Breaking a habit of being me
Those of you who follow me know that I believe in epigenetics. I believe (know) that we have control of our bodies through behaviour and environment. Others have proven it. I want to prove it for myself. I am a laboratory of one! I experiment on myself and keep tracking the data, via blood tests, to see how I am progressing.
I work with a functional medicine doctor on this. I consult with her, but I also do a lot of reading around it to discern the knowledge behind what I am doing.
Last week I did something my past self would have never been able to achieve.
I did a 24-hour fast!
Most of my family and close friends know that I am not the fasting type. I have had a mental block to it in the past. The thought of fasting would have me running for the hills. But as part of my six-year journey with functional medicine, I have trained my stomach and brain to (intermittent) fast. It may sound trivial to you, but it was an achievement for me. I have written about it in the past, so I won’t repeat it here.
In summary, getting to this point required me to change the way I eat (behaviour). My diet is more keto-based (low carbohydrate). This helped me bring my natural insulin levels lower and that stopped me from getting too hungry when I needed food.
And this allowed me to progress to intermittent fasting last year. It was the next step in my functional medicine journey. Intermittent fasting is defined as no food for a minimum of 16 hours. At the start it was difficult for me to reach 16 hours (from my usual 13-14 hours) but within a few weeks, I was fasting 16 hours comfortably.
But how do I get into cellular healing: autophagy, I thought to myself.
I was introduced to Dr. Mindy Pelz and swiftly bought her book, “Fast Like a Girl” and I learnt so much. Targeted for women to suit our intricate hormonal systems.
The first thing I learnt was that it is best to change the fasting length when fasting. I was getting very comfortable with fasting 16 hours and that is not a good thing! According to Pelz, when fasting becomes comfortable it can put the brain in a threat state.
I did my yearly blood test in May, and it showed that some of my vital organs were ‘stressed’. My cortisol was higher, and my adrenal gland was ‘tired’. My functional doctor alerted me to what Pelz also confirmed and the remedy: change up the fasting schedule. So, I did. I followed Pelz’s 30-day fasting schedule, but it included a 24-hour fast within the 30 days.
My subconscious was avoiding the 24-hour (water) fast. I realised quickly that the thought of fasting for 24 hours was causing me anxiety. I kept putting it off. For my brain, the 24 hours was a major obstacle. There was no past reference for my brain to use. It was beginning to consume my thoughts. Then last Saturday morning I decided that it was time.
Time to break a habit of being me!
I had to get over myself. I had never done a 24-hour fast before but there was only one way to find out. Just do it.
It wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be. I got through the day quite well. I was active with my chores. I did not get too hungry. Only at the 23rd hour did I feel very hungry. And I sincerely believe it was because my brain knew I was only one hour away! The brain is crafty. It was making me restless in the last mile of my journey.
So, here’s what I learned.
Anything is possible when we engage our brains. The 24-hour fast is no longer an obstacle for me. My brain has reference now. Autophagy happens at 17 hours of fasting and 24 hours of fasting helps cells further heal and repair. And interesting how routine is not always good. Change is always the better option.
Our bodies have an amazing power to heal and it starts with choice!
“Yes, I can”.
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com