I Didn’t Eat for 40 Days | Can Fasting Heal Me?

I am so sick of my pain that I'm gonna fast until I'm healed or 40 days, whichever comes first. If it ain't right, then I want to be wrong. I don't know what the truth is. I feel like it might be a little hard to breathe. My body is my medicine and it has the power to heal itself. I guess I'm scared to go the distance by myself. Food's boring. You're overfed. I'm not gonna be able to serve the family if I keep going. How far is this gonna go? If fasting's not gonna address this shit, what in the hell is? After 15 years with chronic Lyme disease, all the symptoms, the muscle stiffness, the joint pain, the— I have this crazy psoriasis type rash, lack of energy, all-time low. Literally on the toilet that morning at this all-time low, crying, or at least wanting to. But then I realized, and I became thankful for my body for being so clear, thanking it and alerting me to this problem. And it ignited in me a sense sense for extreme change.

He had a flare-up. I believe that it was from a virus that was going through our family at the time. It caused a major inflammation flare in him. And so, I mean, I saw it with my own eyes. He ate dinner, we went on a walk, a walk that we do every single night, and by the time we got back to our mailbox, he was like practically crippled.

You've probably heard the saying, the body has the power to heal itself. Well, I want to believe that, and I can think of no better way than just to do nothing. No exterior alteration, just not even food, y'all, just water. Let's see if the body has the power to heal itself. I'm glad I came and checked. Barely got any water coming out. Cows look beautiful though, don't they? I'm hoping it's not beef. If you generally ask the internet— I asked Grok this too, uh, how to lower chronic inflammation. That's what I have, probably because of the Lyme. They'll go at red meat, they'll go at red meat. But in my heart, I feel like red meat is the answer. If anything, cut out the grain-fed meat— the pork, the chicken. Which depends 80% or more on grain. Listen, taking grass that is here free, so to speak, on the land and turning it into milk and meat. Oh God, help us, I pray. Don't let it be beef. This is too right. I'm telling you, our world's getting flipped upside down. If it is, today is the first day of the rest of our lives.

That's right, that's what your dad used to say.

Mark it down, September 1st. We We figured it out. Yeah, it's the day of healing. Yesterday, finished the fast, came into a crash, connected it to food.

We've always thought maybe peanut butter.

I've always had that inkling, and I joked, said, let's put it on my tombstone: death by peanut butter.

I know, but you're done. You're done hurting.

It'd be one thing if it's just going to kill me, but it's another thing if it's going to hurt me. Until it kills me. Yeah, I'm done. I'll even put away peanut butter. I would do a jig if that's what it— if that's the only thing it is. Y'all have to eat quiet. It's so loud in this house. Did you guys know right now? No, let's do candle when it's dark. Did you guys know that when you fast, your height— your senses are heightened? So that's probably why you get more irritable. The first few days, so difficult. All you can think about is how hungry you are, how much you want to eat. And I'd done fasts in the past and just remembering being so hard, but this time I was just so determined. I didn't care how much, how hungry I was. Hmm. Hmm. Okay, look at this walking. I don't get up like an old man. Austin, roll that clip from the other day where I was sitting at the kitchen table, that I got up just terrible. This is how I'm getting up today, like a 40-year-old. Now the shoulder's still got some work. I'm not gonna wait on that. I'm not gonna necessarily wait on that. I am gonna wait up on the psoriasis. I like the psoriasis because it's a visual. Even Rebecca can look at it and say, "Yes, it's better," or, "No, it's not." There's no trying to figure out if the pain's easing, you know, is it better than yesterday, is it not, blah blah blah. Lemon water and salt for electrolyte. Although, at room temperature. Although, I think the lemon may be Not a true fast. I'm going to resort to my original OG DIY electrolyte henceforth. According to Grok, autophagy from about 48, starting about 48 to 72 hours of fasting, autophagy is a process where cells recycle damaged components, promoting repair and potentially reducing the risk of disease like cancer and neurodegeneration. This is often cited as a key benefit of extended fasts, with animal studies showing links to increased longevity and brain health through mechanisms like nerve cell generation and microbiome diversity. Okay, do you have enough jars now? Okay, good deal. Let's go do it. Secondly, deep ketosis and increased fat oxidation. By 60 hours, the body typically fully shifts from using glucose to ketone bodies, which is produced from fat for energy, leading to sustained ketosis. I'm in ketosis. I'm in ketosis. We hear about that. What is that? I don't know, but it's good. I'm in ketosis. This boosts fat burning and fat oxidation, peaking around 51 hours and staying elevated, which can aid weight loss by reducing fat mass up to 10 to 11%. That may explain why I've lost 5 pounds. I was 190. I've lost 5 pounds in just 60 hours, just 2 and a half days. 5 pounds. Ketosis is also linked to improved mental clarity, reduced hunger, and stable energy levels as, as the fast progresses, countering initial fatigue. Even though I'm weak. I'll say I'm weak. I'm energetic.

When Justin got sick in 2012, it was hard to watch a 30, early 30, like 33, I think he was. It was hard to watch a 33-year-old 3-year-old man go from extremely active, feeling great, to in extreme pain. And we would have given anything for him, you know, to be well. We have tried so many things just for him to have a normal existence. And when I say normal, like pain-free. When he got sick, we were actually enclosing in, so you know, the way our house used to be, everything was under the roof. We just had to buy the lumber and do the walls and all of that, you know, like finish the space, not necessarily like, you know, do all these other things. And so when we added our dining room on That's when he got ill. It was, um, September. That brings me to this morning where I'm trying to help him heal. We tried to fix it ourselves and it's above our pay grade. We changed, we like, you know, looked online and this is what the problem, this is what the internet is saying to do, so we like changed out some things and it's still not working. And then so this is the next step in helping him. I've never seen him like this, motivated like he is. I think just the whole connection to the food, it— we've never had it like it was on Monday night.

The third benefit is hormone changes, including growth hormone. What does that mean? Extended fasting can dramatically boost human growth hormone up to 10 times higher than 37 to 40 hours with effects likely persisting or intensifying beyond 60 hours. Human growth hormone supports metabolism, muscle preservation, and fat loss. Other benefits include lowering insulin, dropping significantly after 72 hours, and elevating glucagon, which helps regulate blood sugar. And my blood sugar is being more and more regulated. Bits from our cloth liner day. How'd the stew turn out?

Fabulous.

You have to be the messenger, I can't taste it. It's good. Is it good? It's a round roast. No, it's good. Okay, just wrapped up the burgers. Eat your heart out, Fairfood. She's making gluten-free organic onion rings from the farm. We already fried some fries. This is hard. I need to get out of here. I helped cook, but I think I— we got the majority of it going. I think I can step out. I'm not as tempted as I have been in previous fasts. I want to heal. I want to be strong for my grandkids. They've been supportive. Everybody's been Hopefully I don't have to go through Lily's birthday. Although I probably will because I'm slow. I'm going to slow to intro things this time.

Yeah, my birthday's in 6 days and sugar is definitely on the suspect list.

It won't be as bad as if I can just eat something. Yeah, that would be a huge celebration if I knocked this psoriasis out by her birthday. Oh yeah, 10 days. My birthday's in— that would be 2-week fast, knock it out. I'll be shouting it from the rooftops. 6 days. 6 days. It's hard to believe that I was about to encounter some of the most intense days of the fast. It's why I called it Hell Week, that first week of fasting. 179.2. I have passed my PR. The longest I've gone is 5 days. I'm at now 5 and a half days, 5 plus 12 hours. Feeling pretty good, but generally I feel good in the mornings. Won't lie to you, I woke up this morning scared. The feeling of fear. Oh my God, is this safe? Nobody does this. I'm not even— It's like my body is in a— or my mind is in a panic. What I might think a minor panic attack would feel like. Forgot the butter out last night, So now we'll just have cultured butter, which is even better for everybody. It's weird. My— I have a little bit of soreness in my back come back. What's up with that? So that makes me a little doubtful. The psoriasis seems about the same. How's my mood?

How's your what?

How's my mood compared to normal?

I think you have a great mood.

What are you talking about? Irritable Justin. Rebecca, am I any worse? What I don't want to do is take any more from the family.

No, you're not being— most of the time you're good. Rather you're really good or you're really bad.

Yeah, no, I'll give it up.

I have grace for you when you're struggling.

Y'all are gonna have a time of the month. I have a time of the day. Let's get the daily picture. I'm 179.2. Lost a pound. It's slowing down. Thank God. I'm not doing this to lose weight. See my abs yet? No, you're a ball. Also, shoulder check, shoulder check. Oh, a bit better. 6 days into it, I wake up in the middle of the night with major trouble. Austin, dim the lights. Let's reenact the night before last. In the bed, my hands get really cold, ice cold, both of them. And then my feet. I get out of the bed, throw up for some socks. It's better. I warm up, and not too long after— Rebecca, Rebecca, I can't breathe! And I can't breathe. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to go to the hospital. I'm sitting up like this. I can feel my heart racing in my chest like I just ran a sprint, and I think I'm gonna die. Rebecca comes over here. She holds my hands. And what did you say?

It's gonna be okay.

I thought, I'm dying. It's gonna be okay. I guess I'm gonna die here in my bed. I guess I'd rather die here than in my hospital bed. But as soon as she grabbed my hands, my heart started slowing down, didn't it?

Yeah.

And my breathing started becoming normal.

You were always breathing normal. I struggled with panic attacks, oh, starting 6, 7 years ago. I know that it's not life-threatening. It feels like you're gonna die. There are very physical, real symptoms with a panic attack. It does make you feel like you're going to die. I think that one thing that Justin did for me when I was going through all my panic attacks is he would hold my hand and he would ask me if there was anything that I needed, and he was just there and present for my anxiety. And so that's what I tried to do for him and just be present with him. I didn't— there's no reason to go to the hospital because let's say, let's say this, we've been there, done that. I have gone to the hospital for panic attacks. And we actually ended up leaving this very last time that I went to the hospital because one, there's nothing they can do for you unless there's actually something really wrong with you, which they would have just told him to eat food. Him having a very similar experience that I had, I was able to hopefully reassure him. I think I didn't reassure him. I think he was scared, but I did my best.

I thought hunger went away after a few days, certain days, but That looks— still looks pretty freaking good. I would have every bit of this. Tell me how that ham is. It was alive yesterday.

I haven't eaten it yet.

Can you take a bite? That might be the freshest ham we've ever had. Yes. 7 days fast. It's rough. I don't think anybody talks about how hard this is. It's hard, but we're doing it and making progress a little bit by time. Going strong. Tomorrow's another day. Week 1 was a— that's why I call it Hell Week. Cravings, panic attack, tiredness, constant anxiety, you name it. It was extremely hard, but I felt so beat up and so determined. I had this unworldly desire, ability to just go for it and nip this thing in the bud. But soon after that, day 6, day 7, things completely changed. I wasn't nearly as anxious. I wasn't crazy hungry. I had energy, surprisingly. It was absolutely phenomenal. I felt great. 176. I was 190 7 and a half days ago. That's 2 pounds a day for a week. My SI joint pain is gone. The stiffness in my back from chronic inflammation is so much less. The psoriasis seems about the same, but one thing I've noticed, I itch it. Before this fast, I would itch it. Itching is not good, makes it worse, scabs it up, spreads it, I think. And I go until it clears or 40 days, whichever comes first. Hope it ain't going to be 40 days. It's better to be in a state of rest during a fast, but I am a father of 5, a husband to 1, a father of 5, husband to 1.

What are you, husband to 3?

A farmer to— what, how many animals? Do we have?

A lot. A farmer to a lot.

A farmer to a lot. So, rest—

got 2, 4, 10 pigs.

Yeah, they say you should be in a restful state, but 60 chickens. It's also probably good to move. I mean, you would just wither away, wouldn't you? There— I've heard two things. You should—

you need to move.

You should move your muscles and that preserves your muscles. But I've also heard if you're really active, your body starts eating your muscles and So here's— this is for energy.

This is what I think. I think that you should continue to move and not be, uh, sedentary. Yeah, but you shouldn't be like running, working out.

I don't— I've cut out farm projects. I'm having to trust the kids. Lily's in charge of the sheep. We're getting light in our eyes first thing in the morning. Circadian rhythm. And cold exposure. Day 8 of this dry fast. 14 pounds. No, 16 pounds. I'm 174.2. I've lost 2 pounds a day. I think the normal on a fast is 1 pound a day. If I go another 7 days and lose 14 pounds a day, that's going to be 30 pounds.

No, you wouldn't lose that. I think you will stop.

It's going to start slowing down.

I think it's going to. You're clearing out all of the bad cells. Like, your body is, you know, dealing with it. Have you gone poop lately?

I went poop this morning. First Lighten our eyes. It's a bold move this frisky morning.

No, it's good for me.

Getting cold exposure and earthing. So I'm thinking I've been doing too many minerals. I definitely have a magnesium that I've been doing too. I don't even desire cold water on this fast. I know it's not that great for you. It's better to be drinking room temperature water. It's amazing when you're fasting like this how disciplined you can be in other areas. This is straight up well water. I wonder if I can get some spring water. Maybe I'll splurge and get some spring water. I'm not sure if I explained, from what we understood, diarrhea, or in this case liquid stools You're gonna have some of that. People report that even after 20 days. Imagine your digestive system. That's the goal, to give it a break. It's a big energy suck and we want energy going to healing our body. It's in idle right now. Think of it like that instead of in speed and going. It's still idling. It still wants to stay alive and active and keep micro— keep organisms in there because it never knows. Hey, when am I gonna have the opportunity to eat? I mean, it thinks I'm in a prolonged failed hunt or famine or whatever, so it's gonna always stay ready for when we do reintroduce food. It did also say it could be excess minerals, particularly magnesium. I don't want my digestive system to have to work hard, so I'm just gonna drink straight up water. I will say I have this raging sore throat. This is going to be day 3 of it. It felt better when I drank this morning. Hopefully that's a detox and not a cold. I'm thinking it is because nobody else has it. Hey bud. So I was gargling salt last night to hopefully relieve the sore throat, and I just felt this urge, like it felt like it was food. And hey, swallow this. It almost was like it was going to give me that satisfaction of food. I was tempted as if it was food. So you put some of this fat in a jar for cooking. Lily's cooking marshmallows. She says, does this tempt you? The marshmallow's gonna tempt me. I can confidently say I'll likely never eat another marshmallow again, probably because of the maple sugar. I have no problem with that. This is new. This is new. I will have a problem if I can't eat that beef. I want to say the psoriasis itch is it screaming and shouting on its way back out. My family says it looks better. I think it looks better. It itches like crazy, and I'm not scratching it, and I I'm gonna have the discipline not to scratch it now. So I'm gonna be this miserable not eating, I can take the misery of not scratching. Remember how I said we'll get some spring water? Well, I was talking about buying some. Instead of buying some, how can we just do it ourselves, grow it ourselves, build it ourselves? And then I remembered our little spring. You know, spring water is naturally structured, and then— well, structures, and it's got minerals in it, so maybe that's all I need. I won't add any extra minerals to my water, and I'll just be— and I'll be living off the land. Let's go. Hurricane destroy it? Well, yeah, they did. Where'd the pipe go? Because you're— someone ripped it out. Why? I don't know. Hurricane could have ripped it out. You able to get some right there? Yeah, it's painstakingly slow. We have to tap that spring. You think we can jam that pole in? Okay, look what he got. Yeah, there's some— there's debris in it for sure. We'll go filter this and boil it and then let it come to room temperature. The pathway is too convoluted. The pole wasn't in. Do want to fix this up nice though one day. I could probably drink this. But just to be safe. Just took a monster nap. I'm not pushing those off during this. Feel a little better. This lard though, this lard, lard. Yes, I'm still cooking for the family. Not as much. I don't want to be a burden because I don't know how long this fast is going to take. I'm cooking because the ladies went to pick up our cousins from Nebraska. Okay, tastes— it has a taste. What is that? It tastes a bit metallic. I don't think it's as good tasting as my well water. The cutting board was in the dry rack, silverware in the dishwasher. They just have to go there, but why make more than one trip? I've got to do my duties as the husband and father, as the man of the house, and serve. I have to keep up with these duties but yet conserve energy. So I gotta think smart. I come out, I see this steer fattening up, and it just makes me so hungry. It's beef is what's making me hungry. I have set out an amazing supper. I'm past the point of hunger. That was about 6 or 7 days And this is not that hard for me. I want it to be delicious and I want to practice for when I get back. Our life needs to revolve around the mill. Well, first it revolves around the family milk cow, and then it's the mills, and everything else is expansion and has to take second place. So this has to be the priority. You think I should get blood tests?

I mean, it's not gonna hurt anything. It's just money and time. Just a little money. It's not even expensive because we're ordering it ourselves.

I'm reading the book Fast and Save Your Life, and of course it's a clinic, so they're continually saying you should get monitored with long-term fasts.

From what I'm reading, it's like if you start having a problem, we're gonna know. Yeah, it's not like you're gonna be like fine one minute, and then the next minute you're just gonna be like dead. Like, you're gonna have— it's gonna be a process.

I've looked it up.

You feel really good.

I feel great.

And so I feel like— I'm not saying we shouldn't get the electrolyte test, is not a big deal.

If we were to be monitored by a doctor, we're, we're measuring vital signs. We can take—

which we can— we have that, we can do that.

And then the other one into the electrolyte, and that's where the blood test comes in. Yeah, because that can be dangerous if you get low, particularly on potassium. But I'm taking potassium in my water, so you are making sure you're hydrating.

Like, I do wonder sometimes with, you know, these people, they're like, oh yeah, I drink enough. Like, for me, I know I do not drink enough, right? Like, no, I have to be very intentional with my hydration.

There are signs if something's wrong. You get dizzy. You're nauseous. You poop more than 3 times in a day. Which I've regulated that. You're nauseated. I've gotten it. It's been days since I've gone, so I feel better about that. I just came to the point in my Can Fasting Save Your Life audiobook. They're talking— they're about to talk about psoriasis and how fasting might apply. Prolonged water-only fasting enables management of severe plaque psoriasis in middle-aged man. Interesting. In addition to obesity and hypertension, prolonged water-only fasting may also improve autoimmune conditions such as psoriasis. There is no known cure for psoriasis, which is a lifelong relapsing immune-mediated condition that causes chronic inflammation of the skin and joints. Lifelong condition. It sounds like in their experience They haven't healed it, but they've definitely helped calm it.

Yeah.

If I feel just as good as today, even less as good as today, but if I feel just like today, I don't see why I could not go 40 days. It's easy now.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

Let's—

as I shove it in.

All right, well, you're gonna fast with me tonight, aren't you?

Probably.

I forget what it's like to want food real bad. I hope that never comes back. I imagine it will.

It will.

But it's really nice to be able to sit here and watch you eat and not be wanting it like crazy. What I'm hoping I can get at is eating a breakfast and a lunch and be done, not eat the rest of the day forever. And not— I want to be able to sit at the table like I can with y'all now and not want it like crazy. So hopefully that is also helping me develop that habit. Geez, if I cannot eat food for 40 days, I can miss a supper. When you're cooking and I'm cooking, I usually do the meat and you do the vegetables. I could care less if I eat another vegetable, save maybe onions.

Are you back to that now? I don't know.

Yes. Okay, okay, this is good. Rebecca, if I'm gonna cut— if I'm gonna have to cut sugar out of my life, I have no problem cutting a vegetable.

Okay, is he talking about white sugar? Is he talking about anything?

I'm not even talking about him and sugar. I feel like sugar is going to be a very likely culprit that causes to cause inflammation and psoriasis flare-up, sugar is going to be a very likely culprit.

I don't think we should eat a lot of sugar, but I don't feel like cutting it out completely is the answer either, because our body does need some glucose.

Yeah, it does.

And if it doesn't get it from actual, like, sugar, from what I'm reading, then it will break down the protein into sugar. Maybe I read that wrong. Yeah, I could be totally wrong.

I'm sure the internet will tell me. We're out in the evening checking fences, making sure they get really hot. It's an evening job for me. Normally I'm just butt over it, tired, depressed. Done this hour. I feel really good right now. I feel like I could do anything. I'm actually holding myself back sitting in here just to conserve calories so I don't lose too much weight, but I could jam. This is awesome. I don't want this feeling to ever go away. Look at that steer. He's ready come May. Oh my gosh, yum! Better not take my cows away. We're still waiting on the test to see if I'm food sensitive to beef. We're still waiting to intro beef and see if I'm sensitive. It can't be because my heart only longs for beef right now. Well, it longed for that chicken earlier today too. Hope it's not chicken. Oh, and that'd be icing on the cake if it wasn't dairy either. Oh man, I'd be in heaven. And eggs! You give me those 3 things— beef, dairy, and eggs— I'm good. I'm good.

You need cows and chickens.

Yeah, some onions and garlic, spice it up. Oh, spices, spices. Hopefully it's not— yeah, spices would be nice, but I would be okay with just salt. 188.8 today. I feel a little better. Lost less than a pound yesterday. That's what we want. We want to lose less than a pound every day. A pound on day average— on a day average gets me this, this size. I don't mind that. There's no skeleton by any means. 168.68. Jonah just made burgers and he put spices in it. Smells so good. It's really the only thing I miss. Rice, although delicious, not tempting. It's just not optimal fuel. It's probably triggering for me. If it's not, it's a lot of carbs and I tend to overeat them, so I just rather abstain. It's less painful than just eating a little bit. Do you see my— are my bones not becoming more pronounced right here? You're, uh, a little more skeletony. Why'd that go before this?

I think that's just the way your body is designed. It's okay.

I learned today that 1 pound of fat is 3,500 calories. So the average man to burn 3,500 calories a day is pretty vigorous. It's hard workouts. It's a stand-up job. It's a working job. A physical job. A desk job is only going to burn not even 2,200-ish. So I'm probably in the middle of that, the hard-working job. So it's very feasible that I could burn less than 3,500 calories a day, which is hopeful. Day 17, 166.4. Lost over a pound yesterday. The last week though, last 5 days, I'm averaging 4.5 pounds. I did 4.5 pounds, so less than a pound a day, which is good. I think I need to drink more water. A little discouraged, pretty discouraged, because I had not been itching for a couple of days and then Itching was back like crazy, especially yesterday. It was just torture. And this morning I looked at my, uh, rash and it's just— it didn't seem like it's going anywhere. Feel great.

He went 79 minutes, but I guess I am not even halfway into this.

Day 18, lost 1.8 pounds yesterday. That's Too much. I did too much. I'm gonna try two things. Where is that coming from? I mean, why isn't it getting in the spooch? Am I losing muscle? Two things. I'm gonna drink a lot more water and I'm gonna try to take it easier. Yesterday would not be defined as a state of rest.

We need to try to only do the shelves.

Yeah, yeah, and delegate to you. Like that pig bucket, I might have carried that. Will you carry this? No reason you can't carry that. Can you go get this skim bucket, please? It's nice to have somebody to be your runner, but it's also very frustrating because it would just be quicker if I just did it. And I've got a lot to do. I've been waiting 5 minutes for this skim milk. This won't do. I just have to do. I just have to do. It'll be what it is. Nothing. Hey, that was a fool's errand on day 18. No food. When you guys poured out all the D-milk— stands for drinking, which is ladled— did you pour it into a bucket? Where did you take the bucket? There's no bucket in the garden kitchen. Is that where you took it? He said the boogeyman took it. We need this skin to feed the pigs and the chickens. I get pretty determined, whether it's finding a skin bucket. Maybe that's why I can fast for 18 days. I'm pretty frustrated in it right now though. To be honest. I'm gonna have to do it later, boys. You got to find the skim bucket later. Here's a bit, a little bit from yesterday. I'm discouraged this morning because the fast doesn't seem to be touching my rash. We've labeled it psoriasis because it's, it's been there for 10 years. If it was jaw catcher, which is a fungal— it wouldn't have spread to Rebecca. But last night I took a picture of it, sent it to Grok, and it's saying, oh, it's a— it's a fungal. And I say— and then I'm getting in this doubt because I don't— a fast isn't going to heal a fungal, is it? Well, they say a fast isn't even going to heal psoriasis. It's an autoimmune issue. Pretty sure I'm set back. It's not as red because I— it's got new scabs from scratching. This is hard as fuck for that not to be able to tap in this. I'm gonna be very discouraging. I don't want to lose all this weight. I'm happy. I'd be happy 10 pounds ago with my weight loss. Yeah, is this worth it? I appreciate you, buddy. I appreciate you being my feet. I'm not gonna make it 40 days if I keep losing 2 pounds a day. We just got the food sensitivity test in. She's out of town, so especially not here, but we've been hoping this will shed some light on what foods might be the wrong fuel for my body and triggering inflammation. We're hoping it's not beef— or sorry, meat, eggs, or dairy. Oh my, my body likes grains. It does not like whey.

Which I figured out what we can do is we can make your yogurt with no whey in it. We can strain out the whey.

Yeah, geez, I barely have any food intolerances. The only higher one is dairy. This is probably a dream list right here.

I mean, it's not bad, Justin. Peach, but your body doesn't like peaches.

I'm so thankful. Can I tell you, I was last night, I was going through this broth book and looking at the recipes. I was like, this fish soup looks amazing. What'd you think when you opened this? It was so low on everything.

I thought, thank God.

A little less than a pound lost yesterday. Actually gained the day 4. How did I gain? Well, I started drinking more water, probably twice the amount of water. I think that will help me not lose weight as fast. I know that technically gain a pound, I'm taking in no calories, but it does mean I was dehydrated. And I can pee up to every 2 hours and it not be alarming, and I'm not at that rate rate, so I could use some more water. I'm still trying to limit my projects despite feeling so well, maintain it in the home. Makes me wonder— I've seen YouTubers try this, MrBeast for one. He only made it 14 days. It got so easy after the first week. There's so much, and it seems to be just getting easier and easier, strangely enough. Why'd he stop? He must have been going too hard. I'm limiting my projects. There's a guy named Thaddeus or something. I think he went 30 days, but the end of it he was acting like he was dying. I just don't see that happening unless things are really going to take a turn for the worse here at the halfway mark. I'm halfway. I am 20 days. I am halfway today. Wow, that would be silly if I stopped now, cuz to get this far again would be very difficult. I've already gotten through Hell Week. I build in rests, stop what I'm doing, make sure I get water, stop what I do, sunbathe, stop what I'm doing. If I'm tired in the afternoon, take a nap, stop what I'm doing in the evening, go to sleep, get 7 or 8, 9 hours, and trying to limit my activity so I don't lose more than a pound a day. In my heart, that's what I feel like I can lose. Boys are down there. I'd like to go check in with them, but normally I would just walk out there. Let's take my old wheelchair. Did you already milk the other cow? Uh, let's put her cut— let's tie her head close. Is that better, Josiah? Even if I get a moment, I mean, in moments of waiting, I'm just gonna— Call the Inquirer. Why? Never say. You know, after a week, hunger pains aren't as bad. I'm hungry, don't get me wrong. That may be why I'm— I feel like I'm doing better by my my cooking. It's solely an expression of love for my family. I had to come to that spot as opposed to just feeding myself and them. See the difference? I feel like I'm a better cook because I'm so hungry. We have some uneaten raw steak. It's cut, but it's certainly not enough for a family meal. Let's add that to it. Kind of a hodgepodge soup. We have a roast And then the next day we make a soup. When we went to the lake the other day, everybody was eating, enjoying themselves. I was feeling left out, hungry, um, maybe even a tinge of sad. And I just hit my daily crash, you know. It's not atypical for me to crash every day. I did it even worse. Not fasting. So that's actually improved. But that happened. So I snuck away and sunbathed, came back, and it's like I had eaten. My friend Jessica said, "What'd you go, charge your batteries?" And I thought, "Yeah, I went and charged my batteries." Somehow the sun energized me. And sure enough, 3 things are happening. At least it's stimulating my mitochondria. Pancreas, which I believe is just under the skin. It's basically the powerhouse, so it's where energy is coming from. So it energized— it literally gave me energy. Two, it goes at vitamin D, and so that's the way I'm getting vitamin D without eating and getting— getting— what would you call that? I guess vitamins. Not— I wouldn't say nutrients, right? Well, I'm getting this vitamin D And what does that do? Sure, that would affect the mood. I guess it's food for the brain. It's increasing my serotonin, which will certainly increase mood. So here I've gotten this boost of energy that comes with a, a feel-good increase, a mood increase. And I didn't need that science to know that I felt better after sunbathing. And so to Typically around meal times, lunch, because the sun's the highest, I lay out and feed. Not eating, but I'm certainly feeding. I want somebody to bite some of that chicken. Notice I get excited about the chicken. Although we did a standout job on the broccoli too. I want you to live vicariously through me, Mom. I made a coconut curry chicken and roasted broccoli. This is what it looked like last night. My psoriasis has been itching at night and I've been giving in. I find myself waking up scratching, and once I just gave in and scratched. It felt so good. Anyway, it started out like this last night, and then if I scratch it, I don't think I'm gonna break it open, but I found myself without these this morning. Lost a little over a pound yesterday. I was a bit busy. My deal is I feel so good I have to hold myself back. I'm running a family, I'm running a farm. Like today, pigs have to get butchered. Starting to think I'm gonna have to live with this itch the rest of my life. It's not that great. We opted to self-regulate with blood tests, but what we forgot to do is not compare our numbers to a normal blood test result because because I was fasting. I got my electrolyte test back. The sodium, which is salt, is in good range. I've been taking a lot of that. Potassium is also in good range. Then something called chloride. The internet scared me to death. It made me think I was gonna die unless I got emergency medical attention. Carbon dioxide. This is 17. Recommended is 20 to 29, so it's slightly low. It measures bicarbonate, an electrolyte that helps regulate the body acid-base balance. Neutralizes acid in the blood to maintain a stable pH, which is critical for normal bodily functions. A low CO2 level suggests that your body may have too much acid or not enough bicarbonate, potentially disrupting this balance. A total CO2 of 17 is moderately low, and while not immediately life-threatening in most most cases, it's a signal that something may be disrupting your body acid-base or electrolyte balance. The combination of low CO2 and low chloride is particularly noteworthy and warrants prompt medical attention, especially if you have symptoms. The urgency depends on symptoms. Are you experiencing fatigue, rapid breathing, confusion, nausea, weakness, irregular heartbeat? No. But man, my heart's starting to beat now. I'm scared. I guess I'm I'm scared to go the distance by myself.

The thing about all of this is that I feel like healthcare is not about healthcare. It's a big business, and unfortunately it's been overused, which has made us distrust it. I'm doing whatever you want to do.

Okay. I mean, I feel good. I don't want to get— if I get to a point like this, I definitely don't want to end up in the emergency room or anything.

Wow, do you want to break the fast and, and just be like, I did 21 days? Like, that's nothing to shake a stick at, right? I knew he was gonna have some lab work that was off because he was fasting. He hadn't eaten in so long. And so I was feeling comfortable after we, you know, did some searching online and said, okay, you know, like, what is the normal range for this? Justin had a friend who is an ER doctor look at it, and he wasn't concerned, so why would I be concerned if he wasn't? And then we did do like a cardiovascular blood work on him, and that was a hot mess. But then after talking to the doctor at True North, he was like, yeah, it's going to be a hot mess because his body's under stress because he's fasting. So like, while fasting can be very healing, it can be stressful on the body as well.

Here's the thing, I want to go the distance. I don't want to do something stupid though. I feel great, but I don't want— I don't— is it too late once you get to the point of not feeling great? GROK scares me. GROK probably has to scare me because liability reasons. Definitely coming from a conventional medicine point of view. Rebecca definitely isn't afraid. I could get more blood tests to see if this is getting worse. Or better or staying the same. That would be encouraging if it was getting better or staying the same. But of course these are going to be abnormal because I am fat. I haven't eaten in 21 days. We'll leave it at that. We'll go ahead. It's normal. Keep drinking. So I looked up Goldhammer's Clinic and put into Groq what their number parameters were for these blood tests, and I can't be 100% sure that was right or not, but It came back with results and it showed that I was well within the range, so it made me feel a lot better. Less than 130, so we're good there. Potassium less than 3, I'm at 4.6. They let them go to the low end. That makes me feel a little bit better to get some numbers from a fasting doctor. We're about to kill our pigs. They gotta get got because because, uh, we're going to an event day 39 and 40. The, the farm sitter doesn't need to be dealing with these pigs. They're just— they're at that point of diminishing return. Kill them earlier on in my fast, the better, while I have more energy. I'm assuming maybe I'll get less energy, but maybe I won't. Kind of hoping I feel this good the rest of it. Might have an appointment with a fasting health coach as early as tomorrow night. I'm gonna call them today at lunch. This is making me feel so much better to have some monitoring, some professionals involved, especially with a little bit of a stomachache I have. Sit down every chance I get. Midway through this morning's harvest, I feel like My stomach's aching a little bit. What I don't need to do is worry. It's a little stressful doing this. We're a little behind. Gideon's not paving.

Need water.

Trust the process. Trust my body. My body will let me know if I need to quit. Nothing great comes easy. There are side effects to everything, especially disease. We are breaking down a pork today. This is actually our first time. That's it. I'm gonna sit. I'm the, I'm the video guy. We have the instructions downloaded on our Abundance Plus app. Muscle that sits right up in here kind of looks like a fish. Can you get that pail? Thank you. My hot water. I thought it was a treat, but the beautiful one says it's actually good for me to drink warm water in the morning. It's chai, right? Chi. It's an acupuncture thing, right? That good energy helps me in the morning because I'm cold. I'm colder now on this fast, especially my hands, which is very normal. For a fast because the blood's circulating more around the organs and stuff. Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. You're gonna have to go get my shoes. Hey, I've spent plenty of time getting your shoes. All right, thank you. Go get it.

We need to do Papa, where are your shoes?

Yep.

Justin, where are your shoes?

Yeah. Yesterday was the most difficult. I was the most fearful, probably primarily because I have stomach pain. Day 22, what'd you need, Gideon?

Why is your fast easier than usually? Because you fast? Yeah, a little, a little bit at a time.

Once I got to about the week mark, 6 days, it got a lot easier. I actually feel great. I wouldn't want it to end, save now the stomach pain. I feel strong, I feel energetic. It's not knocking the psoriasis. I lost 2 pounds yesterday, which makes me nervous, but over the last 5 days days. It's average a pound a day. Got bad news about my shoulder yesterday with the doctor. It's been 3 months and this is all I got. He's saying we're gonna have to have a procedure. You're giving me one more month, so I'm just gonna stretch the hell out of it. He stretched me through pain, and so that taught me to stretch to pain. I'm just gonna keep stretching it throughout the day. This is my right arm, it's my left arm. Seriously, I don't want to do surgery. I, I'd just rather not have the extension than to do surgery. Surgery is complications. I don't know if I need to keep fasting to heal my shoulder. Body has the power to heal itself, then yeah, I need to keep fasting or come off of it, give myself nutrients and heal this shoulder. Rebecca wants put me on some. Her solution is she always looks it up and there's something out there for, for it. I want it to be there's something inside for it. You just got to dig deep inside. I don't know what the truth is. There's smart people on both sides, probably more smart people on her side because there's not much resources on fasting or information, especially long-term fasting. My challenge to today is to slow down even more, and then when my stomach hurts, to stop and rest. My stomach was hurting pretty good last night, uh, doing last night chores, but as soon as I laid down in the bed and had a bath, it went away. So it could be a sign to my body to just slow down. Added some pig heart, liver, and lungs. This is, this is part of my effort to eating better when I get back. I'm gonna keep my blood sugar level and under, so that means I'm going to be limiting my carbs. I think some carbs are good, and that means I can partake with the family. I'm just not going to pig out. I have a tendency to pig out. I'm going to thank my body now because my body is just trying to put on fat. My heritage must be from a line of of people who starved. Because when I get food in front of me, I want to nail it. I mean, it's all or nothing for me. Oh, that's good. And Rebecca, on the other hand, she never pigs out. She's pigged out maybe 3 times she can name. But I'm gonna think my body— because that's just my body saying, we don't know when the next meal is, let's eat this, let's store this. And I'm gonna thank it for that, but I'm gonna say we're good. I'm gonna say everything's okay. And I think I'll be able to after this mighty exercise and discipline of this long fast. If I'm gonna eat better, my chickens are gonna eat better. And I'm not eating pork anymore. Makes me nauseous. Other personal reasons. I'm giving meat meat scraps that included some buttermilk in with their grain. They love it. They choose it over the auto feeder, the grain. Let them decide. So if I'm gonna eat better, my chickens need to eat better. I'm gonna crush some eggs when this is over. I'm gonna crush some eggs. Wait a minute. Are my lab tests in? Stomach's shaking a little bit. This is— my numbers are below what I understand to be too low. It's over. Carbon dioxide is 27. Wow! This is in perfect range. Chloride is 94, which is up from when I last took my blood test. My uric acid is high. My potassium and salt Magnesium's good. For the most part, these blood tests showed that I was more stable. There was some up and down, but mostly up towards the right direction. We're making Mom's favorite pork dish, pork chops with sour cream sauce and the leftover— look at this. Oh my. It's not terribly tempting to me. One, because I don't think I'll ever eat pork again. Two, you get fat. I'm hungry. I'm hungry, don't get me wrong. As long as you're gonna eat pork, I'm gonna grow you pork, baby.

You're so good to me.

Because you cannot buy never frozen pork.

I know, this is fresh.

This is the best.

Some people would say this is maybe too fresh.

160.2. I lost a pound point two. That's better than two pounds the day before. I gotta get this under a pound. So you know what, Lily heard us talking last night. She said, Pop, you sleep in, don't help with breakfast, sleep in. She insisted. So I got up, woke up everybody, and then just came back in the bed and talked with the beautiful one. If I breathe, I find if I breathe, if I rest, it gets better. So I'm learning to listen to my body. And my body says, take it easy. And the numbers say, take it easy. I need to lose no more than a pound a day. Preferably less. Drink lots of water. Rest. That's going to be interesting because I have a pretty big day. I maybe start with this as my main shooter. I'm gonna get away from that as my main shooter. All right, much lighter. Day 24. Bad day yesterday. Bad evening yesterday. Scared. Because of stomach pain. I did get a hold of Dr. Goldhammer's, uh, organization, True North, True North Health Center. We've got an appointment with one of their coaches Sunday night. Talked to Goldhammer myself for the intake. I told him I had, I had some stomach ache, and he said that'd definitely be something to monitor. We're going to get our blood tests ready for this guy on Sunday. Hopefully I can make it till Sunday. It hasn't been hurting today. Slept really long last night, laid in the bed this morning, have the most amazing energy this morning of the whole time. Milk-soaked feed there. You're gonna use those?

Yeah, I literally saw poop in there and I just whipped it out and hammered it off.

Okay, good deal. Uh, good news, I only lost 0.8 pounds yesterday. The goal was less than a pound. I did it. And in the last 12 days, I've lost 11 pounds. Good looking eggs, bro. Good looking eggs. Did put on Jonah's shirt today so maybe I wouldn't look so gaunt. How does it look?

What do you want to poke? I can poke it.

That's crazy. That's crazy. That might be okay, but it's gonna soon not be, so we need to make another go from the other side. 40 days is the goal. I get a goal in my head. Listen, if I have to drop because stomach or my mineral numbers get off or overall health, I'm going to— I'm going to drop it in a heartbeat. It's not worth it, okay? But if I have to drop, that means I'm gonna have to try it again. In the future. I don't want to do that. I've already gone through Hell Week. I'm here, I'm feeling great. It's all so dramatic. I want to make it this time. Why 40? 40 seems to be that magic number. Jesus went to 40. That's probably the most famous 40-day fast. The North Star— is it called the North Star Health Institute? Goldhammer? Max 40, you know, unless you're under strict supervision. I'm not. So how's it looking? It's, it's hanging in there. That itched. Even if it doesn't lick that, it sure as hell licked my joint pain and my muscle stiffness. So we can use those as gauges as I reintroduce food. According to that blood test, I'm an unoptimal person. If fasting is not going to address it, what the hell is? And how much money is that going to cost? And do I really? Because I feel great. Well, other than the evening, I feel terrible right now. Freaking A. I made that amazing supper. I made a chicken— oh man, a Mexican chicken. Mm, I would have murdered that. Put some butter on that, salsa. I don't have to have the chips, I don't have to have the tortillas or the rice. My stomach's tight. At least it's not cramped. It's tight. It just feels clenched, probably from— maybe from anxiety. It feels like anxiety. I don't know if it is. It's probably related to having nothing in it. Last two nights have been hard. I felt amazing this morning, so hopefully I'll get through this. My goal is to make it till Sunday. That would be 4 weeks and make it to this fasting-literate doctor. Let him look at these numbers and tell me if I'm safe. You can tell him about my stomach. I will not feel bad if Having somebody like that pulls me. Says don't do this. Will I ever try 40 days again? Probably. I want the body to have the power to heal itself. So what are numbers? If I feel great— do I feel great? Getting tired in the afternoon, evening? Like depressed tired. That could be because I have no food, but I get that way when I do have food. Freak. I shouldn't be this lethargic at 46 years old. Jock itch is right now. I'm confused. Is it fungal? Which fasting isn't gonna touch fungal? Is it psoriasis? They say fasting isn't gonna touch psoriasis. 'Cause psoriasis is an auto-freaking-immune disease. Today's Thursday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I can make it 3 more days. Come on. Just make it 3 more days. Don't think about 40. Make it 3 more days. I am anxious about Homesteaders of America speaking event on day 39. Day 39 and 40 of my fast. And even after my fast, I'm going to keep losing weight because I'm going to be refeeding so slowly. I hope these True North people will help me in my refeeding because I'm not going plant-based. They're very plant-based. I mean, I guess I will if, um, I introduce lamb stock and my muscle soreness and joint pain comes back? I guess I will, but my whole world is getting rocked and flipped upside down if that's the case. Because vegetables are not natural. A garden is not natural. It does not happen in nature. It does not. Gardens and vegetables as we know it do not happen in nature. Ruminants happen in nature. Hey, my boys are gone. 15 and 17-year-old, a lot of help on the farm. They've gone to see some friends in Texas. No worries, my adopted college dropout is here. Don't worry, your favorite son's here. It's gonna help us. Because it's a lot. Last night walking around was the first time I felt weakness in my legs, which is pretty good for 25 days.

There's a little bit of practice. Little bit of—

The little kids took over. Forced myself to pull away. I'm not gaining anything. Calories. My only feed is sunbathing and sleep. Those are my energy sources. Well, for taking it easy, right? Switching out the chicken screen. I gotta— both of these, probably, it's probably 30 pounds It's Friday, Saturday, Sunday till I have that meeting.

Yeah, so we just— my 48 hours till the meeting-ish, maybe a little bit more than 48 hours.

Let me talk to you about my stomach pain.

Come.

So it feels minor.

Yeah.

It's just there, so maybe a 2 out of a 10.

Okay.

I feel like I can mitigate it maybe with just deep breathing, rest.

I mean, if he says this is— this is really bad for you, then, um—

Obviously he'll say, hey, it's not worth it.

Yeah.

Um, that's, that's obvious. Can I make it till then?

Yeah, I cannot believe you've gone this far.

That's what it is. It's acid reflux.

This is so crazy. It gets nuts. When we tell people, they're like, what?

I used to think 5 days was extreme.

Well, then there's that person who told you 21 days. Oh, I know. I just want you to be healthy.

It's Saturday.

This is the Day 27.

Yeah, tired, tired this morning. What's interesting this morning is I'm also hungry. I'm rarely hungry in the morning. I'm tired in the morning. Yeah, that's new. I've been very energetic in the morning.

Yeah, this is maybe not very flattering at all.

Hope I got my nose hairs cut. We just looked at my leg. I think we're having a break. Thought we were having a breakthrough. It seemed like it was so clear in the bed. Could be that I'm hitting the wall. It's getting really hard. I'm deeply hungry. And that's when I need to push in. Stomach's been okay today. Just a little upset right here, right now. This is new. This is tired. Even in the morning. Thank God it's Sabbath.

Time to rest anyway.

Oh my gosh, I just looked in the mirror. My face is so skinny. My neck is so skinny. My chest My chest is so skinny. How far is this gonna go before I'm hideous? I'm a professional showman. I can't look hideous. Day 27. I got a meeting with a fasting-literate doctor tonight. Uh, woke up weird at 2 AM. Feeling kind of weird. Not nauseous, but like it, if that makes sense. Just uncomfortable. But felt good this morning. Austin does the chores on Saturday, so I got the break from that. The boys are gone, so It's on me and these little kids to do the chores. Boy, but let's, let's look how that put me out of breath. May not be able to finish just to— so I can keep up with my obligations. The inside chores are, are falling to— um, so I gotta focus on them today. It is what it is. I'll drive my body until I can't. But we've got to take care of the house and the farm and the family. I just did a refeeding program based on gaps, the AI, and it is super intense. We're talking about teaspoons of stock to start with. It's gonna be a while before I'm back to normal eating and losing weight. Wait. So as tired as I am, probably gonna need to pull off. It's no small feat to fast for 4 weeks and then go into a gap style. Gap style is hard enough. We're gonna run it by this guy tonight. Maybe he'll say press in. That's lighter than it was, but I think it will continue to heal. But this side is not. This side is Pretty bright. So what gives? Almost brighter than usual. It's like it's— is it a last hurrah? I don't know. Just finished making this turkey divan. Still have to do cheese on it. I feel like I've been working in the kitchen all day. Also had to make a cornbread to go on top of it. This is for the family. Here's the deal, I haven't stopped save 20 minutes laying in the sun earlier. That's it. And that ain't even doing farm stuff. That's just keeping up with the domestics. I'm going to have to be okay at this rate of exertion or I'm going to have to quit. We'll get some insight from the doctor tonight. I feel like it. It might be a little hard to breathe. Probably not because there's something wrong with my lungs, but because I'm tired. Lungs are a muscle. Maybe they're tired. Stomach's aching a little bit. I'm not going to be able to serve the family if I keep going. Oh, can you see this? What the heck? What the heck? That's not going to clear in 12 days. It might be inflamed because I scratched it last night. This one's not as bad. They haven't been as itchy, so that's a victory there. But I'm rather disappointed because I freaking didn't eat for 28 days and it didn't clear this. Trying to be positive. The muscle inflammation's gone, but that was gone at 36 hours. Joint pain. Did I really have to go this far? Who knows what else good it might have done. My autophagy is kicking A. Trying to be positive, but also a little down about it right now. Of course, it's the afternoon, and after seeing that refeeding schedule, I'm like, that's so intense. I have such a long way to go before I'm just eating normally. I might just get off of this. 4 weeks is incredible. I don't know if I ever have to do it again unless I get like sick, sick. A long fast. And I would do it when I don't have so many farm and family obligations. 45 minutes till this call. What are you thinking? About what? About this fast or how we should use this guy. We have him for 40 minutes.

Yeah, I think we need to be like, should you keep going? We don't even— we have no idea what we're doing. I just feel like the last couple of days you have been tired, you look more dehydrated, you're losing so much weight.

Mm-hmm.

Like, people who do 40-day fasts have a lot of weight to lose. You went into this fast with not a lot of weight to lose, like 15, 20 pounds.

Yeah, so let's try to— let's use this guy then as as a refeeding coach. Yeah, I don't want to keep going.

Okay, I support that because I feel like you also need to be a little bit more irritable.

I'm not going to be able to rest. I'd have to do what I did yesterday, probably, and let— it's just not happening.

Well, okay, we have a homestead.

Yeah, like, I have a family, I have a business to run.

Yeah, I'm gonna eat the turkey to bomb with us? I'm joking.

Get behind me, Satan.

I know you're not going to.

I was just— isn't that what Jesus said to Satan when he tempted him after the fast?

Is that what he said to him?

I think that's when that happened. Oh, that's funny.

Get behind me.

What did he offer him?

Came to him and said, if you're the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

I ain't tempted with bread.

It is written, man shall not live by bread alone.

You're tempting me with cornbread.

Then the devil took him up into the holy city.

You know how badly cornbread would rip my heart right now? It would be bad. Hey, wait, what did he say?

Away with you, Satan.

What verse?

Uh, 10. Verse 10 of Matthew 4.

Matthew 4:10.

Well, this is the new—

get behind me, girl. Oh, it wasn't during the temptation. What was it?

Why is he telling, uh, He turned to Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on the things of man.

Rebecca just had me try on Jonah's pants. Little tight. I got big hips. 30/30s.

Unfortunately, these have a gigantic rip in the butt. Can't use these.

Even if I start refeeding, I'm still gonna lose weight during the refeeding process.

That's why I think maybe you should stop.

That's why I'm too— look how skinny my face is. Yeah, I nailed it, huh? Looks good. Just got off the phone. He didn't, he didn't want to be recorded, but he was just exactly what he, what we wanted. He answered our questions, he gave us information. Yeah, he did not push us to go on to 40 days. He actually—

they won't do that because I was gonna say he said that you have to— he has to work hard.

They don't recommend it at home. So pull it, pull it, pull it off of it. Refeeding. You get— we need to refeed for 14 days. They, they recommend 5 phases. That's fine.

And it's good that he said that they don't test cardiovascular regular stuff for 6 to 8 weeks after a fast because fast is a stress.

Yeah, that was good. So we don't need to worry about those blood tests except to see that the electrolytes were fine.

Yeah.

So, so he's given me 5 phases based on them, and I'll just be straight up and honest, they're plant-based. I'm animal-based, so I'm going to look at that and say, well, how do I incorporate this in for the first phase? They do juices, so I wouldn't do juices, I would do meat stock. So I am going to officially go 28— 4 weeks.

For a whole week.

I'll start refeeding tomorrow. That's gonna be fun.

So let's get that lamb leg out and we'll put it in the water and thaw it out.

Well, um, and then do we put it on the stove or do we Instant Pot it?

No, we'll put it on the stove. Stove for just a couple of hours.

Will you help me with that?

Yes, I will.

All right, because we don't want to boil it, do we? Or do we? Or do we boil it?

No.

I feel in my heart I should start with ruminants.

All right, let's start with lamb, baby.

But maybe, maybe the third day I'm doing chicken. Okay, guys, I'm stopping my fast tomorrow morning. Feel my heart, it's the right thing to do. I've hit a plateau. Did I end this lamb leg for a long time. Gonna set it out. Found some odd and end, uh, short ribs. Just make a little bit of beef stock with that and some lamb chops. So my God, it's happening, it's happening tomorrow after a podcast, 8 o'clock. So happening for lunch tomorrow. Day 28. It's been quite the adventure. I can't wait to eat. We're gonna start— we're gonna go ever so slow. Slowly, I'm going to do the GAPS, which is a gut healing diet. It's meat-based, animal-based meat, vegetables, fruit, very well cooked. We're going to start with broth for 3 days. Well, and tea. I'm going to do chamomile tea first thing this morning, and then I'm going to have meat stock lunch and meat stock I'm just gonna sip that throughout the day and just watch myself, feel myself, and do that for the 3 days. However long you fasted— now I did this wrong in the past. So I did 5-day fasts in the past. I should have refed for half that time, so 2.5 days at least. So I fasted for 28 days, my refeed needs to be for 14 days. Y'all. They say the refeeding can be the most difficult part, the most dangerous part. I'm a little concerned with my stomach ache if I'm going to be able to absorb and take things in. So let's hope for the best. All right, let's get going with our day. That was kind of a letdown. I was hoping I'd like chamomile just plain. Rebecca, how are you going to prep this? Okay, hope to God it's not ruminants triggering me. It's not trying to build up the story. I really hope, I really hope. Doctor said last night, he said, we told him a bit what I do. He said you just went out milking every day is more than we suggest our patients do during the 40-day. They're basically on a bed rest, and I milked, I rendered lard, I cooked turkey divine, I processed broth, and that was an easy day for me. That was a light day. That's what I thought was rest. We are in the middle of a podcast. Lily brought me my lamb stock. I didn't think I was having it till after, but I'm not going to refuse. I'm also going to use this as the plug for our sponsor, Redmond's. Breaking the fast. You sure this is not the quitting mind? No, I, I, I'm not calling this the quitting mind right now.

Oh man, he does not quit.

I don't know. Now the tea didn't do that for me, but Imagine a guy that's fasted 4 days telling us 28 days is the quitting point.

Well, he's very easily afraid of quitting.

I am not a quitter.

He's not a quitter. We are not quitters.

We hang on too long. I think we do it too long, honestly. Your body has the power to heal itself.

It does, Justin.

Oh my gosh.

Is that good? That's very good.

I'm never going to complain about marathons. I'm never gonna complain about food again. You know when you say the words, "I'm starving," and you haven't had food in 4 hours? Yeah, right. How untrue that is. They're all lies. My bad habit was eating at night. Oh, me too. I need to quit after supper.

I'm sorry, I'm already getting back in.

Do not jump on people. Oh, it's over there, that door's open. 4 hours before bed, you're not supposed to eat. No. But I get bored, I get depressed, I just want to eat something. That's what gets me is the numbers. I'm gonna say to myself, dude, you didn't eat for 28 days, you can live 12 hours. But that meat stock has not thrown me off yet. I don't have sore muscles and joint pain. I drink that meat stock and I'm like, I can feel it penetrating my bones and muscles. Do you think I'd have that same feeling with a green juice? Juiced kale? You think I would? You You think I'd feel that going into my heart and soul? Meat and bones? I don't know. I feel something. I mean, maybe I would after starving like I have been.

I just can't wrap my head around it.

Tell me if I'm wrong. You couldn't do vegetarian in nature. It's not natural.

It would be very difficult.

So if we're ultimately looking for the natural, it's the healthy. Gardens don't exist in nature.

Body, if that's what works for their bodies, I'm happy for you. Okay, but I'm like 99% sure it does not work for me. Like, honestly, I'm really 100%.

So this would take me to, um, steamed zucchini and squash. Okay, we could grow that. Steamed fruit— fruit's very hard to grow, but okay, we could make it happen. Raw vegetables, fruit. Raw vegetables on like stage 4? No way.

Very small amounts.

Okay, and then what's the ultimate arrival? Grains. Grains are super hard to grow at a sustainable level.

SOS-free diet to be followed for 50 years.

Avocado. You can't grow avocados in North Carolina. Nuts and seeds. Have you ever tried to grow nuts and seeds?

Well, We can grow nuts. We can grow black walnuts, but the processing of those black walnuts is so insanely tedious.

Takes a half a day for a cup. So you're gonna burn more calories getting it than harvesting it.

Okay, yeah, this is not for us.

God, please don't make this the way. But the Bible tells us—

What does the Bible tell us?

The Bible says you can eat meat. It gives you permission to eat meat. Yeah, yeah.

If you want to be vegan, then you're gonna be reliant on other sources. There's no way that you're gonna be able to really, really feed yourself that. Because like, what would you do if you were a vegan in the winter? Like, you're not eating anything.

No, no. I posted an Instagram and I'm, I'm literally, I'm coming to tears because I can feel this lamb broth bit penetrating my— seems ridiculous, I'm getting emotional about this, but it's penetrating my flesh, my bones, and even my soul. If it ain't right, then I want it to be wrong. I just want to go out there and hug those sheep. If they would have it. They aren't my medicine. My body is my medicine. It has the power to heal itself. The sheep are my fuel for my body to run properly on. When I bring in that green juice, it's putting diesel in a gas. I'm so appreciative for those lambs all I will never complain about lamb stock again. I can't. I cannot go 28 days and come back complaining about food. Oh, I gotta eat that again. No. If I find myself doing that, then just get hungry. Just get hungry. Then you'll appreciate food. Food's boring? You're overfed.

In the end of this fast, I saw with my own eyes healing of Justin's body. I feel like he had like an emotional, a spiritual journey. I feel like he maybe fought with some demons that he had his body kind of like connected, if you will. So I feel like that he is now feeling things in his body that were probably always there, but he wasn't actually feeling them. I think brought to light stress and how stress affects the body and how he needs to work on that piece of his, of his life. But if he wasn't connected and he wasn't like in his body, like feeling the feels, he wouldn't know that that's what he needed to do.

I'm declaring it. Last night I declared it. I am healed. My psoriasis hasn't itched in 5 days. I have no muscle No stiffness, no joint pain, and best of all, I have my energy back. I'm positive. I'm hopeful. I have more ideas and more things I want to do than I have time instead of this depressed, I don't want to do anything kind of attitude. I am healed. In the end, I lost a lot of weight, which some of that was a really good thing. I could use to lose a few pounds. And the other, the other part of it just came back within weeks. It eliminated my muscle stiffness and joint pain. And unbelievably, that persistent rash, one week into the refeeding on GAPS diet, it started to clear and it's practically gone. I had a number of spiritual insights I didn't see coming nor plan on. I continued to prove to myself that I I can do very hard things. That might have been one of the most difficult things I've done in my life. But surprisingly, I found myself in this healing, healed state anxious. Because for 10 years, and much of what I do and much of my life has been a result of me having this goal to heal from this chronic Lyme disease. It's become my identity. And now as I healed, I wondered, what am I gonna do? Who am I? What am I gonna be? And as scary as that may be, it's also very exciting for me to start digging in. I found this out about myself, and let's see what's next. Let's look for something higher than myself that I can look to, orient myself to, and give me true purpose in life.