Water Fasting Part I: Acting Different

My first self-experiment of 2012 is water fasting. It started at 7 PM tonight…updates to come periodically.

My goal is fast for three days in a row. This means drinking only water and taking a daily multivitamin.

I have never fasted in my life. Based on the feedback of a friend of mine, one who does 24-hour fasts twice a week; I have decided to start with a 24 hour fast. Based on the success of this initial fast, next week I will attempt either a 36-hour or 48-hour fast and continue to increase the duration of the fasts each week until I reach 72 hours.

Why fast?

For thousands of years humans have been fasting for the purported mental and bodily health benefits.

I am fasting for the health benefits and because I like a challenge and I am interested in experimenting with habits and behaviors that are widely practiced but often overlooked.

I am no expert on fasting so if you have any comments on the practice please post them in the comments section below or send me a tweet at @peterbsmith.

Words of encouragement will also be loved and appreciated!

-PS

More information on water fasting:

Wikipedia Article on Fasting

What to expect during your first fast?

Fasting and Buddhism

On Fasting by Dr. Ben Kim

[Update 1/3/12: 24 Hour Fasting Trial Results]
Taking a 24 hour break from eating was easy! I was able to go about my day in a normal fashion without experiencing fatigue. It wasn’t until the 23^rd hour that I started feeling any noticeable hunger pangs and those subsided after about 30 minutes. This trial was an unqualified success. Next step…48 hour fast. Woo!

Peter B. Smith: Weirdly, Normal

I’m an American college aged student (21 yrs. old) with a passion for business and helping people. I’m the executive administrator to the CEO of Southwest Paper, a paper manufacturer headquartered in Brookline, MA, and the CEO and Founder of www.iphonehow.to.

I have a love/hate relationship with Boston University. I’ve been away from my home in Long Island for the better part of four years. In that time, I have taken two semesters of absence from school and may be taking another break this semester. I have spent most of my time in the School of Management (SMG) but recently I switched to Computer Science. If I go for a Spring semester in 2012 I will be going back as a SMG student. I do not believe that a college degree is necessary for my success, but I have been told by just about everyone I know that it is smart and worthwhile to get a degree just to put it on a résumé.


I am open-minded, perhaps to a fault. I love trying new things, learning new things, meeting new people, and exploring the differences and similarities between cultures.

My New Year's Resolution is to begin a process of rigorous self-experimentation related to habit and behavior change and measured self-improvement.

I’ve grown up with a computer in my bedroom, an iPhone in my pocket, and with an addiction to learning all about technology and the world around me. For a long time my mind went back and forth between knowing for sure what I am passionate about and having no clue at all. A few months ago, at a Startup Weekend, my passion became unwaveringly clear. I am an entrepreneur.

I know there are lots of people my age out there who don’t know what to do with their lives. There are people my age who don’t know how to go after their long term goals in the face of ADD machines and services like iPhones, Androids and Facebooks.

And I’m no different.

So even though at times I feel alone in this world, and at other times I feel totally connected, I know that I am weirdly, normal.