Fasting Journal, Day Five - Lead Yourself Into Temptation

Once you've reached the fifth day of the fast, you should feel the most obvious effects. The sense of accomplishment and the foreseeable end of the meager days is certain to lighten your mood. And even though you are way past feeling any trace of hunger by now, your mind just simply can't stop thinking about food. By the fifth day, however, this should still be a fun a positive experience, instead of the sad desperation of the start of the fast.

Cooking in the Mind

This is perfectly normal, and there is no reason trying to fight it. Why not embrace it and take it to new heights. In fact, this is the time when you can come up with the most creative recipes. I remember perfecting mashed potatoes during my first fast. A simple side dish I always thought was boring at best, suddenly turned into something I had no shame of preparing as a main serving. The trick was to tune it up with other tasty things. Whether it was diced onions fried glassy on butter, or fresh herbs (parsley is still my favorite), or simply sour cream (does wonders!), or chopped garlic fried in coconut oil, they all sounded fantastic while I was fasting. Once my fast was done I actually tried these ideas, and my mashed potatoes have never been the same.

You would think that exposing yourself to the sight, smell, or even the idea of food would be bad for the past. I could see that to a certain extent, and in the first part I would not even recommend doing so, as it only bums you out. Once someone has been through the preparation, the hunger of the first day, the horrible diarrhea, and then a few days, they are not very likely break down that easily. So why not play around with a bit of temptation?

Teasing Temptation

In one fasting group I took part in once the instructor took us to a supermarket on the fifth day. The objective was to discuss (and really drive home) the proper preparation to eating again, which is the reversed preparation to the fast I described in my first post. So participants were told to fill their shopping carts with the ingredients to their three meals of the three days of preparation. Imagine the most delicious treats beckoning from all sides, most of which had no place even in the preparation, not to mention the fasting present. Incredibly it wasn't even half as bad you'd think. Most sweet and greasy foods had somehow lost their attractiveness as we had somehow become more "above things" and even a bit detached.

Reduced Temptation at Home

It is usually nice to share the fast with someone so you can come up with recipes together. This time I'm fasting by myself, so that's not the case for me now. Though I'm super glad that I don't have stay on the property by myself. (That steep hill can be a killer even if I'm at my full capacities.) Fortunately, my friend's parents are staying there as well, a lovely Italian couple, who are both excellent in the kitchen, as I've tasted their delicious cooking. So I expected I would be surrounded by the finest Italian dishes, while I kept to my lime water... but no. As it turns out, fasting can be contagious. Yesterday, for example, they made a salad for lunch, which they didn't finish so they had it for dinner too. That's it. No pasta, no risotto, no tasty fish or seafood, not this time. That's cool, I'm sure we'll get back to it later.

Writing Fasting Posts at the Hotel Restaurant

However, there IS one tempting factor that always gets my mouth watering: it's the hotel Bahía de la Luna, the only real institution on this bay, located only a five minutes walk from the property. This is where I come to charge my devices, since we don't have any power hooked up. And yes, imagine the tasty smells, let alone the sight of their exquisite sea-food dishes, or even simple Mexican breakfast plates. Meanwhile I keep sipping on my lime water. But that's cool, whenever I'm not distracted I keep thinking up new combination of tastes, most of which will actually turn into actual recipes. This may be my favorite part of the fast!