This was not a fast. It was not a cleanse. It was not any kind of programme with a name and a rulebook. It was just three days of asking my body a question before I ate anything.
The question was simple. What do you actually want right now?
Not what do you want because you are bored. Not what do you want because it is lunchtime and that is what you do at lunchtime. Not what do you want because you are sad and that specific thing has always made the sadness quieter for twenty minutes.
What does your body actually need right now.
Day one
The first morning I woke up and the honest answer was fruit. Cold, sweet, nothing complicated. I had watermelon and some mango and a handful of blueberries and that was breakfast.
By midday I was genuinely hungry, not habit-hungry, and I wanted something with substance. I made a lentil soup with lots of greens and ate it slowly and felt satisfied in a way that was different from the usual full.
Dinner I did not want much. I had an avocado with lemon and some rice crackers and that was enough. My body was telling me it had had what it needed.
Day two
Day two was harder because I had a long work day and the instinct to reach for caffeine and sugar when I was tired was strong. I sat with the craving for a few minutes and asked what was underneath it.
The honest answer was that I was dehydrated and tired, not hungry. I drank two large glasses of water and felt the craving ease in a way that should not have surprised me as much as it did.
What three days taught me
We eat a lot that we do not need because we are not listening. We eat at times because a clock told us to. We eat certain things because they are nearby and not because they are what our body is asking for.
The body is not silent. It communicates constantly. We are just very good at overriding it.
I am not suggesting you spend your life in constant negotiation with your appetite. That is not sustainable and it is not the point. But I am suggesting that occasionally slowing down long enough to actually ask the question changes your relationship with food in a way that lasts longer than any diet I have ever tried.
