Completed my longest fast to date! Started Friday after lunch, and ended today, Tuesday, at dinner time.
Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday, and a Holiday Monday were a breeze! Home alone with no plans I was able to putter, then drink coffee, then rest, then have a green tea, then toss back electrolytes, then go for a walk, then crash on the couch, without a care in the world and very little in the way of stomach grumblings. Got lots done around the house and was very relaxed overall. I’ve been keto for quite a while now, so I think this helps with my transition.
Today was the last day of my fast, and the first time I’ve gone to work while fasting. I will not be repeating this experiment of fasting at work ever again. I was half asleep, confused, dazed, moody, unproductive, restless, impatient, headachy and ravenous all day long. Although I brought my salted water and supplements with me to work, they just didn’t hit the same. Nothing I did could take the edge off my painful growling stomach. Every minute of the day was painful to sit through. I couldn’t just go out for an hour long stroll to quiet my mind, or lay down for a snooze.
I managed to make it home without caving, and killed time until hour 100 at which point I heated up a mug of bone broth, sipped it slowly over three course of an hour. Then I heated up a plain baked chicken breast, and ate it slowly over an hour along with a litre of water. Lean protein, no carbs, I was following all the rules and being so good! No problems right?
Then… Like a slap to the face the insatiable cravings hit. I generally only get evening munchies once a month, the night before my period, but otherwise I’m not a snacker either in the evenings or between meals. But tonight! Oh tonight! I wanted everything and anything!!! I wanted whole blocks of cheese and to bake myself a cake and then to order three pizzas to myself! I settled for much less, about 500 calories worth of keto-friendly snacks (aka not healthy but not going to drive an insulin spike) and now I feel so gross and undisciplined for having ruined something I had done so well at the past few days. I’m disappointed in myself.
What exactly did you ruin? I’m confused.
You hit your 100 hours. You had bone broth slowly. You had chicken slowly and then you had some low calorie snacks because you haven’t eaten in a 100 hours and your body is hungry.
Try not to read too much into a single experience.
Did you dial in your electrolytes and drank enough water? What you describe sounds like you were low on those.
I’m on my 6th 96 hour fast. I start them after the evening dinner on Sunday and finish with dinner Thursday, so I fast through most of my work week. From my experiences so far:
I’m blessed with a strong stomach so I break my fast with a full meal. And I mean a regular wholesome I may have ribs and onion rings or fried chicken with fries meal. I get full; full enough that I don’t eat again until either lunch or dinner the next day. After that I usually eat normal (clean, no more ribs) until the start of my next fast on Sunday.
If anything my mind is clear. I don’t get hungry while fasting but I get plenty of hunger while on my eating days.
You’ll find that over time, you’ll adapt and come to an awareness of what works for you and what doesn’t. I’ve been practicing fasting for 40 years. Metabolic Switching is effortless, and I never get headaches, lethargy, etc. I’ve done water only fasting for a week at a time while working in the Arctic in Alaska with no drama. It’s just a matter of putting in the time and not expecting too much too soon. Listen to your body and what it needs 😉