Still a relevant thread. I just got the badge for this post. I hope hero does something. I’m about to start a long fast and this advancement would’ve been amazing.
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Well, your are technically starving and the body is cannibalizing itself. I suspect dreams to be wilder.
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I actually view it as precisely the reverse. (I seem to be being ‘that guy’ in the last few days. If it goes on much longer, I’ll ‘check myself into Recon’.)
Anyway, I’d say that the average fasting person is “colloquially” and “non-technically” starving. But “technically” starving?
Naah.
A person who is engaging in a conventional (short-term) fasting protocol and who has (up to that point) been subsisting on a typical modern nutritional pattern (e.g., easy regular access to high-energy foods) is unlikely to approach any of the formal, technical standards of starvation.
I think it’s a bit hyperbolic (though it is accurate) to refer to the body’s drawing on its accumulated energy stores as ‘cannibalizing itself’. Especially since fat stores are created in the body to fulfill this exact purpose.
It’s true that heightened levels of autophagy and apoptosis are predictable and proven features of the fasting process. But it’s also true that increased autophagy is a feature of conventional moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise programs as well. And if we include lower levels of these functions? Then they’re going on all the time anyway, whether we fast, exercise, or do neither.
So yes, the fasting body is technically cannibalizing itself. But phrasing it in this way could lead to misunderstandings in people who don’t know that ‘auto-cannibalism’ (i.e., catabolism) is a healthy part of the ongoing metabolic cycle. Fasting just kicks autophagy up a notch, and can be beneficial for people who may need a bit more autophagy for a while.
(Serious, long-term, or forced (non-voluntary) fasting are definitely a different story. And I’m assuming that we’re not talking about those.)
I did my 5-day water fast back in November, and, like a lot of people in the first fasting stage, I experienced difficulty falling asleep. When I did sleep, it tended to be deep and dreamless (or at least with no recall).
Recently though, especially after running Chosen From Within ZP (and not fasting), I’ve been experiencing markedly heightened dream recall. (Though still nothing much compared to some of the hardcore oneironauts on this forum.)
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What was interesting is that whilst recovering from covid-19. I did not eat for 72 hours, when looking in the mirror i had lost body fat. Went out for a walk and saw a female friend, i commented on how nice her perfume was she replied i am not wearing perfume. Then i looked further about 200 metres away i could see a young girl walking towards me. It was her perfume as she walked towards me the smell became stronger. It was strange how my sense of smell had been heightened.
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The person who introduced me to fasting told me the difference between fasting and starvation is a choice. That it has an actual physical effect on the body. Intention matters.
Fasting is a natural response when sick. Most animals stop eating and go to sleep when sick. Humans tend to lose appetite and are inclined to stay in bed. Even though in a fasted state there’s less energy in the body, it can use all the focus and energy it saves on the digestive system to heal itself.
Makes me wonder where that whole chicken soup when sick came from.
Not strange. When fasting our senses are heightened so that we can find food. Never used it for that purpose though.
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