Fasting Journal, Day Three - Keeping Active During the Fast

Fasting can be tiring. There is no food coming into the body, so it must break down parts of itself only to make ends meet. As a result, you can be expected to be low on energy, a bit out of it, feeling generally lazy. And why shouldn't you? After all, you took the time to get yourself back to optimal health, so you should at least have the luxury of taking it easy a bit.

Don't Eat Up Yourself!

While this is all true, it's a really bad idea to spend the entire fasting week just chilling in your hammock. In fact, during the fast it is essential to stay physically active, preferably doing things that occupy all your muscles to some extent. This is because the body needs to know which parts of itself it should consume for survival. Since muscles are easier to break down, that's the obvious first choice. However, it will not touch the muscles of the heart or the lungs, since they are constantly used, so they must be vitally important. So to make sure the rest of our muscles are safe from being eaten up, we must use them. That way the body will have no other option but to tap into its fat reserves, which I'm sure no one minds.

The Right Type of Exercise

Doing yoga, pilates, going swimming, hiking, and even dancing are excellent activities during the fast. In fact, they all have had a place in my previous fasts, except for swimming. This time, being right next to the ocean, it comes as an obvious type of exercise. The bay is conveniently small that I can swim across it in about fifteen minutes, so I like to do it every day at least once. In addition, the area offers great hiking opportunities. The truth is, due to the steepness of the hills, you can hardly take a step on the property without having to go up or down on an extreme incline. Even the road is so steep that many cars don't stand a chance of scaling it, save for 4x4 trucks, ATVs, and old Volkswagen bugs. So going for a walk anywhere proves to be quite a taxing undertaking. Take a look at my latest Strava logs to get an idea.

Be Careful Not to Pass Out!

Of course we should keep in mind that during a fast our blood sugar may be a bit unstable. Never going beyond our limits is important, but we should be aware that our limits may not be what we are used to. So pacing ourselves and taking breaks whenever necessary should be the focus of our activity. Even then it may happen that we get to feel light headed or even pass out.

That is simply due to the low glucose level in our blood, which is to be expected. To prevent this, it's recommended to carry an emergency pack of honey with us, wherever we go. This doesn't have to be a lot, simply a teaspoon full, just like in our breakfast. So far I never needed it, but it's good to have it in case of emergency. Previously I carried a single serving pack, known from hotels and airlines, but half of that is probably plenty. This time I made myself an emergency honey bag of the estimated right amount, Mexican style.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

As I mentioned in my previous entries, the most important fasting rule is: drink plenty of water! Under normal conditions 2-3 liters are recommended daily. During the fast I would add at least another one. But whenever you sweat due to physical activity (as is recommended) or simply from the heat (which in these parts is constant), yet another one may be called for. To be sure, we can always monitor our hydration by the color of our pee. Clear is always best, a slight yellow may be okay, but any darker, full color indicates the need for more water. Oh, you don't have to pee at all? Then you definitely should drink A LOT more!