Episode 107 | I Faced Cancer and Chose a 14 Day Water Fast with Faith Laux, Somatic Coach

[00:00:00] Dr. Katie Deming MD: What if slowing down wasn't optional, but the very thing your life depends upon? Today, I sit down with Faith Laux, a sex and somatic coach, who also happens to be navigating stage four colon cancer. Faith recently completed a 14 day water fast with me, and in this conversation she opens up about what truly surprised her from the bliss of being still to the unexpected ways, fasting, reshaped her relationship with food, her family, and her own sense of presence.

[00:00:29] Dr. Katie Deming MD: You'll hear how fasting became more than a physical reset. It became a spiritual and emotional one too. And if you've ever wondered whether you could slow down enough to reconnect with yourself, Faith's story will show you what's possible. Stay with us until the end, because faith shares one simple phrase that became her anchor, and it may be exactly the reminder you need in your own healing journey.

[00:00:51] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Let's dive in. ​[00:01:00]

[00:01:01] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Hello, I'm Dr. Deming, and this is the Born Hill Podcast where we share practical tools and knowledge to help you create conditions for true healing in your life. Let's welcome to the show today, faith Laux. Hi, faith.

[00:01:15] Faith Laux: Hi Katie. Thank you for having me.

[00:01:17] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Absolutely. I'm excited for this conversation. You are a sex and somatic coach, but we know each other because you fasted with me. You did a 14 day water fast, and I wanted to start actually by asking you what was the most surprising part of water fasting for you.

[00:01:37] Faith Laux: I think the thing that surprised me the most was how delightful it was. And, and I can only speak from my own experience. I don't know that this is true across the board, but it was. Uh, quite blissful in, in a way that I, I didn't anticipate. I think I went into the water fast, really kind of thinking, [00:02:00] apocalyptically like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna be a zombie.

[00:02:03] Faith Laux: And, you know, in order to get from our bedroom downstairs, I'm gonna have to like, scoot on my butt, stare by stare, and everything is gonna be painful and I won't have any energy. I I didn't know what to expect. That was my fear. And, When I was actually in it, I was surprised by the energy that I did have.

[00:02:25] Faith Laux: That's not to say that I wasn't fatigued. 'cause yes, the fatigue was real. but life was luminous in a way that in normal reality it's not. And. There was just a presence and a spaciousness and a permeability to my being that was delightful to experience, and it surprised me that taking away social media and taking away movies and television for the most part. [00:03:00] Taking away food and taking away my ability to go places, like just staying home in my own house and yard. I, I really thought, again, I was like, man, I'm gonna be a zombie and I'm gonna be bored. Was my, was my, uh, fear going into it? And it surprised me that every day felt like a gift and. Just this beautiful meditation of being in the present moment and moving from one present moment to the next present moment.

[00:03:31] Faith Laux: And it moved slowly and there was rhythms to the day, and I was surprised by how wonderful it was to just be home bound with all of those restrictions for two weeks. It was phenomenal.

[00:03:45] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I love it. Well, and I remember when you were ready to refe when it was actually time to refeed, you were kind of nervous about it. You're like, I really like the way that I feel. Is that true?

[00:03:57] Faith Laux: It is so true. I like, [00:04:00] you know, we had asked for very specific support in order for me to do this water fast in a way that would allow me to devote to it and really sort of surrender to the container that you created. And it was clear like that support was gonna go home. Like my in-laws were staying with us and they were going to be leaving.

[00:04:17] Faith Laux: And faith, you're doing 14 days and then, you know, we're here for the refeeding, but then we're leaving. And so I think that, you know, if I, if they weren't here and I didn't have a young child and I had a little bit more freedom, I would've properly contemplated continuing because it felt so great. But you know, it was, it was sweet.

[00:04:38] Faith Laux: It was what it was. And when it was time to close, I closed the container and went back into the land of eating. but yeah, I didn't want it to end. I felt really sad to leave that numinous space of connection to spirit. That is pretty extraordinary.

[00:04:56] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I think it would be helpful for people 'cause not [00:05:00] everyone's experience is like yours. Right. So, and I have, you know, it, it seems like every group that I have, there's almost like a little bit of a personality of the group and you're, you were fasting with, it was a small group and you really did have this like beautiful experience most of the way through where, what I.

[00:05:17] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Really prepare people for is, it's a rollercoaster. Like, and, and you had those days too. I remember there were a couple days in there where you're like, wow, I'm really exhausted.

[00:05:27] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But I think it's almost hard for people to understand, like when you say it's like, I felt so good and sell clear. Can you explain like when did that happen for you?

[00:05:38] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like when did you start feeling really good in the fast? Was it hard for a certain period of time for you and then became easy, or, I'm just wondering, so people have an idea of like, when was it that you started to feel good in this like presence in your fast?

[00:05:54] Faith Laux: I, I think it probably started, my instinct is around day six, [00:06:00] maybe day five. I, you know, there's waves. It's sort of like a season, when a season comes, it doesn't just come and then stay that season. It's like it comes in waves, it gets a little bit cooler, like, oh, Autumn's coming, but then it gets hot again. And so I think the same thing happened in the water fast where I would like. Ride a wave into this spacious place of openness and the hunger was gone. And, you know, I just was like in this beautiful place of being. And then I would go back into a more of a contracted place. but I would say around day six or seven is when, Things started to just feel very, spacious and consistent and, and, and a little bit more predictable too. Like, okay, I know how much energy it takes to get down the stairs and outside. Cool. Then I will rest, and I know how much energy it takes to go from outside to inside, and then I will rest. yeah. Yeah, that, that's, that's my best sense of when it, when it started to kick in.

[00:06:57] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Well, and that's really consistent actually [00:07:00] with my other fasts, is that, you know, especially people who have not done a lot of prolonged fasting, the first four to five days can be hard because you're getting into ketosis and you can have that keto flu and you can have the nausea and the headaches and the.

[00:07:17] Dr. Katie Deming MD: You know, the, and then the detox pain between days four and seven. So usually what I tell people is like, if you can hang in there until about day six,

[00:07:26] Dr. Katie Deming MD: you usually start to turn the corner and by seven you're like, okay, I can do this. Like, I actually feel like I can do this and I feel pretty good. So, I feel like that is on point with my observation.

[00:07:38] Faith Laux: One of the things that I did that was pretty smart in my opinion, I am just gonna sort of set the stage for the people listening. 'cause I find it helpful when I'm listening to your people, like, what kind of cancer did you have

[00:07:51] Faith Laux: and how far along are you? And,

[00:07:53] Faith Laux: because, and, and that's gonna set me up for the point that I wanna make, which is, which is around caffeine.

[00:07:58] Faith Laux: The caffeine withdrawal, [00:08:00] because that's that's real. so I was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in May of 2022. And I, back then it was a total surprise. I did not know that the cancer wasn't in my family, the pain that I had had in my abdomen for the past, you know, I think it was a year and a half that I had been feeling pain and having bowel issues. I didn't even consider once that it was cancer. And then finally I got a colonoscopy at the urging of my nutritionist because all of the nutritional. Uh, adaptations we were making, were, were doing nothing. And that's when I learned that I had colon cancer and it was a total surprise. I decided to get surgery, to get a colon resection and the part that had spread to my liver to get that taken out. And so I did that, and then I did chemotherapy. After that, after healing from that surgery and I did 10 rounds of chemotherapy and that was [00:09:00] extremely intense. The chemotherapy, woo, like that is some hard medicine. And, being a somatic sex and relationship coach, I. Decided to pair that period of time, the period of time of being doing chemotherapy with pleasure. And so I knew that I was gonna be climbing a mountain. I didn't know how high the mountain would be or how hard it would be to climb up because nobody in my family or friend circle had done this before. and so I decided, okay, I'm going to use pleasure as a tool alongside me. To climb the mountain because I know it.

[00:09:35] Faith Laux: I know it's gonna be hard, so I'm gonna orient to what feels good. I'm gonna orient to painting, I'm gonna orient to enjoying my coffee. I'm gonna orient to, you know, erotic pleasure, like all of the flavors of pleasure. I just decided I'm bringing it all in, and I'm devoting myself to that as I'm climbing this mountain. And I came out the other side. Really a changed woman, like a different woman than when I went in [00:10:00] way more myself. It's like I, it's like, you know, cancer was this catalyzer for burning away layers of shame and ways that I was hiding or only half living. And, and it was like, oh gosh, okay.

[00:10:14] Faith Laux: I have an expiration on my life. It's time to actually live the way I wanna live. And so there was a lot of metamorphosis that happened during that period and I very, Arrogantly came out of it thinking, oh, I've done so much emotional work. This is amazing. Cancer is not coming back because I got to the root and, uh, you know, I went about life as normal and I, continued to eat the things that brought me joy, which are lots and lots of carbs.

[00:10:44] Faith Laux: I. Was nicknamed Greta Carbo growing up, uh, from my family. And,and I, you know, and I just went about life, you know, from this higher frequency of like more authenticity that I had developed. and in September of 2024, my numbers [00:11:00] started going back up in my blood. And so there was evidence again of cancer and it. Freaked me out. And that's what ultimately guided me to your practice and to Dr. Nasha Winters with the metabolic approach to cancer. and really starting to look at lifestyle and nutrition and diet and nourishment, um, in a way that I hadn't before. and this time the colon cancer had spread to an ovary. And so it, you know, in March we could see it on the scans and I decided, okay, I'm gonna do surgery to take out this ovary and this cancerous tumor. And then I'm gonna water fast with Dr. Katie, to sort of reset my body and my microbiome and clear and cleanse and detox from, from the chemo years earlier, from my lifestyle for decades and from this recent surgery. And. So at the end of April, I had the surgery and I knew that I would [00:12:00] have a lot of painkillers in my system. And so I just decided I'm gonna get off caffeine during that little window and I'm not gonna have any headaches because I'm going to be on so many painkillers. And so when I was in that detox phase of the first week of the water fast. It wasn't horrendous. I didn't have headaches, I didn't have like, really intense withdrawal from sugar or from things like my diet at that point had already been pretty cleaned out. at least of the big, the big things like alcohol and sugar and cheese at that point, dairy. so I think that that helped with that first week of,detoxing and dropping into that space of

[00:12:44] Faith Laux: clarity.

[00:12:45] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Well, and that's my experience is that people who, the people who do the best actually coming in and adjusting into fasting are people who. Are doing a ketogenic BI diet or are doing a lot of fasting already, like either a 24 hour [00:13:00] fasting or they've done three day fasting, their body is used to making that switch.

[00:13:05] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But then if people. Are not big into fasting or doing keto, definitely eliminating the sugar, alcohol, fried foods, processed foods, all of that before a fast makes a huge difference coming in. And you're right, and actually I remember being surprised because I was like, you might, because you had the prior chemo and because you had just had anesthesia, you might have.

[00:13:29] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Significant detox symptoms and your detox symptoms, I remember being mild in comparison to some other people. So, that's interesting. And the caffeine is, I always tell people, I'm like, pick your poison. Like you can either have your headache now before you start the fast or you can do it during the fast, but it is nice to get that out of the way.

[00:13:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So I don't know if you agree that actually doing it while you were on those pain medications, recovering from surgery was a good idea, but, sounds like a smart move. 'cause at least it made the fast, less miserable.

[00:13:56] Faith Laux: Mm-hmm.

[00:13:58] Faith Laux: Totally. Yeah.

[00:13:59] Dr. Katie Deming MD: [00:14:00] you know, you, more than many of my clients had this like real connection with nature and with spirit and with the divine, and.

[00:14:14] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I'm wondering if you can share and like I know ritual is really important to you and actually one of the beautiful things that's come about of from faith fasting with me is that she is very into, this is for my listeners. She is very into ritual and ceremony and so now she's doing visualizations as my new FAST has come in every two weeks we have a new cohort and Faith does their, you know.

[00:14:39] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Ceremony of coming in as a visualization of how are you crossing the threshold into this, you know, luminous space of water fasting. But I'm wondering if you can share with the audience, like what is it that you brought into this fast that made it so special and something that you know, [00:15:00] you really treasured and also, you know, didn't necessarily wanna leave.

[00:15:04] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And that's not the same for everyone.

[00:15:06] Faith Laux: I approached this fast as a sacred appointment with the divine and prepared myself for it. I read the book, uh, vision Quest, and it was written a long time ago, and it's, it is a different context. You know, it's about going into the wild for a period of time and being completely by yourself and, going in with the intention of having an experience with the divine. And for me, I. Given that ritual and ceremony is an important part of my life and my practice, I think it's a, it's an aspect to Western culture that has deteriorated over time and, and it's a pretty vital aspect that I think helps us. It helps us through chapters in our life, with these [00:16:00] demarcations and allowing them to be seen and felt and like witnessed by our collective.

[00:16:06] Faith Laux: And so for me, going into this Water Fest was, was a sacred event. Like there's no other time in my life I don't. I don't typically go to meditation retreats. Like I will go on retreat with a teacher, but it's very active. and so the notion of just being still and quiet and peaceful and resting for two weeks, really put me in touch with something that I otherwise probably would never touch.

[00:16:36] Faith Laux: Like when I think about going on vacation, it's an active thing. Even going on retreat, it's an active thing. And this was a very passive, receptive, quiet, space. And, and there was a way that I connected with nature that felt like it, like I got to reconnect with this part of me that was [00:17:00] alive as a young girl growing up in Florida.

[00:17:03] Faith Laux: Um, I grew up in South Florida. And I spent a lot of time outside. I was this feral child, you know, like building forts in the woods and riding horses and playing with the tadpoles in the pond and just being like fascinated by the natural world and enchanted, like it was a world of enchantment and, and as an adult. I think it, it's just the norm to have that be unusual. Like little pockets of enchantment might pop up here or there of connection to the natural world, but there are very few and far between because of how much time I would spend inside, you know, in front of a screen, whether it be my phone, my computer, or the television, and. And so the fast, I'm so grateful that I got to do it during summertime. I did it in early June, so the first two weeks of June, and that's Firefly season [00:18:00] here in North Carolina where I live. And so in the evenings, you know, you've got these warm evenings and I would just be able to watch these beautiful fireflies sparkle in the field behind our house and. The quietness and my daily routine would really consist of like putting my bathing suit on and going outside in the morning and putting a little chair in the grass in the field and letting my bare feet just be resting on the earth with the ants crawling over them in the dew and just watching. The, the earth around me, and it was so alive. I had never slowed down enough to really be that present with the nature around me. And this was just a grassy field. Like I don't live in some spectacular nature preserve, and yet I do. And I could just feel like. like. it was like Mother Nature was cradling me in part of my [00:19:00] healing experience and there was a, there was a day towards the end of the water fast when I was really, really tired and I just needed to rest.

[00:19:12] Faith Laux: And I went into our bed and I pulled the covers up and I was tossing and turning and I couldn't settle and I could, what came to me was. This room is dead. Like you can't rest in here because it's dead in here. Go outside. And so I went outside and laid on our cha lounge on our patio and, and I could feel with the breeze on my body and the sounds of the birds and the insects, like, oh, now I can rest.

[00:19:43] Faith Laux: And then I would, and then I was able to doze and dream. And get the rest that my body was hungry for. but there was, there was an absolute gift in being able to slow down enough to, to see how special it is to be outside, to be [00:20:00] able to part of this natural world that we are a part of and not so disconnected.

[00:20:07] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Well, and I remember when you were refeeding that you had gone out that morning and you were like, I'm already losing the connection. I'm, and like kind of nervous about that and. I think this is the thing that is hard for people to understand until they do a fast like this. But when you fast and you, you know, go through, like basically getting into ketosis like the first couple days is not this blissful experience connecting with nature and the one and everything, you know, the, the divine and everything.

[00:20:37] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But it's like once you get past that and then there's the detox that happens, right? So day four you start having detox symptoms and. Once you get through that and like you've cleared yourself out and the toxins are moving through your body, and then also the other thing that happens is emotions start coming to the surface and those start coming out.

[00:20:57] Dr. Katie Deming MD: What I witness is [00:21:00] what you experience, which is people just become very clear conduits for what is natural, like what is our natural essence, which are natural. You know, state of being is peace connection with Earth and with the plants and with the animals, and with literally everything. And it is so beautiful to witness that when you get yourself cleared out, you can experience that connection like you do when you're a child.

[00:21:30] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And most of us haven't experienced that since we've been a child. So I love that you describe that because. I think that people don't understand. They think, okay, like, you know, I want autophagy. I wanna get the cancer to go away. You know? And you came in for that reason too. And I, that's a legitimate reason.

[00:21:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like, I mean, most people, that's what they come to me for. No. Like, no one's looking for some extreme adventure for no reason. Right? It's like the cancer brings you to this. Opportunity as like, okay, I, you know, [00:22:00] this is a way to get my body to start to heal itself. But the, the other beautiful things that start to unravel in my mind are even more healing.

[00:22:10] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like this connection that you're describing to have that physical experience in your being as an adult to be so connected with everything changes you, you know, so I wonder. How do you think that you're different after this fast? You described actually with the chemo. I love that description of your chemo and your pleasure experiment, that you were gonna climb this mountain and you were gonna find pleasure along the way, and you were, and it changed you.

[00:22:35] Dr. Katie Deming MD: How do you think the water fast changed you?

[00:22:37] Faith Laux: Well, I think it helped me reorient my values in a way, and, and when I say that, what I mean is when I look at my calendar. In a week, and I see how busy it is, I no longer feel a sense of like, accomplishment or like, good for you faith. [00:23:00] Look how full it is. Look how productive you're being. it feels like, like the frequency of busy is like a warning, like, slow down faith, slow down. Open up like bend time, bend space, create pockets where you can be again. and so my value is now on slowness and being able to sink into the present moment. And that happens kind of across the board. You know, like with my daughter, who I see occasionally, you know, because she's at camp and then she is. on a play date and then it's bedtime and, you know, and so when I'm with her, I really wanna be able to drop in and be with her, even if it's just for a couple moments to really get into that space of being and seeing each other. And. I feel the same way with my husband when it comes to eroticism. Like when we're [00:24:00] together, I want to be able to cultivate that slowness and that presence and that beingness, like no rush. It's funny because like an hour we spent, we spent about, I don't know, an hour, an hour and 15 minutes together today connecting, and he spoke. He, he just had a lot to share and a lot to get present with and a lot on his heart that he needed to get out. And, and I'm over over here thinking like, John, this is our time when we actually have time. Like, but, but I mean, part of me was feeling that part of me and, and another part of me was just feeling very spacious and like, take all the time.

[00:24:40] Faith Laux: You need to talk and share and get present and let me know what you're scared of and what you're feeling vulnerable about and what is feeling tender. You know, like, please, like I'm in no rush. And if we, if we get to an intimate space beyond emotional intimacy, great. And if we don't, great, it's all intimate. And [00:25:00] so that, that sense of beingness is, it's like the, it's risen to a higher value for me. And the sense the valuing, the doing, and the productivity and all of those things is, is. Is less prominent. and the hustle has really died down. Like there's just a way that I feel at ease in my own skin. that feels like a blessing.

[00:25:25] Dr. Katie Deming MD: the one thing that Don Javier has said to me, because he and I had a conversation now.And I was explaining, I said, some people have these incredible experiences and also, you know that to watching tumors go away and then other people don't have, like, the tumors always stop.

[00:25:44] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like basically, I've only had one person who basically there was evidence that the tumor may have been growing and it was a specific type of tumor that actually can do that. And that's, but everyone else basically thinks stop, right? So at least. Holds things in place. But I was asking [00:26:00] him like, is there something that I'm doing differently with these people?

[00:26:03] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like why are some getting these results or that and others are not? And, and also I said to him, I said, the one thing that I'm seeing consistently, consistently, consistently is people connecting to themselves and actually this like beautiful, beautiful reorientation to their own priorities, which frankly.

[00:26:23] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Surpasses. Honestly, if I see someone's tumor go away, but then the person's still spinning and out. Like for me, I feel like we haven't really solved the problem. I would rather see them not spinning and maybe the tumor hasn't gone away yet than the reverse. But what he, one of the things that he explained to me is he said the people who are able to heal, like on a very deep level, that actually heals the cancer are the ones who conquer time.

[00:26:53] Dr. Katie Deming MD: The ones who are fully present and are out of the past and out of the future. And [00:27:00] that's what the fast it is a vision, vision quest. So I actually love that you brought up that book because he and I have had conversation about that where I didn't realize that what I was doing was actually leading people on a vision quest.

[00:27:12] Dr. Katie Deming MD: It's a different kind of quest. It's in your house, like you said, and the constraints are different than like going in the wilderness, but it's still a vision quest and basically the ones who get the most out of this experience. Are the ones who get fully present. And, and what you described actually kind of what makes you different in your curiosity and stuff is part of way what made you get this beautiful transformation and experience outta the fast is because you came in with that intention.

[00:27:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like you came in with the intention of like. When am I ever gonna have this opportunity to get quiet and be with myself and create this sense of spaciousness in my life and really get present? And [00:28:00] I think that's the secret. I mean, that is, those are the people who are having these like really incredible results.

[00:28:08] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And it's not just in the way that the tumor is showing up, it's, it's literally in the way that they're living.

[00:28:14] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So.

[00:28:15] Faith Laux: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:16] Dr. Katie Deming MD: That definitely what you said resonates with what I understand and what I see as well.

[00:28:23] Faith Laux: Yeah, something, something that I did, something that I do regularly is create voice memos for friends. I'm a audio processor and, it's like a little check-in, a life check-in, and it's a way that I keep friendships warm and close of people who I might not see very often. and. During the water fast, I created voice memos and little check-ins that I would send to different people just to give them a taste of what I was experiencing.

[00:28:54] Faith Laux: And I listened to them again today to prepare for this podcast. [00:29:00] And boy was I mellow. I was so relaxed. My voice was so slow, and. Some of the things that came back that I noticed to people that I would send these check-ins to was, you know, they didn't have cancer, but they, they were hungry to have this experience too, and wanting to do a water fast and. Truly like multiple people were like, faith, how can I sign up? Like I don't know if she's doing it with people who don't have cancer, but it sure would be a great idea because the benefits, like you're saying, like there's. There's multiple layers of healing that are happening with an experience like this.

[00:29:41] Faith Laux: There's the physical layers and there's the emotional layers. There's the energetic layers, the psychic layers, the spiritual layers, and they all matter. And all of us are dealing with sort of a toxic over burdening of our systems in one way or another, most of us, whether it has [00:30:00] formed into a cancerous mass or not. and so. I think it's, it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful tool that you're kind of teaching us about and how to harness this natural way of healing that's been used for a long time. You're like reactivating it within our culture, which I'm grateful for.

[00:30:22] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Well, and absolutely you don't have to have cancer to fast with me. So, you know, I've attracted those people because those people have a reason to like step off their life for 14 days or whatever it is to, to do this. But, Yeah, no, I mean it's absolutely beneficial. I really think that everyone at some point in their life should do like a seven day fast because it's so powerful.

[00:30:47] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And also the thing that people are the most afraid of, of being bored and you know, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? And whatever. I'm like, I love it. That's what you guys, that's why you need to do it. 'cause we don't know how to be [00:31:00] bored.

[00:31:00] Dr. Katie Deming MD: When we were kids, our parents didn't entertain us, right? So it was like, go outside and if you're bored, figure out what to do.

[00:31:07] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But we live in a society where people. Are not comfortable with being bored and actually getting comfortable in that. Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is what it's all about actually in fasting. So, uh, well let me ask you this, because you are a sex and Somatic coach and I know like the one thing is that height sense.

[00:31:29] Dr. Katie Deming MD: This is funny actually, for the listeners that we were on. A community call because in addition to, I have my fasting calls every day at noon. We also have, calls once a week that my greater community are invited back to. And so Faith was in there and there were a bunch of fasts and, and it was so funny because Muck, is it Muck bang?

[00:31:49] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Is that what that came up? This

[00:31:51] Faith Laux: I, that's a word I didn't, I

[00:31:53] Faith Laux: wasn't familiar with. I, I see it asmr.

[00:31:55] Dr. Katie Deming MD: smr. So ass, and I only knew about A SMR because when my girls were young, they like, [00:32:00] were fascinated by it. And I was like, this is so weird. Like, why do people wanna watch Asian women like chomping on food? Like I just, I was like, I, it's gross. I, I just don't, I don't understand it.

[00:32:11] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And then like, you know, the tapping on the glasses and all the stuff, but, and, and it makes sense to me actually. Fasters get. Obsessed with food, like fantasizing about food. And apparently muck bang is something that, that, that you shared with, you shared an A SMR video. And then I guess, uh, Penelope had said, you know, this was something that, uh, you know, is, has a specific name, muck Bang.

[00:32:34] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And they then, then we're sharing like, this is the handle. Go find this guy. He's like, amazing. You can watch him watch, like eat Mexican food or I forget even what it was. But, There's something about the senses that are really heightened, and actually this is weird, this probably surprised people that when people are fasting that actually want to be around people who are eating once you get past a certain place.

[00:32:56] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So like I would say the first probably five days, no, like [00:33:00] people don't wanna be around other people who are eating. But once you get past that and like certainly into like the seven day mark and beyond. People get fascinated with eating and they like wanna go sit with their, their family members who are eating and they're like, they're like smelling it and they're like listening for the crunches.

[00:33:18] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Like all this stuff that would really probably gross you out before when you're eating with family members. And if they were like slurping or like, you know, they were, it just is not something that you would want to experience. But when people are fasting, the experience of food being around it becomes.

[00:33:35] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So different like where the smell of it. Like last night, one of my fosters this morning was like, I put my head literally over the soup, like she was cooking the soup for refeeding and put her whole head like into the pot because she's like, the smell was just divine. So I'm wondering from your perspective, because that's just like our taste, like the, the, the, the, the smell and the [00:34:00] vision and all of that is heightened, but as a sex and somatic coach, like what did you notice after this with, in terms of your body and sensuality and heightened senses with after the fast?

[00:34:12] Faith Laux: Yeah, well, I'll, I'll speak to both during the fast and after the fast. what you said is true, the heightened senses is so real. I got inappropriately close to my family's food to inhale the smells of it. I was shameless about it. I even one morning was really tired and didn't go downstairs, but I could smell breakfast being cooked and I, I called my husband on the cell phone and was like, can you please send our daughter up with her, with her plate of breakfast so I can smell it Like, I'm too tired to come down, but please send her up with her breakfast.

[00:34:45] Faith Laux: And so she came up with her toast and her eggs, fried and butter, and I was just like, oh, thank you so much. And. That was something that stood out to me from the water fast was how many different [00:35:00] avenues of nourishment existed besides food, how I could get fed besides food. And so, yeah, so this a bit like it.

[00:35:09] Faith Laux: So it's, it's not just necessarily with the five senses, but like compliments filled me up. Affirmation, eye contact, touch. Being, like being really connected with somebody else nourished me and fed me, smells fed me for sure. Being outside fed me. And so it was like, you know, if you've got neurons that grow new neural pathways, it was like I grew neural new neural pathways for nourishment, for ways to get nourished.

[00:35:40] Faith Laux: And it's not like. They didn't exist before. Compliments always felt good, but it was like they, it was like the complement neural pathway, like bifurcated and like now had five more receptors where it only had one before. And so there was this, this way that I was able to, receive and ingest nourishment at a higher [00:36:00] level because I was fasting.

[00:36:02] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So is there anything that I haven't asked you about that you think is important to share about your experience?

[00:36:08] Faith Laux: coming into this water fast, I, you know, I had already eliminated the processed foods, the alcohol and the sugar, um, but I was still, you know, eating. Probably a lot of carbs. It was whole food carbs, but it was a lot of carbs.

[00:36:23] Faith Laux: and doing the fast. I think part of what was, what was beautiful about it was that, you know, in addition to watching the Mook Bang and other people eating and just like relishing and like watching people delight in food, I was reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and. You know, retraining my brain as to how to cook this in this more slow way, the way that our ancestors used to cook.

[00:36:52] Faith Laux: and the food guidelines that you and Monica have created are rather narrow [00:37:00] when, you know, compared to the diet that I had a year ago, let's say, which is before all of this happened, And I had slowly started like weaning myself off of these things and being more intentional about what I ate. But, but the window that you gave us, I mean the only grain or carb, I mean not carb, 'cause vegetables are carbs to a certain degree, but the only like grain that you allowed was millet.

[00:37:24] Faith Laux: And I was like, oh my gosh, is she kidding? This is crazy. Only millet. What? You know, and I looked at that list at first and I was intimidated. I was like, how could I possibly do three meals a day with just these things, you know, fish and meat and certain vegetables and millet and fats and, and once I did the water fast and had that pause, that full pause, and then I came back.

[00:37:53] Faith Laux: I was so grateful to be able to be eating anything. And the soups that we [00:38:00] reed with the recipes, the very specific recipes were so delicious and nourishing. They kind of like created a new imprint in my body. I have soup for breakfast most days now, which, you know, I think a year ago I would've been like, what are you crazy soup for breakfast?

[00:38:16] Faith Laux: That's so weird. What? And. It's the norm. And so doing this fast has, you know, one of the benefits was that it gave me the ability to reset my diet in a way that's pretty drastic compared to, you know, I just had friends visit from college, uh, this weekend and figuring out like how I was going to get myself fed and nourished amid the masses of everybody having, you know, their normal, typical thing.

[00:38:44] Faith Laux: It can be challenging. Um. Not impossible, it just takes intention and you know, the ability to advocate for what you need. But I feel like there's a sense of abundance within the [00:39:00] narrow guidelines that I'm able to play with now, and I don't think I would've looked at that. I don't think I would've looked at it that way the first time.

[00:39:08] Faith Laux: You know, if, if, if I didn't do the fast and it was like, okay, and maybe I was just your coachee and you were coaching me and you were like, faith, it's time to change your diet and this is what I want you to do. I probably would've been like, are you kidding me? That's so hard. That's crazy. You want me to what?

[00:39:24] Faith Laux: But after the water fast, it was like, yep, I got it. I'm ready. Let's go. It's beautiful. Let's do it. So I think that that's one of the side benefits that, I didn't know about going in.

[00:39:34] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I think that the water fast is such a powerful metabolic and microbiome reset that. A lot of people come in, not even, they say they want that, but they're not really sure what that means. 'cause I'm like, well, okay, but if we just did this, then we wanna be really intentional about how we bring food back in and that we nourish your microbiome and the way that puts the [00:40:00] appropriate microbes that are gonna boost your immune system.

[00:40:03] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And food is our medicine. And so I know a lot of people when they see my food guide, it feels very restricted and just. So people know the way generally that I teach people to eat after my fasts are, you know, healthy, humanely treated meats. Low oxalate and lectin vegetables, no starches, really low carbohydrate.

[00:40:28] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Um, and then healthy fats and millet is one of the, it's a seed actually that, and if, if we do it, people soak it or sprout it so that we're getting rid of the antinutrients. But that is one thing that came from the dawn that he described, you know, millet as God's food and it's a healing food. So that is on there.

[00:40:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But it is really, if you look at as, as like. A diet, you're like, this is really restrictive. That's what, that's the word that people are like, wow, are you sure Dr. Katie? Like, how long do I have to follow this? Like four weeks? Like what? [00:41:00] You know? And the thing is, is that. The way that I'm wanting people to see food after that fast is food as healing, like food as the medicine, and so we are really using food in a very intentional way to repopulate the microbiome to.

[00:41:20] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Continue that metabolic reset to like keep you so that you don't become insulin resistant and that we're not feeding the cancer. And yes, there's not a lot of fruit on there because there's fructose. But I do let you have dairy, which is cultured, which is a lot of people in the cancer space say no dairy, but cultured dairy is.

[00:41:37] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So there are few things in there that I allow that other people don't, just because if we're able to. Ferment off or culture off the lactose, you know, then you can do some dairy. But, um, I'm glad that you brought that up because it is something that people don't necessarily expect when they come into fasting with me.

[00:41:55] Dr. Katie Deming MD: They're not really looking at overhauling their diet, and some of them don't. Some of them are [00:42:00] like, okay, great. I did the fast. You know, whatever, I'm done. But the ones who are gonna have the best results in terms of their mic, their healing moving forward, and their immune system and all of that, are the ones who start to embrace this idea of food as medicine.

[00:42:13] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And really it is, like you described, I. The way that Monica and I are teaching people how to eat is, is going back. It's like going back a hundred and something years to the way that our grandparents or great-grandparents prepared food because they knew they fermented, you know, vegetables, they, you know, cultured dairy, they.

[00:42:33] Dr. Katie Deming MD: They did these things because they didn't have the same preservation that we have with refrigerators and all this, you know, processed food. And so they had to do those things. But those are, those are the foods that were designed to eat as humans. So I'm glad, thank you for bringing that up. And I think that it is hard for people to make big shifts and sometimes having this like big reset and then also appreciation for the smell of food makes you.

[00:42:59] Dr. Katie Deming MD: [00:43:00] Appreciate this limited list a lot more, so I appreciate you sharing that aspect.

[00:43:05] Faith Laux: yeah. It, it really, it reminds me of the quote, pay, pay the farmer now, or pay the doctor later.

[00:43:12] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Yeah.

[00:43:13] Faith Laux: And so it really, like, we have a new practice in our family of going to the farmer's market at least once a week, and that's where we get the bulk of, that's where I get the bulk of my food that goes into my soups, and it's an entirely different way of shopping.

[00:43:27] Faith Laux: And it's, it's pretty lovely. I'm grateful.

[00:43:29] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I love that.

[00:43:30] Faith Laux: And in terms of aeros and sexuality. it was interesting. I mean, you, you said that we couldn't brush our teeth when I first started fasting, and then midway through you were like, you know what? I'm questioning that. Like, if you have a toothpaste that's clean, you can still brush your teeth. And I was like, okay, great. I'm gonna be able to clean my mouth out. It's on. And, and so, I remember on day six of the water fast. It was a Saturday [00:44:00] and my husband and I created a space to have some time together and just to see what intimacy would be like in this space because I was palpably different than I normally am in everyday consciousness. And that experience that night was incredible. I mean, it was incredible. There was such. A different sense of like, I don't know, kind of like floaty, like, like as if you were, you know, if you could have sex on the magic carpet floating through the clouds or something like that was sort of the vibe. But then it also got grounded and earthy and primal and all the good things.

[00:44:41] Faith Laux: but my ability to just be present with what, like the layer that was present in that moment and the chapter that was right in front of us was. Distinct and I would say lingering. You know, like when I think about the intimacy that we continue to cultivate with each other, and again, I [00:45:00] can't say that it's like, I'm not gonna say that it's all one way, like. That, that now I am forever present with him when we are together and it's, you know, and I've locked into this higher frequency that I'm able to tap into at all times. It's miraculous. No, it's not that, you know, but I do have the ability to. To tap back in to that, that place of conquering time and in the sense of just like I am right here, right now, and at the end of the water fast. the last day was a big, sort of momentous occasion. I wanted to create a ritual at the end, and so I was kind of talking about it and like the soup was cooking and things were getting ready, and my daughter was like. Mama, can I, can I get the ritual ready? Can I go like, make something in our, in your bedroom and make it happen?

[00:45:58] Faith Laux: And I was like, sure. Great. [00:46:00] Yeah. Wonderful. And so she, you know, took some animal cards and crystals and things and, and she wrote on this little paper I Am, and then she wrote, and she made a box and some designs and for me to fill in. And so during the ritual that

[00:46:17] Faith Laux: she facilitated, She asked me what to put in the box, like what word I wanted to put in.

[00:46:24] Faith Laux: Do you want? She was like, you could put in any word like I am brave or I am strong. And I was like, Hmm, okay. That's beautiful. That's a beautiful invitation. And the word that came through was, I am here.

[00:46:36] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Hmm.

[00:46:37] Faith Laux: it was really this like. This tuning fork to presence, to, to actually being here, to not being distracted, numbed out or avoidant of this present moment, but just meeting it full on, like open-hearted and ready.

[00:46:56] Faith Laux: And, and I, I remember judging that word like, wow, this word is too [00:47:00] simple. I am here. Ah, but it felt the most resonant and the most true. And so that, that word is still, that paper is still on my altar. And, and I, I'm, you know, I just, I feel this resonant gratitude still from being able to, to take this journey, you know, to like, I didn't have to travel too far.

[00:47:23] Faith Laux: I just had to travel inward and slow down.

[00:47:26] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I love that Alessandra. What a beautiful, from a 7-year-old. To create that prompt. How beautiful. And then how perfect from basically, and you didn't know, I hadn't described these things that Don Javier had told me afterwards. 'cause that happened after. But that is the secret, honestly, to the healing.

[00:47:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: So simple and so spot on. So I love it. And also, you know, you said something during the fast that I want to share because it, It's really beautiful. So [00:48:00] I had just visited Don Javier, and he had talked to us about how. That we have to protect ourselves and that protecting ourselves is not what we think is protecting ourselves.

[00:48:14] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Our frequency is literally what protects us. The frequency that we hold. If we hold a high frequency of love and peace, literally no illness, we could be exposed to any kind of illness and. Be basically immune. And when I shared that with the group, you said something that I want you to share with the podcast and I Do you remember what you said?

[00:48:43] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Yeah. So share what you said because I think it's such a beautiful way to think about this in terms of frequency protecting us.

[00:48:51] Faith Laux: I'll, I'll just begin by saying like, this notion of frequency really came through, like that was a tuning fork that you kept attuning [00:49:00] us to in all of the daily calls that we had. Frequency, you know, like what is the frequency that you're in? Pay attention to it. Orient to the things that put you into a higher frequency when you're outside, when your feet are on the ground, when the sun is on your skin, when you just have beautiful, blessed clean water that is structured and coherent, flowing through your body.

[00:49:24] Faith Laux: Like all of these things matter in terms of elevating our frequency and. And so as I was reflecting on that, the, the message that came through was, protect your frequency and your frequency will protect you.

[00:49:39] Dr. Katie Deming MD: so that is right there. That is a very powerful quote like that. It's how do you protect your frequency in all the ways? It's all the choices. It's all a choice. Your frequency, how you protect your frequency is who you hang out with. It's how you spend your time. It's whether you're in the hustle, [00:50:00] like you said, it's whether you.

[00:50:01] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Does make the choice to be present with your child when you have that moment to just drop in. It's all of those things, and that in order for the frequency to protect you, you have to protect your own frequency first. So I love that. Protect your frequency and then your frequency will protect you. So thank you so much for sharing that in the group because I was like, ah, that is truly a beautiful quote and I love it.

[00:50:29] Faith Laux: You know, something that I did after the fast in order to sort of stay connected to that space and that. That energy and also that that lesson of frequency was, um, I felt drawn. I was like, what am I gonna do? Am I gonna get a tattoo that doesn't feel resonant? It takes me forever to decide what tattoo to get.

[00:50:49] Faith Laux: Nothing's coming through. And so, um, I got these permanent bracelets in like. Uh, welded soldered on to my [00:51:00] wrist and I got two of them. And they are imbued with this energy of, frequency of the water, fast, of slowing down and remembering and savoring the present moment and getting grounded. So I think it's helpful for us to have reminders.

[00:51:20] Faith Laux: Like I remember, on the Water Fest you were talking about. Blessing our water with gratitude and, and imbuing it with a specific frequency and the specific frequency of healing. And you said that you put thank you notes on all of your faucets and I still haven't done that. I've put thank you notes on my water bottle, which is a good

[00:51:43] Faith Laux: start.

[00:51:44] Faith Laux: Um,but. I still need this need and want to do it around the house. but we need those visual reminders. We need those cues to kind of knock us out of that default, uh, mode where we're like, you know, just sort of buzzing around in our mind and then [00:52:00] dropping into to, to this other reality where we can affect energetically what is going on around us.

[00:52:09] Dr. Katie Deming MD: the one thing Don Javier has said to me is that if you don't do anything else. Bless the water every time you come into contact with water. And he said that since day one. That's not just about water fasting, that is, you know, water is life. And there's a reason why on this podcast we have lots and lots of episodes about water is we are bodies of water.

[00:52:31] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And so really thanking the water for healing and for its life giving is, is so valuable. And it's a way for you to connect with the water and then. the frequency of the water that you want to hold within your body, right? Because you're taking that water in and then you're also holding the frequency of the water in your body.

[00:52:55] Dr. Katie Deming MD: And so in all the ways that we connect with water, [00:53:00] really being intentional about it is something that I have. Like I intentionally, focus on because I, I think that it is really important. And so those sticky notes can be helpful because they just, they're visual reminder every time you come to the sink or you, you know, go to take a bath or turn on, you know, a hose, it's like, oh yeah.

[00:53:18] Dr. Katie Deming MD: It's like thanking the water for everything that it brings to us.

[00:53:23] Faith Laux: Mm-hmm.

[00:53:24] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Well, faith, it has been a pleasure to have you on the show. We'll have to bring you back and talk about. Somatics and sex and all of that on another episode. 'cause I, I know that there's a lot for you that you could share with our audience in that regard.

[00:53:38] Dr. Katie Deming MD: But tell people where they can find you.

[00:53:40] Faith Laux: Sure. So my website is faith laks.com. It's my name and it's a great place to find me. I'm also semi-active on Instagram, the same, you know, at Faith Laks. but since the Water Fest, I haven't really gotten back on with the same [00:54:00] fervor as before. Yeah. So happy to connect with people.

[00:54:04] Dr. Katie Deming MD: I love it. Well, thank you so much for sharing your experience and also thank you for. Are taking a risk to fast with me. It was truly a pleasure to have you in my group and, just to witness the transformation during your experience, so thank you.

[00:54:19] Faith Laux: Hmm. Thank you for doing this. I feel grateful that, that this is the life path that you're choosing and the gift that you're giving to the world.

[00:54:27] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Thank you.

[00:54:28] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Thank you for being here today. Please enjoy a previous episode of Born To Heal, and if you found value in our conversation, please subscribe and share with someone who might benefit. Have questions, drop them in the YouTube comments or message me on Instagram Links are in the episode description.

[00:54:46] Dr. Katie Deming MD: Remember, just like me, you were born to heal.

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