Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or expert on fasting. This is a personal journey and should not be taken as advice or doctrine. Fasting can be dangerous.
Weeks 1 & 2
November 7, 2007 (Day -3)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/07/07 416.0* 46.2 196 121 150/78 98.6 91
Today is the first day of the 3-day PRE-FAST period. I am calling it day (neg) -3. In order to get my body ready for the 40-day fast, I need a transition period to get my digestive system ready. I weighed on my home scales this morning and got the "overload" reading. I went to the grocery store and weighed 424 lbs. I think the cutoff on my scale is either 415 or 419 lbs. I can't remember. I will compare the two when I can weigh on my home scales again.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/08/07 407.2 46.5 189 111 151/80 98.5 88
8:31 a.m.
Well I just ate my two oranges and am ready to start this thing. I have tried a one-week fast twice before and failed after 3 days, both times. I am hoping by formalizing this fast with a website, daily journal, and a video log, I will be more successful. Let's hope.
11:02 p.m.
It was a pretty easy day. I wasn't very hungry and had pretty good energy. Today it was more of a mind thing than a stomach growling thing. I only managed to drink 1/2 gallon of the distilled water though. I hope eventually I can match my goal of a full gallon a day. See you in the morning.
*NOTE: I was able to successfully weigh on the morning of the 8th on my home scales and immediately went back to the grocery store scales and compared the the difference. After adjusting for the 8 lb. difference, I determined that the starting weight on my scales for the start should be 416 lbs. I have made the adjustment in the above table. I can now weigh at home each morning.
November 8 (Day -2)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/09/07 402.6 46.0 185 155 153/84 98.6 90
8:15 a.m.
Good morning. I had no trouble sleeping last night except I did wake up extremely hungry this morning. I sure could use an egg biscuit or two right now. My weight this morning (on my scales) was 407 lbs which makes yesterday's weight loss over 8 lbs. I'll take that. I am sure that the majority of that is water loss though. The percentage of body fat is bothering me though. At 46% fat, that makes me at minimum 4 times fatter than a fit person. I also am carry an extra large man around in the form of fat lbs. Depressing. Oh well, I hope today is as easy as yesterday was. We will see.
7:52 p.m.
I am beginning to feel the effects of very little food. My head aches and my stomach is growling fiercely. I feel kinda achey. I hope this feeling doesn't continue. Well, at least I made it through the day. I am going to bed early tonight and take an extra blanket. I seem to have this chill all over. The kind of chill you get just before you come down with the flu. Well, I can't worry about. I will have to just tough it out and hope that I really don't get the flu.
November 9 (Day -1)
7:36 a.m.
Good morning. I had a rough night last night. I was constipated and my stomach was in knots with hunger. I also had really weird dreams last night. Kinda scary ones. Not scary like nightmares, but scary like an LSD trip (not that I know). Frankly, I just feel like crap this morning. The only highlight was when I got on the scales this morning. My weight loss was 4.5 lbs since yesterday. Not bad. This brings my total weight loss to just over 13 lbs. Now that is something to get excited about. I am worried though about my blood sugar reading. A reading of 155 makes me a little nervous, especially since I am no longer taking my diabetic medication. I'll keep an eye on it.
1:15 pm
I don't plan on doing many mid-day updates but the hunger pangs are driving me up the wall. They are actually painful. Also, my constipation has turned into diarrhea. Isn't that special. I would like to apologize for the gory details but I think that it is important for anybody reading this who might one day try fasting. I will continue to tell you everything that happens to my body. While we are on the subject, my tongue is getting kinda gummy and thick. All the fasting books indicate that this is one of the first things to happen in a fast. It's not bad. I just thought I should report it.
8:04 p.m.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/10/07 400.8 45.6 183 128 154/98 97.8 82
The headache that I had earlier seems to have gone away. It was a kind of "metallic" headache. That is the only way I can describe it. The diarrhea seems to have ended. I guess I am empty. My back aches a little, I still have the chills and I am really exhausted. I am definitely going to bed early tonight. I have finished up the last of the oranges and feel much better than I did earlier in the day. I no longer feel like I am coming down with the flu. Maybe my body is finally adjusting.
NOTE: The software and hosting company that I am using has a FORUM feature. I am already getting some emails with questions. So I think I will try to get the FORUM up and running so that everybody can benefit from the questions and answers.
NOTE: The Forum is up and running. You can access it by clicking here or by using the navigation bar above.
November 10 (Day 1)
9:11 a.m.
Good morning. Some of you might have noticed that I am calling this Day 1 above. Just to remind you. There are 3 days of Pre-Fast which are days negative 1-3. Then the Real Fast of 40 days of distilled water will be days 1-40. Then the Post-Fast will be 7 days labeled positive 1-7. Simple.
My blood sugar is getting better but my blood pressure isn't. I am going to have to watch that. My body temperature this morning was only 97.8. I guess the old body furnace isn't getting its fuel anymore. I hope this doesn't mean that my metabolism is going to tank. Well, I have lost another 2 lbs since yesterday. I can live with that. After all, my long term goal for the whole fast is only 1 lb. a day. That makes 15 lbs. total. Awesome. I feel much better this morning, especially from an energy perspective. I have no physical hunger pangs; just mental ones. My mind keeps reminding me that we haven't eaten in a while. The books say that "mental hunger" will eventually go away. The diarrhea has officially disappeared thank goodness and I haven't had any type of bowel movement in the last 18 hours or so. My tongue is still kinda sticky. If it gets any worse, I will take a picture for you to see. By the way, most of the photos are on the "Pictures" web page of this website. Check out the navigation bar above. Talk to you again this evening.
9:02 p.m.
Today has been a really good day. I feel pretty good considering. The hunger is subsiding and my energy level has been good all day. If this continues, I will have to restart my walking regiment soon. I think the bowel movements (and the diarrhea) have finally stopped for good. I feel empty. Thank goodness. I will shout out at you again in the morning.
The forum is up and running. Click here to access it.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/11/07 398.0 45.9 182 135 155 /99 98.8 99
November 11 (Day 2)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/12/07 391.6 46 180 127 151/86 97.9 79
7:27 a.m.
Good morning. I had a really good night sleepwise except I kept dreaming about pizza. Go figure. The scales were again kind to me this morning. I lost just over 2.5 lbs since yesterday which makes my grand total 18 lbs. Halleluah! No real hunger this morning, but I did accidentally open the fridge out of habit. Good thing that I emptied it before I started. Unfortunately, I had a little diarrhea just before going to bed. It has to be over though. I have to be empty. I feel like I want to go for a walk this morning, but I think that I should wait at least a few more days. The only real symptom I have is that my back aches a little. I should note that my back never hurts. So it's different. I hope I feel as good the rest of the day as I do now. See ya this evening.
10:22 p.m.
Today was a really good day. I have felt great energy-wise with no hunger pangs. I hope I have finally gotten past the hard part. I laid out the rest of the fast and it appears that the last day of the Post-Fast will fall on Dec. 26th. That means that I will miss Xmas dinner. I just might have to end this thing a day early if I have success. Nobody wants to miss Xmas dinner.
November 12 (Day 3)
8:06 a.m.
Good morning. I slept well. No hunger. I had quite a shock this morning when I weighed. I have lost an additional 6.5 lbs. since yesterday. That makes 24.5 lbs. since the start. There is no way this can keep up. My body temperature is again a little low this morning. I feel fine though. I did have an issue this morning. I had a small panic attack just after getting up. For about 5 minutes, I just couldn't stop thinking about how dangerous and stupid this fast was or how by not taking my medications I was going to get really sick. Then it just passed. I guess the ol' brain isn't getting its fuel either. Kinda freaked me out a little. Right after the panic attack, I developed a case of the dry heaves. I felt like I had to vomit (and went through the physical acts) but nothing came up. The last time I had dry heaves was probably 30+ years ago when I had to lose weight to make the Little League football team. Weird feeling. I forgot to mention something that happened yesterday. When I undressed to take my shower, I noticed that I had a strong body odor that I normally don't have. Some of the fasting books indicate that this can happen when the body no longer has a way of getting rid of the body's waste as feces. It seeks an outlet through the pores, the tongue, the sinuses, etc. I will keep you posted. I am definitely going for a walk today. My energy level is great and the day is nice and warm for a November day. I will let you know how that turns out.
3:52 p.m.
A couple of hours ago I got back from my walk and it just about knocked me out. I usually walk for 3 miles a day but I had to stop and rest twice and only was able to walk about 3/4 of a mile. I got light-headed and a sick feeling in my stomach. My body definitely misses its fuel. About 30 minutes after I got back from my walk, I had to rush to the bathroom. I had a huge bout of diarrhea. I have no idea where it is still coming from. I am sure the activity got my bowels moving again. It was about 2 hours until I felt okay again. I have to make sure that I am carrying my note, my hard candy, and my diabetic medications with me when I walk again.
11:09 p.m.
I have recovered from my short walk. I feel fine again. I have had no hunger pangs today and seem to be over the hunger hump. When I took my shower today, I still had the increased body odor. That's depressing. I hope that symptom goes away. Tomorrow is "still" picture day. I will take photos in the same positions that I took at the beginning of the fast. I will do this every 7 days. I can't wait to see the before-and-afters. Talk to you again in the morning.
November 13 (Day 4)
Date |
Weight |
% Fat |
Fat lbs |
Blood Sugar |
Blood Pressure |
Body Temp |
Pulse Rate |
11/13/07 |
389.8 |
45.3 |
176 |
153 |
165/84 |
97.8 |
101 |
11/07/07
11/13/07
Larger photos are in the Pictures section of this website.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/14/07 387.6 45.3 175 136 137/87 97.9 103
9:05 a.m.
Good morning. Woke up really tired this morning. I probably could have used an extra hour or two of sleep. One problem was that my nose was running all night. The books do say that the sinuses will empty as the fast progresses. I just hope I am not getting a cold instead. The scales were kind to me this morning. I lost an additional 1.8 lbs since yesterday which makes a total of just over 26 lbs. This is the first day that my weight loss has been under the 2 lb. mark. I guess the weight loss is finally stabilizing. I am concerned about my blood sugar and blood pressure readings. They are creaping up again. I don't need that.
Every seven days I am going to shoot still photos for before and afters. I did that this morning but I just don't see much difference. Oh well.
10:15 p.m.
Today was a horrible day. I had 2 bouts of diarrhea today. I just can't imagine where its coming from. The intestines must hold enormous amounts of waste. On top of that the headache was back and I had absolutely no energy. I even took a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I had no choice. My energy level was zero. I checked my blood sugar and it wasn't that. I hope tomorrow is better. I was too tired to work on the "still" pictures afterall. I will post them tomorrow. Sorry.
November 14 (Day 5)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/15/07 384.0 45.2 173 122 149/91 97.2 94
10:34 a.m.
Good morning. I feel much better today than yesterday. I still had some diarrhea last night and this morning. I am giving up worrying about. I am just going to make sure that I don't get dehydrated. The scales made me happy again today. I lost another 2.2 lbs. since yesterday. The grand total is now 28.4 lbs. Not bad. I hope this 2 lbs. a day keeps up. My blood sugar is creeping down again which is good. I feel pretty good this morning. Much more energy than yesterday. The only symptoms I have is that my nose is running much more than usual. Nothing I can't handle though. I am not sure that I am going for a walk today. I will make that decision later in the day. Later.
2:15 p.m.
Tried to go for a walk today. I had to turn around at the end of the driveway. Diarrhea again. Ugggh! Oh well, I will try again tomorrow. I feel really good. Lots of energy and absolutely no hunger. I feel almost better than normal.
November 15 (Day 6)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/16/07 382.2 45.8 175 101 150/91 97.2 98
9:06 a.m.
Good morning. I feel really good this morning even though it is rainy and dreary here. The scales treated me right this morning. I lost an additional 3.6 lbs. since yesterday. That makes 32.0 lbs. since I started. Yeah baby! I only started this thing 9 days ago. I couldn't be more happy. My blood sugar is finally creeping down and my body temp just seems to be running low. The lack of food really affects it. I have absolutely no hunger. No physical or mental hunger. Once you get over the hump, it just disappears. Amazing. The only real symptom I have is the running nose. I guess I am just going to have to get used to it. I had hoped to walk today but I doubt I am going to get the chance since it is raining so hard. Oh well, I probably should take it slow anyway. Shout out at you later.
NOTE: People have been emailing me asking which fasting books I have read. I had to order them online because traditional bookstores usually don't carry them. I used an Amazon.com feature to make a list of books which if you like them, you can buy them directly from Amazon.com. That way you get the security and such. By the way, the way I set it up, they are going to kick back 4% on anything you buy. So, I'll get 40 cents on a $10 dollar book. Not much, but it will help pay for the website hosting, etc. You can get to the Books section by clicking here or use the navigation bar above. If you have any fasting books to recommend email the name to me at bob@FastingWithBob.com and I will check it out to see if it should be added.
10:55 p.m.
Howdy. Today was a really good day. No hunger, high energy and no diarrhea. I feel really good. I tried to walk today but the torrential rains kept that from happening. I am definitely going for a walk tomorrow. The only symptom that I had was a chill a couple of times today. No biggie though. See you in the morning.
November 16 (Day 7)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/17/07 380.2 45.1 171 111 151/86 97.2 86
9:05 a.m.
Good morning. I woke up a little tired this morning. Slept good but I am definitely on a downswing on the energy cycle. The weighing was a good one this morning. I lost an additional 1.8 lbs. since yesterday. That brings the grand total up to 33.8 lbs. Not bad. Also, my blood sugar finally came down. I am happy about that. Now, if my blood pressure would just come down. Later.
9:37 p.m.
I had a horrible day. Absolutely no energy. I checked my blood sugar several times today and it is hovering around 115 so I am not too worried. The weather has been cold here so I didn't go for a walk. Between the cold wind and the low energy, I didn't want to push it. Speaking of the cold weather, I have had the chills all day even though I have dialed the heat up. I hope things settle down some. Talk to you in the morning.
November 17 (Day 8)
10:15 a.m.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/18/07 380.2 44.9 170 141 150/97 97.6 97
Morning. I had to force myself to get up this morning even though I had over 10 hours sleep. I could have slept all day. I still have absolutely no energy. I am exhausted. I can't imagine how I would feel if I was active in any way. I think I am going to add a new chart to the "Graphs" section of the website in which I chart my energy level each day. Let's say 0 is no energy and 10 is the highest level of energy. I am curious about what it will look like.
The scales were kind to me this morning. I lost and additional 2 lbs. since yesterday. That makes the grand total 35.8 lbs. I am extremely happy with the 2 lbs. a day that is becoming the norm. I had diarrhea again early this morning (4 a.m.). The consistency is changing however. Much less solids and much more water. I guess I am finally emptying out. The weather this morning is very cold and it is really affecting me. I have the chills bad. I cranked the heat up but I still can't seem to get warm. Since I have no energy and the weather is cold blowing winds, there is no way I am going walking today. Another interesting factor is that I have company for the weekend. My Dad drove up and even though I am glad to see my Dad, it has created a problem. Our usual routine is to hit every BBQ, Italian, and hamburger shop when he is in town. Since that isn't going to happen, he has been cooking his meals here. The smell of eggs cooking in butter this morning almost did me in. He has volunteered to go out for his meals but that is just ridiculous. Also, my fridge which I emptied out now has his food. It is interesting how many times a day that I absently-minded open the fridge. Years of bad habits will come back to haunt you. The only upside is that the nose has stopped running and I still have no physical hunger, just some mental hunger every time I smell something cooking in the kitchen. Later
November 18 (Day 9)
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/19/07 378.0 45.1 170 118 138/87 96.7 97
9:53 a.m.
Feel terrible this morning. Absolutely no energy. I actually slept over 10 hours and still didn't want to get up. My blood sugar is up which makes no sense but then again many things on this fast haven't made sense. Oh well. To top it all off, I didn't lose any weight since yesterday. Zero. I think I just going to lay on the sofa and watch NFL football all day.
8:55 p.m.
What a horrible day. I had to take two long naps. I am utterly exhausted. I also feel weird. Kinda hard to describe. I feel like I am in somebody else's body. Nothing seems normal or comfortable. I am going to bed early. I hope I feel better tomorrow.
November 19 (Day 10)
10:13 a.m.
Date Weight % Fat Fat lbs Blood Sugar Blood Pressure Body Temp Pulse Rate 11/20/07
Good morning. Feel much better today. I had an interesting episode just before bed last night. I got really dizzy, my hands starting to shake, and my teeth started rattling even though I wasn't really cold. I thought I was going to pass out. It freaked me out a little. I decided to suck on two pieces of hard candy. That did the trick. Within four or five minutes, my head and my symptoms cleared. I felt much better. I guess the brain wasn't getting enough fuel and it decided to shut down. It could also be dehyadration. I am going to drink much more water today. The weight loss for the day was 2.2 lbs. for a grand total of 38 lbs. Not bad for 13 days. Interestingly, my blood sugar was down today even with the 2 pieces of hard candy last night just before bed. I have given up trying to understand the whole blood sugar thing. I will shout out at you later.
10:44 p.m.
Good day today. My energy level was much better than the last 2 days. The only downside was 2 more bouts of diarrhea. I hope that is from all the extra water that I drank today. Tomorrow is supposed to be a warm day. I hope to go for a short walk. Good night!
November 20 (Day 11)
9:05 a.m.
Good morning. Feel great today compared to the last several days. My weight today is 1.8 lbs. less than yesterday for a total of 39.8 lbs. Not bad for 14 days. I drank a lot more water yesterday and that has seemed to make a difference in my condition. I even feel good enough for a walk. I am going add a new series of still photos showing the before-and-after. Remember, I am doing before-and-afters every week. I don't see any difference which is kind of depressing. Oh well, let me know if you see a difference. They are blown up on the Pictures page. Later.
10:50 p.m.
It was a really good day today. My energy level on a scale from 1 to 10 was about an 9. I am a little worried about Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of days. I live alone and have an empty fridge. Since I am traveling to my sister's place for turkey day, I will be around not only food but the smell of food cooking. That is going to be rough. It is a lot easier to fast when you can control your environment. Oh well. I have made a concerted effort to force myself to drink a lot of water even when I don't want it. I feel a lot better because of that. I am over a gallon and half a day and the results show. Later.
11/07/2007
11/13/2007
11/20/2007
