For some reason I kept reading from people online and even “educational” videos that after 2-3 days the hunger either completely goes away or is greatly lessened. This feels super misleading in my experience, I did push past the 3rd day in the hopes that it would be true and the hunger would lessened but it hasn’t. I get hunger pangs that are worse on day 5 than any day previous. I’m drinking lots of water, taking electrolytes, etc.
So where does this come from? Maybe it’s different for everyone, maybe some lose the hunger after 7+ days, but it really feels like people just spread this misconception to convince others that fasting is easier than it truly is? I’m glad I pushed past 3 days, but days 4 and 5 have been brutal in comparison to the first 3, a complete opposite experience to what most claim.
My hunger is more noticeable day 1-2 . Days 3-7 it becomes more of a constant acknowledgment that simply exists . It’s hard to explain in general terms but I’d liken it to desire to eat versus the feeling of needing to eat on days 1-2.
7 day fasts are as long as I’ve managed to date.
Fasting is like anything else in life , the more you do it the better you will get at it. I think you’ll find your next fast is less grueling.
Many of the people you see mention it’s easy are experienced tasters.
That’s kinda been my experience too. I find the first 3 days somewhat easy, but days 4-6? Nightmare. It feels like I’m hungry out of my mind and completely dead on my feet, even with electrolytes and plenty of hydration. I really do start to feel better after the 7 day mark, though. Imo fasting is a lot more individualized than people make it out to be.
My experience is similar.
I find the hunger the first two days is different from day 3 onwards- it’s a more immediate hunger the first few days and it’s hard to distract myself from it. After day 3, it’s a different hunger, but I’m definitely still hungry and often get very intense hunger pangs. The only thing that makes it slightly easier for me later in the fast is that I’m mentally so out of it I don’t fully process the hunger at all times or just get used to it’s presence lol.
I think people who say they’re not hungry after a few days or “it gets easier” are full of it or just wired differently. Same goes for feeling more focused and clear-headed, I never feel that- I’m just sad, depressed and hungry throughout.
In my experience there’s a distinct difference between hunger pangs and mental cravings. The former persists for a few minutes (or more) a couple times a day and nothing will lessen it. Cravings however can be demonic little buggers that are more potent than any hunger pangs but distracting myself will cause them to instantly dissipate. There’s no telling when something will trigger them, though
Hunger pangs are just something I got better at acknowledging. Oh, my body is producing hunger sensations again. And I just let them do their thing. It’s usually only a small block of time before my body decides we won’t, in fact, be eating and then they go away
Mental cravings lessen for me by a lot if I go into fasts on a clean diet without a lot of carbs. Also exercise tends to kill these completely for me for a good 2-3 hours
Good luck and I hope that you’re able to build your own strategy to become comfortable in your fasts
>it really feels like people just spread this misconception to convince others that fasting is easier than it truly is?
Finally someone that is spelling out what I was thinking the whole time
>I’m glad I pushed past 3 days, but days 4 and 5 have been brutal in comparison to the first 3, a complete opposite experience to what most claim.
I made the exact same experience, if you have insuline resistance (80% have) and reduced leptin sensitivity (usually comes along with it) it takes much much longer to dive through that dark valley before seeing the light of day, just remember you’re like a pioneer, doing something that most people around you have never even tried for a single day so keep going, hunger is your friend.
At least in my experience, hunger pangs are strong day 1, strongest day 2, and then lessen starting on day 3. I still get them, and they certainly can be bad, but day 2 has always been the worst for me.
That seems to be the case for most people. Fasters often make the assumption that if it worked for them it has to work for everyone. I am on day 12 of 21, being diligent with electrolytes (2 tsp salt, 1 tsp NoSalt, 400 mg magnesium), but I didn’t start feeling better until around day 5 or 6. I could barely get off the couch days 3, 4, and 5. I still have low physical energy, but at least I am able to be mentally productive.
Hunger will always be there at that point. We get past hunger simply from will power and the fact we know we can eat at any time without dying. Doing a 5 to 7 day fast should be something done once in a while. Doing 23 to 24 hour fasts more often is way easier. Extended fasts help lose weight but you also lose your damn mind.
Are you exercising enough to justify taking electrolytes? I personally look to anywhere from day 7 to day 9 for the hunger to completely go away and this is verified by the world’s leading expert on fasting. Large quantities of Vitamin C also can assist greatly. The worse that can happen with large quantities of Vit C is that you past bowel tolerance and piss and shit a lot. Great for temp weight loss. By large dose I am talking plus 12 grams per day.
It definitely does go away at some point but for me it took a few different fasts and I have been doing IF for a while now so it got easier over time. Truly though I always want to get something to eat when I fast not due to hunger but I always miss having something tasty