Powered by Ray's "raptor_engine, ver 5" written and scripted by R. Jardine
50-Day Water-Only Fast
Dec-2021 to Jan-2022
Ray Jardine
50-Day Water-Only Fast
Dec-2021 - Jan-2022
This journey is another stay-at-home water fast, in which I take in nothing but pure water. Something this drastic and prolonged is not recommended for most people without medical supervision. However I've been doing it at least once every few years, for most of my adult life.
"A long fast is a journey of restoration, and a time-out from the daily grind."
The purpose of this fast is to give the body a chance to clean out the toxins, sludge and fat resulting from all the junk food that I had been eating all summer while working on the fence line. That job was like a thru-hike, in that it required a maximum of calories to sustain the rather huge work load. And so now I need to clean out the arteries and shed the excess weight associated with consuming that type of food.
The table below is my log, in which I'm recording my cumulative weight loss (in pounds).
Day
Date and Comments
Cumulative weight loss
This year's water-only fast went well for the first ten days, but then I had to stop in order to work on my truck. The high-pressure steering pump line had sprung a leak, leaking fluid on the floor and disabling the truck. Try as I did, I found myself unable to work on the truck while fasting, due to the reduced energy. So I started eating again, and a week later, working part time, I had the truck done (replacing the high-pressure hose and also the front suspension parts on both sides). So I started the fast all over again, from day one.
Day 1
2021-12-10: Not too hungry and no lack of energy. Worked on programming all day.
- lbs
Replacing the upper and lower ball joints, upper control arm, inner and outer tie-rods, shocks, sway-bar links, and left-side cv axle. Also the steering pump high-pressure hose.
Jenny helped with the alignment, and now the truck is running great and back on the road. Honestly the job wasn't difficult, and by doing it myself I saved a heap of money. The aftermarket parts were readily available and not that expensive. The only special tool needed was a ball-joint press. And for anyone interested in learning how, there is a ton of how-to videos on Youtube.
Which brings me to my Wrenching Philosophy: I would not dream of taking my truck to a repair shop. I wouldn't learn anything about repair, and anyway I have no means to transport the heavy vehicle from my place to a shop. And even if I did, the truck would likely sit in the shop's parking area for a month, waiting for the parts to arrive and for the mechanic to get around to the job. Witness the hoard of trucks and cars surrounding most car repair shops. So instead I resort to my "Can-Do" philosophy. If I come to an impasse, I focus on the problem so hard and so long that eventually I manage to do it. It's like someone who thinks they can't sew. Without gumption and focus they could not hardly sew a Ray-Way Kit. But with focus, they can. So it's a mind game. When a person musters the gumption and then focuses on a problem, the mind gets to work and before long success is achieved.
Day 2
2021-12-11: Not too hungry but very little energy. Again, worked on programming all day - porting some of my adventure stories to my new engine ("Ray's raptor-engine"), which I wrote last week, and which is faster and more powerful.
3 lbs
We feed two chipmunks every day on our back porch.
The feeder shown above is meant for chickens, but we haven't shown our chickens how to use it yet. So after trying everything I could think of to feed the chipmunks and exclude the chickens and yard birds, I tried this feeder. Success! The chipmunks are the only animal or bird that can get into it, due to the elbows inside. So the chipmunks have a small bowl of sunflower seeds and a few grapes waiting for them every morning. And by late afternoon I look into the feeder and find the bowl empty and a layer of empty sunflower shells at the bottom.
But a few days ago I found something else in the feeder: a lost Allen-key that previously had gone with our log splitter. The chipmunks must have found it in the back yard and returned it to me as a gift.
Day 3
2021-12-12: Low energy all day and famished in the evening. Also very cold during the night; my body was not producing enough metabolic heat. Slept under my Everest quilt, the warmest I have, and wore a heavy shirt as well. Normally, when not fasting, I sleep in my thinnest and lightest quilt, which Jenny made with two bed sheets and a layer of light nylon (no insulation). Now, I think my body is confused by the ten day fast of last week. The thermostat is all out of whack.
6 lbs
This is not our pet snake "Ocotillo" enjoying a bath. It's a wild gopher snake I found in our shed. It looked thin and hungry so I picked it up, took it into the house, and gave it food and water. It drank loads of water and gulped down a few feeder mice (kept frozen and re-thawed when needed). Then I pulled a big cactus thorn deeply embedded in its side. The snake seemed to like the royal treatment, and decided to stay around for a while. In the next four days it ate a whopping ten mice! It was quite docile and seemed to like being held. But then it wanted to regain its freedom, so I took it outside and let it go.
Day 4
2021-12-13: Low energy, not too hungry, but feeling much better. Worked at my desk all day, with the radiant heater between my legs, again porting my adventure stores into my new raptor engine.
8 lbs
This is what I did all summer: jack-hammering and setting t-posts. It took me seven months to get the fence line up, working all day, seven days a week, for months on end - without taking a day off. But I thought of the job as a thru-hike, where the task might look impossible from the start, but taken a step at a time, the distant goal is eventually bound to hove into view. My goal when thru-hiking is 25 miles each day, or so. Now when building this fence, my goal was five posts each day, although sometimes the ground was too rocky to manage even that. But by the end of October (2021-10-29) I reached my objective - setting the last post and completing the fence line.
Why the fence? To keep people out who don't respect the land. We want to preserve this piece of land and help keep it natural - without ORV's and pick-ups tearing it up, and without hunters and poachers killing the wildlife. The fence is four feet tall and the elk and deer can easily jump over it; and I made narrow gaps every 1/16 mile for young elk or deer, pronghorn and cows to pass through. The place is sort of like our Nature Preserve and Wild Animal Sanctuary.
While I was working on my fence, someone backed into one of my pinyon trees. I couldn't hardly believe it! Subsequently the tree died.
Early summer someone ran over one of my young juniper trees. Fortunately the tree lived. Same with another one in a different place. And during the summer one of my trail cameras caught five trucks and ORVs trespassing on my job site, with the drivers flat out ignoring my "No Trespassing" signs. Never mind the three neighbors living a mile away, who feel somehow entitled to drive across my job site without permission.
I'm not complaining but only explaining the need to build the fence.
Day 5
2021-12-14: Medium level of energy today, not hungry and not too cold. Feeling great, working at my desk with the radiant heater nearby. Very nearby. My body's thermostat seems to be coming up, and I slept in a one-layer quilt. I'm enjoying my work on my adventure stores, bringing them into the raptor engine. Its sort of like living in the past, reliving, or re-experiencing some of those fine trips.
8 lbs
This is what else I did during the summer: collecting Russian thistle from my work area, bagging it, and taking to our county burn dump. The truck holds 35 40-gallon trash bags, and I made 15 loads. That's a lot of weeds!
Day 6
2021-12-15: Medium level of energy today, not hungry and not cold (because of the radiant heater nearby). Feeling great. Slept in a one-layer quilt. I don't have enough energy to go outside in the cold, so I'm enjoying my work on my adventure stores, again bringing them into the raptor engine.
10 lbs
Ray and Jenny's skydiving
Day 7
2021-12-16: Again medium energy, not hungry and not cold (because of the radiant heater nearby). Feeling great. Slept in a one-layer quilt. Morning: working on my adventure stores. Afternoon: Went to job site and picked up a load of firewood (chainsawed by me last summer). It was good to get some fresh air and a bit of exercise.
10 lbs
Beautiful sunset
Day 8
2021-12-17: Medium energy, not hungry and not cold (radiant heater nearby). Feeling great.
13 lbs
My hot-rod X-Challenge. Love to ride that bike.
Day 9
2021-12-18: Not hungry and feeling great. I feel really blessed to be able to fast like this. Jenny is fully supportive, and for a time I don't have any jobs outside.
13 lbs
Jenny on the AT. This was her first break from work for the last 14 years, when we skied to the South Pole in 2007. Imagine no vacations for 14 years, other than short trips to see her family! Her solo AT thru-hike was her idea, and she had been training for five months, and sewing her gear. I helped with her basic plan, writing her a "guide book" which is my customized and trimmed down "AT Companion" with innumerable hints and tips gleaned from my three other trips along the AT. And now at home, she has been writing her story: Jenny's 2021 AT Thru-Hike
Putting in a corner post. The rocks to the right of the jackhammer came out of that hole.
Day 10
2021-12-19: Doing good, feeling great. Slept under my Everest quilt, and working on programming at my desk all day. For me, the radiant heater makes it possible to fast in cold weather. The body is not producing nearly enough metabolic warmth.
14 lbs
Some of my fence-line termination knots.
Day 11
2021-12-20: The key element of a long fast is self control. At least for me. And when I feel the urge to wander into the kitchen to find something to snack on, I say in my mind: self control. Self control. At this stage in the game, those thoughts come often. Especially in the late evening. But I think more self control is beneficial in all aspects of life.
15 lbs
Verbena (Glandularia Wrightii) growing in a cattle guard.
Day 11
2021-12-21: Going on a long fast is like going on a long hike. Not too easy, not too comfortable, lots of hills to climb, some windy days, some rainy days, and some mud. But also good views at the mountain tops, lots of things to appreciate and lots of time to ponder. And through it all, the objective is to just keep going. Keep putting one foot in front of the other - and don't stop. A long hike is an exercise in self control - to keep going despite the temptations to wander into the kitchen to find something to snack on, especially, for me, in the late evenings.
The good views at the mountain tops happen first thing every morning when I step on to the scales - and see about a pound less each day. That's four sticks of butter lost most every day. That's amazing when you think about it. And I find a great many things to appreciate. My body is healing; the sinuses have cleared and my breathing is clearer and easier. My sense of smell is off the charts. I can bend over a little easier, and can almost feel the heart pumping better, and blood flowing through the arteries with less obstructions.
A long hike - and a long fast - is freedom from the daily grind. Freedom from any health-robbing habits. And a good chance to ponder life. Like, what am I doing? Where am I going, as opposed to where would I like to go?
It's a chance to get closer to the center . . . one step at a time.
16 lbs
I built this solar generator to power my camp, but then I realized the property needed a fence around it first. If all goes well, my camp is coming next.
Day 13
2021-12-22: No hunger, quite fatigued but only when I move around. Sitting at my desk, I'm fine.
16 lbs
Ocotillo "in blue." When a snake is about to shed, the scales over the eyes get cloudy. The amazing part is they can still see, just not as well.
I bought this tractor for cheap on craigslist with the idea of digging fence-post holes and making a road to my job site - which is two miles from the nearest dirt road. I trailered the tractor home, but then it would not start. Never mind the ad stating that it ran good. After much fiddling I came to realize that the tractor had not been started for several years, and the entire fuel system was ruined by ethanol. And because the engine relied on a high-pressure fuel pump, I said to heck with it - and the owner came and took his tractor and trailer away. Back to my flippant "don't need it philosophy". (If I don't have it, then I don't need it.)
Day 14
2021-12-23: No hunger, working at my desk all day. Every pound lost is four sticks of butter.
17 lbs
Jack-hammering rocks out of a post hole is hard work. But when the bit gets stuck, that's when the real work begins.
Day 15
2021-12-24: Feel like Dr. Morbius of the movie Forbidden Planet. My website is immense, and the code to run it is even more so. It's taken me two weeks to port everything to my new raptor engine, and even then, I'm only about 3/4's through. Sounds strange, my new engine, but imagine a person buying a hyper expensive car just to drive around town. A cheaper car would get the job done just as well. But to the person really into that sort of thing, it's the style that matters; that, and just having the thing, and using it. My raptor engine is not going to impress anyone. No one but me can even see it. However, to me these things matter - a great deal. And as a bonus, it gives me something to do while the physical energy is low. I can't hardly last five minutes on my feet, but can sit at my desk all day, programming.
18 lbs
One of my Pincushion cactus is having babies.
Day 16
2021-12-25: I don't know how I managed to cook meals for Jenny during my last 40-day fast. This time I wouldn't even think of doing something like that. Day 16 and I'm still tempted by the urge to eat. In fact last night it hit me hard, and I had to summon my utmost self control.
The hunger seems to come and go. Today it's gone, and since the fast began I have not taken one bite of food.
19 lbs
During the summer the dogs went to work with me, and they just loved it.
Day 17
2021-12-26: Seems that I'm over the hunger hump, for the time being. Now for a few words about the dangers of programming: For sure, this can be more harmful to one's body than a full summer of jack-hammering and digging out rocks. The repetitive motions of using a mouse, all day, can lead to injuries to the hand, wrist, arm, and even up to the shoulder and neck. Its called "RMD," Repetitive Motion Disorders. Usually in this case: Tenosynovitis of the wrist, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
To keep RMD away, Jenny gave me this small football. It's filled with foam, and is an excellent exercise tool when held in the hand and squeezed 10 or so reps. Also I use this hand grip strengthener, which I have used since my climbing days in the late 1960's. It has five springs, but when I'm programming I use only two. I keep both strengtheners on my desk at all times. they work really well. I also perform various stretching exercises, and the one that works best for me is: hold the arms straight out to the sides, and wrist flex up and down.
And then there is Ocotillo, our pet snake. 😎
19 lbs
Day 18
2021-12-27:
A long and Winding Path to Be the Person You Were Meant to Be
Feeling good and programming all day. During a fast my mind gets more fine-tuned to life, and I sometimes get thoughts of a more high-caliber nature. Above the ordinary day-to-day riffraff coming at each of us from all directions. Today's thoughts are about self mastery. I'm a long ways from that, believe me. But I think self mastery begins with self control. And one of the key elements along the path of self control - according to my input of today - is integrity (moral soundness). Specifically, integrity with one's actions, even the small ones. Avoiding doing even small wrongful things, even though no one will notice. Living clean, honest and honorable leads to life at a higher consciousness. With that in mind, I'm on a long and winding path to be the person I was meant to be. And I wish the same for everyone.
19 lbs
2021-12: Merry Christmas Ray and Jenny. A time of year to let you know that I am forever grateful for what you have done for me, and always feel blessed that because of you my life was saved! I am such a lucky girl coming across your path. * I am feeling pretty good 85%. * Still working. * Don't see doctors. * On no medications (since meeting you). * Sleeping really awesome which is unbelievable! I would have never dreamed of sleeping the way I do without a sleeping pill and being on it for 17 years it's just amazing! All because of you! God Bless both of you. -Sherry Bella, Alberta Canada (2017 Link)
Day 19
2021-12-28:
Feeling good, but seem to be on a plateau - as my weight hasn't budged in the last few days. To be expected.
19 lbs
A horned toad (horned lizard) picked up at my work area. Jenny thought it looked grumpy, then I explained that it seemed friendly and didn't want to get out of my hand when I let it go.
Day 20
2021-12-29: Feeling good, not hungry, just plowing ahead. Anyway, a few thoughts about the Blood Cleaner. It kills mirco-organisms in the blood, and destroys viruses in the blood including coronavirus and its variants. In other words, anything living or otherwise able to reproduce. It doesn't treat the rest of the body outside the blood system. It doesn't treat the lymph system or the cells of the body - because they don't have blood in them. But in treating the blood, the immune system is greatly strengthened, and becomes more able to clean out the rest of the body. So for those who have a Blood Cleaner, I recommend using it, vaccinated or not. This is not the time to leave it in a drawer and forget about it. - Just a friendly reminder.
19 lbs
I built this fairy light years ago, and since has become something of a talisman. It reminds me to have strength during a fast.
Day 21
2021-12-30: I feel like Morpheus, caught in the matrix. My weight hasn't budged for five days, even though I haven't eaten anything. Not one bite in the last three weeks. I've seen this for three days, but not five. But if all goes well, that's not going to be the end of this endeavor, by any means.
19 lbs
I built the fairy light from wood cut in the old Connection Camp area. I found this design inside a log. It seemed pretty amazing at the time, and still does. Note the feather hanging off the upper tier.
Day 22
2021-12-31: Didn't get a chance to get onto the sales this morning. Feeling good, no hunger, no urge to grab a snack in the evening.
lbs
The neighbor's German Shepherd, from a mile away, makes himself at home in my truck. During the summer he often came to visit.
Day 23
2022-01-01: Its the first of the year and we received our first snowfall. So pretty.
22 lbs
With Jenny gone on her AT Thru-hike, I had to load the generator by myself. It powered the jackhammer.
Day 24
2022-01-02: Last night the temperature dropped so low that I had to bring the chickens inside, and that was a bit of an ordeal because of the gale force winds. And due to my low metabolism, I had to sleep with a jacket, insulated pants and slippers on, while under my thickest quilt. My body is not producing much warmth. But I'm feeling good, and not the least bit hungry. And my programming skills have not declined - so the fast is not affecting my work.
23 lbs
This is the first time this season that the chickens have slept in the house, because of tonight's sub-freezing temperatures. I carried them inside and sat them on the floor, and they hopped right up on the sawhorse - without prompting. Pretty smart. We love our chickens, and unfortunately we're down to only two, so we're in the process of getting more. But this time we will try hatching fertilized eggs. So while waiting for the shipment, we're making a simple incubator.
Day 25
2022-01-03: Feeling good with no desire to eat. Absolutely none. The fast is going good and my body is responding to the clean-out with less bloating and better health. The regular fasts (and the blood cleaner) are giving me a more enjoyable and more vigorous life-style with greater strength of body and mind. In fact, I might not still be alive without them. Or at least they are helping keep me out of the hospital. I have more to be grateful for. That is, during a long fast, I don't have so many distractions so I'm living more in the moment and I don't take so much for granted. I work at my computer all day; in the evenings I watch educational videos on youtube; and in the late evenings I sit in front of the glowing wood stove for an hour (picture above) enjoying its warmth and just pondering.
23 lbs
Pressing out the lower ball joint.
Day 26
2022-01-04: The fast is going good and I have lost my cravings. I haven't eaten a bite in 26 days. I don't have much energy but don't need much during a fast. Its a time-out from the daily grind; a time of rest. However, sitting at my desk doesn't take much energy, so can do that all day - so far. During the last 40-day fast I lost my thinking energy and I lost my ability to program, temporally. I haven't noticed that on this fast, so I'm crossing my fingers.
24 lbs
Ocotillo, our pet Sonoran Gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis) doesn't hardly fit in my hand anymore. She is a real sweetheart - mild mannered and likes to be held. We bought her from a breeder, raised her from a baby, and now she's about 5.5 feet long.
Day 27
2022-01-05: I love animals, pretty much most of them. But our pet snake, pictured above, is particularly intriguing. It has a primitive brain and therefore a limited ability to communicate. But since living with it during the past years, I have learned that the snake's brain and its mind are two completely different aspects. It has a full range of senses, and a great awareness of its surroundings. And its mind is quite active, during its wakeful hours. It thinks and perceives just like any animal, but again it has only limited ability to communicate those thoughts, through gestures. So my ongoing challenge is to learn a better sense of communication or awareness.
25 lbs
One of our wild/pet chipmunks inadvertently caught in a trap - for the 15th time.
Day 28
2022-01-06: Doing the numbers: 27 lbs/28 days ~ about a pound per day. That's four sticks of butter lost per day. Yesterday I ran out of energy, and could not manage much programming or anything else. But today I'm feeling good, even though I still have no desire to eat. Just riding the wave to better health.
27 lbs
Winter tomatoes growing in our kitchen window. The plant is growing in a small pot, and we have to water it often (as shown here, we need to give it more water). And note that we didn't plant this. It started by itself from a seed buried in some old potting soil.
Day 29
2022-01-07: Same as yesterday afternoon: I ran out of energy, but otherwise feeling good, not taking things for granted, and enjoying life.
27 lbs
We made this egg incubator out of an unused bee box and bottom board. The blue controller regulates the humidity inside the box (from 11% outside the box, to 50% inside), and the black one controls the temperature via a heating pad, boosting the temp to 99F. The green device is a computer fan, and I had to decrease its voltage to slow it down. Behind the box is an electric humidifier with a tube that runs into the top of the box. We had everything on hand, and didn't have to buy anything for this build.
Day 30
2022-01-08: Slowing down, due to the lack of energy; but still able to sit at my desk and work on programming. In the evening we placed an order for 25 baby chicks from McMurray Hatchery:
(5) Red Star
(5) Ameraucana
(3) Buff Rock
(2) Golden Wyandotte (Why-en-Dot)
(2) Silver Laced Wyandotte
(8) Ginger Broiler St Run
A Free Surprise Chick (1)
And (8) Black Australorp (Aus-tra-LORP) hatching eggs ordered from eBay
Should be good fun!
27 lbs
I propagated this plant from a bare stem of geranium, and its starting to leaf and bloom.
Day 31
2022-01-09: The fast is going good and I have no plans to end it, quite yet.
27 lbs
Our two chickens: "Rhodie" (Rhode Island Red) age one year, and "Annabelle" (Speckled Sussex) age two years.
Day 32
2022-01-10: Very low energy. I haven't eaten anything for 32 days, so I can't even walk for more than a few minutes without becoming tired. Not complaining, only reporting the circumstances. However, I can still work at my desk programming, and today I managed a project break-through that I have been working on for these last several weeks, since the beginning of the fast: unifying the pages of my website. Giving them all the same format and style, so I can control them all with a single script. All 305 individual subjects and their sometimes many pages.
For example: our skiing to the South Pole journey is one of the 305 individual subjects, and it has 18 pages. As another example: The Ray-Way Tarp Kit is another one, and it has 5 pages. The site is rather immense, and I wrote each subject page at different times and in a different manner. So formatting-wise, nothing jived. But no longer.
And incidentally, I'm referring to the internal workings of each page, not the actual content. And in the same vein, I'm not talking about the dozens of control scripts that I wrote in PHP, Javascrpt, Ajax, and so fourth. For example my "raptor engine" which controls the display of each page.
27 lbs
Day 33
2022-01-11: Low energy but feeling good.
29 lbs
Australorp eggs in our incubator. One of them came cracked so I repaired it with epoxy (it may not work, but its worth a try).
Day 34
2022-01-12: My energy is at low point. I'm spending hours seated in the living room looking at the wood stove as though it were a TV - just pondering and enjoying the cheery glow and warmth of the fire. Feeling good and have no hunger or urge to quit fasting quite yet.
29 lbs
I bought six black mission fig tree cuttings for $15 from a seller on eBay. After two weeks in pots, this is the first sign of propagation success.
Day 35
2022-01-13: I'm feeling fine, and have a good mental attitude. The trade-off is the profound lack of energy. A low energy level feels like you are moving through life in molasses. I feel like the energy bunny with a nearly dead battery. The bunny is on trickle charge, and once or twice a day it has a small spurt of energy. But the spurt doesn't last long, and then I'm in the chair again feeling like I weigh 500 pounds. Not complaining, just documenting the process for future reference. Another slight disadvantage of doing a long fast, learned from previous times, is the recovery takes another month until the the energy levels have fully recovered. So a month of fasting requires two months total.
30 lbs
Day 36
2022-01-14: My weight has stabilized, for the time being - even though I'm not eating - and I think its because the body is retaining more water, and using less for flushing toxins. But like any good and meaningful journey, I envision myself hiking a long trail to a better and more healthful self. And the more long fasts I do, I seem to have more endurance. I'm not hungry, so far have no desire to eat, and I'm not planning to end the fast anytime soon.
30 lbs
Day 37
2022-01-15: Someone going on a long water-only fast is like a cave explorer. The deeper he goes into the psyche, the more wonders he discovers beyond the natural range of perception: The large caverns, the still and reflective pools, the beauty and the absolute stillness. And always the urge to explore deeper.
But my day yesterday wasn't like that. Rather it was like sitting in a movie theater with the screen out of focus. At least while programming. I could understand the code but could not seem to develop it further. It was like someone taking an old wristwatch apart, setting the parts on the table, and then having no idea what function the individual parts play to make the whole thing work - let alone to make them better.
Away from the computer, I felt normal. Like someone who can't program going about their day. To them everything is completely normal. But the coding part of the brain is on a different level, and the reduced energy levels, caused by the fast, seem to have reached that part of my brain. Not complaining, only documenting the process for future reference.
31 lbs
Our wood stove - used to heat our house. In the evenings I sit in front of it for an hour or two - watching it, as though it were a TV, enjoying its warmth and just pondering life.
Day 38
2022-01-16: My programming energy levels recovered last night and this morning I managed a slug of good coding. Also last evening and early this morning I spent hours in sitting front of the wood stove in contemplation and meditation. Normally, when not fasting, I'm too busy for much of that. And the normal person has no time for any of that; and this is regrettable because it could change the world - where people are living with mind-shackles that prevent free thinking. Mind-shackles that hide themselves, and prevent a person from even realizing that they have them. And this leads to tainted free-thinking.
Well, so much for that. My contemplations are all about my life and blessings in the moment.
Another thing I have realized is how much time I spent during my last 40-day fast, thinking about food. I cooked for Jenny, took her to the grocery store, and spent hours planning meals. I call this thinking continually about food "food tripping." So during this fast, I'm no longer doing it. I now realize that a water-only fast is not just about not eating, but also about not even thinking of food.
31 lbs
Day 39
2022-01-17: Not eating, not "food tripping" (not thinking about food), and feeling good - when not moving. One more day to 40, I think I'll shoot for 50 if I can.
31 lbs
Update on my fig propagation. So far, so good.
Day 40
2022-01-18: Today's insight really makes sense. Don't focus on the low energy level. The extreme fatigue. Don't even think about it. Its there, so just accept it - and go on with life. During the fast this has helped me greatly. And the principal goes along with not thinking about hunger, and not thinking about food. The whole thing is a mind game, and truly an exercise in self control.
And today I'm breaking new ground, plunging deeper into uncharted realms. Forty days is the longest I have gone without food. But the more long fasts I do, I seem to develop more endurance. So I'm plowing on. . .
33 lbs
Day 41
2022-01-19: This fast has become almost a second lifestyle. So it will be hard to go back to my former life of eating. But at least I'm consoling myself with plans to return to this long trail again one day, seeking further knowledge and improvements. And as for the present moment, I feel like I could go on at least another week.
I think most people might be afraid of doing an extended fast themselves, but I don't think they should be. It's wonderfully therapeutic and not that hard. However, I don't have a trace of medication in my blood and body, prescription or otherwise; so I don't have that to interfere. But the main point for everyone is to clean out the body, arteries and organs of the sludge accumulated by years of unwise eating.
33 lbs
Day 42
2022-01-20: Worked on scripts all morning, then at about noon yesterday, started adding customer feedback to my database. Comments that these kind people had emailed to us. I haven't done this since Jenny left on her AT hike. So there was lot to add. In fact I worked on this all afternoon and on into the evening; and at about 11:00 pm I had to call it quits. All together I added about one hundred comments. A BIG Thanks to all for sending us the good feedback It means a lot, and is helping us stay in business. Ray-Way Customer Comments
34 lbs
Day 43
2022-01-21: Spent part of the day planning my NFT. My bike is an old one, and with 80K on the clock, it needs some work. So I'm going to be busy with that. And it sure beats jack-hammering T-posts.
34 lbs
Day 44
2022-01-22: I haven't taken a bite to eat in 44 days. I'm feeling good and am not hungry, but I don't have much physical energy. I can't even stand for more than a few minutes. But I can sit at the computer and write programming code, although some days are more productive than others. But at least the fast is going well, and I'm breaking new ground; in that 40 days is the most I've gone without eating.
The chicken eggs in the incubator are doing good. This is their 8th day and some of them are just starting to develop. And McMurray Hatchery reports that our 25 soon-to-be chicks are in their incubator as well. Our two adult chickens have been sleeping in the house, because of the below-freezing temps at night, but mostly because they are spoiled. They love our company and we love theirs. Our pet snake, which we raised from a baby three years ago, sleeps in our lap, either mine or Jenny's, for an hour each morning. With love and care, pet animals are just that. They are all the same, regardless of the shape of their bodies. And they all want companionship, with like species or not.
34 lbs
Day 45
2022-01-23: Just a theory, but all the work I do at the computer and so forth, I think is interfering with the fast. My body is keeping the physical energy to an absolute minimum in order to maintain what's left of my mental energy. And my weight has stabilized. Its almost like my body has reached a state of homeostasis, or metabolic equilibrium. That's not what I want; but neither am I willing to spend 45 days in bed, lying flat on my back doing nothing. Or maybe I'm wrong, and the weight has merely plateaued and will soon resume its descent. At any rate, I'm giving it another five days to find out.
34 lbs
Day 46
2022-01-24: Day 46 and the breakdown might have just begun, starting with a marked decrease in mental energy.
34 lbs
Day 47
2022-01-25: The previous evening I experienced a spurt of mental energy, and managed a good batch of programming. Another thing that encouraged me was a new set of bathroom scales, ordered online and recently received. They are much more accurate than the old ones, and showed that I'm not on a plateau after all. As mentioned, the fasts have always put me to a mental battle, and these little things yesterday helped me greatly - when it seemed like I had to quit. The battle is not real, but all in one's mind.
Another item of note, this time outside my head: The incubating eggs are showing signs of development. This is Day-12 for them, so they are past their half-way mark. This is going to be interesting, as we've never hatched baby chickens before, but have always bought them a few day's old.
And I might note that this is my forth fast longer than a month. I've done one 33-day, two 40-days, and a whole slug of 10 to 14 day'ers.
35 lbs
Day 48
2022-01-26: Closing in on the 50 day mark - doing well, not hungry and low energy as usual. Tried to get some programming done, and when the brain protested I forged ahead anyway but only at a snail's pace. Like padding though molasses. I'd like to get to Day-50, and then I'd like to get some energy back and get some work done. Not craving food, craving energy.
35 lbs
Day 49
2022-01-27: I've decided to end the fast tomorrow - not out of hunger, or necessity; but I don't think it's doing any more good. And I'd like to get on with life.
35 lbs
Day 50
2022-01-28: I've reached the 50 day mark, and the end of this year's fast.
