I (34F) did a 5 day fast to try to prepare my body and mind for an upcoming birthday (combined with mindful activities like meditation and journaling). I broke my fast at dinner with Sushi, and I have had an incredibly bad stomach ache since then. It feels like indigestion, like the food just stays in my stomach and sits there for hours and hours without digesting.
I feel like this has started to happen to me more and more frequently. I used to do OMAD, but had to stop because I constantly wasn’t sleeping with stomach aches over night.
I have tried adding probiotics and digestive enzymes to my regimen, with out much success. I have also tried sipping on apple cider vinegar, or taking apple cider vinegar capsules, but that did not help either.
Is there something I’m missing? Does this happen to anyone else? I haven’t seen much in the literature about it.
I don’t want to have to give up IF, it’s one of the only things that I have been able to sustainably add into my busy life and a new mom to help maintain a healthy weight.
After extended fasts, I usually slowly start eating; first with broths, juices and then high water content fruits and veggies and then eating more solid foods when I feel my digestive system “waking back up.” Your digestive system slows way down when it’s not actively working and you kinda threw some heavy food in straight away that it wasn’t prepared for.
After a long fast refeeding is a multi step process. 1. Have some fats/liquids (Avocado, nut butter, bone broth) to prepare the digestive system first. 2. Then have some steamed veggies to get the digestive system going gently. 3. Then have regular food in next 1-2 hours.
I once ate too much too soon after a 48 hours fast and got dizzy and had stomach ache.
Any extended fast needs to be broken very gently. You may want to see a doctor if it persists.