There seems to be a point when the dullness and hunger decreases, when was this for you?
Really the dullness never stops.
It’s a mental game. The physical hunger goes away within days, but how utterly boring it all gets and how much your increased focus shines a light on your boredom is quite real.
After 30-ish hours (i usually do OMAD so I am hungry every 24 hours. lol ) after that food is not even a thought. Got to 80 hours once and stopped mainly because I wanted something to eat while I watched a movie but wasn’t hungry at all. If you take your electrolytes you should feel fine and is mostly all in the mind anyway. 95% of the time (after a certain hour) will be fighting your brain, not your body.
Will try to 5 or 7-day fast sometime this year.
I think the trick is to train your body and mind for those long fasts. Do OMAD for a while and then slowly start increasing the hours. That’s what I did, I did OMAD for most of 2022 (despite a few breaks due to stress) which make it easier to do 52 hours and then 80 hours.
Usually the first 3-4 days are the hardest for me so I start feeling better on day 5.
Im on day 8 of a 21 day fast right now and I honestly didn’t start feeling even halfway decent until today. I did a long walk yesterday and I think maybe that helped turn things around but the whole first week was full of non stop sleeping and feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Idk why this one was so different compared to others I’ve done.
It’s different every time I do it. I’m out of practice though.
There’s definitely some discipline and endurance involved. I’m averaging about 24 hours. I’m keeping around that so that I don’t feel like i’m pushing myself hard to always do more. After a 24 hour fast I feel calmer and more rested. I probably will do longer fasts in the future but am happy with what i have for now.
72 hours, at this point I forget I haven’t eaten and feel so energetic. That feeling lasts as long as the fast does. I will stipulate that I use optifast for my fasts so I do consume 600 calories a day. My first fast was 16 weeks and since I usually do a 4 week to 6 week maintenance fast each year
Just being honest, for me, the hunger never really went away my last fast and I fasted for 16 days. I hope if I try again, it will be different. Had some health issues that arose that I’m trying to take. Are of before I attempt another one tho.
If I can just keep my mind completely occupied with things that don’t make me think about food, and stay steady on the electrolytes, caffeine, B12, and multivitamins, I find the whole experience to be pretty easy.
Back when I first started this practice it was a different story. I used to get physical hunger cues all the time, but not anymore.
Just gotta stay busy!
I believe it is around the 24 hrs mark. I guess it’s individual and circunstancial. I’m doing a 60 hrs now, am past 45 and I had possibly just one wave of measurable appetite some time around that mark.