I’m attempting to do a 10 day fast in order to reach mental clarity. How was your experience? Any differences in mood?
I’m curious to read the responses. I’ve fasted for a couple years now, a lot of extended fasts, the longest 6 days (though many 2-3 day fasts and ADF). I’ve never experienced the burst of energy or mental clarity people talk about… though my need for weekend naps disappeared 😃
When I fasted for 16 days, by day 10 and on I was “floating “ so to speak. I walked the streets and I saw people but didn’t see them. It’s like nothing phased me. I felt like I had tapped into a source of power. Stomach was solid and quite. My body always felt like it was buzzing. I miss that settled quite state of the body.
I’ve not done an extended fast yet but I always feel quite amazing/euphoric after about 30 hours. I’ve wished to find a way to capture that feeling on a daily basis. It feels like Adderall, but way better and without any of the Adderall bad. I have an Rx but try to not use anymore.
I’ve watch one video where the person didn’t seem to have any energy till 4 or 5 days in.
I do go into ketosis rather easily.
I had a super weird surreal experience. Man i was skinny. Everything just hit me really hard and I had some serious revelations. Its like psychedelic drug I cant explain it. It took like 6 months of ADF
I am on day 8 of fasting, mostly water/tea days but on some days I had bone broth or even a small piece of liver for B vitamins. Mental clarity kicked in on day 7. The days before that I had noticable short term memory issues. Also word finding problems gone (I have those even when eating properly).
It’s progressively gotten longer for me, but it used to be about 5 days. Usually came with extra energy; on one of my first 7-day fasts, I went upstairs and only realized afterward I’d taken them two at a time.
For me it was super hard to reach mental clarity the first 3-4 days asI was struggling mainly with insomnia and negative thoughts. Once you pass the fourth day, it all floats as your body and your mind adapt and find the peaceful spot
I have fasted on four occasions, with the longest being 21 days.
In general, the first three days are wretched. Once all the carbs are gone, I’m super sensitive to other people, especially if they are eating, but otherwise have a beautiful clarity. Problems are easier to solve, I forget less and am undistracted.
I use keto strips during my fasts and it is almost always when I am in deep keto that this happens.
When did you reach mental clarity during a fast?
Mental Clarity for me was at about 24-30h in.
What was it like?
Great, had a lot of energy, I think it might come from the digestive system overall just feeling/being empty or at least emptier than usual.
Every once in a while I had a social cue for eating, so it was like noon and I automatically thought: “Hmmm, maybe I should eat something” but there wasn’t any real feeling of hunger.
The body feels kind of buzzing, imagine it like drinking a bit too much coffee but without the side effects and anxiety of too much coffee.
I always had a bit of trouble sleeping, but it got better if I did some physical activity during the day.
Also, you will realise how much time you actually spend shopping for, preparing and eating food. You will have at least 30-60 min more free time per day.
I will hit my first day 7 in a few hours and I’ll say this is the first day where I haven’t felt totally exhausted. I’ve been taking electrolytes every day and going to bed super early. I think because i didn’t properly prepare beforehand. But today I woke up feeling excited and motivated for the day. I feel the best I’ve felt in a really long time. I think it comes at different times for everyone.
It’s not a consistent thing, I think because it depends on a bunch of factors. But for me, the hardest part is the first 2-4 days. So definitely by a week, I’m getting moments of that extreme clarity throughout the day. It’s hard to describe really.
For me it wasn’t like an “AH HA” lightbulb moment, I could just recall things better. I wouldn’t forget words, it was easier to concentrate and focus on tasks which is a lot for me because I have ADHD (unmedicated).
I’ve only done 48 hour fasts, but I imagine thr effects of longer fasts are pretty stellar if that’s how I felt after 2 days.
My burst of energy and mental clarity happens in the afternoon my second full day of not eating, around the 48 hour mark and lasts til I end my fasts at 72 hours. I find the first day always a bit rough, feelings of hunger/ a mental desire to eat because of habit, but once I get through that first night, the next day is amazing….no hunger, feel fantastic!
Also on day 14 and idk about “mental clarity”. But it took maybe 12/13 days for my body to finally get good at running off of fat, so now my energy levels feel normal at last! All of last week I felt like a zombie with maybe 60-80% my usual energy.
But also by now I don’t really care about food as much as I typically did. Like I still think about places to go and recipes to learn, I’ve even cooked for people a few times recently, and brought them takeout, but I haven’t felt the urge to break my fast recently. Like I’m pretty sure I’m mentally ready to finish out this month long fast, and even prolong it if I found the time.
So I’ve pretty much freed up a lot of my time and can get more chores done as well as other things, but I honestly still don’t lol, so I wouldn’t call that mental clarity either, haha. But if I suddenly get to work on my hobbies again during this fast, then that’ll be something else.
The most I’ve done was 10 days and only once. I’ve done several 5 days though. By day 3 my energy is always through the roof. I have to exercise in order to even sleep plus take magnesium at night. My mind is clear and focused at work and I feel like I’m 10x more efficient. Mental clarity starts for me on day 2 and continues to get better. I went through a bit of hunger on day 5 but after that the last 5 days were amazing. I was really loving how I felt.