Things I've learned or had reinforced for me this week during this fasting study.
1) Hunger is not something to complain about (at least, not the intermittent variety)
2) Your body can adapt to amazing things
3) Your brain rules all, and accrues all.
4) Not all fat is created equal.
5) People people people, it's all about the people.
6) Attitudes - break free or be broken.
7) Prayer works.
1) Hunger is not something to complain about (at least, not the intermittent variety)
I can not tell you how many times I have woken up on a Fast Sunday, realized it was Fast Sunday, and thought - man...I'm already hungry, how am I going to make the whole day? Wishing I could sleep through the hunger, I dreaded the full day ahead. Most commonly, I'd make it through church okay, but I paid more attention to the hunger than the things I was fasting for. And then, there was the after-church lull. 12-5pm. It often stood before me like a talking mountain, verbally taunting me and reminding me how hungry I am, and how much good food I had access to, and laughing at how long it would take for me to get to dinnertime. Well, after this...imma stomp on that mountain.
2) Your body can adapt to amazing things
Somewhere around Day 3 - I felt something shift in my body. It was as if it said "Oh, this is what we're doing? Okay, let me rearrange some things," and then it did. I wasn't wanting to go for a run, but I had energy, my mind was clear, and I somehow managed to be very productive. I didn't feel hungry anymore, but I somehow managed to also ignore, or at least forget about, my empty energy stores. It was a strange sensation.
3) Your brain rules all, and accrues all.
Yup. It's no secret that your brain will adjust your entire body to make sure it gets what it needs. But what I realized, is that I'm the one who determines how much it needs. I thought, at first, that I was slowly going to rot away into a den of TV because I'd be too tired to think by the end. Throughout this week though, even today, I've managed to keep my mind incredibly active. Writing, reading, organizing, and chatting has preoccupied most of my time. I barely watched any TV (besides Sherlock and Downton - thank you BBC), and it amazed me how my mind met all of the tasks I set before it. I also don't think it a coincidence that my metabolism barely slowed down this whole week and I had no problems with my blood work or vitals. Many of you have probably heard about the study done that showed people burned more calories reading a book than watching TV. My guess is it's because an active mind is so calorically demanding. Whatever the cause, I think there is something about keeping your mind in shape that helps the rest of your body function better.
4) Not all fat is created equal.
One of the measures for this study is brown fat. Brown fat is the fat in charge of keeping you warm. It's more vascularized than white adipose, and has more mitochondria for energy production. The study is measuring the effects of fasting on brown fat. While it's too soon to say for sure because the scans have not been analyzed, something happened in the study that I found interesting. My normal body temperature went up. My whole life, I've been 97 degrees. Partially because I'm cooler than 98° (obviously), and partially because my metabolism has always been just a touch slower than most people. When I started this study, I was 97. Now, I run at 98.6. Thank you brown fat.
5) People people people, it's all about the people.
I've been really impressed by all the people I've interacted with over the last couple weeks. The nurses were always incredibly kind and considerate, I think I had visitors almost every other day, and the researches I was working with were so good about making sure I was getting everything I needed. While I'm sure I would have survived the week alone, being surrounded by good people who care about you is seriously...the bees knees.
6) Attitudes - break free or be broken.
The one comment I've gotten most throughout this study, is how surprised everyone is by my consistently good attitude. Most expect some kind of Grumpy Gus who doesn't want to do anything but lay in bed, sleep, and suffer in silence. I have found that this just doesn't work for me. No, the fast was not easy. Yes, I was far from comfortable most of the time. But, I felt good about participating, and because I felt good about my choice, I saw most of it with optimistic and interested eyes. My doctor suspects that this is partly why I've finished the study in such good health. Other candidates did have issues with their water balance, loosing weight too fast, mental lethargy, and dissatisfaction. While I'm sure my super-healing-mutant Goodrick genes play a part in that, I don't doubt that choosing a good attitude will, more often than not, set you up for a good experience.
7) Prayer works.
Before I give the impression that all this went off without a hitch, let me tell you about day 3. I hadn't slept well in two days because hospital beds do not agree with me. I'd tossed and turned the whole night, only to fall asleep for a few hours to have a dream about leaving the study. When I woke up, I felt nauseated and cranky (I'm a total baby when it comes to nausea - I'd rather be in pain). They mentioned my sodium levels were a little low, and that if they went any lower, they'd give me a salt pill. But salt pills were notorious for making candidates nauseous, so we thought we'd give it another day to see if my nausea settled. I did not want more nausea. I was barely handling the stuff I currently felt., and I felt incredibly uncomfortable. My guts were doing funny things, my stomach was doing funny things, and my psyche was too tired to deal with it.
The doctor came in and offered to stop the study. At only 3 days in, that seemed sad to me. I had the time, I'd come this far, I wanted to finish. I asked him for a few more hours to decide. Not sure what the best course would be, I knelt down and prayed. I barely eeked out a "what do I do" when I felt a warmth come over me, accompanied by the words, "This won't be easy, but you can do hard things, and you will be okay."
That was really all I needed. The nausea didn't go away immediately, but as I stated in #2, I felt something in my body start to shift. By the next morning, I felt completely fine. I've felt fine ever since. Everybody in the unit was just blown away by such a dramatic change overnight. The interesting part to me, is I don't think God healed my nausea. I think my body was going through changes, and that day happened to be the roughest patch. But what He did do was calm me down, remind me of what I'm capable of, and get me through the rough patch -- As He so often does.
1) Hunger is not something to complain about (at least, not the intermittent variety)
2) Your body can adapt to amazing things
3) Your brain rules all, and accrues all.
4) Not all fat is created equal.
5) People people people, it's all about the people.
6) Attitudes - break free or be broken.
7) Prayer works.
1) Hunger is not something to complain about (at least, not the intermittent variety)
I can not tell you how many times I have woken up on a Fast Sunday, realized it was Fast Sunday, and thought - man...I'm already hungry, how am I going to make the whole day? Wishing I could sleep through the hunger, I dreaded the full day ahead. Most commonly, I'd make it through church okay, but I paid more attention to the hunger than the things I was fasting for. And then, there was the after-church lull. 12-5pm. It often stood before me like a talking mountain, verbally taunting me and reminding me how hungry I am, and how much good food I had access to, and laughing at how long it would take for me to get to dinnertime. Well, after this...imma stomp on that mountain.
2) Your body can adapt to amazing things
Somewhere around Day 3 - I felt something shift in my body. It was as if it said "Oh, this is what we're doing? Okay, let me rearrange some things," and then it did. I wasn't wanting to go for a run, but I had energy, my mind was clear, and I somehow managed to be very productive. I didn't feel hungry anymore, but I somehow managed to also ignore, or at least forget about, my empty energy stores. It was a strange sensation.
3) Your brain rules all, and accrues all.
Yup. It's no secret that your brain will adjust your entire body to make sure it gets what it needs. But what I realized, is that I'm the one who determines how much it needs. I thought, at first, that I was slowly going to rot away into a den of TV because I'd be too tired to think by the end. Throughout this week though, even today, I've managed to keep my mind incredibly active. Writing, reading, organizing, and chatting has preoccupied most of my time. I barely watched any TV (besides Sherlock and Downton - thank you BBC), and it amazed me how my mind met all of the tasks I set before it. I also don't think it a coincidence that my metabolism barely slowed down this whole week and I had no problems with my blood work or vitals. Many of you have probably heard about the study done that showed people burned more calories reading a book than watching TV. My guess is it's because an active mind is so calorically demanding. Whatever the cause, I think there is something about keeping your mind in shape that helps the rest of your body function better.
4) Not all fat is created equal.
One of the measures for this study is brown fat. Brown fat is the fat in charge of keeping you warm. It's more vascularized than white adipose, and has more mitochondria for energy production. The study is measuring the effects of fasting on brown fat. While it's too soon to say for sure because the scans have not been analyzed, something happened in the study that I found interesting. My normal body temperature went up. My whole life, I've been 97 degrees. Partially because I'm cooler than 98° (obviously), and partially because my metabolism has always been just a touch slower than most people. When I started this study, I was 97. Now, I run at 98.6. Thank you brown fat.
5) People people people, it's all about the people.
I've been really impressed by all the people I've interacted with over the last couple weeks. The nurses were always incredibly kind and considerate, I think I had visitors almost every other day, and the researches I was working with were so good about making sure I was getting everything I needed. While I'm sure I would have survived the week alone, being surrounded by good people who care about you is seriously...the bees knees.
The one comment I've gotten most throughout this study, is how surprised everyone is by my consistently good attitude. Most expect some kind of Grumpy Gus who doesn't want to do anything but lay in bed, sleep, and suffer in silence. I have found that this just doesn't work for me. No, the fast was not easy. Yes, I was far from comfortable most of the time. But, I felt good about participating, and because I felt good about my choice, I saw most of it with optimistic and interested eyes. My doctor suspects that this is partly why I've finished the study in such good health. Other candidates did have issues with their water balance, loosing weight too fast, mental lethargy, and dissatisfaction. While I'm sure my super-healing-mutant Goodrick genes play a part in that, I don't doubt that choosing a good attitude will, more often than not, set you up for a good experience.
7) Prayer works.
The doctor came in and offered to stop the study. At only 3 days in, that seemed sad to me. I had the time, I'd come this far, I wanted to finish. I asked him for a few more hours to decide. Not sure what the best course would be, I knelt down and prayed. I barely eeked out a "what do I do" when I felt a warmth come over me, accompanied by the words, "This won't be easy, but you can do hard things, and you will be okay."
That was really all I needed. The nausea didn't go away immediately, but as I stated in #2, I felt something in my body start to shift. By the next morning, I felt completely fine. I've felt fine ever since. Everybody in the unit was just blown away by such a dramatic change overnight. The interesting part to me, is I don't think God healed my nausea. I think my body was going through changes, and that day happened to be the roughest patch. But what He did do was calm me down, remind me of what I'm capable of, and get me through the rough patch -- As He so often does.
No comments:
Post a Comment