My first ever fast was a five day, consumed half a pizza and several slices of cheesecake. Do not recommend! Have also tried Nashville hot chicken. Taught myself the true meaning of pain.
Small bowl of plain whole fat greek yogurt with nuts or granola, some berries, whatever you want. Just don’t go nuts with the carbs. After that I find that a salad bowl from chipotle or cava is perfect.
Basically: don’t overeat, try to get probiotics and fiber, try to minimize carbs.
I order food before the fast even starts, to be delivered the exact minute the fast ends.
My go-to is usually phô with spring rolls. Sip the broth first, then have some noodles, then the spring rolls and rest of the phô. Packed with nutrients, easy on the stomach, and satiates the craving for simple carbs and high fat. Also a big fan of properly made ramen, or dumpling soup, or any type of soup with some snacks on the side. (For the record, these aren’t normally things I have in my day-to-day life.)
Also a big fan of miso soup, followed by sticky rice, followed by enough sushi and sashimi for a family of four.
Broth. Then carbs. Then fats, with some protein.
Pre-ordering it is important to me. If I wait until the fast is about to conclude, I’m going to end up with pizza + fries + onion rings + wings + beer, so it’s easier to make healthier decisions upfront. Also helps me not break the fast early, by having something specific to look forward to, at a specific time.
…….then it gets followed up a few hours with anything/everything in the house that’s sweet. Frosting straight from the container, an Oreo pie crust on its own, Ricola cough drops, I don’t care. Turn into a savage. But I don’t recommend that step.
For some reason I’m always craving an apple at the end of a fast so that’s the first thing I eat. A few hours later, I’ll have a salad and/or some hard-boiled eggs. That’s worked pretty well for me.
Though one time I did break it with a plate of nachos and surprisingly I was totally okay. I think the key is not eat too much at once. And try not to eat too many carbs because seeing the water weight on the scale the next day is very depressing.
I do well with a singular boiled egg with a small piece of fruit or a few grapes (by small I mean something the size of a small tangerine). Wait a couple hours until I get hungry again then have some more fruit. Wait a couple more hours and then it feels like my digestive system is awake enough to eat normal, but small, portions.
Today I ended my 30h~ fast successfully and feeling really good.
I needed some extra energy for martial arts training but was worried about too much carbs in quickly, so I started with some minced meat + veggies I had in the fridge, and 1h after it had kicked in nicely, had a banana and an apple for quick energy supply. Went to training and felt great, no fatigue and no stomach issues at all. Worth mentioning that it was my first 24h+ fast and I was surprised about the results (I did it mostly for alleviating some gastritis symptoms I was having and it worked great!)
A well balanced, meat and 2 veg meal will do, extra salt.If you want to kick start the stomach, eat a couple of rice cakes or a piece of fruit to get your digestive juices going about 30-45 mins before your main meal.
Im guessing something liquid ie coconut water (raw n fresh not store bought… i recommend the cocojack to open it)….ORHomemade bone broth.OrMono meal juicy fruits ie pineapple, papaya, watermelon
**edit whatever it is please have it frozen ahead of time, ideally in ample amounts, (not sure if u can freeze young thai coconuts though or just the water UPDT i hear u can freeze the water but dont refreeze) it sucks having to jump through hoops post fasting.
I’ve been doing 20:4 fasts for a couple weeks now and my wife usually just makes a well balanced meal hitting a lot of food groups. We have a bunch of these old hello fresh recipe cards and she has me pick my favorites, that’s kind of fun.
After that I fill the rest of my 4 hours with whiskey or beer usually. Maybe like a dessert near the end of the 4 hours depending on how I feel. One of the only reasons I keep a 4 hour eating window is so I can knock back a few beers if I want. I’m never hungry enough for another meal yet I can afford some luxuries. This seems like it is sustainable. I feel pretty damn good.
I break my 60 hour fasts right after a hard weights workout with an extra-proteiny version of my usual weekday morning shake (1 scoop kachava, 3 tbsp pumpkin seed protein, a frozen banana, 1 cup assorted frozen berries, assorted hippy-ass mushroom and spice supplements).
I have a fantasy whereby I break it with some miso soup followed an hour thereafter by brown rice, goma, and some steamed/fermented veg. I suspect that wouldn’t give me the post-workout protein boost I usually look for though.
I’ve been IFing for 2 years. A 24 hour fast doesn’t make my stomach do anything weird, and I don’t need electrolytes to get through it. I usually fast starting after dinner, though, and so tough it through dinner time on Day 2 leading to a 36 hour-fast, which gives better weight loss results. Sometimes for “dinner” on Day 2 I have a flavored tea with sparkling water if I can’t stop thinking of food—I’m the cook in the house—which breaks up the ketosis but doesn’t add any calories.
My big obstacle with IF has been sticking to my basal metabolic rate (BMR, around 1340 kCals for me) or total daily expended energy level (TDEE, about 1730 kCals) after I stop fasting. If I don’t overeat, I don’t lose progress with weight loss made by fasting.
I try to eat high fiber and high protein foods because they make me feel fuller. I can’t go crazy with fats becoming they give me reflux. So for example, the morning after a 36-hour fast I feel like I’m starving and although I crave a Big Breakfast from McDonald’s, I start with an apple (high fiber, sweetness makes me happy) and then have steel cut oats with dried fruit and nuts with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. If I snack, it is only on whole corn tortilla chips or low fat popcorn, occasionally with some caramel corn and nuts thrown in if my sweet tooth is acting up. I try to have a salad or CAVA bowl for lunch. I try to eat a high protein dinner with a side veg—tonight is an air fryer spit-roasted tenderloin with a mozzarella+ tomato+ basil salad. Dessert is a cookie with a latte with sugar (I otherwise only drink black coffee).
At the moment I’m doing 48-hr fasts 2x/week, two “up” (post-fasting, as above) days, and one OMAD 22:2. I’m losing about 1/3-1/2 lb/week. I’m rarely hungry anymore, even on my “up” days, and I crave carbs less.
First off, awesome job! I have been doing OMAD with a 24 hour fast for a few weeks. I made the mistake of going to a restaurant and ordering lobster mac & cheese with cheesy bread. Big mistake. I ate all of the lobster mac & cheese and then I became sick. I would suggest starting slow and not making yourself eat everything that is put in front of you! I don’t know if you are keto; eat whatever every you want, or whole foods after you fast. Start with something easy on your stomach , such as a soup or some lean meat and steamed vegetables. I cannot wait to do a fast that is longer. What were your results?
For 24 hours, I eat whatever I want. For longer fasts I break them with some turnip greens, wait about 30 minutes then eat the biggest porterhouse steak I can find. Never any issues. And I don’t even like turnip greens.
Anything high in a variety of nutrients that is low carbs. Eggs is a good example, but shellfish would be #1. Some fish might be #2. Eggs is probably third best. But technically it comes down to what you’re nutrient deficient in. Some things will be healthier for you than it will be for me.
Low fat, no sugar. Just plain chicken breast, bone broth, white fish or a zero sugar plant based protein shake. I use pea protein (sun warrior) then I eat a few bites of chicken, vitamin water, then move onto a real meal hours later where I get complex carbs, veggies
I always focus on lean protein and easier to digest veg, but 24hrs isn’t long enough to where you need to worry about GI upset anyways, I mostly focus on not spiking my blood sugar so I can continue to benefit from the short fasting period for longer.
Once you start going past 48hrs that’s where you want to ease into foods, starting with some bone broth 30min-1hr before an actual meal.
Once you start getting to 72hrs you need to actually start being careful, especially if you haven’t been consuming salt/electrolytes during the fast as refeeding syndrome risk goes up and can cause a dangerous imbalance or shift of electrolytes in the body.
After a 60 hr fast, I normally go to Panera Bread to get a Value Duet meal (not advertising Panera here). I get a small soup and a small sandwhich. Seems to work pretty well. It’s not too much food, and varied enough.
My go-to is bone broth. when I am not fasting I make approx 5L of it and freeze it in 330ml portions. best way to prepare your body for food.
I usually do 72-120h fasts, slowly drink a cup of hot bone broth. a couple of hours later follow with two hard boiled eggs, a few hours later return to my regular keto diet.
I usually plan breaking my fast after going to the gym, which I find easier while still fasting (rather than after breaking the fast), then get home and drink my bone broth and so on