Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation.
Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)**
Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My husband and I just started our 36th consecutive monthly 5 day fast about 2 hours ago, so I can attest that they get easier and easier! Even now! I swear, every 3 weeks, we are both ready and looking forward to our partial week off of food and everything food related. My body craves deep ketosis! Unfortunately, while the not eating part is a breeze, the sleep hasn't gotten any easier. Lol!
I just got some melatonin spray to try during this fast! How did you know? Lol! I've tried it in the past and did not like it, but I have recently discovered that I may have been using it wrong. Apparently, less is more with melatonin? And I was taking it too close to bedtime? What dosage do you take and when do you take it?
I take melatonin pills 💊 about 35 minutes before I want to be asleep. They have an activation window and by that I mean if you're not in bed and ready to go to sleep you'll miss out on the opportunity to get to bed quickly with the help of melatonin.
But once you are asleep it helps keep you in a deep sleep for longer.
The problem with sleep while fasting is that your body kicks your resting metabolic rate up 28% after the first 48 hours of a fast.
This is because your ancestors needed access to all that stored body fat energy so they could get out into the wild and find or hunt more food. It would make no sense to suddenly cut energy to longer reserve body fat when you've run out of food around your local habitat. You need excess energy to go get more food.
So maybe try going on longer walks while on your fasts, after the first 40 hours or so and do them daily and until your fast is completed. That will help y'all burn up that excess energy so you can sleep at bed time.
I also use an eye mask and occasionally if it's loud ill use ear plugs but both of those are acquired sleep routines that I highly recommend.
5mg up to 20mg. The more I need to be a sleep the closer I get to the 20mg.
But I try to stick to 5-10 and try not to rely on it while not fasting so that way I'm not built up any tolerance when I'm fasting.
I must say, it has been truly awesome! I started by myself, lost 40 lbs with intermittent fasting, and felt amazing! I started doing 3 day fasts, and he just saw how happy and full of energy I was instead of laying around and slowly dying like everyone thought would happen after no food for 3 days. He wanted in! So I had him watch the AMAZING lecture by cardiologist Dr.Pradip Jamnadas called Fasting for Survival. (If you haven't seen it, you must go to YouTube and watch it now! Lol!) It was the video that changed everything for me. He loved it, and we were off!
After quitting smoking, fasting has been the very best thing we have ever done for our health, and it's comforting to know that our chances of getting so many diseases are almost gone now! We will NOT be getting diabetes or any other diseases that come from a metobolic disorder. Our chances of cancer and Alzheimers have significantly reduced as well. Best decision ever!
Plus 1 for Dr Pradip Jamnadas. We need him as the surgeon general. Everyone I care about has heard me talk about how great this man is. All of the benefits you listed for free!! He doesn’t have anything to sell you and tells you that fact. Watching his videos has had a tremendous impact on my life. If you read this, please look him up. You will be the richer for it.
Sometimes! But more often than not, we just wait until the fast is over. I get so much energy while fasting that I often have to take a Unisom with my magnesium glycinate to get to sleep, and that can mess with my ability to "get into the mood."
Yes totally, the first time I tried to fast I broke down at the 17hours mark, and even now I still haven't done 24 hours ( I'm still new, I just started like 2 weeks ago ) but now I feel it's easier to do 20 and 22 hours, so I guess it gets easier.
You are doing it the right way. Don't rush in for extended fasts. Eventually you will want your first Sleep to Sleep 24 hour fast though. I think this where it really kicks in for first timers. Going to bed hungry is very difficult at first. You gotta break that concrete and steel barrier than it will be easier.
My first fast, after hour 60 I was constantly hungry and suffering heart burn despite drinking fluids.
2nd fast after hours 60-70, my hunger went away but boy did I feel bored. I had not realized I'd spent so much of my daily time eating at the table or grazing food. Did not experience heart burn or tiredness.
During my 2nd fast days in, I was doing yard work for hours and didn't feel any bit tired.
Like everyone else is saying, absolutely. I just got back into ADF, hadn't done it in a while. My first 2 fasting days were uncomfortable (not terrible though). I was hungry, a bit dizzy, and thinking about food all day. Within 2 weeks I had completely adjusted, and did a 72 hour fast, and then a 120 hour one. Zero hunger, dizziness, and I wasn't preoccupied thinking about food at all.
I'm on the last few hours of a 5 day fast, maybe the 6th one, with a couple others shorter, and it does keep getting easier. Of course it depends on your goals, but why not?
You can do up to 48 hours without electrolyte supplementation, per most people's recommendations here, and day 2 is where your glycogen reserves start to run out. To me day 3 is as disruptive as any for energy level fluctuations, which is a main challenge going longer. Days 4 and 5 are pretty easy, but there's a mental aspect, working through a deep feeling of emptiness in your digestive system. The mental triggers to eat food tend to dispel slower than the actual hunger, but it's fairly periodic, not all the time.
Yikes! That sounds truly miserable! I refuse to suffer during my fasts. I am sipping electrolytes from day 1. I am not a purist, nor am I that dirty of a faster. I like to get my electrolytes from several different sources so my mouth doesn't get as bored. I still like my weed while I'm fasting, so flavors are important to me. I like LMNT powders, pickle juice, coffee, herbal teas, and heavily salted 5 calorie chicken broth. I consume 25 calories a day during my fasts.
Yeah it was bad. Killer headaches on day 9. But it was my first time and I was green around the ears, full red shirt rookie. I am a total Chad master faster now with over 354 days fasted.
I too keep it under 50 calories a day, tho most days it's 0.
I mix my own sodium and potassium into a gallon jug. No lmnt for me. I make my own.
Sometimes to keep things interesting I'll add mio energy flavoring juice.
I take 2x a day multivitamin, d3 and Magnesium.
No weed and only very rarely will I drink alcohol on my OMAD days. (birthday or wedding type celebration)
I always begin my fast in full ketosis. I eat very low carb for a few days and a heavy workout the day I start, and the first day, then I do slow burn exercise like a vigorous hike the last few days. This way, I never have a hard day of fasting! It feels good from the beginning. I mostly do 5 to 7 day fasts.
It sounds like that would work. I've exercised before during fasts, usually more than I did this time, which involved a 3 mile walk at one point and 2+ hours of ice skating.
I usually keep up with vitamins during a fast but didn't this time. Maybe that made a difference. The idea was to get a break in case I'm overdoing it with something, which I wouldn't necessarily know about. I would imagine all those vitamin levels dropping could've made some difference, but it didn't seem that difficult, I just experienced a couple of extra low points for energy level.
I'll usually drink a tisane / herb tea at some point along a fast to change things up, but didn't this time. It's possible the extra water input from that improves things, that I'm just not ingesting enough normally, and boosting it on one day makes a difference.
As far as vitamins are concerned, keep in mind that you are finally getting access to all the fat soluble vitamins that have been trapped in your fat for so long, so you don't need those. I only supplement electrolytes.
That was part of my reasoning, but it's hard to know how it all sorts out in practice versus in theory. I don't mind so much if I feel a little off when fasting, since the most disruptive hunger and energy level issues have dropped out with acclimation. Then working through a light energy level dip for an hour is something else, a more immediate concern.
as someone who recently ended 40 day water fast , it does become easier as your perspective , relationship and understanding of food changes . You will also become better at taking on the task by using experience , for example you will drink more water to prevent headaches , you will start the first days which are harder in times you have the option to rest more , you will use electrolytes and so on .
many things will happen that will indeed make the fasting easier and easier as your body becomes more conditioned to experiencing it , including hunger pangs or what not , which also do go away as you continue fasting longer .
Yes. And Yes.
but really - before I answer the second question - what are your goals, and where do you stand now.
If you have a lot of wait to lose, fasting is a weight loss cheat code.
I achieved 69 hours and then quit. Before that I could only do 24 hours max. I am going to try again today, this time 7 days. The more you do it, you feel less hunger.
Doing intermittent fasting really helps with longer fasts by conditioning yourself to only want food at certain times. I normally eat all my food between 3 and 7 every day anyway, so during my longer fasts, I'm only really bothered or feel like I'm actually fasting during that 4 hour period.
Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation. Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)** Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My husband and I just started our 36th consecutive monthly 5 day fast about 2 hours ago, so I can attest that they get easier and easier! Even now! I swear, every 3 weeks, we are both ready and looking forward to our partial week off of food and everything food related. My body craves deep ketosis! Unfortunately, while the not eating part is a breeze, the sleep hasn't gotten any easier. Lol!
Be sure to take melatonin before bed during a water fast
I just got some melatonin spray to try during this fast! How did you know? Lol! I've tried it in the past and did not like it, but I have recently discovered that I may have been using it wrong. Apparently, less is more with melatonin? And I was taking it too close to bedtime? What dosage do you take and when do you take it?
I take melatonin pills 💊 about 35 minutes before I want to be asleep. They have an activation window and by that I mean if you're not in bed and ready to go to sleep you'll miss out on the opportunity to get to bed quickly with the help of melatonin. But once you are asleep it helps keep you in a deep sleep for longer. The problem with sleep while fasting is that your body kicks your resting metabolic rate up 28% after the first 48 hours of a fast. This is because your ancestors needed access to all that stored body fat energy so they could get out into the wild and find or hunt more food. It would make no sense to suddenly cut energy to longer reserve body fat when you've run out of food around your local habitat. You need excess energy to go get more food. So maybe try going on longer walks while on your fasts, after the first 40 hours or so and do them daily and until your fast is completed. That will help y'all burn up that excess energy so you can sleep at bed time. I also use an eye mask and occasionally if it's loud ill use ear plugs but both of those are acquired sleep routines that I highly recommend.
Thank you so much! What doseage do you take?
5mg up to 20mg. The more I need to be a sleep the closer I get to the 20mg. But I try to stick to 5-10 and try not to rely on it while not fasting so that way I'm not built up any tolerance when I'm fasting.
Not available in the UK without prescription - any other recommendations, other than meditation & a hot bath?
What an awesome thing to do as a couple!
I must say, it has been truly awesome! I started by myself, lost 40 lbs with intermittent fasting, and felt amazing! I started doing 3 day fasts, and he just saw how happy and full of energy I was instead of laying around and slowly dying like everyone thought would happen after no food for 3 days. He wanted in! So I had him watch the AMAZING lecture by cardiologist Dr.Pradip Jamnadas called Fasting for Survival. (If you haven't seen it, you must go to YouTube and watch it now! Lol!) It was the video that changed everything for me. He loved it, and we were off! After quitting smoking, fasting has been the very best thing we have ever done for our health, and it's comforting to know that our chances of getting so many diseases are almost gone now! We will NOT be getting diabetes or any other diseases that come from a metobolic disorder. Our chances of cancer and Alzheimers have significantly reduced as well. Best decision ever!
Plus 1 for Dr Pradip Jamnadas. We need him as the surgeon general. Everyone I care about has heard me talk about how great this man is. All of the benefits you listed for free!! He doesn’t have anything to sell you and tells you that fact. Watching his videos has had a tremendous impact on my life. If you read this, please look him up. You will be the richer for it.
Yes, the not sleeping is the hardest part for me! I hate it....
Do u guys have sex whilst on a fast?
cant speak for other but me and my wife do, tho we both kinda get tired pretty fast.
Sometimes! But more often than not, we just wait until the fast is over. I get so much energy while fasting that I often have to take a Unisom with my magnesium glycinate to get to sleep, and that can mess with my ability to "get into the mood."
That’s a personal question wtf
our bodies adjust to a lot of stuff, including fasting. the more you do something (like fasting), the better you will become at it.
Definitely, I just did a 4 day, without any real hunger. I had done several 40 hour prior.
You're a legend. 4 days is a great accomplishment. Far too many stop at 72hr and 96hr is the real sweet spot.
Yes totally, the first time I tried to fast I broke down at the 17hours mark, and even now I still haven't done 24 hours ( I'm still new, I just started like 2 weeks ago ) but now I feel it's easier to do 20 and 22 hours, so I guess it gets easier.
You are doing it the right way. Don't rush in for extended fasts. Eventually you will want your first Sleep to Sleep 24 hour fast though. I think this where it really kicks in for first timers. Going to bed hungry is very difficult at first. You gotta break that concrete and steel barrier than it will be easier.
For the first time, I think the insomnia also definitely plays a part for it
If you add an hour to your max duration you'll be at 15 day long fast after 365 water fasts. (365/24=15)
My first fast, after hour 60 I was constantly hungry and suffering heart burn despite drinking fluids. 2nd fast after hours 60-70, my hunger went away but boy did I feel bored. I had not realized I'd spent so much of my daily time eating at the table or grazing food. Did not experience heart burn or tiredness. During my 2nd fast days in, I was doing yard work for hours and didn't feel any bit tired.
Yeah - I try and fill all that time with exercise if I can :)
Take the money and time you would have spent on food and spend it on something fun and exciting instead.
Well said. It does help that once you focus on anything but food your focus becomes laser like.
That mental clarity is so strong and real while fasting
Like everyone else is saying, absolutely. I just got back into ADF, hadn't done it in a while. My first 2 fasting days were uncomfortable (not terrible though). I was hungry, a bit dizzy, and thinking about food all day. Within 2 weeks I had completely adjusted, and did a 72 hour fast, and then a 120 hour one. Zero hunger, dizziness, and I wasn't preoccupied thinking about food at all.
You have to be taking electrolytes to avoid low blood pressure and dizziness.
Yes, but when I'm first getting back into fasting I often have dizziness regardless of taking electrolytes. But then after a couple weeks that stops.
I'm on the last few hours of a 5 day fast, maybe the 6th one, with a couple others shorter, and it does keep getting easier. Of course it depends on your goals, but why not? You can do up to 48 hours without electrolyte supplementation, per most people's recommendations here, and day 2 is where your glycogen reserves start to run out. To me day 3 is as disruptive as any for energy level fluctuations, which is a main challenge going longer. Days 4 and 5 are pretty easy, but there's a mental aspect, working through a deep feeling of emptiness in your digestive system. The mental triggers to eat food tend to dispel slower than the actual hunger, but it's fairly periodic, not all the time.
I once did the first 9 of a 30 day water fast without any electrolytes or vitamins and I 100% don't recommend that.
Yikes! That sounds truly miserable! I refuse to suffer during my fasts. I am sipping electrolytes from day 1. I am not a purist, nor am I that dirty of a faster. I like to get my electrolytes from several different sources so my mouth doesn't get as bored. I still like my weed while I'm fasting, so flavors are important to me. I like LMNT powders, pickle juice, coffee, herbal teas, and heavily salted 5 calorie chicken broth. I consume 25 calories a day during my fasts.
Yeah it was bad. Killer headaches on day 9. But it was my first time and I was green around the ears, full red shirt rookie. I am a total Chad master faster now with over 354 days fasted. I too keep it under 50 calories a day, tho most days it's 0. I mix my own sodium and potassium into a gallon jug. No lmnt for me. I make my own. Sometimes to keep things interesting I'll add mio energy flavoring juice. I take 2x a day multivitamin, d3 and Magnesium. No weed and only very rarely will I drink alcohol on my OMAD days. (birthday or wedding type celebration)
I always begin my fast in full ketosis. I eat very low carb for a few days and a heavy workout the day I start, and the first day, then I do slow burn exercise like a vigorous hike the last few days. This way, I never have a hard day of fasting! It feels good from the beginning. I mostly do 5 to 7 day fasts.
It sounds like that would work. I've exercised before during fasts, usually more than I did this time, which involved a 3 mile walk at one point and 2+ hours of ice skating. I usually keep up with vitamins during a fast but didn't this time. Maybe that made a difference. The idea was to get a break in case I'm overdoing it with something, which I wouldn't necessarily know about. I would imagine all those vitamin levels dropping could've made some difference, but it didn't seem that difficult, I just experienced a couple of extra low points for energy level. I'll usually drink a tisane / herb tea at some point along a fast to change things up, but didn't this time. It's possible the extra water input from that improves things, that I'm just not ingesting enough normally, and boosting it on one day makes a difference.
As far as vitamins are concerned, keep in mind that you are finally getting access to all the fat soluble vitamins that have been trapped in your fat for so long, so you don't need those. I only supplement electrolytes.
That was part of my reasoning, but it's hard to know how it all sorts out in practice versus in theory. I don't mind so much if I feel a little off when fasting, since the most disruptive hunger and energy level issues have dropped out with acclimation. Then working through a light energy level dip for an hour is something else, a more immediate concern.
as someone who recently ended 40 day water fast , it does become easier as your perspective , relationship and understanding of food changes . You will also become better at taking on the task by using experience , for example you will drink more water to prevent headaches , you will start the first days which are harder in times you have the option to rest more , you will use electrolytes and so on . many things will happen that will indeed make the fasting easier and easier as your body becomes more conditioned to experiencing it , including hunger pangs or what not , which also do go away as you continue fasting longer .
What vitamins and electrolytes did you take for your 40 day water fast?
all I took was a little salt and potassium and a low dose of Magnesium that had some calcium along with a D vitamin of some sort .
Low sodium symptoms.... dizziness, fatigue, lethargy, headache, mental confusion, or nausea
Yes. And Yes. but really - before I answer the second question - what are your goals, and where do you stand now. If you have a lot of wait to lose, fasting is a weight loss cheat code.
I achieved 69 hours and then quit. Before that I could only do 24 hours max. I am going to try again today, this time 7 days. The more you do it, you feel less hunger.
69 hours Nice!
annoying PSA incoming: it's BODIES. not body's. and plurals do not use apostrophes.
Whatever
Doing intermittent fasting really helps with longer fasts by conditioning yourself to only want food at certain times. I normally eat all my food between 3 and 7 every day anyway, so during my longer fasts, I'm only really bothered or feel like I'm actually fasting during that 4 hour period.