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