It’s Tuesday, and I’m fasting.

I’ve wanted to fast for over 24 hours for quite some time, but I’ve always found it very hard, almost impossible.

I have been practising intermittent fasting for over 10 years. For me, going 12 hours without eating is quite easy, and 16 hours feels almost normal. Depending on when I have my last meal or snack the night before, 12 hours without eating remains fairly straightforward.

If I eat my last meal at 6 or 7 p.m., which is ideal, go to bed at 9 or 10 p.m., wake up at 5 a.m., and have only pure coffee without milk in the morning.

From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. is 12 hours, then add the time without eating. So, if I have lunch at midday, that adds another 6 hours, from 6:00 a.m. to midday, for a total of 18 hours without eating, which is very good.

When I had the school and lived in Flamengo, I would do exactly this: skip breakfast and use my work, giving classes as a distraction so I wouldn’t eat until later. I sometimes wouldn’t eat until after 2 in the afternoon, more than 18 to 20 hours after my last meal.

After Nalva and I separated, I fully adopted intermittent fasting and lost more than 12 kilos in six months.

I believe the stress from the relationship and the separation, along with the fact that my ex-wife would always, every day, cook rich and calorific food that I thought unnecessary, which I now see as a slow form of death at that time.

To me, when your wife keeps overfeeding you every day, it’s obvious that she wants to kill you in the most naturally slow way possible and without the possibility of prison.

The mouth provides us with pleasure; I’m not only referring to it in the sexual context. For some, the act of eating, smoking, and many things with the mouth is far more enjoyable than sex itself.

While the big multinational food companies and chain restaurants constantly lure us with foods containing colouring and preservatives, our eating habits have sharply declined in quality and in our consumption of good, wholesome, tasty food in such a short time.

I often noticed this when I was in England. To me, English people are like goats; they will eat anything they come across out of ignorance.

The advantages of fasting, as recognised in many religions, include:

• Weight loss, which subsequently decreases his body fat.

• Insulin sensitivity, which helps manage blood sugar levels.

• Fat loss.

• Cellular repair and autophagy, which remove old and damaged cells.

• Reduction of inflammation, decreasing swelling and inflammation across the body.

• A healthier heart and improved cardiovascular health while reducing cholesterol.

• Clears the mind, reduces brain fog.

• Increases brain energy, clearer, faster thinking.

• Helps the immune system; it boosts and strengthens it.

• Fights cancer: research has shown that fasting boosts the immune system, helping kill cancerous cells.

I have known something about the benefits of fasting over the years, but recently I watched a YouTube video by a doctor who justified 2, 3, and even 4 days of fasting. I didn’t watch the entire video because it was too long, but I was already inclined to try 24 to 48 hours and see how I feel.

It’s Tuesday morning, and I have gone 12 hours now without eating. I want to see if I can go at least 24 to 36 hours without eating. Let’s see!

Be kind and be happy, and if you can’t be happy, still be kind, but not naïve!

In bed by 10 pm.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Fasting | My Personal Journey and Its Benefits first appeared on The Long Gringo.