I’ve never been able to go past 73 hours. I hit that number and just pass out and require medical attention. The last time that happened, I think the emergency doctor said my blood glucose level was 40 but I can’t be too sure considering the state I was in. They also spent hours trying to withdraw blood and explained to my friends it was because I was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. And between 50-73 hours I feel like death. My mind is fogged up, my words jumbled and speech rambling. Those who see me during that time comment I sound delirious. I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for around 2 years now. What am I doing wrong?
Eta: I’m 20F with no history of any chronic illnesses that would interfere with me fasting.
What you’re describing does not sound like healthy behavior at all. Why try to push past 72 hours? At 20 years old, what are you really hoping to get out of longer fasts?
Be careful not to obsess over fasting too much. Eating disorders are no joke.
What are you doing wrong? Probably… fasting. Literally why are you fasting?
If a doctor says you’re suffering from malnutrition, that didn’t happen in 3 days of fasting. Figure out if you have an eating disorder like anorexia or if you eat like shit in general.
With dehydration… are you skipping water or something? May be short in electrolytes and/or water intake. It sounds like there is no way you should have started fasting. I recommend a therapist to discuss eating disorders. Learn to listen to your body and ‘hmm, maybe I should eat something’ is a preferable first step before you end up in the ER.
But seriously why are you actually fasting? What’s your body fat percentage? Or your height/weight? You don’t provide enough relevant details for someone to give you a solid answer outside general stuff I said above.
Edit to add: after thirty second in your post history: JFC don’t fast. Please work on your strategies for handling your shit and talk to someone. Beautiful life ahead of you and good luck in medical school. Fasting probably isn’t a useful tool for you right now.
You should talk with your doctor about your low blood sugar problems. My mom has blood sugar issues, and it is not uncommon for her to wake up with a blood sugar in the 50s.
Long fasts may not be right for you. Maybe just sticking with the principle of not eating all the damn time and sticking with just three meals a day is the best you can do and remain healthy.
You may consider getting a blood glucose meter to keep track of where your sugar is at and how it reacts to different meals or fasting times.
I once did 4 days because at the time I was learning about gluconeogenesis and ketone body production and thought it would be cool to see how the energy difference is and so I worked put for those 4 days and fasted too. Was kinda fun lol