Transformational Fasting: Reconnect with Yourself, Get Healthy, and Find Your Purpose

This blog post is an excerpt from my latest book, Transformational Fasting: Reconnect with Yourself, Get Healthy, and Find Your Purpose.

What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner.

—Mahatma Gandhi

Intermittent fasting is popular for a reason—it works. Skipping breakfast gives you more focus and energy and makes you healthier. But in terms of fasting for personal transformation, there’s another approach that’s much more effective.

What if I told you that you could experience 10 times the transformational benefits of intermittent fasting simply by going a little longer without food? For example, the most prominent benefits of fasting come after the body has fully switched fuel sources from food to body fat. This happens when the body’s food storage exhausts, which is typically after 24 hours of fasting. One of these benefits is autophagy, which literally means “self-eating.” During autophagy, the body recycles older, damaged cells and replaces them with newer, healthier ones. Extended fasting is the best way to induce autophagy and reduce one’s chances of developing cancer. In addition, deep healing of the mind, body, and spirit is possible with fasts of three days or longer.

Personal transformation in the age of distraction

The modern world has a tendency to disconnect you from yourself. Even if you’re personal growth–driven, the chips are stacked against you. In all likelihood, you’re looking at a screen all day at work, multitasking for a good part of that time; and you’re back on a screen each evening. On top of that, the voice inside your head talks incessantly about the past or the future. Even when you’re sitting down and eating a meal, it’s hard to be fully present. Deep down, you know the part of you that seeks purpose isn’t being nourished.

You’ve tried meditation, yoga classes, and intermittent fasting. These give you temporary relief, but you’re looking to go one layer deeper—you’d like to find a practice that will trigger lasting personal transformation.

What you’re looking for is right under your nose. By not eating for an extended period, you are reminded of your own mortality and the gift that is your life. Your body’s intrinsic wisdom already knows what to do, taking you through a metamorphosis as it switches fuel sources from food to fat. Deep insights about your relationships with food, survival, and yourself bubble to the surface. You come out of the experience transformed.

What is transformational fasting?

Transformational fasting is practiced by committing to a fast of three days or longer with the intention of personal transformation in the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yourself.

Intermittent fasting versus transformational fasting

To help you understand what transformational fasting is and is not, let’s compare it with the most popular form of fasting today: intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting involves planned cycles between a period of fasting and one of eating. The fasting period is usually 24 hours or less—for example, skipping breakfast several times per week. By contrast, transformational fasts are one-time fasts planned with a specific intention. During a transformational fast, one would only consume water—or water and noncaloric beverages—for three days or longer. Intermittent and transformational fasts can both benefit your health. But a transformational fast will be more intense physically, emotionally, and spiritually—and can provide 10 times the benefits.

Why do a transformational fast?

Transformational fasting enables you to let go of the distractions of the modern world and reconnect with yourself. Just as a snake sheds its skin, you will shed past identities that no longer serve you. A transformational fast is a gift you give to yourself, which can fill you with a sense of purpose you haven’t felt in years.

When preparing for a transformational fast, start by setting intentions around the areas you are seeking insights or healing in. For example:

• Reconnect with yourself: Do you use food to make negative feelings go away? If so, what lies beyond those feelings?
• Find your purpose: Do you want to identify your higher purpose and begin taking steps toward fulfilling it?
• Get healthy: Are there any illnesses troubling you that you would like to seek healing for or weight you would want to lose?

What you’ll learn in my new book

​​I’ll show you exactly how to approach your fast with intention to magnify the benefits you gain from it. I’ll then walk you through every step of the way to plan your own transformational fast and get the results you are looking for. Here’s what this book will cover:

• How to plan your first transformational fast
• How to set an intention to transform the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yourself
• How to fast safely while losing a half-pound of fat per day
• How to use fasting to cultivate mindfulness and reconnect with yourself
• How to use your fasting experience to transform your life into one filled with purpose

You’ll also have access to a transformational fasting checklist, which you can print off to use as you plan your first transformational fast.

Why I wrote the book

Four years ago, I was going through a challenging time in my life. I decided to make a 500-mile pilgrimage across Spain as a bridge to whatever was next for me. I came back from the experience feeling more connected—and more human—than ever before. To keep that sense of connection, I needed a practice that mimicked going on a journey, like my pilgrimage experience. And that’s when I discovered transformational fasting.

I’ve been experimenting with transformational fasting ever since. After a four-day fast earlier this year, I experienced a surge of creative energy that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I started writing a blog post about my experiences and ended up having much more to say than could fit into a single post. So I decided to write a book instead.

Are you growth-driven, yet you sometimes feel stuck or disconnected from yourself? If so, I wrote this book for you. Transformational Fasting is the tool you need to make your personal transformation a reality.

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Credits

• Thank you to Joanna Chan for providing valuable feedback on this post during editing.
• Photo by Matt Howard on Unsplash