Hello :) I am a lover of the fasting lifestyle but the majority of fasts I’ve completed were 2 days long each time. The longest I’ve gone without food was 6 days but I really want to challenge myself and fast for two weeks this time. The most difficult part of fasting for an extended period of time is having the willpower to keep going and remembering my goal. Does anyone have some solid advice for holding onto a long fast until it’s all said and done? I have some knowledge about fasting but I clearly don’t know it all haha.
Focus on the results and what you will gain from it rather than how many days you have left. When I fasted for 2 weeks, my last meal before I started was so much to make me not wanna even look at food, Pelagrinos are your friend, stay busy, clear any snacks or food u like out of the house, schedule it in your favor, and remember you are doing this for you. At times of weakness remember you are being tested and are strong enough to overcome. Also, I find once I complete a period of time fasting, it’s much easier the second time. For example you may find your first 6 days easier since you’ve done it before. Think of the pride and accomplishment at the end. It’s a feeling like no other! You got this.
I understand what you are going through, I can’t even make a day. 2 weeks might seem aggressive. I honestly believe rolling 48’s or even pushing it just one more day, should be more then enough to see great results. If you have the body fat, go for it!
Try doing it with a support group. I was too skittish to complete more than 18 hours before I went to a fasting retreat in Nepal. I was with a supporting community, medical supervision, and a weening off/on diet (vegetarian -> juice day -> fasting 5 days -> juice day -> vegetarian -> whatever I wanted). After having completed this I feel ready to conquer it solo and have completed multiple fasts on my lonesome.
Will power isn’t a issue for me, more so my body adjusting from glucose to ketones for energy so like by day 7 I feel normal but because I’ve spent 6 days feeling lethargic I don’t feel like going to day 8.
So I’ve heard, going on Keto for 7 days before the fast (while also doing intermittent fasting) will resolve this exhaustion. Also exercising your body by throwing in a few 36 hour fasts in the upcoming weeks can also help a lot.
I shall be doing an 11 day fast later in the year with this methodology, I do this for chronic illness and am pretty slim so I think 11 is as much as I should go.
Find something to focus on and fast when you can reasonably stay focused most of the time. For me at least when I fall into something I enjoy or that is challenging but not irritating, the desire for food falls away. Hunger isn’t an issue for me, but lust for oral pleasure is powerful. Distraction helps.