I have some vacation time I can use, I can be off for twelve days
Do you think I should do a ten day water fast. I’ve done before but it’s been over ten years
I personally can’t imagine taking vacation time just to not eat, but you do you.
Some people say you need half the time you fasted to recover from your fast. I think that’s extreme, but you definitely need to take it slow and especially stay low carb at first when breaking a week or longer fast. It’s also important to keep up on electrolytes during the fast. The problems if you don’t, and/or if you break a long fast with insulin-spiking carbs, come from what insulin does. Having been so low for so long, insulin suddenly goes up with the incoming carbs, which drives electrolytes out of your blood and into your cells, potentially causing heart and brain problems. It’s not likely in an otherwise healthy person who only fasted for 10 days, but better safe than sorry.
Personally I have done several 10+ day fasts, my longest being 19 days. I usually break it with nuts and cheese, a little at a time, over a couple hours. Then I’ll usually have some eggs and sausage/bacon. That’s typically all I’ll do the first day. I stick to a similar diet for a couple days, gradually upping the quantity and adding in non-starchy veggies. I usually only act this carefully for 2-3 days after breaking the fast before returning to my normal diet.