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Maybe I’m Zen?

I have posted earlier on fasting.

Photo by banky177

To my surprise, it has been easy to do, painless and I have been losing weight after being stuck at a level which was short of my goal.  I always used to joke about eating being an addiction.  Now I suspect that I may unknowingly have been on to something.  It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Brad Pilon that I discovered intermittant fasting – fasts that last 24 hours or less.  I had mistakenly believed that you had to fast for days for there to be any benefits and I also believed that fasting was bad for the body.  I was forever telling my wife and sons that they were unhealthy by not eating breakfast and skipping meals.  They paid no attention to my rants and now, in my advanced years, I become enlightened.  I have been fasting for about two months now, two days a week.  I break the fast to have dinner with my wife on most days but sometimes go for 24 hours before eating.

I would never have thought that intermittant fasting would be beneficial but I have to say that I have discovered that eating is overrated.  Now Zenhabits has picked up the message from Brad and suggests a new relationship with food.  It’s very simple which is what Zenhabits is all about.  Food is just fuel.  Fill your tank when you need it and  forget using food as a surrogate for other things in your life.

I know that since I have been fasting, I don’t feel compelled to join my coworkers for lunch every day and I don’t miss eating on the days that I fast.  I am also getting close to the weight goal that I believed was impossible two months ago.

{ 5 comments… add one }
  • Sudeep June 8, 2009, 7:47 am

    Hello ,
    Gr8 post , yes it is so true that now days we do not eat to live , but we are generation who live to eat.
    Fasting is not only just good for your health but as you have said its a good exercise for our mind as it teaches our mind restriction , it literally train our mind .
    Keep it up and looking forward for more post
    Regards
    Sudeep

  • Ralph June 8, 2009, 8:07 am

    Thanks. It is amazing the number of things we think we know to be true that turn out to be not true at all. This ties in nicely with Christian’s stoic series.
    http://mindthebeginner.wordpress.com/

  • wrthofnino June 8, 2009, 12:52 pm

    Hmm… interesting! Maybe I should think about fasting like this, try to break out of the bit of a plateau my weight-loss has taken this last 2 months. Thanks for the info!

  • Steve Crenshaw June 10, 2009, 7:14 am

    Thanks for turning me on to this. I, like you, hit a plateau and have not been able to break through. I have gone to Brad Pilon’s site and am trying to understand (or break old thoughts) about his process. On the other hand I can see how voluntarily not eating can teach us that food does not control us we control it. What a lesson for Americans.

    Good Luck To You.

  • Ralph June 10, 2009, 4:29 pm

    Sudeep, It is always so easy to ignore the mind and follow our baser instincts.
    Rich, I recommend it principally because it changes your attitude toward food.
    Steve, I know where you are. I was bewildered at first, looking for some definitive instruction. Then I just tried it. Action solves a lot or problems.

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