I’ve been doing 18:6 fasting for the past two weeks moving up from 16:8 and now I’m starting to notice it’s been more like an average of 19:5 because I haven’t been particularly hungry when 2 o’clock rolls around. This is giving me some confidence that maybe an extended fast isn’t just a fantasy for me.
I want to try to work my way up to a 4 day fast by the end of Lent. So what are the things you wish you knew before trying an extended fast?
That hunger doesn’t grow, it comes in waves. All you have to do is either ride the waves or distract yourself from them. I do rolling 36-42 hr fasts and I know my body well enough to recognize that my “twitchy” time is between 20-24 hours when my hunger rises. I went to bed last night dreaming of what I was going to break my fast with, woke this morning with zero hunger whatsoever! And honestly the more you do it, the easier it gets!
Two things that I wasn’t prepared for:
Best of luck on your fasting journey 😊
That it’s ok to take a while to find your favourite fasting window. I do ADF or OMAD, depending on my mood and physical well-being. I did a few longer fasts, but I dislike how I felt on them, so I avoid them now.
I find extended fasts rough personally even when I drink plenty of water and supplement electrolytes. Around 3 days is my limit. I recently started alternate day fasting and it’s been amazing. I eat dinner then nothing the next day and then have an eating day (not going nuts) then back to fasting. I try to eat keto on my eating days but sometimes I don’t, it depends how I feel. I struggled for ages trying to get through the 3 day fasts and ADF is cake. It’s sustainable for me and my extra weight is dropping. I wish I’d known earlier.
That it was much easier than I’d ever imagined. Even after doing extended fasts repeatedly for months, if I quit I question my resolve to do it again and am continually amazed that it’s not that difficult. But, I have a powerful reason - not something trivial like weight loss or body shape, but survival as my weight nearly killed me for real. I no longer need a cardiologist or pulmonologist and can walk more than a block and even up stairs. Yesterday I completed an 11 mile hike over a mountain 42 hours into a fast.
The negative effect it would have on my recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
I had done a lot of research and reading on this forum but I don’t recall seeing anything about the effect of fasting on diabetes.
The fasting actually made my diabetes worse by putting a lot of extra stress on my pancreas.
When I had a physical 6 months ago my numbers were way off. I got diagnosed, saw a dietitian, and started a regular eating routine with low carbs. Add to that the exercise that I was already doing and my numbers are fantastic now.
I won’t be able to lose weight as fast as I was while fasting but now I’ve got my diabetes under control.
Fasting actually made my diabetes worse.
I think those starting fasting should know to start small and progress slowly. I actually did it the right way unintentionally. First I was keto for a few months, then I learned about fasting and cut out breakfast and snacking, then I learned about OMAD and did that. From that point 2-5 day fasts became easier. It really is quite hard to go all in at once. Also you always want to have an extra tool at your disposal if you hit a wall.
Also, for me personally, fasting when I have free time was a big no-no. I was only able to complete an extended fast of 5+ days when I was working. For many of us eating is not out of hunger but due to boredom. If you’re anything like me, you have to be busy!
Going vegan for 3-4 days before a long fast is a game changer. No more body aches or fatigue. All the fats and nutrients from eggs, dairy, etc actually put your body into a kind of withdrawal state so if you can get this out of the way before you ever begin the fast then you’ll feel a lot better in the fast.
A lot of people are mentioning the loose stools. This makes sense since your body still needs to get rid of waste and dead blood cells etc, but I’m currently on a diet that’s working for me where I drink water first thing when I wake up, drink all through the day, don’t eat anything until I make a protein shake with 2 bananas and some milk for my dinner. Finish the night off with a healthy serving of water before bed. And repeat.
Once a week I will eat a solid meal. And it takes a week for it to go through me. And I struggle to get it out. And I don’t know how that’s possible