Can Asceticism Make Your Life Better?

[SaynotoKlaus]

  I'm not religious at all , but a few times i tried for experimentation's sake to abstain myself from all sorts of things that give me pleasure (things i feel i need) including sex and food (i used to eat only when i was starving)  and they were weird experiences. At first it's really hard but then it gets easier , until i actually feel pretty amazing , calm , with lots of energy and very little mental noise. 

The thing that benefits me the most i think is abstaining from food. When i eat only to survive , i get a huge mental and physical energy boost , more than when i eat lots of food high in nutrients. I also feel like eating consistently is fueling my mental chatter and negative emotions.

What do you think , is this the way to go , or i am rather sabotaging myself? I have to say , even if living like this is not that healthy , i am tempted to do it because it feels amazing.

[David]

Never underestimate the power of fasting. Now please don't harm your body. But the energy it takes to digest is stolen mostly from the brain. 

[dystopia]

People eat too much. It's not their fault, eating is fun. It's tasty and comforting and great in a social setting. I love food as much as the next person. It can also be an addiction, and a pretty persistent one.

Especially in the West, where many people are taught from a young age that if they don't clean their plate, somehow some kid in Africa is gonna be upset. It's a social addiction, further perpetuated by the media that only cares about you consuming more for their profit. When all the advertising is done for all the fakest , worst foods, with unnecessary chemicals, does it really seem like the media gives a shit about your health?

Let's be honest, they don't care. They want you to buy more food and stuff your face with unnecessary chemicals. It's cool because if something affects you negatively, you can just pay the doctor & pay the pharmacy for more unnecessary chemicals to fix the symptoms (while never getting to the root of the issue). 

Did you know that the average person is carrying around 10lbs+ of uneliminated fecal matter? I read this in the book Mucusless Diet Healing System by Professor Arnold Ehret.

You are what you eat. Digestion is very hard on the system. When you are not using so much energy on digesting foods that your body doesn't even know what to do with (heavy foods and processed junk that is essentially poison), then your body has a real chance to heal and cleanse itself of impurities! Imagine that. That is why you end up feeling better when you eat less! (After you get over your chemical addictions, of course. If your diet is really bad it sucks, at first.)

Don't get me wrong, eating disorders are terrible & I've even suffered from them. But most people seem to think that more is better when it comes to food. Referring to chubby people as "healthy" and telling every thin person to "eat a burger" (which always irked me because it's nonsense). 

Whether they think so or not, most people in modern society do have a food addiction. Your body doesn't usually crave what is good for you, otherwise more people would eat healthy. It craves the damn chemicals that you're putting in it because they are addicting. They are made to be: for profit.

The best solution? Eat when you are hungry (which will be less often when your body is getting proper nutrition & hydration), stop when you are satisfied not full (By the time you feel full, you've already eaten too much). Even better: eat things that the human body was made to digest such as fruits, veggies and grains, and stay away from that stuff that was fried or made in a lab. 

I also recommend reading up on proper food combinations to learn why your body sometimes has a hard time digesting: http://www.acidalkalinediet.net/correct-food-combining-principles.php

Why I avoid meat & why protein is overrated: http://www.grapegate.com/high-protein-diets-can-cause-death

Edited March 11, 2016 by shouldnt

[Miicat]

@shouldnt 

Truth. Very well said.

I'd like to add that, the more you eat things like legumes, fruits and vegetables, the more your body starts craving them and the less you eat processed or/and sugary things/dairy the easier it gets to let go of them.

The beginning is always most challenging, but if we make an effort to listen to what the body says and how it reacts, we can find our answers there.

[Henri]

Filling up your stomach for 60% once a day in the late afternoon is enough, besides something small in the morning. Off course you should not have a physical job.

Important is though to get the right proper food. I have great experiences with Ayurvedic food, 100% satvic food.

Check out the internet for that.

[Kaizen]

On a purely psychological level, it makes perfect sense. It's an exercise in appreciation. If the so-called hedonist Epicurus could achieve what he considered the greatest happiness with asceticism (sleeping on the floor and eating bread and water in his case), anyone can.

[Zane]

The Buddha experimented with asceticism and he stopped because it nearly killed him. He advocated the Middle Path and the Noble Eightfold Path. I strongly disagree with asceticism but thank you for the post! Maybe there are better alternatives to asceticism like fasting in moderation like once a week rather than going to an unhealthy extreme!