It's Only Taken Me 32 Years to Figure Out Fasting

Above lies the most delicious sandwich in the world. I do believe my wife and I are in agreement on this matter. It's pretty darn close anyway. It's the South Shore Cheese Steak (all Hoagied up) from Surfer Sands in Long Beach, Washington. And, if you can believe it, I'm typing this entry thinking about it and the last time I had food or drink was about 23 hours ago.
I'm not usually Mr. Bri-onic fasting champion. My church is really into doing it once a month, though, and you may have seen the results of the recent study in the media. Apparently, it's good for my heart to do it. What's really interesting to me, though, on a personal level is how this fast was different from my previous one (which actually was a special fast a week ago, but that makes it even more interesting). This fast was easier, and I felt like my energy and mental status were better throughout versus a week ago.
So what changed during the week that made it easier? One big thing, I believe, is that I've gotten back to dialing my sugar way down (hey, it only took a year :-). I stepped on the scale and was 172, which matches the heaviest I've ever been. Too much "eating the Philly", I suppose . . . :-) One thing that's helped is a new tool I've been using on gyminee.com that allows you to track servings and calories and keeps a running total so you can see where you are throughout the day (it's especially easy on fast days) Ever notice that when you track things, they improve? It's certainly true for food and me. It really reduces my snacking if for no other reason than that it really raises the hassle of eating. Thus, I believe that fasting is substantially easier when my preceding diet is lower-calorie, healthier, and low-sugar.
My energy level and mood are a lot more steady without all those sugar highs and lows, and I find I sleep better too. This feeds a really positive feedback loop that looks something like: less sugar-->feeling better (after a little withdrawal)-->sleeping better-->easier to get up early and exercise-->feeling even better, etc. onward and upward.
So, getting back to that sandwich in the picture above, I'll point out that I really enjoyed it and we all had a good time chowing in the van in Long Beach. Unfortunately, sitting there for 20-30 minutes with the electronics, fans, and seat heaters on (and not the engine) is bad for Mr. Battery. Obviously, I'm alluding to the fact that the van wouldn't start. A quick check of the headlights outside (they were dim) told me a jump was a good idea, and the happy Surfer Sands guy was willing to pull right over. I whipped my jumper cables out of the Odyssey's handy lazy susan and we were started in no time. Then, though, we were running on fumes but didn't want to stop and turn it off to get gas. And, gas over there is like 20 cents a gallon more, to boot. So, we took our chances coming back. This got especially interesting, then, when it was snowing heavily and we had to cross the Astoria bridge. I was already a bit nervous coming up the steep span, and then we spied that a car ahead of us had stalled there. I was glad that the truck a vehicle or two in front of me stopped to assist and waved us by, because I almost didn't dare stop. Anyway, we made it to a gas station, and by this point the battery was charged enough that it started again. It's been fine ever since.