Hi all,
First time posting, so looking for some advice. I’ve been interested in fasting and have researched it for the past few years, but have never gone longer than 16/8.
Recently, I’ve been having some serious stomach issues- waking up in the morning with a burning sensation in my gut and back pain. I have horrible gas daily. I’ve also been breaking out in acne like I’ve never had before.
I want to try to do a proper water fast, but since I’m not overweight, I’m a little nervous. I get blood sugar crashes very easily.
Any advice? Many thanks. Apologies if this topic has been covered here.
try starting with an elimination diet before you dive into fasting. what does your diet look like right now?
edited to add that i also fast (36-48 hours once a week and 20:4 the rest of the time) at a normal weight and i find myself having to consume highly calorically dense foods (nuts and seeds mostly) to maintain my weight. extended fasting might not be for you if you’re trying to maintain. it’s difficult to eat enough calories to make up for the deficit created through fasting while also eating clean.
If your issue is stomach issues, fasting won’t solve anything. You’ll need to look at your diet and try to pinpoint your food triggers. Trying an elimination diet and keeping a thorough food/symptom diary will help you more than a fast.
Hi I’m currently a healthy weight and on a 5 day water fast after previously attempting a 5 day water fast twice in the past and failing. (I do not have an eating disorder). Based on what I’ve read from Valter Longo, David Sullivan, Rhonda Patrick etc. It doesn’t seem useful for stomach issues but I could be wrong. It hasn’t been studied much. I’d definitely see a doctor to make sure there aren’t any issues with you doing it that you don’t know about. I do wonder if it’s harder to fast at a normal weight. I read other people accounts and they seem to have hardly and side effects but I’ve had them all (except this time round). Recommend you look into salt/potassium supplementation, taking a multivitamin for a period of time before attempting fasting for real. If begin with baby steps of extending an IF protocol longer and longer until you can do a whole day, then go from there. You may not require a long fast to help with your issues