So, as my wife and I continue our journey to get into a healthier lifestyle, although she’s doing a way better job than I am, I haven’t been able to give up sugars. So, I decided to try an extreme way to get rid of sugar. My wife decided to go on this crazy experiment with me, and we began a fast. I must admit I was terrified, not because I was worried about eating, as I have days, weeks, and months when finding a meal was few and far between. My worries were I have a few health issues I deal with now that I didn’t necessarily have when I was younger, or they weren’t as bad.
For example, for as long as I can remember, I have always eaten a dessert, especially after dinner. It’s not something I ever thought about, and it’s not like I was eating a whole cake. It was just a little sugar because if I didn’t, I would feel horrible. Without the little Debbie, I would have felt like my stomach was in knots lately, though I have found myself gravitating to sugars more and having what I’ve always called spells. I shake, get cold, and feel like I’m going to faint. I’ve been checked for diabetes, and I’m good. This has been something I’ve dealt with my entire life. I’ve seen more doctors than any living human, I’d bet. Throughout my life, I’ve been poked, prodded, and given gallons of blood trying to figure out my freakish health issues.
My wife is a rock star, and since we began dating, she’s been taking great care of me. With her help and dedication, many of my issues went away. We kept them in check, if you will. Then, a few years ago, that all changed. My liver decided it was done. I would yet again go through a barrage of tests, several doctors, a misdiagnosis, and surgery later; they would have no clue what my issue was. Then, one doctor finally listened to how I was feeling and diagnosed me with nonalcoholic fatty liver syndrome, which was pretty severe. I was told it would eventually kill me. A happy diagnosis, right? Well, my wife went to work.
She started diving into what was the root of my issues, and after some diet changes, I’ll be damned if my liver didn’t have a turnaround. It’s still scarred, but the wonderful thing about the body is that if you give it what it needs, it will do its best to heal. I still have a long way to go with my liver, and it may never get back to 100%, but it’s getting better every day as long as I avoid one of the things that I now believe was making me sick my entire life.
High Fructose Corn Syrup. A sugar alternative developed in the late 50s that would eventually make its way into just about everything we eat when the diet craze took off in the late 70s to mid-80s. High Fructose Corn Syrup was sold as the “healthier” sugar because they started to demonize natural sugar. Not to mention, it was a cheaper alternative in the manufacturing of many of our foods and drinks. Many of your sodas have high fructose corn syrup, and before I decided to faint and sleep for a few days, I was throwing back soda at an ungodly level. My work was creating a stressful environment, and sleep was not happening, so I was drinking soda to stay awake and keep pushing. I caused my liver to die by drinking a soda to stay awake to do my work, and I had no idea.
High fructose corn syrup is also in EVERY condiment known to man, and I love ranch and dips. So my wife and I attacked the diet and removed as much high fructose corn syrup as possible and started adding natural sugars back to my diet. I’ve never felt better since making these slight changes. After 2020, much of our focus became on health and getting healthier so our bodies could fight any disease that may be manufactured or not. We decided to give our bodies the best food we could during this journey. We began a carnivore-only diet. It had life-changing results: my energy level was unbelievable, and I lost weight, which is even better in helping my liver heal.
Because of all this, after much research and talking with many doctors, I decided to take on the challenge of fasting. No food for a length of time only water and coffee with no sugar. I even gave up cigars for a while. The fasting has been an interesting journey. Before the fasting if I went a few hours without food I would have one of my spells and would have to hit my body with either carbs or sweets to get out of my spell. When I got into my spells I would either swallow a bunch of sugar items mixed with salty items like the go to was an Oatmeal Cream Pie because it would give me both salt and sugar. I’m sure if a doctor is reading this they’ll say “that’s diabetes” but not according to all the tests. Oddly enough during this fast I haven’t experienced any of that which was my main concern of not doing a fast sooner. I’m coming off the tail-end of the fast and I’ve never felt better!
The first day of the fast was simple. By the end of the day, though, I could feel my liver hurting. I say liver because, with all I’ve gone through, I’ve come to learn exactly where my liver is. It’s not unbearable pain, but it’s a pain for sure. The second day, it hurts a little more, almost intolerable. Then the third day came, and I felt euphoric, like I’d gotten back 20 years of my life. I feel fantastic, and it’s actually crazy. I have starved my body now for three days, and it feels great! That sounds insane to say. My liver doesn’t hurt like it did on nights one and two, and my energy is through the roof.
So, my long rant in this blog is about this. First, I’m not a doctor, and I know many will attack fasting as dangerous, but the sugar hold I was in was getting bad, and now I feel great. There are no spells or issues, and I look forward to continuing this journey. I’m stoked for the future and can’t wait to continue the second half of this wonderful life! Gotta finish strong! LETS FUCKING GO!
