“Consciousness became foggy.” How I gave up food and water for 32 hours and what came out of it

I have never been on a strict diet. At the same time, I could easily give up sugar, flour and coffee. My willpower has been strong since childhood. Figure skating and karate, where I went in my school years, formed my strong and brave spirit. Therefore, experiments like 32-hour fasting without water and food did not scare me. My neighborhood was actively going through it. I decided to give it a try.

They say that the main idea of dry fasting is that the body in harsh conditions is forced to use not only fat layer, but also water from its reserves.

In theory, because of this, foreign microorganisms are destroyed, pathological processes are suspended, inflammation stops. A lot of positive changes happen to a person: the color of the face and teeth improves, lightness and vigor appear, diseases disappear.

The evening before the fast consisted of a light salad and herbal tea – this is how experts recommend to enter the fast. Instead of breakfast, I went for a walk in the park and fooled my brain for a while. Toward lunchtime, my body started demanding food.

“I’ll eat later!” – I said to myself. It didn’t work. My body and brain wanted it now.

I plunged harder into my work, but I noticed a general unfocusing and started to drift off to sleep. My consciousness became hazy and trance-like, as if I was looking at the world through some kind of veil. Apparently, my brain decided that since I wasn’t eating, I was asleep, and began to slip into a half-sleep.

I continued to focus on getting tasks done. And I used lemongrass essential oil to invigorate myself. My nose was literally burned by the citrusy scent, which usually easily created a state of alertness and drive.

Later, I went outside again and realized that the space was full of edible smells: coffee, fresh baked goods, fried potatoes, pies, chicken. It was as if everyone around me was doing nothing but eating to spite me. The overabundance of edible odors made me nauseous.

And a woman, perfumed with a strong perfume, passing by, triggered my nausea reflex. The sensitivity of my nose increased several times. The world literally attacked me with its scents.

Toward evening, I got a migraine. I decided to go to bed. I realized that it was an escape from the process, but it was better than to break the experiment.

At 20:00 I was already in bed, and woke up at 5:00: hungry, but at the same time full of strength and energy. I didn’t have a headache, but a slight nausea remained.

The first thing I did was boil oatmeal. Its flavor seemed to me simply divine. As if during the fasting my taste buds were renewed and began to perceive the flavors even sharper and brighter. Instead of coffee I drank green tea and was surprised by its rich floral flavor.

The effect of brightness of tastes and aromas lasted for two more days. The energy boost did, too. With the next cup of coffee I got used to bitter and tart aftertaste and forgot about the subtlety and versatility of simple flavors.

I did my experience of dry fasting two more times. But, as I repeated the story with migraine, nausea and early going to bed, I decided that this is not my method. It was too difficult and painful for my body. For me, I decided to focus on healthy food choices and a balance of sleep and sports.

Doctor’s opinion

Candidate of Medical Sciences, doctor of integrative, preventive and conventional medicine, nutriciologist

Physiology “says” that hunger is a natural activator of autophagy. The term refers to the process of ridding the body of diseased cells. This is important for maintaining cellular homeostasis, the regulation of which is impaired in many metabolic disorders, including obesity and insulin resistance.

Intermittent fasting does contribute to the renewal of the body. It is also one of the methods of treatment of serious diseases (for example, oncology, for obvious reasons, because cancer cells consume glucose at an incredible rate).

It is recommended to stay on fasting, if at the same time drink mineral water, not ordinary water, it will prevent dehydration of the body.

There is also cyclic fasting with a small calorie restriction, when the window without food is replaced by a window of food intake. Popular schemes for such a diet are 16/8, 14/10, 20/4 hours, where fewer hours involve a meal. This strategy is considered the most appropriate.

The constant increase in nutrients in the intestinal environment leads to increased activity and altered functionality of the microbiota. This seriously disrupts the interaction between the host and the microbiome, provokes dysbacteriosis, the development of diseases.

It is recommended to limit yourself in food for no more than 24 hours. For people with chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is better not to practice such diets without a doctor’s appointment. Much more important is not how much you starve, but what you consume in the intervals of the “windows”. It is the same with dry and water fasting.