Christian and I are in the final stretches of a 3 day (72 hour) fast. Though we have done Intermittent fasting for years, It’s only the second 3 days fast I’ve done and Christian’s first. I love that he joined in this time. You know that saying, ‘Misery loves company!’
People say 1 of 2 things when they hear someone around them is fasting. Some people already know the benefits and partake either for health or spiritual reasons. They say, ‘Hell yeah, I do (did) [insert number of hours/days/type] of fasting.’ Usually pairing their enthusiasm with a celebratory high 5. Most people say, “I could never.” Not quite to the extent of pearl clutching but definitely with a touch of distaste and avoidance.
I get it. I used to believe I couldn’t fast either. I LOVE ALL THE FOOD! Cookies, donuts, cheesecake, and all the healthy foods, too. But here’s the thing, that’s the same voice inside my head that tries to limit my ability to expand my boundaries in more ways than just with food. I also believed I could never become a medalist at Master Worlds. I didn’t believe it until I did. Then I put in the work and let reality manifest itself.
Somewhere along the line, maybe circa 2019, Christian initially indicated an intention to begin intermittent fasting. Probably because he heard about it on the Joe Rogan Experience. I was skeptical and resistant at first but dropped about 10 pounds in the first 2-3 months. I also saw a reduction in the stress we experienced as a couple that surrounded meal times. Less stress about deciding what to make, who was going to make it, and who was going to clean up after. For us breakfast was the obvious meal at the time to eliminate even though it flew in the face of everything we’d been taught about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. It was fairly easy to make it to lunch time without consuming food. However, eating around our Jiu Jitsu schedule was always a challenge.
In January 2020 I got sick. Really sick. I could barely breathe and spent days in bed, too exhausted and short of breath to do more than walk to the bathroom. I don’t remember ever being that sick before, nor has it happened since. I probably should have gone to urgent care or even the hospital but I am doctor averse and I believed in my body’s ability to heal without external intervention. Over the course of 3-5 days I basically ate nothing. I neither had the appetite nor the energy to make food.
During that convalescence, I noticed something then that resonated with me. The skin issues I’d carried for years DRASTICALLY improved over that short time. Shortly after, unfortunately, a Globalist takeover ensued which put me into a spiral. My Jiu Jitsu gym, my main form of exercise and mental wellness, closed their doors for nearly 2 months. I was eating tons of junk and drinking heavily and I was NOT okay.
My skin flared to the point I decided to work with the Epigenetic Healing Center. Through copious blood and stool tests, Dr. Goodbinder determined that I had food allergies and sensitivities largely caused by mold toxins in my blood stream. Over the course of 4-6 months, I followed an Auto-Immune Protocol and I undertook a supplement regimen to bind the toxins and reset my gut biome. It mostly worked. I got down to 114 pounds on the AIP diet which is the smallest I’d ever been, probably since I hit puberty.
Here’s the thing, though. None of us want to work harder than we absolutely have to. Eating a restricted diet every day, indefinitely, is challenging. More challenging, I would contend, than 3 days of fasting. Little by little, those favorite foods I’d eliminate started creeping their way back in. So while, overall, I was making healthier diet choices I could feel and see my gut and skin issues resurging.
As the assault on our way of live subsided, I was also began to compete in Jiu Jitsu again. I competed in the St. Louis Open in September 2024 and made weight fine then. In late October 2024 I signed up for Feather weight at the IBJJF KC Open. I had to weigh in under 129 pounds in my gi. To be fair, I really wasn’t as disciplined as I should have been. I had to RUN that morning. Really run, to shed those last few ounces to make weight. I weighed in at 128.8. It was then that I committed to getting my drinking and binge eating under control and start taking my competition opportunities more seriously.
As I was preparing for IBJJF Pans in March 2025 I opted to work with a nutritionist. This was the first time I’d ever tracked macros. My daily caloric intake was limited to 1340 calories. I was supposed to eat at least 120 grams of protein daily while staying under 40 grams of fat and under 125 grams of carbs. I stuck to these numbers and decided to forego intermittent fasting at that time. I weighed in at Pans at 124.4 pounds.
Since making weight has been easier than expected, even after 10 day vacation prior to the competition, I decided to take it a step further. For Master Worlds in late August of last year I drop down a weight class to Light Feather. For most of 2025 I was mindful to limit my calories to between 1400-1600 per day. At Worlds I weighed in under 118 in the gi. It was hard to stay that disciplined for so long but I did it. And I made it to the Podium! It was the first bronze medal I’d earned by ACTUALLY winning a match.
After Worlds I cut loose because I’d earned it! Like I said, I just love all the food. I had a few months before the KC Open so plenty of time to rebound. Shortly after registering at KC Open at Light Feather I (unexpectedly) got a match. Since I’d been pretty careless with my eating since Worlds, I felt a drastic leap to get back on track was warranted. I’d also been loosely researching the benefits of mutli-day water fasts. That was when I did my first 3 days fast. It just kind of happened and it while it wasn’t easy I stuck it out. As they say, the first day is always the hardest.
I dropped a lot of fat over those days and I stayed well hydrated. Hydration is often a huge issue for wrestlers and grapplers. Cutting water weight shouldn’t ever be the go-to for making weight but it IS often the standard. Crash dieting and dehydration in the days leading up to a competition are bound to backfire when you have zero energy.
During those 3 days I felt just as energetic as ever and even more productive that usual. Some of that can be accounted for the fact that I just didn’t have to spend as much time cooking or cleaning up after meals. Some of it can be accounted for by intentionally staying busy with tasks to take my mind of any hunger pangs. Those pangs subside drastically in volume after day 1, and then the thought of bogging yourself down with food even starts to sound unpleasant. I haven’t felt any painful hunger cramps that I used to get when I ate all day long. I do get hungry but usually address that with a few rocks of Himalayan Salt and maybe some hot coffee.
The further you go in fasting the less you want to waste all that effort. Knowing what I know now about the benefits of giving your gut time to heal, fasting for multiple days is so worth it. More moral support I binge watch benefits of fasting videos. My favorite YouTube channel is run by Dr. Mindy Pelz who wrote ‘Fast Like a Girl.’ I haven’t read her book but I have watched (mostly listened to) hours of her online content.
I understand now that fasting is a tool, if used properly. It’s a tool for reducing inflammation and stimulating production of stem cells for healing, and also a tool for fat burning. Yes, I get hungry. I have realized that eating, for me like many others, is an emotional comfort and boredom buster. I have benefitted by working working with a mindset coach to heal unresolve trauma. Now I realize that I simply don’t need to eat the quantity of food I ate historically and certainly not all the junk which never made me feel good about myself anyway.
For me, it’s way easier to stick to time restricted eating than it is to stick to calorie restriction. Calorie restricted eating across the whole day caused me perpetual hunger. And while, as a woman, there are hormonal considerations to keep in mind, I now stick to mostly 16-20 hour daily fasts. This allows me to eat to satiety but since my eating window is limited I have to prioritize macro and micro nutrients over junk. I still get to eat until I feel full there’s just no room for sugary or low protein foods. I can still reward myself with a tasty treat now and then but fasting has also drastically reduced the amount I need to eat to feel full.
Fasting has also eliminated the post jiu jitsu meal struggle. I’m honestly just not hungry after most classes. I primarily ate because I thought I needed to. Now I listen to my body. I try to end my feasting period most days by 2-3 PM to allow my stomach time to empty before jiu jitsu. Even when class ends as 8 and I go to bed by 10, I’m still not hungry enough to warrant breaking fast so late in the evening.
In the end it all comes down to your why. For me honing my skills and honoring the years I’ve spent developing in jiu jitsu are a big part of that. I missed so many opportunities to compete when I was younger, even though the desire has always been there. Once I started prioritizing my Jiu Jitsu journey, the path I needed to take to accomplish my goals became clear. Along with discipline in exercise and eating healthy, regular fasting allows me to live my best life.
