Cold Showers and Fasting

By jim onion · Jan 17, 2019 · 523 · 11
  1. Took my first cold shower in a couple weeks today. I've been sick lately. I'm not sure since I haven't done any research, but I feel like hot showers are better when you're sick, at least in terms of the steam helping the respiratory side of things. If you're having trouble staying hydrated though it might be better to just take a warm shower so you don't sweat.

    Anyway, feels good. Part of me knows I could do better. I still turn the hot water knob a half turn or so, which is barely anything. It's not freezing cold. Yet there's a *huge* difference between that half-turn and literally zero hot water. We're talking genuinely cold to ice. It's ridiculous. I turn the hot water completely off at the end before I get out and I can barely stand it for three seconds.

    It's good for the mind. I need to strengthen it. When doing something difficult you need to jump right in. Instead of focusing on how difficult or uncomfortable something is going to be, I need to focus on the benefits of it. The cold water is better for your scalp, hair, and skin. Also, going from the warm bed to a cold shower is good for blood circulation.

    I tell you what. When I get out of that shower I feel refreshed and alert now. And instead of being in there for 30+ minutes, I'm in there for 10. Saves a lot of water and saves me a lot of time.

    And today I'm fasting for the first time ever, basically. It's also supposed to be good for the mind and the body although my knowledge of the science behind it is worse than a layman. I *can* say that it has the same strengthening effect as the cold shower.

    Also, I figure that if I eat $5-10 on average a day, but I'm fasting one day a week, that's $250 or more saved a year. So today I'm having water, tea, and chewing gum.

    A book I'm reading, "Willpower Doesn't Work", says that if you need to get something done then you should set the deadline so that it makes you uncomfortable. Well, I figured the most uncomfortable deadline I could set for fasting was today. I'd like to make my fasting on Sundays, which is my "unplug day", but I have soccer on Sundays right now for the next couple months. Thursdays will do in the meantime.

    I always try to make a constant effort of not being a hypocrite, something I learned from debate and incorporated into how I live. I criticize soft living a lot. So, it's time to make a genuine effort at making my own living less soft.
    paperbackwriter and 8Bit Bob like this.

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  1. matwoolf
    In the UK a shower's normally about 3-4 minutes. 30 minutes in the shower is degenerate behaviour. Even ten minutes is sickeningly slovenly hippy. Chewing gum? What's that for? And unplug? You wearing a plug? Work harder at this. I'll be watching for results.
    matwoolf, Jan 17, 2019
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  2. jim onion
    @matwoolf In the UK you have limits on water usage, right? Thought I remember reading that somewhere. Anyway, we may have that here in US cities but not out in the suburbs where I live.

    Technically my cold showers are less than 10 minutes. The rest is drying off and getting dressed which I add onto that because I do it all in the bathroom and feels like a part of the same process.

    I can tell you're without a doubt from the UK, because you didn't question the tea. ;)

    No lol, unplug day is where you take a break from your phone and other dopamine-driven technology. It's a mental Sabbath. I spend the day reading for enjoyment, taking care of grooming (shaving and getting a haircut if I need, keeping the nails short), spending time with my mom and dad, getting miscellaneous tasks done, and planning my next week.
    jim onion, Jan 17, 2019
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  3. Solar
    Sounds like there's a touch of the Stoic in you, Foxx.
    Solar, Jan 17, 2019
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  4. jim onion
    @Solar

    An astute observation. Last year I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Enchiridion by Epictetus, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, back to back.

    My favorite was Seneca, primarily because I found him to be the most accessible. I enjoyed Meditations and greatly admire the one and only philosopher king. There's good stuff in the Enchiridion but I found it the most difficult to get through and least memorable. Took notes and reflections on all of them though.
    jim onion, Jan 17, 2019
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  5. Magus
    I did about a week long stretch of only cold showers back in the summer. The longer I thought about it, the harder it was to jump in; it's the exact same apprehension I get when I'm trying to squash a massive spider that has set up shop on my desk.

    I also found that after a rather sweaty day, the cold water wasn't enough to wash away the smell of body odor. I thought about washing first in hot water, then just standing there in the cold, but it just seemed like such an imposition so I stopped doing it. I'm not sure if you can strengthen willpower, I feel like it's more that you learn how to ration it, and spend it where it's needed. Stress management helps it from leaking, but I never felt by being exposed to things that demanded a lot of it, that I ever gained more of it.
    Magus, Jan 18, 2019
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  6. jim onion
    I recommend checking out the book "Willpower Doesn't Work". It'll flip your world upside down and inside-out. At least it did for me.

    You're right, the cold water won't be as effective against the body odor because warm water is what opens those pores. For me I only have to worry about that on Sundays after soccer. Go home, take a warm shower, and then turn it down to cold after I've washed myself with soap.

    You identified the exact issue. It's easier said than done, but you have to focus on the benefits of the difficult thing you're doing. Takes practice.

    Also, never take the "acclimate to the pool" approach to these things. If you genuinely want to start waking up at 4:00 AM, there is no easing into it. You do it and suck it up the first day. Don't prolong your suffering and wade into the pool one slow step at a time. Just jump in it.

    I try imagining that when I first step into that cold shower. Jumping into a pool, something fun.

    Being a masochist also helps a lot. :-D
    jim onion, Jan 18, 2019
  7. paperbackwriter
    good motivational blog Foxx. Its summer and I still take hot showers.
    That ice cold first swim of summer at the beach is utterly refreshing.
    Fasting...I need to follow your good example...thanks.
    paperbackwriter, Jan 18, 2019
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  8. paperbackwriter
    by the way I was shocked about the 30 mins in the shower too. I average about 5 but my wife thinks I don't wash myself properly.
    paperbackwriter, Jan 18, 2019
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  9. jim onion
    I successfully completed my fast, from 7:00 PM EST yesterday until 7:00 PM EST today. Admittedly 8 hours of that was sleeping.

    Yeah, I love the solitude of the shower, the warmth and the sound of the water, the way it feels on my face. I never want to get out.

    Now I take cold showers, with the exception of after doing a lot of sweating. Which means that when I start working out several times during the week I'm going to have to take hot / cold showers on those days.

    In terms of "washing properly" you don't have to use soap every day. It's actually probably better for your skin if you skip a day here or there.

    However, for a little over a week now I've been using Head And Shoulder shampoo+conditioner daily, because I was getting really bad dry scalp and dandruff.
    jim onion, Jan 18, 2019
  10. Magus
    Yeesh, 18 bucks for a digital book. I find books like these can be whittled down to bullet points without losing much; most of the points being things I've known about already.

    I got Aubrey Marcus's "Own the Day blabliblebloo" on an audiobook and wanted to shoot myself for wasting a free trial point on it. That and the fact that he says shit like " So what are you waiting for, player?" at the end of the chapter.

    1.Drink water
    2.Work out
    3. Stop wasting time
    3.Breath
    4. Cold showers
    5. Take a chance
    etc etc etc

    Is the book you suggested similar?
    Magus, Jan 18, 2019
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  11. jim onion
    Haha, I know what you mean. It can be hard to sort through all the junk and find books in this genre that are worth reading.

    I like Aubrey Marcus' podcast, but only when he has guests on there who I'm interested in. Same thing with Joe Rogan. I don't watch/listen to JRE for Joe Rogan, although he's funny and asks good questions and all that; I'm there for Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, etc. I don't think I'd buy a Joe Rogan book unless I wanted to learn something about becoming a comedian, or getting into MMA, or starting a podcast.

    Anyway, "Willpower Doesn't Work" is a lot deeper than a self-help book. There's so much in the book that I can't digest it all at once and I'm definitely going to have to re-read it. I regret not taking notes on it, but I'm already 3/4 of the way through so I might as well get to the end rather than start taking notes now.

    You will not find "drink water, work out, breathing exercises, or cold showers" advice in this book. It's way beyond that. The primary focus of the book is about our environment, the way we fundamentally view our environment, why willpower doesn't work and what we can and should do about that, our relationship with nature versus nurture, how our environment shapes us and how we can shape our environment to shape us. It's heavily in the realm of psychology and backed by a lot of scientific research, but occasionally brings that into an informed philosophy.

    When I begin re-reading it I'll be taking notes, reflecting on the reading, and writing blogs to share the book and my thoughts as I go.
    jim onion, Jan 18, 2019
      Magus likes this.
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