PhatPhrog's Journal, 23 November 2020

What do you do for a 36 hour fast? Water only? Or is it super low calorie ? 

It's basically a water fast, though maybe I consume a maximum of 30 Cal. I have as much water as I like, and usually black coffee or tea in the morning and sometimes at other times of the day. Usually I take a heaping teaspoon of psyllium fiber at some point, which may or may not have a bit of added sugar (maybe 15-20 Cal in total, which I don't worry about), depending on the brand and "flavor". I'm agnostic on multivitamins, but whether I'm fasting or not I take a quarter of one a day (I cut it up), and the same with a vit B complex. I also take 1500 IU of vit D and 100 mg of magnesium, again whether or not I'm fasting. That's it. If I were fasting for longer I'd probably look at having some broth or at least some sodium. 

Thanks. I also take those vitamins everyday and my iron. Thanks for tip I’ve been thinking about fasting but I’m not sure if I’m strong enough. With a broth I might be able to do it tho.  

For me it's both easy and hard. Easy because the rules are simple (no food), and hard for the reasons you might expect. Grabbing a bite to eat is so habitual, I sometimes find myself reaching for the fridge door handle and then remembering. And now and then I've had a raspberry or strawberry, for example, because I've been feeding them to my son and have completely forgotten. As for overcoming the urge to eat, I try to use a mindfulness approach, letting those feelings exist without reaction or judgment. For the first few weeks I got a headache in the afternoon or early evening. Some people say sodium can take care of that, but I've just endured it. I don't recall having one for the past couple of weeks, so maybe I'm adapting, which is said to happen. 

I should mention, though, that completing a 36-hour fast, and then breaking it with a bit of food, is very gratifying. It gives me a sense of satisfaction, perspective, and self-control that I'm hoping to expand outward to other areas of my life.  

Nicely done PhatPhrog! It always makes me happy to hear of other people who fast. Everyone in my family including close friends or coworkers think I'm nuts for doing it. I myself am currently on day 5 of a 7 day fast then going back to 48hr fasts afterwards until I reach my goal weight. I'm a huge Snake diet follower and I can tell you that drinking the salt water does help quite a bit with headaches as well as energy since its basically just electrolytes. It's not for everyone though. Keep up the good work though cause it sounds like you're on track and doin well with the 36's!  

Wow, that's impressive! If it works for you, more power to you. You're doing me a service, too, because to anyone who has an issue with my fasting I can say "At least I'm not that guy!" In all seriousness, though, from the little I know about longer-term fasting, I do think it's a viable weight-loss practice, if approached with the appropriate care and still combined with essential nutrition, including electrolytes. I understand that other benefits are also touted — I've read a bit about it but I'd have to look further into it. Personally I don't have plans to ever do more than my weekly 36's, but if I ever thought I might, I'd definitely do a ton of reading first! (Thanks for the input on salt/electrolytes.) 

Hey, now there's a bonus! If I can be "That Guy" for yourself and others who's family and friends don't get the lifestyle or think it's dangerous, I'm glad to have been of some help 😅. I'm honestly not that hardcore though. Like yourself I've only ever done short ones .. 48's-72's mostly. This will be my second 7 day ever; the first being 2 years ago. Off work for a week so figured why not challenge myself and see if I can do it again. The autophagy/healing effects are very beneficial on the longer fasts as well. Won't lie though, day 4 hit me hard .. body was super taxed and today was better. Last 2 days will be grueling as well but I'm so close, so it's worth it. Wish you all the best on your fasting journey! 

Thanks, and same to you – and smooth sailing over the next two days. 

That’s great ! I can never go over 24 hours- I get a headache and stomach pain. Any tips ? 

Hm. I've never experienced stomach pain on a fast myself, so I've never looked into that. I guess it depends on the exact nature and cause, but I suppose fiber might help, or maybe even self-massage? If it's normal hunger pangs, then maybe even just mindfulness techniques — as long as a serious medical issue isn't being ignored, which would be beyond my pay grade. As for headaches, as I mention, I've pretty much just endured them, and they seem to have subsided, but there's support for taking some sodium, and if I recall correctly, this can also help people adapting to a ketogenic diet. Don't quote me on that, but it makes some sense that they would be related. As for timing, I time my fasts so I'm fasting for two nights and a day in between, so a lot of the time is spent sleeping. It's nice to go to bed on the second night knowing that all I have to do is sleep, and I'll have made it through the fast by morning. 

i've experienced stomaches and heading fasting as well. it can take usually about 4 days for me to get past that. it varies. for some pple, as long as a week! its called the fasting flu and going low carb for a few days into it helps me ease into it. But for me, I have found no way to get past the initial discomfort.  

@mike salter, not sure if you'll see this message, but I just wanted to say thanks again for the support/tips back in November of 2020. I've since looked even further into fasting and it's become quite normalized in my consciousness, and recently even more strongly integrated into my life -- and I now take electrolytes during my fasts. Also thanks to @tenax661 for the solid tip about going low carb before an extended fast.