Top 7 Lessons I Learned During 21 Days of Fasting

I ate large portions (think – entire dinner plate) of vegetables for my meals and did not limit the amount of vegetables at each meal. I would leave the table feeling very full but not weighed or drowsy like when you eat a hamburger and fries. This left me with more energy for all the other things I did during my day.

Before I started, I thought that I was really going to miss having protein with each meal. In fact, I truly believed that I needed to have protein at every meal due to my high activity level every day. I am on my feet for 10 hours a day and workout 6 days a week. I was pretty sure that required a large protein load.

I was wrong. I had more energy each day and never missed a workout. Now, I am not going to eliminate protein from my life forever. I am sure that is not healthy. But, I am looking to reconfigure my usual diet to include MORE vegetables and different forms of protein moving forward.

I struggle to drink enough water during the winter because it’s cold and I don’t sweat that much. When your body is dehydrated it will often give you cues to eat food so it can suck the water out of the food. Many times I found that chugging a glass of water when I felt hungry took care of the hunger pangs.

This is a good tip to use moving forward – if you are hungry, try drinking a glass of water first. Many people are dehydrated and not listening to their bodies cues. So, the body uses a cue that will be addressed – hunger. Next time you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water and waiting 15 minutes to see if the hunger cue goes away. Either way you will have gotten in another glass of water for the day!

The second week I implemented protein shakes – again, I felt like I couldn’t go 21 days without protein. One hour after drinking the protein smoothie I had a ravenous hunger. After doing some Google research, I found that protein powder does indeed cause a spike in insulin. You see, the straight protein doesn’t have to be processed in the stomach like chicken, beef, or even nuts would. Which causes your body to increase it’s insulin production to help “use” the powder.

I eliminated the protein powder a couple of days after starting. However, if you use protein powder regularly with your workouts you do need to watch for this insulin spike.

I have never made a really good homemade vegetable soup until now. But, when vegetables are all you can eat and you are tired of roasted vegetable, you start looking for some new recipes. I now have a vegetable soup that I will make weekly because it’s a great way to increase my vegetable intake on a daily basis. I could also add as much salt as I wanted because I found a new problem during these 21 days.

As I was drinking more water and not eating processed foods, I found that I didn’t have enough salt to hold onto the water I drank. The homemade soup helped to increase my salt intake and I also increased the salt that I put on my roasted vegetables. When this was not enough, I added an electrolyte mix that doesn’t have added sugar.

Note of caution: If you suffer from high blood pressure, you most likely should not be adding salt into your diet or using an electrolyte mix. Please remember, this is what I learned about my body during this process. Please read it with the keys to your body in mind. Every body is different. Think critically about what you know works for your body.

I know, I usually say “Ice is Nice” – and it is! But, in this case “Rice is Nice”. You see, on day 18 of my 21 day fast I saw my accupunturist for a regularly scheduled appointment. I told her I had been only eating fruits and vegetables for the past 21 days. She stated that I needed some simple carbohydrates to help deal with the bloating I was suffering from.

Now, I will admit that I am stubborn and really wanted to keep with my plan. However, when my 21 days was up I did indeed add in some rice and – yep, it dealt with the bloating.