Seems like there is a consensus here that the first 48 hours are the worst, and then somewhere between 48 hours and 60 hours, the hunger drops off and people feel better. If that’s true, is a 48 hour fast sort of the ‘worst of all worlds’ - living through the period of most suffering but stopping just short the relief?
conditions that help me through 48 hr fasts:
– maintenance calories, but filling up on starch, fiber, salads, proteins evening before the fast. if i am so full that i lose my appetite the following day, im fasting. no misery for the duration of the fast.
– being fat adapted. when done long enough, keto causes strong appetite loss, making it easy to sometimes just slide into a 48 hr fast without trying.
– doing low carb for 3 - 7 days. its not as good as being fat adapted, but at this point cravings are low and make it easy to start a 48-er with minimal hunger and maybe a little bit of effort. there may or may not be discomfort, but its nowhere near as uncomfortable as starting a fast with a ton of glucose in the system.