I do not remember when it exactly happened, but a certain time ago I started to care more about what I eat. One of my friends is a nutritionist and each time I asked him about what and how to eat, he repeated a few simple rules. One of them was that it would be really good if I managed to not eat anything on one full day per week. But can you imagine not eating regularly for the whole day??

The more books I read not only about healthier life styles, but also about the spiritual side of life, the more I was hearing about the positive effects of fasting. You can find many articles about its health benefits and fasting is also one of the key parts of the majority of religions or talked about by many spiritual seekers.

At the beginning of May 2017 I decided it was time to stop thinking about fasting and instead to really get on with it. So, I stopped eating on Mondays, my last food is Sunday´s evening meal and then I have a breakfast on Tuesday. I want to maintain a routine of not having any food for at least 32 hours. Does the title of this article make sense now? 🙂

My first Monday fast, was actually a Tuesday 🙂 May 9th, 2017. And from that Tuesday since, I haven‘t eaten on every Monday (with two exceptions in August). So, up until today that makes it 17 days in total without any food

And what can I say about my experience and observations so far?

• I start Monday morning with 1000 mg of vitamin C (as each day).
• I have to drink a lot when I do not eat plenty of water and several cups of green tea. Warm green tea in my stomach is perfect; it helps to minimize the feelings of hunger.
• I was surprised by how much more time I have available during the day, when I do not eat.
• I really missed food on the first few Mondays – not because of being hungry so much, but because of its soothing effect on my soul and mind :-). Monday is a busy working day and I really missed that pleasant feeling which comes with a full stomach after the food, it allows you to relax momentarily. I successfully replaced this feeling through the concentrated enjoyment of drinking good green tea and by a short walk outside instead of eating.
• I remember one of the first fasting Mondays – it was a really tough day for me – 15 hours straight working & driving (without breaks for food :-)). I arrived in my apartment in Prague at around 11:00 p.m. after almost a 5 hour drive and discussing heavy work topics with my colleague throughout the drive. It was exactly in that moment, when you are tired to death and the only thing you want to do is to eat something and enjoy a glass of good wine or a tasty beer. Those were some of the toughest moments for me that evening, looking at the long list of excuses why I should eat on a day like this. But thankfully, I didn’t and I was really proud of it the next morning :-). It’s thanks to this I now know that whatever Monday brings me, I will not need food to deal with it.
• Now, there are usually two moments during the day, when I feel REALLY hungry – a cup of warm tea is the perfect solution.
• It is probably not such a big surprise that I am not a patient guy on Monday afternoons.
• On the other hand, an empty stomach helps me to concentrate better and I can think much more clearly.
• It helps me to reduce & control my weight.
• I did have problems when going to sleep with a grumbling stomach in the beginning, but It is not an issue any more and I now have a really good sleep.
• I started to switch fasting days during the summer due to vacations and travelling. One week it was a Tuesday, the next week a Saturday etc. I was trying to optimize it, so as not to miss good food or wine when I was at a really interesting place. This was a was mistake, I didn‘t feel very well and subsequently decided to stop with fasting for two weeks in order to consolidate myself and then start with regular fasting Mondays again afterwards. Now it is fine again and I see that regularity and routine is very important.
• Last but not least, I realized how much of a great gift food is and I enjoy it much more than I used to. A Simple Tuesday breakfast, makes me much happier than an exquisite dinner in a fancy restaurant. So now you also know the answer to my question from the title 🙂

I actually look forward to Mondays now – they give me a feeling of better focus, higher clarity and I feel somehow deeply cleansed when waking up on a Tuesday morning. Let´s see what fasting Mondays will bring me over the long term.

If you have any question on this topic you want to ask or you have an experience you would like to share, please do!