Post 1: Fasting: The Benefits and Beyond

It’s been a month since we all made that annual three-part tradition: You made a New Year’s resolution, do it for a few days, and then let it fall as various distractions gradually weaken your will to stick to it. Weather it may be  quitting a bad habit or starting a good one, if not most- all resolutions we do are for our overall wellness. Statistics reveal that the most common resolution that people make is to lose weight or start a new diet routine.

In the world we live in, there are a lot of difficulties and challenges we face everyday, and if we are incapable of dealing with it, there is a high level of stress that we may not even be aware of. Stress is one of the root causes of weight gain. Most people are unaware but they tend to seek relief from stress through eating, and there is where the fat cycle begins. The more stressed we are, the more we eat. I've heard some people say that if they just lose weight, all their problems would be solved. Looking at the stress eating cycle, I see that weight loss is just the external issue in our daily lives. Sadly among the 45% of people who resolved to lose weight, only 8% of them actually keep it. Perhaps we need to take a second look on the internal aspect so we could really make a change inside and out.

I was one of those people who resolved to lose weight not just yearly, but every time I felt the need to do so. But I failed every time until I came across an article about Fasting. I sought for a protocol that would not just allow me to lose that extra weight, but to also keep me healthy inside and out. In the lifestyle section of the website Chicago Tribune, I found an article entitled "Depriving yourself: The real benefits of fasting" written by Emma Young.

The article discussed the benefits of fasting and the changes it brings about that the daily dieting can't provide biochemically and physiologically. The article stated some cons about calorie restrictions on the chances of leaving people more susceptible to stress. Fasting on the other hand does not since our genes are actually adapted to going with periods of no food. The article also presents scientific evidences on how fasting benefits in losing weight, treating and preventing diseases such as cancer, asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Lastly, he article states how fasting is good for the brain, since fasting boosts the production of protein which is involved in the production of new brain cells. This production of protein protects the brain cells from the changes associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

According to Emma Young, "The evidence is pretty strong that our ancestors didn't eat three meals a day plus snacks, our genes are geared to being able to cope with periods of no food."

Before reading the article, I already had experience with fasting right after I came across an article way back and informed me of it's benefits. My goal then was to lose weight, but as I continue my fasting routine, I started to feel the benefit of it inside and out. It was hard at first since our body has been programmed for years to eat three times a day, but as I continued for hours my body started to adapt. Putting this fact in my mind that I can actually go on for hours without eating since my genes are geared that way, made fasting easier than I thought. I believe this thought may also help in preventing people from eating mindlessly since most people use it as an excuse that we have to eat three times a day plus snacks. And in programming our mindset to that eating, we also program our mind that we need to eat more or else we will starve and die.In resolving to make a change, people don't recognize that in order to take the first step, one must begin by changing its mindset. If the mind contradicts the will, compromise begins to happen, and change will never occur. I believe this applies to losing weight especially if the mind is centered on the goal, not the process. Having a mind centered on the goal is not bad, in fact, it's a great motivation to continue pushing through until you get the results you want. But the problem begins after achieving the goal when we stop and lack the will to continue, or before achieving a goal, when we lack a motivation to even start. I believe everything really starts from the mind, and we have to take baby steps and enjoy the process so we could adapt a lifestyle that continues to motivate and inspires us. One of those baby steps that we have to take starts by re-assessing the mind by finding the root problem and starting from it.

In relation to fasting and changing the eating mindset to push through a resolution, I found an article written by Haleh Banani at a site named "Muslim Matters", entitled "The Psychological Benefits of Fasting". The article stated how a lack of self-control in humans results to different negative vices such as addiction, gambling, and violence. This article did not just focused on the man's appetite, but to the fleshly desires of human as a whole. It says there how a person can become  a slave to it's desire, leaving a person completely powerless if lack of self-control is continued to be practiced. The article presented fasting as a training to practice one's self-control over temptations of different kinds not limited to eating and drinking. Aside from gaining will power, it also states how fasting bring about a great sense of gratitude and patience to a person through waiting and deprivation. Lastly, the article presented how fasting helps a person moves toward self-realization since it is also a spiritual practice in which you can reach for super conscious energies and trigger exceptional human performances.

According to Randi Fredricks, "fasting has the innate power to change the individual, the community and ultimately the world."

In finding the root problem, we see that the term "mindless" eating, can be seen as our lack of self-control over our appetite on food, which results to weight gain. Through fasting we deal with that root problem by gaining will power that starts from the mind and soul. It changes our mindset through self-realization, to push through whatever we put our minds to and to stick with it since we have more will power and patience. That conclusion with regards to the benefits of fasting biochemically, physiologically, and psychologically, we could agree to Randi Fredricks' quote on having the power to create a change. Fasting be done properly, it will put you in a state of reaching for conscious energies and trigger exceptional human performances, perhaps would allow the person to even be capable of handling stress, the very root of  eating and weight gain.