3 ms·

> My mental abilities (creativity, concentration, focus) were incredible especially until week 5. How long did it take from the onset of the fasting, for your

> My mental abilities (creativity, concentration, focus) were incredible especially until week 5. How long did it take from the onset of the fasting, for your mental abilities to show improvement?

DyslexicAtheist 9y ago
Once I overcame the initial hunger feeling of the first days it became noticeable. It then increased peaking in week 3 to 5 but present even until the final days. In the last days I became aware that every day I continued it was another day where my mind "won" against my body, and this scared me increasingly because I was no longer sure if I was still listening objectively to my body or if I was trying to prove something just for the sake of it. (e.g. "you came already that far now don't give up" -> this reasoning worked well for doing marathons sports but felt was dangerous to apply here). It was like my body telling me that it would no longer support my BS, ... but not via a hunger feeling as in initial days but I became so weak that walking more than few meters required a rest. Even speaking for more than 10 mins was tedious.
- saiya-jin 9y ago
  Interesting that it works for you, but any good doctor with >10 years of experience will tell you these are quite dangerous experiments to perform. Your body might stop giving you proper feedback so you might feel stuff is OK although you are heading for some organ failure and possibly quite sudden collapse and death (or lifelong health issues). You note the potential danger of mind pushing the body beyond - this threshold is unique to each of us, and what makes one OK might kill another one. To anybody else inspired by this 'experiment' - if you have the need for this (and don't want to reach some obscure goals in more traditional and proven ways), consult with your doctor. If he/she isn't knowledgeable in these matters, find another one. And consult regularly during experiment, ie blood/urine/heart checks will reveal about real state of your body much more than some 'body emotions' you might or might not feel (that comes from guy who listens to his body very intensively, but I understand the limits and potential traps of this feedback channel).

> My mental abilities (creativity, concentration, focus) were incredible especially until week 5. How long did it take from the onset of the fasting, for your mental abilities to show improvement?

DyslexicAtheist 9y ago

Once I overcame the initial hunger feeling of the first days it became noticeable. It then increased peaking in week 3 to 5 but present even until the final days. In the last days I became aware that every day I continued it was another day where my mind "won" against my body, and this scared me increasingly because I was no longer sure if I was still listening objectively to my body or if I was trying to prove something just for the sake of it. (e.g. "you came already that far now don't give up" -> this reasoning worked well for doing marathons sports but felt was dangerous to apply here). It was like my body telling me that it would no longer support my BS, ... but not via a hunger feeling as in initial days but I became so weak that walking more than few meters required a rest. Even speaking for more than 10 mins was tedious.

saiya-jin 9y ago
Interesting that it works for you, but any good doctor with >10 years of experience will tell you these are quite dangerous experiments to perform. Your body might stop giving you proper feedback so you might feel stuff is OK although you are heading for some organ failure and possibly quite sudden collapse and death (or lifelong health issues). You note the potential danger of mind pushing the body beyond - this threshold is unique to each of us, and what makes one OK might kill another one. To anybody else inspired by this 'experiment' - if you have the need for this (and don't want to reach some obscure goals in more traditional and proven ways), consult with your doctor. If he/she isn't knowledgeable in these matters, find another one. And consult regularly during experiment, ie blood/urine/heart checks will reveal about real state of your body much more than some 'body emotions' you might or might not feel (that comes from guy who listens to his body very intensively, but I understand the limits and potential traps of this feedback channel).