Hi guys, I hope you are all well and have had a great start to the new year. 2021 is here guys! Was anybody else wondering whether there was going to be NYE fireworks in London? I watched the count down a bit sad thinking this is not normal, there was no fireworks. Then all of a sudden… I was in awe. I thought it was a lovely show.
So, as you can tell from the title, I have decided to start a water fast. This is my first one ever and I’ve done a lot of research on it. I don’t know about you guys, but the last few months I haven’t been feeling my best. I feel like I was constantly comfort eating and my appetite got really big, I was eating way more than usual out of boredom. There was nothing to do! lockdown literally made me stay home and eat and drink alcohol for the sake of it. I was eating late and over christmas I indulged in all the yummy treats (which I don’t entirely regret). I always knew I was going to turn a new leaf in the new year but there was one or two incidents that made me say NO! TAMARA YOU NEED TO START NOW.
So one of my really good friends was going to St Barth for New Years Eve. She has been having a yacht holiday for the last month and the plan was for me to go and join her for a week in February. Anyway plans changed and she decided to cut the holiday a little bit shorter and was ending it in St Barth for NYE. She had invited me to go the evening of 29th telling me to get the next flight out lol. literally meaning I would have about 1 hour to go home and pack and go to the airport. The old me would have been on it, I would of just left that second and went, but with COVID and London being in tier 4 I knew there was a strong possibility that I wouldn’t make it there. That being said, the other part of me died inside with the thought of me having to travel with my lockdown situation which consists of non-manicured nails, non-pedicured toes, split ends and being a fat pig. Me being in a bikini with my pale skin and extra pounds, I just knew I would be feeling shit about myself. This is what made me get serious and want to change for the better.
The next day, 30th December, New Years Eve Eve, I had to take some modelling polaroids to send off for an amazing opportunity that has been presented to me. So I put on a black underwear set, and asked someone to take some shots of me. Head shot, full body, side profile etc. I looked back at the photos and laughed out loud. No way was I going to send these photos off. Everybody was telling me I looked fine, and the job itself was for a curve model. But being my own biggest critic I knew that I wasn’t looking my best and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with people seeing these images. instead I wore some plain clothes which flattered my figure and went again. I still didn’t like the photos that much but thought fuck it and sent them off.
Getting back to the fast, I spend the whole day of the 30th doing research on a water fast. I wanted to fully cleanse and detox my body and hopefully lose some weight. After the water fast I plan to work out at least 5 times a week and cut down on the junk food and alcohol. I won’t say that I will cut out all the bad stuff completely, because I am being realistic and I know I will probably last a small while before binging out lol.
silly me though.. I didn’t weigh myself before I started so it will be quite hard to know how much I lost. I do however, have the photos in my underwear which I will use to see a difference. I don’t believe in the scales to be honest. I know when I’ve gained weight by just looking in the mirror. The first places I notice it is in my face and upper body (my neck, arms and around my collar bones)
I have inserted some imaged that I made with some information about the water fast but I must add, IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN DOING THE FAST, PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. ALSO REMEMBER THAT EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT. SOME PEOPLE MAY BE ABLE TO DO A WHOLE WEEK FAST, OTHERS MAY ONLY BE ABLE TO DO 24 HOURS.
I must also add that fasting is not a sustainable way to lose weight. You may lose weight whilst fasting but then gain it all back if you make unhealthy choices after. After doing research, I have learned that many professionals suggest that intermittent fasting is better. I have decided to start with the water fast for the cleansing effects as well as a kick start to weight loss. Have a read of the slides below to gather some information about water fasting.
DAY 1
Today was the day I started my fast. It started off great, I usually don’t eat breakfast so I didn’t feel hungry. I started to feel hungry around 5 o’clock when I could smell food from the kitchen as my Boyfriend’s mum started to cook dinner. Oh I forgot to mention that last night, knowing I was going to literally starve myself, I went and purchased a big bar of galaxy’s chocolate and some strawberry haribow straws – very cheeky.. you are not supposed to do this, it is advised that you eat really clean before the fast and slowly cut down your meals. I knew it was bad but I am starting my period soon and I knew that I would enjoy it more knowing I would be so hungry today. (for dinner I ate a tuna salad and that’s all I ate for the day, in addition to some chocolate and haribows before bed) I went to the shops to buy a plastic 1L bottle that I will fill with water, and left with chocolate LOL do you see the problem here.
So anyway I gave the leftover treats to my boyfriend’s mum, it was a bit sad because its my fav chocolate lol. Being NYE today, I would usually have some alcohol to celebrate the new year coming in. This was the first NYE in years I hadn’t had a sip of alcohol. I wasn’t too hungry today, people were eating in my presence and I felt fine about it. I stayed awake until 3am playing monopoly with family whilst they drank wine and ate many snacks. I stuck to my water 🙂 So far I am feeling good. I drank about 2.3 litres today, was constantly needing a wee. I’m aiming for 3 litres a day.
Lets see how I feel tomorrow
DAY 2
Day 2 was difficult. I literally had the laziest day I stayed in bed most of the day and just chilled. I have been watching Master Chef on Netflix and omg I am so hungry! my belly is rumbling and I know I’m torturing myself watching master chef, but I am really enjoying the show so I will continue. I am thinking about food constantly, imagining all the yummy things I could eat. LMAO I swear I am hungry but I will keep going. I really want to try and do a week, I’ve read online on people doing it for 28 days and I think I have the willpower to push to a week. I am not having to do much so I know that will be helpful. I have also read that when your body needs energy it will burn your fat supply (great) but it can also use your muscle mass as energy. I want to avoid this.. I will try and do some light exercised each day if I have the energy to try and prevent muscle loss. Tonight I have done about 15 squats – very pathetic! It was late in the evening when I had the idea and after 15 I thought screw this, let me watch more master chef. Today I drank 2 litres, still less than my goal of 3 litres. I think I’m extra hungry today because they say day 2 is the hardest, plus I’m not doing anything to keep me occupied, and on top of that I’m watching yummy food on the TV – that makes me hungry even on a normal day.
DAY 3
So I woke up today with a few weird sensations on my body, sort of like a tingling/aching pain. I’m enjoying the process and as the day went on I felt more energised and healthier. Last night I had a bit of a foggy head, and this morning when I was doing some work on my laptop I found my self taking longer than usual trying to remember certain information to write down. Im not too sure if its me over-thinking and over-analysing my symptoms or if it is real. I have decided to not over think things, when I feel to tell my boyfriend that I have a headache, I conciously refrain from it. I believe in mind over matter and I know I can do this. Since I have changed my way of thinking I have kept my self busy and I honestly feel great. I am enjoying reading blogs from people that regularly do the water fast, I find much more insight when compared to google, which lays out all the risks and makes it a bit worrying. I was reading one ladies blog and its made me feel confident that I will be able to do even more than a week if I really wanted to. She did a 31 day fast and she said she was perfectly fine. In fact she felt better than she ever did. Doing a water fast resets your body, it resets your immune system, renews damaged cells and doesn’t affect your metabolism like other diets do. She made a great point about ending the fast. She explained how to recommends introducing food back into the diet, she said plants and meat to begin with. Do this starting with one meal a day, and pay close attention to how your body reacts to different carbs and dairy’s. This will be an amazing indication of what foods are disagreeing with us as our body would be renewed. She also said that she allowed herself to drink black coffee and herbal teas, lemon infused water and some bone broth when necessary. When she needed some flavour she would put a drop of hot sauce on her tongue. I found this interesting.
I was a lot more active today than I was yesterday. I done some housework, hoovered the house including the stairs and managed to do 200 squats (in sets of 20). The hunger today was barely there. I had no hunger pains, I could see my friends posting photos of delicious meals on social media, and most of the ads that are on the internet whilst I’m researching is of yummy food also. I feel great. The day started off a bit slow, I felt like I had little energy, but when I actually got my body moving I felt great. My mind is sharp and I’m thinking this is going to be a breeze. Oh yes, I forgot to add that I am drinking strictly water, so far I haven’t drank any black coffee or fruit infused water, nor have I drank bone broth. This is usually allowed in a water fast. I have taken a vitamin B-12 most mornings.
I quickly came back on here before bed to mention something. My body feels really cold. I am in bed under the covers and my feet and hands are freezing, when out of the covers and earlier on today I felt goose bumps and felt cold. I also feel really alert, like I’ve just drank 2 cups of coffee. Interesting. Goodnight everyone x
DAY 4
Today has been another great day so far. I don’t feel hungry and I feel very focused. If it continues to go like this I may even be able to do 10 days, to get better detox results. I’ve drank almost 2 litres and its 19.13 and aim to drink 3 by the time I go to bed. I think the most annoying thing so far is that I need to pee so often. My skin is thankful for it though.
So something weird has happened today. I woke up and the left side of my upper lip is extremely swollen and it feels very tender. I feel like there is a lump in my lip and it is noticeable to the eye. My lip has been like this all day and its been confusing me. It feels sore and quite warm. My friend thinks that it is a infection, but why would my lip be infected? In 2018 I had lip filler and as soon as the lady finished my lips went so swollen and bruised. It has a similar sensation right now and I’m wondering if it’s the response to my body trying to ‘heal’ any previous injuries. Last night I was reading a ladies blog where she said that she knew her body was detoxing and healing because she had old pains re-appear. For example, she had a bad tooth ache in the exact same spot that she had her wisdom tooth removed the year before. She also had kidney pains which she linked to her kidney stone pain she had in the past. I find it very extraordinary – the body is wonderful! I am lucky enough to not have had any previous bad pains/injuries so maybe my body is doing its work on my lip. I had lip filler so long ago that I thought it had all fully dissolved, but maybe there is a tiny bit left. It is actually quite painful and I am hoping that it gets better asap. Bare in mind that it is now 2021, I had my lip filled 3 years ago… who knows?
I haven’t done any exercise today. I read something that threw me off – someone said that if you workout during your water fast then your body would get worried about the extra energy burnt and start using your muscle mass as energy as well as fat. Im not sure how true this is? I think I have enough fat for my body to use and to not damage my muscles (I don’t want a flat butt as a result of this lol)
Earlier on I went to a super market and I was able to look at food without feeling tempted or hungry. I was thinking of the stuff I will cook after my fast is over. I squeezed half a lemon in my litre bottle of water tonight and took some measurements as I don’t have any scales here. cankle 27cm. waist 76cm. bum 112cm. arm 31 cm. I threw that water away.. I decided I only wanted plain water.
Feeling great, will come back tomorrow x
DAY 5
I started my period during the night (sorry if that’s TMI) but it really affected me this morning. I found it hard to fall asleep last night and around 3AM I had to literally get up and do some stretches because I felt like I had too much energy and all my limbs were so restless. I woke up feeling really achy and with bad period pains, not cool. This had a negative affect on my mood and I was really sad – I felt like crying. Moving on in the day, I felt much better. Kept myself busy and looked at more food recipes. Again, not feeling hungry. Im really proud of myself so far. I am noticing that I am way more cold than usual. When driving in the car I had the heating on full blast and a thick winter coat on my lap and my hands were still cold. I’ve noticed this for the last 3 days. My lip swelling has gone down thank god, it’s back to normal. Still only drinking water – I was going to use lemon in my water but I was thinking that lemon has sugar in and it may release insulin and affect the fast, but its fine because I’m perfectly fine with the water.
DAY 6
I had so much energy in the night, I kept wishing I could go for a run but it was 4AM. I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus. My body feels tense and sore. I seem to think that I wake up feeling a bit rough but by nighttime I am racing with energy and adrenaline. It’s like my body clock has reversed, but i’ll test my theory and see how I feel tonight. I also feel bit nauseous, I hope it passes. I want to try and do some exercise today since legs have stopped aching from the squats.
Update, I didn’t do any exercise. I found it hard to sleep at night. Watched more Master Chef, it was great.
DAY 7
Wow!! it’s here, the 7 day mark I was longing. I feel good today, woke up feeling much better than I did yesterday, yay. Went and did some essential shopping. Nothing really exciting has happened today. However, I have decided that I will go to 10 days. I have come this far, what is a few more days huh? I actually feel no hunger at all, it’s insane. Whilst shopping my boyfriend was picking up all the things I love, Chicken wings – about 4 different versions lol (we just got an air fryer and he’s excited about it) and cheese bites and other yummy but unhealthy things. He was asking me to break my fast to enjoy the food with him, but not one part of me wants to eat that right now. I know eventually my cravings will come back once I am eating food again but I do think I am going to be strict on myself, and eat well. I have just fasted for 7 days, surely I can turn down a chicken wing haha. I won’t be doing any exercise as I know how quickly I get tired. I walked up some very steep hills today and I was dying.
So my intention when starting this fast was weight-loss but as the days go by and I am more educated on water fasting, I think that the weight-loss isn’t as important as the other benefits that come with it. Although losing weight would be greatly welcomed, it isn’t my main concern right now. I do notice some weight-loss, very minimal on my arms and tummy, however I have realised a substantial difference in my booty. I quite like having a big juicy bum, and since it is mostly fat, I feel like it has become the feeding ground for this water fast. I mean…..hello.. take it from my chin and belly please. That will have to be worked on post fast I guess. Bring on day 8!
DAY 8
Nothing exciting happened today really. My body has fully adapted to having no food, not hungry at all. I am still obsessed with looking at food and recipes but I don’t feel tempted to eat anything. Still having trouble sleeping at night but after tossing and turning I finally fall asleep. There’s not much to keep me occupied as I’m home bound. I will continue 10 days of fasting and may update you guys a little on how I break my fast and how my body reacts to foods. I have not had any fruit infused water, teas or coffees, still straight water. See you tomorrow x
-Oh yes I forgot to mention, the contact for the modelling job has asked me for some bikini polaroids so it will be interesting to see if there is any difference in photos. I actually deleted all the other photos because I hated them lol, but I saved one from the back so that will be my only ‘before’ photo unfortunately.
DAY 9
I started feeling hungry today, more towards the evening. I’m glad the fast is coming to an end. I felt a little sick at times, very close to vomiting but I held back and kept swallowing the saliva that came into my mouth. I absolutely hate vomiting, especially if there is nothing to come up and your straining and eyes are watering… no thanks lol. It passed fairly quickly which was great. I am interested to find out how I respond to food. Its a weird feeling, I feel hungry but I don’t feel like my stomach can take it. For example, have you ever been really hungover and you get hungry. You order your favourite food and it comes and you just cannot eat it. I’m curious to find out if that is how I will feel, or whether it would be the opposite and I can’t get enough of my veg lol. Right now I don’t have an appetite. My brain wants to eat and is obsessed with food, but my body doesn’t. Tomorrow is the last day…. HOORAY!
DAY 10
The end is here! This is my final day. I had many hungry spells today. It was around midnight I was wondering whether or not to break my fast, but I held out. I’m super excited about having food tomorrow. Not much happened today if I’m honest. My family have noticed some weight loss which is nice to hear. I’ve been thinking about what I will break my fast with, and what I will eat moving forwards. I want to try a Keto diet, but I also want to build my glutes and I’m pretty sure I need carbs to build muscle. I think I will cut down on carbs, but eat them on the days that I train and lift weights.
I can’t tell you how much weight I lost because I didn’t weigh myself to begin with. In my eyes, I think I look my usual self, I lost the added weight that I wasn’t comfortable with, which is great. I took the bikini polaroids and they are 100% better than the photos I took before my fast…result! Sorry I can’t give precise info on that as I just didn’t weight myself. I do feel cleansed, fresh and brand new lol, and I have a more focused mindset. Tune in tomorrow to see what I eat.
DAY 11 – THE DAY I BREAK MY FAST
Guys! I did it. I’m so proud of myself… I’m such a foodie and I think food is life, so to go ten days with nothing but water passing my lips is huge. I will do this again in the future about every 4 months, for a cleanse.
So I guess you’re all wondering what I ate. I went to the shops with nothing in particular in mind. Actually, I did have a little wonder around to find some bone broth as I have read many people break their fast with it, but I couldn’t find any and I wasn’t about to boil down meaty bones to make my own. I ended up leaving with a lot of fresh veg, a fruit smoothie, and some watermelon and pineapple. When I got home I decided to have some sliced water melon and pineapple and drink the smoothie. I had a couple slices and felt full – but I must add it tasted so sweet and amazing. I had a sip of the smoothie which is ridiculously sweet and the amount of sugar in it put me off. That was it for today but tomorrow I will have a slice of water melon to start my day and some roasted veg for dinner 🙂
I will go slow and in 3 days I will introduce some meat.
Thank you for reading guys – To conclude I definitely recommend water fasting, even if you do 4 days to begin with, it is worth it. How I feel now is amazing! It has been a great start to the year, a nice way to kick start my healthier lifestyle and it was a great test for myself, mentally and physically. I will keep you updated on my next fast.
MWAH
Quote of the day: Mindset is that separates the best from the rest.
Tamara Little 