Over the past several weeks, I took a much needed break from work life to take care of my self, my body and restore my personal energy.
I spent time in Santa Rosa California at the Truth North Health Center, and underwent a 10 day fast as part of the process. It was a fantastic experience.
Although a working vacation (worked at least half days) I found sufficient enough recuperation time, including the “relief” my body experienced from abstaining from food for 10 days (takes allot of vital energy to digest food) to be just what I needed to rejuvenate from my depleted state.
First of all, why undergo a fast? It’s to make up for a poor lifestyle, or simply to handle those times when too much stress causes your lifestyle to go awry. It’s a reboot of sort, a chance for your system to clean house, reset and recharge.
Why would I “fast” for 10 days?
The reasons were simple:
It wasn’t because I had a poor lifestyle; it was because I needed rejuvenation. Low energy was causing me to over consume even nutrient rich food. This can happen at times when life happens. Exhaustion or fatigue is the number one reason why weight fluctuates; when personal energy is low all other aspects of your lifestyle get thrown out of balance and for starters you will find yourself consuming more food.
a) It was first and foremost about rejuvenation for me – it had been too long since I had a truly rejuvenating vacation, not a trip, but a vacation where my body could restore itself and get free of personal energy debt. Personal Energy Debt is the hidden variable that undermines all health and success efforts. You can’t see it, but essentially, it’s a feeling like you are hitting the wall with very low energy vital energy reserves, and I’m not referring to food calories.
b) I was tired of eating. I need to reset my system, and restore my desire to eat. I was literally full, and tired. Before I left, I was coping with an unusual stress by eating more nutrient rich foods than usual when I really wasn’t hungry, but burnt out and frankly you get to a point where you start eating “whatever” when you are in that state. I am no different.
No I may not have been clogging my arteries with the standard American diet, but I was certainly gaining weight; basically from the stress hormones themselves and the excess food. It is good to be eating around true hunger these days.
c) I wanted to lose some weight and fast, and the best way to do this, especially when you are already eating a nutrient rich diet, is to fast, which ultimately recharges your metabolism as you increase your vital energy reserves and you consume the stored nutrient reserves around your waist all at the same time. It’s a miracle to witness what you body will do when you give it the chance to thrive, with conditions that promote health and the time and energy to restore itself to a state of health.
d) Last but not least, I wanted to break my routine to rejuvenate my spirit and regain my outlook and vision for what I’m doing and were I’m headed with my team. That just takes space and time and usually a new environment.
Here’s what happened.
While working, I lost 25 pounds and dramatically increased my personal energy. I don’t have the after results of my blood test, as I need to wait for about 3 months or so for the body do complete it’s housecleaning.
- The Effects of Stress, Healthy but Heavier
- Healthier and Lighter – 10 days later
What did I learn from this?
As we say in PerformanceLifestyle training, it’s not what you know that matters, it’s how you live. I know that to lose weight fast, one of the best ways to do so is to FAST. Medically supervised water only fasting is of course the best, where you enter into a fast correctly and re feed correctly with the monitoring of trained professionals like they have at the True North Health Center in Santa Rosa California.
In my case, I did what I needed most, which was to change my environment and give my body the conditions it needed to thrive and my biggest need was not to not eat food, it was to rejuvenate and restore my personal energy reserves first and foremost. In that process, I gave my body time to consume the excess nutritional reserves I had stored on my body.
Not eating food, is a big part of restoring your body given you do not have to digest food constantly. All that energy can now go to restoring your system and powering you. Believe me, you have plenty of stored food on your body to the tune of month, maybe two or longer.
I did eat the entire time; I just didn’t take in new food, I consumed what I already ate before I got there.
You will notice that not only am I 25 lbs lighter, I look brighter. That’s not make up, it’s increased personal energy and less stored fat.
Do you have to go on a fast to lose weight fast?
No, you can resort to juicing (which is not technically a fast) and simply eat the healthiest nutrient rich diet possible with a high nutrient density and a low calorie density and you will lose weight fast, but with a fast just takes things to a whole new level, especially if there are complicating factors like too much stress and health complications involved.
I simply fine this age old practice very rejuvenating.
This can become a lifestyle routine. I have already planned the next time I will get a rejuvenation period like this and fasting will be part of it.
Here’s the video of my first juice following my fast.
You can’t imagine anything tasting so good!
