Day 26 - Iron Sharpens Iron

Fasting for 12 days was a transformative experience on many levels. I like to describe the journey as becoming more in tune with your true self which I think is more accurate than saying “i’m a different person”.

The reality is, I'm just more myself than I’ve ever been.

This is a subtle but important difference. Several people have asked “why did you decide to fast?” and this is much easier to answer in hindsight than it would have been at the onset. Deep down I was looking for a reset: spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. Only drinking water for an extended period of time certainly delivers on that goal.

Days 1-4 were the most challenging by a long shot. I can’t stress this enough. For me it was caffeine withdrawal headaches, questioning what I was even doing, hunger pangs, lethargy, restlessness and general irritability that made the first few days not fun. Through Russell’s coaching, I knew that I didn’t want to be visibly upset and didn’t want to throw a pity party for myself. After-all, no one was forcing me to fast, so there was no sense in moping through the days with a “woe is me” attitude. It was a helpful mindset shift going into the fast to embrace the suckiness and the discomfort and push through in a way that was undetectable to my friends, co-workers and family (for the most part…God bless my wife). The evening of Day 4 was the closest I came to giving up. I couldn’t sleep. I got too much sun, and not enough water and I think getting dehydrated is probably the worst thing you can do while fasting, especially in the early stages. I even remember asking Russell “hey when do the benefits start kicking in” lol.

Thankfully, I pushed through and on the other side Day 4, the blessings began to manifest themselves with each waking moment.

The hunger subsided. I got into a rhythm of more closely monitoring my hydration levels and becoming best friends with my Hydroflask.

The first, most noticeable blessing is the abundance of TIME I suddenly realized that I had. We don’t often think about how much time goes into eating, but when you consider:

1. Thinking about what you’re going to eat

2. Procuring the ingredients

3. Preparing/cooking the meal

4. Eating the meal and..

5. Clean up

6. Ahem… Digesting the meal. That’s a lot of steps!

So what to do with all this time goes from standard boredom to embracing the gift of having a sudden abundance of time. For me, I ironically felt myself in the kitchen of all places more than I’ve ever been in the kitchen. I found joy in preparing food, learning how to make meals with my wife and even washing dishes. This is not normal behavior for me. While it may seem like an odd way to reclaim all that time you’re saving by… being in the kitchen, there was something quite different about not partaking in the meals I was preparing which made the time feel well spent and somewhat of a lesson unto itself. Thankfully, this surprising habit has stuck with me even a couple weeks post fast.

The mental clarity and the almost supernatural energy is the next aspect of my long term fast that I want to tell you about. You might have picked up on the fact that I was addicted to coffee/caffeine based on the withdrawal symptoms I described earlier. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember and so the thought of having all this extra energy while I was only drinking water, is still shocking to me. I would sleep only 5-6 hours per night and when I was up, I felt like Buddy the Elf, running around doing random chores, getting caught up on work or things I’d been procrastinating. I could write for hours on end in complete flow with almost no effort. The natural energy levels and focus achieved during my fast is 100% what I miss most and what I look forward to when I eventually embark on my next journey.

I could go on and on about the experience and what I’ve learned from going food-less for 12 days. I’m absolutely in awe of the response I’ve received from friends and family who heard about my journey and it has reinvigorated me to continue to share my story. I’m grateful to Russell for inspiring me to pursue a deeper sense of meaning and purpose through water-only fasting and for allowing me to share some of my experience here in this post. For me, it's been less about the 19 lbs I lost or the opportunity to drop bad habits with a factory reset of the body - for me, it has been about a deep state of self-reflection and rediscovery of who I am, so that I can continue to be reminded of my true essence and bring that person forward as much as possible. Thanks for reading.

-George Mekhail

Reflection:

When we think about making a change in our lives, we often use language like “new year, new me” or “I’m a totally different person now!” - I believe that language is important. What if instead of trying to be a totally different person, the aspiration was more about trying to be the purest, most authentic version of YOU?

Practice:Pay attention to your self-talk. The language you use to describe yourself is powerful! If you make a mistake, avoid phrases like "I'm such an idiot!" and instead focus on the behavior itself. Even subtle adjustments like "that wasn't smart" begin to describe changeable actions rather than serving as indictments on your own character.