Alternating fasting

Hello! As we all know, Filonov advises against alternating dry fasting and water fasting. But do you think it is really so dangerous? For example, what if I dry-fast for 3 days, then water-fast for one day, then dry-fast for another 3 days, and so on until I reach 12-14 days in total? And on the days when I water fast, I would take minerals. Would this still be harmful and dangerous? I have let myself go completely in this pandemic and feel like crap and would like to "cleanse" myself by fasting longer. However, I don't want to water fast for a longer period of time, the water fasting only serves as a bridge here so that I don't break the fasting process between the dry fasting days. I am very familiar with fasting itself, my longest water fast lasted 21 days and my longest dry fast lasted 4 and a half days. I have also been fasting on and off since I was 17 and am now 27.

Answer

I did a alternate day water fast a couple summers ago and it was awesome.

I would eat OMAD on my eating day, 1 meal at 12PM then fast 36 hours and eat again at 12PM. I ate “dirty keto” and would literally just eat a big bowl of meat and cheese. Roughly 3000-3500 calories on my eating day.

Side note: I’ve never understood/agreed with the 500 calorie thing people add to alternate day fasting, if you’re eating food you’re not fasting.

Anyways, I felt great I would workout on my fasted days cause I had more energy than my feeding days. The only downside is it’s hard to get into habit of it in the beginning. That and you get a little groggy after eating a big meal.

I lost fat and retained muscle mass, if I hadn’t injured my shoulder I think I would kept up with it.

Answer

I think there are no black and white answers to questions like this. It depends a lot on the individual and their current status, how accustomed to fasting their body is, maybe the weather and their workload or stressors at the moment as well. What works well for one may not be a good fit for another so respect your body response and act accordingly.

The main issues I see with various fasting plans are people trying to go from zero to prolonged or more advanced fasting. Some can muscle through it, but for many, it can set you up for failure, and then feeling disheartened if the goal is to get on a regular schedule.