Dr. Eric Berg

Articles:

  1. Intermittent fasting – questions & answers

  2. Number 1 Rule to Fasting

Videos:

  1. The Miracle of Fasting | Dr. Jason Fung

  2. ‘Therapeutic Fasting - Solving the Two-Compartment Problem’