Well after having a small breakfast things are returning to normal, my head has stopped spinning and I've started to think clearly, which is nice. Some detective work has revealed that my car is parked where it has been every day for the last 12 months, and the other sock is on the other foot, which I'd forgot to check.
I have to say that fasting is not as horrendous as I used to imagine, months ago.
In terms of 'feeling deprived', which is something to avoid if you want to be able to incorporate something into your life long-term, it's not so bad. It's on a par with a VLCD in terms of feeling "I really wish I wasn't having to do this", but science says fasting is better for the metabolism, especially if you don't go on for more than 3 days.
I was actually very surprised that I was able to incorporate quite a lot of physical activity into a 36 hour fast. It was pretty strenuous walking - 3 'big hills'. Starting up the first hill I felt very slow and sluggish, but by the time I was coming down it, I felt perfectly normal. The second hill was then fine. I really didn't want to do the final one by the time I'd driven to it. My body was definitely feeling things by then. But I just kept chugging up it, ignoring the light-headedness, and again, on the way down I'd started to feel fine.
Frankly I've done the same 3 hills on a full stomach and sometimes found it equally hard. Some days your body works better than others.
I've only done 2 real fasts now (ignoring the idea of having the last meal early so there's a big gap to breakfast). The first one was 24 hours and involved being at home. This one involved a lot of exercise and being away from home. I think I preferred this one for both psychological and biological reasons. Exercise does make me less hungry, plus I wasn't sitting by my fridge all day with food calling out to me.
Some of the benefits of fasting are psychological I think - if you can get through it, it helps to make you realise just how little the body needs to fuel it, plus it gives you a confidence boost in terms of feeling you have self-control - something I struggle with as I love all food and rarely 'feel full'. It also made me really savour breakfast this morning. Bacon, egg and a big flat mushroom with a toasted slice of hi-lo bread. Total about 5g carbs. I started on the mushroom and even just that was lovely.
My scales tell me I've lost about 2kg in one day as well. It must be all water of course, but any improvement in "the numbers" is a good psychological boost.