The week before last I completed yet another trip around the sun.

What I wanted and needed more than anything was a vacation—to get away, take a break, and go somewhere awesome!

But with the world as it is, there was no place compelling to go.

After much contemplation as to what I might do to mark the momentous occasion (45 again–Ha Ha!) I decided give myself an experience to remember!

I guess I should mention here that I have been developing and beta testing a 5-day metabolic reset program for a year now. I have done it 9 times over the past year and the last time I completed a round of “Faux Fasting,” I felt so good I extended it by an extra day. I had zero hunger, fabulous energy, and really didn’t want to stop. The only reason I did was because I had things to do that are difficult for me while fasting, like intense focused work, like writing and video editing, deadlines, etc. (More on Faux Fasting coming soon.)

What I decided to do—part one of my gift to me—was to give myself the time and space to do a Faux Fast for as long as I wanted.

That’s right, my birthday present to myself was a FAST! That, and a walk down memory lane…

I thought 10 days should be plenty, so I cleared deadlines and intense projects off my calendar to give myself the space to just have the experience I was going to have. I still worked mind you, I just had a lighter schedule, which left me lots of time for other things that usually take a back seat to my work.

One of the miracles of fasting is all of the extra energy. You would think it is the exact opposite, but because of metabolic and hormonal changes that happen while fasting, your metabolism actually increases. This is because nature programed us to not wither and die in lean times, but to have EXTRA energy to go out and hunt/gather—or whatever we had to do to survive. Fat is burned and lean mass is preserved.

The faux fast, even though it includes food, produces a very similar result to that of a true fast because of the exact nature of the diet. It basically, hormonally, tricks the body into thinking it is fasting. I digress…

Part 2 of my birthday gift to myself: The time and ENERGY to CLEAN MY GARAGE!

This is something I have been dreading for years. I have lamented more than once that it did not burn down in one of the recent fires. Not 100% seriously—but maybe 25%!

I’m sure by now you are thinking I am some kind of crazy masochist, but I promise you, when the energy is there, the task feels a whole lot more manageable.

I am so glad that I did it. It was actually a wonderful walk down memory lane for me. Among the many treasures, I found a letter to me from one of my kids that was addressed, “Dear Momi” from before he knew how to spell. A found an award that was given to my grandfather in 1956, a box of baby stuff from when my kids were little, parts of things that were lost and got reunited, awesome things I forgot I had, like an ergonomic chair that I could really use right now, clothes that I that I forgot I had… It was almost like going to a garage sale in my own garage –of someone who’s taste I really like.

I also got closure on chapters of my life that had had their day, to let go of stuff that was just taking up space, and to create new, vibrant, usable space where there had been darkness and clutter before. 

This morning I ended my fast a few hours shy of 13 days. 

I was still not hungry but decided to end anyway because I have projects waiting for me.

My energy was through the roof and I felt lighter, clearer, and better than I had in a long time. Far from the kind of cleanse or diet that leaves one feeling weak, depleted, or cold, this one super charged me. I was warm most of the time (thanks to an increased metabolism), and ready to take on the world!

I would have liked to keep going until I felt hungry—the hunger known as “true hunger.” I experienced it once before early in my healing adventures, after I had done a series of cleanses to help restore my health. As I was finishing a cleanse, I was aware that I just wasn’t hungry. I think I was 24 at the time.

Being the curious explorer that I am (even then), I decided to see how long it would take to feel hungry. I ate a few bites of this or that per day if anything at all. I was not following any plan or holding any agenda for myself other than not eating when not hungry. What I ate, I ate more for salt and electrolytes than anything else. It was summer, I worked a physically demanding job taking care of horses so I needed that to function.

As I recall it took 21 days for me to feel hungry. When I finally did, it was not the light headed, low blood sugar, rumbling in the tummy kind of hunger, it was a clear wanting for specific nutritious food that was different than anything I had ever experienced before and rarely since. Unlike a craving, it was clear, dispassionate, and primal.

I have been on both sides of being too sick and debilitated to function, and feeling so fantastic I feel like I could fly.

It took me many years to heal my body to that point the first time, and many more years to figure out my own personal food formula and to develop the resilience to never be that sick again.

My gift to me was to reaffirm what it feels like to feel amazing.

Today I feel like I could fly!