How to Lose 22 Pounds in 21 Days

Before the Fast

After the Fast

If ever there's a magic that works every time you want to lose unwanted weight, it is Water Only Fasting (w.o.f). At the onset, I have to say, fasting is not for everyone. But here is a tool you can use, if you want to get in shape quickly.

There are several types of fasting, but true fasting means drinking water only; no solid food, zero calorie intake, no coffee, tea or fruit juice. Due to the existence of different types of fasting, whenever I use the word "fasting" in this post, I am referring to water only fasting to avoid confusion. 

Although there are several reasons why people fast, let's focus on weight lose only. If you are overweight like me and want to lose some quickly, the answer is fasting. There are tons of materials out there you can read on how to fast, when to fast, who should fast, how long should you fast, how to break the fast and what are the benefits of fasting. I won't be covering those topics here as you can read them elsewhere. 

Let me share my experience how I lost 22 pounds in 21 days through fasting and how I am maintaining my weight. Wait a minute, how I maintain the weight I've lost will be another blog post.

Here's my 21-day journey. Three days before December 2017 ends, I made a decision to embark on a 21-day fasting starting on January 1, 2018. On December 29, I ate two meals, lunch and dinner. On the 30th, I ate one meal, at dinner time. On the 31st, I only ate 2 pieces of small banana. While everyone was partying on the New Year's Eve, I was preparing for my fast. I literally went to bed at 8:00 PM and haven't even heard the countdown accompanied by fireworks. On January 1st up to January 21st, I consumed only water. Four days into the fast, however, I experience stomach discomfort perhaps due to the filtered tapped water i have been drinking. I switched to drinking mineral bottled water as seen below. By the way, Kulen Water is the only mineral water in Cambodia, taken directly from Kulen Mountain, in Siem Reap. 

The fast was easier than I thought. I was a bit hungry on the first day, but from day-2 onward, I have never felt hungry. My hunger disappeared almost entirely. The desire and craving to eat comes once in a while, but hunger never came back even once. Even up to day-21, I wasn't hungry at all. I think I could go up to 30 or 40 days if it were not for the work I have to do. Of course, I felt weak the entire 21 days. I had light headache at times, and stomach discomfort. The most difficult experience I went through was my constant spitting. Starting on day 7, the urge to spit comes almost every 20 seconds.  How I manage this? It's gross. I need not describe what I did. Other than incessant spitting, the entire 21-day fast was easy. Starting on Day 19, the desire to drink water also left me. If possible, I don't want to drink water. Water tasted bad. I had to force myself to drink to avoid dehydration. 

I lost 10 pounds on the first week, then it slows down. I lost additional 10 pounds from day 8 to day 17, then it plateaued on days 18 & 19. Additional two pounds of weight shredded off  on day 21.

On the evening of Day-21, I went to the market bought watermelon, papaya, and vegetables and ate some before I went to bed. On day 22, I ate more water melon, some papaya and then I made vegetable broth. I went back to normal eating 7 days after the fast.  

It is guaranteed; if you don't eat you'll lose weight! It is simple as that. You won't die from fasting. Contrary to what people think, you won't lose muscle. Those who are saying, fasting is dangerous are ignorant. Do your research to gain knowledge before you make your conclusion. Before you even fast, do enough research. Be careful where to get advice. Never get advice from anyone who never fasted. In addition, I have to warn you. Many medical doctors do not recommend fasting. It's unfortunate that many are ignorant about the true benefits of fasting.  

By the way, I didn't only lose weight, but my B/P came down from 156/106 to 104/71. If you have blood pressure issues, water fasting can lower it down easily. It has been well-studied that fasting can cure many disease, including type 2 diabetes.  

I was gonna post how to lose weight and maintained it, but I will reserve that for my next post. I think it's too early for me to write since I am only on my 3rd week after the fast. 

My 40-Day Fast and How I Managed it!

Two years ago this month, in 2010, I embarked on a 40-day fast and completed it successfully. I drank only squished lime juice and honey from day-one up to day thirty-eight. Lime juice and honey had given me enough energy to go from day-one up to day-38. At times, the temptation to quit and break my commitment was strong. Everyday, I had read lots of article on the web about fasting so that I could stay motivated.

Incessant Spiting During my Fast

On my 35th day, I thought, 'wow this is manageable, Maybe I could go more than forty days'. But I was wrong because on my 36th day, I experienced  something like a 'eternal' spitting. Every minute, my saliva just keeps building up inside my mouth and I couldn't stop and hold it but to had spit. I kept tissue and handkerchief handy. While, at work, driving, or with people, I have my handkerchief at all times. I thought yak...this is very disgusting. Not only disgusting but surely something must be wrong, so I decided to stop the lime juice and honey on my 38th day due to unstoppable and incessant spitting. On my 39th day I consumed only fresh watermelon juice. On my 40th-day I to ate a few grape fruits and some oranges. I felt I just had to break my fast, I can't go on like this! So I had to drink something other than lime and honey; not because of hunger or lack of strength but because of my incessant spitting.

Many People Won't Fast Because of the Love of Food

Appetite is one of the hardest human drives to control. Just the thought of one day without food plagues one's thinking. Too many advertisement is devoted on food. When I was new on Facebook, lots of photos being posted are food related events.

Just watch the commercials on TV or see the food counter. Everything is focused on satisfying our appetite. When you go to the mall, scan the people  how many overweight you can find. This are just one of the evidence that appetite is hard to discipline. To deny yourself for food is not a pleasant experience. A friend of mine tried one-day water fast and he didn't last for 24 hours. When the evening came, he wished its morning so he could resume eating. He finally he got up at 11:00 PM and went to the street and look for something to eat. He confessed, it was very hard to go one-day without food.

What Have I Gained?

This 40-day fast wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because I consumed lime and honey every day. The hard thing was because April-May is a wedding season in Cambodia. I had to go to five weddings and some birthday parties without tasting the delicious food. I sat on the table but drank only the water served.

Talking about spiritual matter, I didn't become more spiritual after the fast. I didn't gain more spiritual power when I did my forty-day fast; I wish I had. The only visible sign after the fast was my physical appearance; I lost 21 kilos during the 40-day fast. After few months, however, I regained my weight! I look unhealthy as I became skinny. In Cambodia, to lose weight that quick, you have been infected with HIV. Thus, my neighbors thought I must have AIDS to lost weight so quickly. They were mistaken of course. 

On the fourth week of February 2011, God impressed in my heart to fast for pure spiritual reasons. There are fours reasons I wanted this fast. First, Personal Holiness, second, Passion for God, third, Providence of God for future Ministry, Fourth, Power for Ministry. These four reasons were very personal. Fasting does not make one more spiritual, although others claim it does. It does not make you more godly. As Christian though, fasting of course is an spiritual discipline that deeply involves the physical realm! I did a 10-day fast.