Urges vs Needs

Easter Sunday, Day Two of a 72-hour fast

While everyone around me is moving through chocolate today, I'm somewhere quieter — past the halfway mark of a 72-hour water fast, and sitting with something that feels like the beginning of a long-overdue shift.

The physical part has been easier than expected. Electrolytes, intentionality, and pacing. I feel clear. Genuinely proud.

But the real discovery isn't physical.

It's this: I'm not technically hungry. And yet — every time I pause, every time I walk past the fridge — there's an automatic pull. A hand reaching for something that isn't needed.

That gap between urge and need is where everything lives.

It's the same territory I work in with coaching clients: habits running without intention, emotional impulses dressed up as appetite, boredom wearing the costume of hunger. Seeing it clearly — witnessing it, without immediately acting on it — feels like finding a lever I didn't know I had.

I've broken patterns before. I haven't touched alcohol since I gave it up on my birthday in September 2024. No caffeine either. These weren't willpower victories — they were choice, made visible, made deliberate.

What I teach is what I'm practising: the power of the pause. Breath before reaction. Space before response. The witnessing self, watching without collapsing into the impulse.

Right now, as I write, there's a clean quality to my thinking. Stable. Uncluttered. That's probably not just the fast — it's reduced noise, stable blood sugar, and the simple dignity of doing what I said I'd do.

I know I'll finish this cleanly.

And then the real work begins: living this way without needing a fast to force it.

I'm becoming someone who eats with awareness. And I'm building systems that make that easy.

A note to readers

This post reflects my own personal practice, undertaken with care and preparation. Extended fasting isn't appropriate for everyone, and this isn't a recommendation or a how-to. If you're navigating a complicated relationship with food, eating, or your body — please know that's a distinct territory, and one that deserves specialist support rather than lifestyle inspiration.

In the UK, Beat is the leading eating disorder charity, offering a helpline, email support, and an online community. Their adult helpline is 0808 801 0677, available 3pm–10pm, 365 days a year. Mental Health UK In South Africa, SADAG offers confidential support on 0800 12 13 14. You don't have to be in crisis to reach out.