East Grove Blues

So I successfully managed to not eat for two days. Now considering poverty and world hunger this is no great feat, but for me it was quite the challenge. After doing two days I think I would like to try even more. The most I could do in Japan is three days, unless I get a long weekend. It was hard and definitely more of a mental challenge than anything. For some reason we have got this idea that we have to eat.

I never knew how addicted to food I am. I realized this when it was my normal meal times. I was hungry during the entire fast, but I would be starving to the point of craziness during meal times. For about two hours I would have to fight my brain and body telling me it was time to eat. Most of the time it was manageable, but not then.

My energy level never really dropped at all. My head felt strange because of the hunger, but I was able to walk in the park and around my house without feeling terrible. I cleaned my entire house (excluding my shower, which is tomorrow morning’s work) while I was hungry and it didn’t effect me at all.The only time I felt a little woozy was during Onsen. The hot water made my head spin, but I recovered quickly after a few minutes of rest.

The weirdest point was last night. I had been ravenous on the way home from Onsen, but when I got home and drank some tea my hunger disappeared for about an hour and a half. The tea was enough to confuse my brain into thinking I had ate. The hunger came back as the night ebbed on, but for a while there was nothing but normal feelings all around. It was so strange and it was very nice.

I’ve been told that the first two days of fasting are the hardest. Once you get past them the hunger disappears for a few days. I would love to try a five day fast, but that will have to wait until I get home from Japan. I will probably drink juice during a longer fast. Five days without anything sounds tough.

Dinner tonight was amazing. I had simple, mostly uncooked food; spinach, salmon sashimi, chestnuts, mikans, olives and bread with olive oil. The spinach was to die for. The stems were actually sweet, with an earthy taste to the leaves. The bread melted in my mouth and the chestnuts were sweet, but not overly so. If you ever want your food to taste good than try fasting for a few days.