Questions on fasting duration

If you are seeking to lose a substantial amount of weight like 50-60 pounds, would it be better to do shorter periods of fasting in a 18-6/ OMAD/ 36-48-60-72 hour fasts in a rolling fashion, or would extended fasts of something like 4 days, 7 days, 10 days , 14 days or even longer be better for fat loss / reducing the potential for loose skin/ best muscle-sparing? Or in other words, Would it be more advantageous to do shorter fasts of under 72 hours consecutively to lose weight, or would doing longer fasts of 4-14 days as long as you feel well during the fasts and have a proper refeed followed by another extended fast within several days. Would the body begin to adapt (ie. hit harder plateaus)and lose weight/ fat slower as you get closer to the goal weight ( Say the last 10-20 pounds) with extended fasts repeatedly versus having done shorter fasts of under 120 hours in a rolling fashion? Basically, would it be better to do shorter fasts for the initial 40-50 pounds and then transition to extended fasts to lose the last 10-20 pounds? or some combination of all these throughout the process? Such as 14 day fast, then do a couple of weeks of rolling OMAD, 38s, 72s etc, followed by another extended fast of 7-14 days. Any input is appreciated. Personal experiences, scientific studies you may be aware of etc to share would be great to see. Thanks everyone!

Answer

I think the protocol that you can stick with for the long term is the best one for you.Personally, I started with 16/8, ramped up as high as rolling 46s, but decided 23.5/.5 is the most sustainable for me, so have been doing that for a while now.

Answer

The absolute best benefit you can get through fasting is a reassessment of your relationship with food. It would be harder for you to have that epiphany if you are focusing all your energy in struggling to get through an arduous long fast. This is how the absolutely best fasting protocol (if there were such a thing) would not be the one best suited for you.

Personal story time! It used to be that I could not be hungry at any time; if I was hungry it was time to eat. It also used to be that I was seriously hooked on snacking; most afternoons at work I would have two or three so called healthy snacks that were just to kill boredom and to take mental breaks. After my fasts I got to see my demons naked and they were really not that hard to deal with at all. My snacking is gone. My impulse to eat when I was hungry is under control. My impulse eating in general is under control. All because after a few fasts I could see that all my hunger was not even a physical thing but emotional eating.

So; you want to lose a bunch of weight? Fasting is probably the fastest and easiest way to accomplish that but more importantly to help you fix your diet. Start fasting and simply look at the timing that best work for you and your lifestyle. if you get to OMAD give a 4 day fast a try; there is no point of doing 2 days for your first long fast, by then your appetite should be properly closed and may as well do 4.