For those that don’t know much about me I have a background in Herbalism and Holistic Medicine. I have practiced for 5 years under the guidance of Dr.Marcia Codling; a pharmacist and pharmacognosist of over 30 years and expanding my knowledge of the body and its functions for longer. I say this to say that my background in taking the time to understand the intricate relationship of mind, body, and spirit is likely the fuel behind my intuitions calling to do this fast.
The end of 2024 was a powerful transition in my life and I’ve been able to root myself in my peace even with all the changes taking place around me. I have been actively creating a plan to bring more holistic awareness to my community and I recognize the community I have a vision of becomes clearer the more that I get to know myself. The journey to know thyself and see yourself the way that Most High Creator sees you is a powerful gift. That is the biggest reason this is one of the most powerful fasts I have done since I began doing fasts. The connection that I have re-membered with the creator has strengthened my love for self and in turn reminded me the great ability I have to create change in the world.
I have done 5 extended fasts over the past 8 years. Specifically referring to extended water/liquid, no food fasts. There is so many ways to practice fasting and you can find which way works for you with a little research. Self-research is beautiful way to start. You can read my Water, Grow, Rise blog to get more information about how that process can potentially look. You can follow that up with a video called “Fasting For Survival Lecture with Pradip Jamnadas MD”. These two pieces are a great start to understanding the mind and body and seeing how you can best participate in this traditional practice that is used for physical and spiritual health. There is intermittent fasting which allows you to eat, however you limit the time frame to commonly 4, 6 or 8 hours. You can also do 3 days which is enough time for your body to begin the process of autophagy. And then you can practice 7+ day fasts which I consider the real deal because 7 in nature is a number of completion spiritually; And scientifically it is when your DNA begins to recreate itself. You assist in the DNA programming based on all types of consumption, ie. what you say/think, watch, and listen to.
The second day of year 2025 at 2 AM I began the process of fasting. It really began 3 days before in my mind as does all endeavors because once I had the thought to do a 7 day fast I of course had to mentally prepare myself. The day before I kept reminding myself that the last thing I eat is the last thing I’m eating. I decided I was going to make a big batch of tonic influenced by intuition, the herbs I had in my home apothecary, and the guidance of the ancestors for measurements. I used roots like burdock, nettle, hydrangea, sarsaparilla, ginger, gentian; herbs like mullein, moringa, holy basil, ginko biloba, lily of the valley, juniper berry and some other herbs that were included in pre-made tea blends. This boils down to be a very bitter tonic however I do not add any sweetener to the end result. I have actually grown to enjoy bitter flavor, as over the last year I began to try and have every flavor profile throughout the day when I am eating. Savory, Sweet, Spicy, Sour and Bitter a day keeps the doctor away lol.
The first day was fairly easy, like I mentioned the fast began at 2 AM so that made going through the day easy. That along with staying busy helped me avoid thinking about doing something that we typically do out boredom. Which is also a Pro-Tip for first timers. Focus on things that are exciting and take brain power to do. I actually was so focused I only drank about two cups of water that day and had no energy drop. I ended the day with 16oz of the bitter tonic which was warm because I had just made it.
Day two I noticed that I was kinda thinking about food more throughout the day, but I kept busy so it wasn’t a big deal. I did have a slight energy drop which intuitively guided me to skip my evening workout.
Day three I had great energy off the wake up and that guided me to do a slightly longer workout in the mawnin to make up for the night before. This is likely due to the process of autophagy that the body begins after about 3 days of fasting, where the cells start to get rid of toxins by eating them. I am admittedly a big foodie, so at some point I found myself clicking and scrolling through so many recipes during down time. I did a long walk and went to the park to swing for a while so that formally replaced my evening workout.
Day four after the mawnin routine, I was busy doing house stuff and self care so not much thought went into being hungry and there was no change in energy that I noticed. I did however feed my craving to watch food being made. I honestly love everything about food because that has always been one of my favorite things to watch since a child, but especially now because I don’t watch TV often. I do love me some Abbott Elementary tho; Shout out Quinta!
Day five I was in what I call la la land. Feeling really good energetically and my sense of smell was x 100. Meaning I smelled all the food everywhere I went lol. The day overall went smooth and then I had ample time to watch these recipes and scroll. So much so I even briefly questioned if it was cheating. I came to the conclusion that it was not as long as I didn’t sneak a taste of anything other than my water and tea; and I only fed my eyes which gave me a good laugh. (A great form of exercise and medicine). I ended up adding a little salt to my water this day and moving forward to receive max hydration and minerals because I noticed my energy levels were fluctuating a bit more this day. I also had to make more tea because the batch was getting low and I had two days left.
Day six I had a lot of energy which helped because I was moving around a lot outside and by the time I got in I was ready to go to sleep early. Honestly 3 out of 7 days I ended up going to sleep early, possibly due to waking up early.
Day seven I skipped my AM workout and energy was smooth and steady. Intuition decided I was going to extend the fast for 3 more days with juice/smoothies to transition into eating solid food. I drank the last of my tea by 10 PM and I was so excited to get back in the kitchen and taste something other than water and bitter I went out at 12 AM to get some fruits and veggies for the next day. I started prepping my breakfast juice at 2 AM and I ended up drinking a cup at 4 AM. I was, again, very excited.
Day eight everything was at peak energy. Plus I had a prepped breakfast so I didn’t have to do anything extra after the mawnin workout. I also had to remind myself not to get too excited about having a fruit juice and forget to drink water so I took my water bottle out and didn’t get any drinks outside.
Day nine I was still feeling this peak energy however it was also an added layer of dream like relaxation. Nothing was serious and I was giving myself lots of love and grace. Even when I was doing stuff like forgetting the laundry card while i’m washing clothes and obviously need it. It was so natural to be gentle and forgive myself for silly mistakes. Which was not always easy for me.
Day ten was similar relaxed feeling, same peak energy yet more awareness of my actions. Overall the biggest challenge was remembering that watching the food recipes and videos wasn’t cheating. It was honestly very inspiring after that little hump because I loved being able to get more inspiration on food prep, techniques and new recipes I want to try. There was a lot of new vegan food ideas and no waste videos that inspired me to venture into making my own stock, reducing waste and being more sustainable.
That was a big takeaway for me because sustainability is something I’ve been very passionate about since High school, And sustainable cooking is a seed I planted a while ago, which I am now seeing sprout and blossom into reality. Throughout the entire fast I was receiving answers to questions I had forgot I asked or was moved to ask while doing a project. Sometimes the answer came in a dream, other times in a random video I ended up watching, or a sign that I passed on the subway I was just aware enough to notice. The dreams were such a special part of it. They were vivid, and eye-opening.
Definitely if you are thinking about fasting it is so worth the process of getting to know yourself, what you can actually handle (which is a lot more than you think). So go do your research on the power of fasting, autophagy, DNA reprogramming and do some experiments to see what works for you. After all we are our biggest science experiment and you’ll probably like how it helps you feel. I would like to highlight here that I did practice a mantra of self affirming love and greatness within that likely played a huge role in how I was feeling on day 8, 9, and 10. I am grateful to the most high for gifting me with everything I need within to believe in myself and this wonderful body we have. Try it out, and start small if you want to. However don’t give up before you start!
Keep healing. Keep shining. Keep on keeping on.
I love you x Infinity
Affinity