In an article you learned about my experience after 30 days of living like an ascetic.
These challenges are part of a set of challenges (level 6) :
1.To lead a life of asceticism.
2. Realize an intermittent fasting.
3. Communicate in a benevolent and pragmatic / non-violent way.
4. Pausing on paper one's thoughts, emotions, feelings to realize them for what they are (I will detail what I mean by this in the following articles).
5. Meditate 2H per day.
First of all, what is intermittent fasting?
I am not an expert on fasting or nutrition in general. If you are interested in fasting, I invite you to browse the web, meet specialists or read books. There are very good sources everywhere.
From what I understand, there are different types of intermittent fasting. In some, we eat only one meal a day, in others nothing for 24 hours, in others we eat only fruit or vegetable juices, etc.
According to Wikipedia: "Intermittent fasting is a term covering a family of diets consisting of alternating periods of fasting and periods of normal eating".
Before continuing, I think it is important to clarify that fasting is a special subject. We each have unique bodies. So, as far as the feedback from this challenge is concerned, it is relevant to read it without taking my experiences for yours, without making your choices according to my conclusions. I repeat, I am not a specialist in the field of nutrition or fasting.
Okaaay, now, let's move on to the challenge itself:

30 days of fasting is a big challenge.
I felt I was up for it as I do not have health problems.
I was motivated to commit to the 30 days.
Until....
No, I am kidding.
Mouhaha.
I held up well to the challenge and did not miss a single day.
Not because I was concerned about being diligent but because it was a matter of survival haha.
Not to miss any day, it was to finish the challenge as soon as possible.
Choosing your type of intermittent fasting
Before starting the challenge, I was eating at non-fixed times, even not recommended for health (eating before sleeping).
I started this way, choosing the method: 24h authorization to eat / 24h following no food.
It seemed simpler to me than counting calories.
Which, on the other hand, would lower my motivation (counting calories reminds me of dieting. But that was not my intention. We will come back to this subject later).

At the very beginning, there were days when fasting was very easy and others when it was all I could think about.
Then I realized that with this habit of eating anytime of the day, I was not making it easy for myself.
When I ate a last meal at 9 or 10 p.m. I had to eat until 9 or 10 p.m the next day. So, (PS: I took a little time before I realized this) after the first week or so I decided to stop eating after 6pm.
But that was not enough.
It was always psychologically painful, especially knowing that I had to do it during 30 days.
After that, having no desire to "miss" this challenge, I changed the schedule again.
My stomach has shrunk and I am now rarely hungry, but thoughts are focused on that.
So, it is easy for me to choose to simplify the challenge by eating only once a day at a time.
I would cook at 11am and finish eating at 12pm.
That was the revelation.
Much simpler and more comfortable.
Having to fast in the morning is easier, especially because I am more concentrated and relaxed.
Observations / benefits
- the fasting wich did me the most good are those I realized by instinct. 30 days of challenge is no longer instinct.
- light stomach, good digestion
- Realize how much emotions are directly impacted when you fast this way. This is the most interesting and introspective part of this challenge. For that alone I am very grateful for this opportunity. Being able to observe this emotion-food dependency is exciting and relevant from a self-inquiry point of view.
- Food is not as necessary for survival as one might think. Food is not a search for pleasure but for subtle energy. If you are interested in this subject I will give you my perspective on food and its contribution/impact on daily life from a subtle point of view in a Q&A video for example.
I will end with a short note, in case you are passing by and think, "that would be great for weight loss". I will not recommend this challenge done alone when you have that intention, or when you feel that your relationship with food is not healthy. Moreover, this desire should be the subject of deep investigation, that is my perspective at least.
This challenge (and others) was made with the intention to explore ourselves, to test what we assume to be limits.
Note of the first article also valid here (in living like an ascetic):
" This is the paragraph that made me question the relevance of these articles 30 days of challenges. Indeed, it is more and more difficult for me to distinguish the benefits of the challenges.
Not because there are none, but because :
They are secondary benefits, the most interesting thing is our ability to change our habits, to discipline ourselves, to act according to our aspirations, to explore and discover ourselves. To no longer be victims of our habits and beliefs but to make conscious life choices.
I realize several of them at the same time, with my contemplative, introspective practices on the side and my super cool lifestyle. So it is hard to know what impacts what. Especially since the benefits are certain but can have as yet unseen impacts. "
Tenderness,
Lifexploratrice
- Marie Mazeau Yoga teacher in Paris and online internationally. Beyond time and space. Guiding with gentleness, mindfulness and Joy.
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