Through Day Ten of Fasting; Next Steps Coming into View

OK - I made it! Ten days on just water. My body feels clean and light inside. I know that I am doing good for myself; my mood is stable, my mental clarity is fantastic, my physical energy is amazing. While I'm definitely not attempting to bench press 200 pounds, I am walking and lifting the things I normally do with no ill side effects. I just make sure I take a swig of water before and after, and I'm good.

This morning I woke up and it was very clear what my next steps should be: continue the fast through Saturday morning, which will make it 14 days. I will go to juices after that point and build up solid food for a two-week period. We'll see what will take place after that. I would like to build up to doing a 21-28 day fast, as well as a 40 day fast. I'm not saying that's going to happen right this minute, or right after this experience for that matter. I'm just saying that those are things I'd like to experience.

As far as long-term health goals go, it also became clear to me this morning that I have three phases of weight loss to go through; The first, which is now almost over, is shedding the pounds that I intentionally gained as part of another experiment (more on that later). The second will be shedding the pounds in the range of weight that I have been fluctuating between for the last 15 years of my life - I have had a 30 pound swing that I have hovered in; lose it, gain it back, lose it, gain it back. I'll get more into that later as well. And then the third phase; down into the 130s and 120s. I've not seen 125 on my scale since 6th grade.

For any of you worrying about anorexia - this is not my goal or intention. For those of you thinking this is a form of anorexia hiding as a healthy fast - I could see your argument. All I know is that long-term, I see myself sitting down to a healthy meal with friends and feeling OK about whatever I eat in front of them. I currently feel shame and fear around food. I no longer want to live a life avoiding eating food in public and then scarfing it down in private. I am no longer willing to let food run my life. I simply desire good health. Food has run my life up until this point, and breaking free of it is opening up my time, my finances, and my efficiency. This fast has been a great experience. I thank you for listening.