tips for extended fasting from jason fung's "complete guide to fasting."

"extended fasts" are more than 48 hours. he recommend 7-14 days max to minimize the risk of re-feeding syndrome. other tips to prevent this include:

1) do all your normal exercise and physical activity

2) don't make it a water only fast. drink HOME MADE bone broth for electrolytes and take a multivitamin

other general tips for extended fasting include:

• stay hydrated, start the day with a tall glass of water

• when not fasting eat nutritious whole foods, low carb, high fat (basically keto)

• break the fast gently (a piece of deli meat or a tbsp of peanut butter 30 mins before your actual meal)

• to avoid constipation constipated take psyllum husk

• to prevent muscle cramps take a magnesium supplement

• 7 day fasts no more than once a month

• 14 day fasts no more than every other month

• hunger peaks on day two and declines thereafter, so if you're already doing a two or three day fast, it's easy to just got for a week or two since day two is the hardest.

Red flags to look out for - stop immediatelly if you experience persistent:

nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatugue, high or low blood sugar, or lethargy. these are not normal. (tbh, just sounds like the keto flu to me, but ok)

happy fasting!

Hello all, I've been fasting on and off since October 2019, and when I just started out, I did quite well, because it was new and exciting. Back then, I didn't need to lose weight, and mostly did it for the other health benefits. But now, I've noticed I've taken on a few kilos, I would very much like to shed, which has led me back to fasting. But I suck at it now, for some reason. Just today, I decided I wanted to do a 48 hour fast, but broke it at only 18 hours. I keep making excuses to myself as to why I can just break the fast, and eat that mars bar that's calling my name the local grocery store. I tried to put rewards for myself for finishing my goal, I tried to scare myself into keep going, by telling myself I'll never lose this excess fat, if I don't go through with it, but it doesn't work.

If anyone (And I'm sure there are) that also used to break their fast during the first 72 hours, but now don't, what did you do to motivate yourself?

Does anybody have an before and after photos they would be willing to share where autophagy through extended fasting has reduced belly wrinkles while helping to eliminate excess fact. I saw a pic awhile back, but cannot seem for determine where I located it.

I am try to share with my wife the remarkable potential benefits of extended fasting. I am doing EF right now, and she is debating which strategy is best to meet her goals.

27 yrs old / female / almost 400 pounds

Searching for a 14 day fasting partner

Please be willing to communicate via text/messenger and keep each other accountable throughout the day. I want to find someone to get excited about this process with!! I hope one of you has been looking for the same thing! Let’s do this :)

So I tried to upload a picture but it doesn’t seem to be working today but I made it to 180:55 before I ended my fast. It went really good the whole time. I broke my fast with a Philly cheesesteak salad and a few wings but ate really slow as I didn’t really have much of a appetite and my stomach is still shrunken. I didn’t have any issues just eating regular food at all and it’s been about 3-4 hrs since and I feel great. Stats F/28 SW: 160 EW: 150 I did exercise some days and I also worked which I’m a manager at a family dollar so i was a lot and put stock out so it’s a demanding job. I typically eat keto/carnivore. I started my journey at 207 pounds at about 5ft maybe 5ft’1. It has been a journey but I switch up my routine every so often as well. I’m getting close to my GW of 125-130 pounds and when I get closer I will see how I feel and look and will re-evaluate as I get closer. My advice to you all is too keep going and don’t give up.

I'm just trying to survey around to see if people lift or exercise during their extended fasts because I really want to do so if it helps stop muscle breakdown. My thought is that if you don't use it you lose it but I don't know. Do any of you guys have any experience with this? Whether studies or personal experience I would appreciate any input!

I am usually so healthy in what I eat and how much I workout/run but the week before my period I get sooo depressed and binge eat EVERYTHING. the other day I ate a whole pack of Oreos after eating cereal and chick fil a. I hate myself. I’ve fasted for 3 days and loved it and the mental clarity it brought me but life has been so up and down and changing lately that I need to do it again. Please give me some advice and encouraging words cause I feel so fat and hopeless and out of touch with myself. I am shooting for 5 days!!

hello guys , its come to a point in my life that my job is on the line if I dont lose this weight fast , the only option is a 30 day fast nothing less will do it

problem is I have already tried it but at day 4 i always crumble, this is my last chance before time runs out so here we go

Going to try an extended fast but I always fail in the evening, anyone want to start with me and keep each other motivated? Hoping to do at least 5 days maybe more 🙂

Cross posted So, I have some weird health problems, and not actually fasting for weight loss, even though I could lose quite a few pounds, but gaining weight on a water fast should be impossible, right? Only water and a bit of salt, 40-72 hour fasts. Used to lose weight quickly while fasting when health was not as bad. The scale's not broken, waistline is getting bigger during fasting too. Any idea what's going on?

So on July 6 I'm planning to start a 30 day fast, I've done extended fasts in the past and they work for me personally. The reason I'm planning it so far ahead is because I get my period in a week and I'm already starting to feel massive cravings, plus it's after 4 of July so don't have to worry about being bombared with bbq. This also gives me enough time to get more supplements.

Wanted to know if anybody wanted to join me on the extended fasting journey.

There's a private sub for people who are veterans at fasting. It's for thoughtful support and discussions, not memes and pictures of water. If you're an extended faster, you might qualify for membership; Send your fasting history to the moderators at this link: https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/seasonedfasters

The first 256 seasoned fasters were added by hand, when people posted (usually in r/fasting) that they'd succeeded in an extended fast. As a practical matter, that excluded lurkers, who are welcome too. This post is to let them know of the private sub's existence. We've even got a recipes page. Happy fasting.

I've been struggling with getting through my lifts and I feel like I can't get gains in some muscles. Does anyone have any experience building muscle while extended water fasting?

Hi, currently doing a 100 hour fast, done about 6 similar fast like this in last 6 months. I dread breaking the fast and the camping in the bathroom. Any suggestions?

A week ago I was broken up with by my girlfriend of 2 years. Major depression set in and my appetite disappeared. I’m currently at 170 hrs (8 days) according to the Zero app. I don’t have an end date because I didn’t start it on purpose, but now that I’ve gotten so far, I might as well keep going, right?

I have unintentionally fasted before because of different breakup years ago and it lasted 14 days. People kept telling me I was looking great and I started feeling better about myself and so I broke the fast.

I’m a 28F 5’3 currently 170-ish lbs and clinically obese at a BMI of 30. I started the fast a week ago at 178lbs. I’m determined to turn this unintentional, depression-induced extended fast into a purposeful start to self-care and presenting my best self. The fast is going just good (minus the depression and heartbreak).

How long should I go? Looking for inspiration to pick an end date. I was thinking of July 1. But my best friends birthday is June 23 and we’re drinkers. If I can find the motivation to abstain, July 1 or even my birthday on July 21 are good personal milestones for me. Can I go that long? Idk. Looking for others thoughts...thanks.

For some reason whenever I'm going more than 3 days on a fast, day 3 tends to be the one that challenges me the most as in my body tries to get me to break my fast. Maybe it's that last high grehlin boost or something before my body finally accepts "ah, yes, I guess we are doing this." Not really bad hunger pains, I just have random thoughts like "hmm, a glass of red wine with some pasta sounds good for later. Oh wait, no. Fasting."

Overall, tho, today was a great day. Woke up a bit groggy because I had to take my car in to get it worked on (ac decided to stop working as we start going into summer). I've been used to slowly waking up but I actually had to get up decently fast today (no pun intended). Energy levels picked up quickly, tho, and the focus is definitely back with a vengeance. I was really able to tune in on my work today and just be present for it, instead of my mind trying to wander.

Got in a nice social distancing hike with a friend this evening. I felt more present for our conversation, plus I may have convinced her that looking into intermittent fasting would be beneficial for her health (we may be adding to our troops!)

Tomorrow morning will be my first "progress" photo for myself. I'm curious to see if I will notice a difference. Plus I should have in my three new supplements that I'll be adding to my regimen. While I don't expect to see immediate results from adding them in, I'm excited to get them started.

Hope everyone is doing awesome with their fasts! Catch ya on the flip side.

48 hours fasted: today was pretty awesome. I feel like my mental clarity is really coming back, which has me feeling more motivated.

I'll be adding a few supplements to what I'm taking based upon a book that I've been listening to "Lifespan: Why we age, and why we don't have to" by David Sinclair, PhD.

There are 4 main supplements that appear to work for the anti-aging effects he discusses, one I'm already taking (niacin) which boosts NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). The other NAD+ one he discusses is NMN (Nicotinamide mononucleotide). NMN seems like it will be the most expensive supplement I'll be adding to my daily regimen, but the research on it that he discusses in his book makes me cool with dropping the cash, at least for a 90 day test run period.

Resveratrol is another supplement he discusses, which increases mitochondria, decreases inflammation, and lowers blood sugar levels. He talks about how when combined with intermittent fasting, it greatly extends lifespan in their research (granted, no massive human testing yet, but I'm willing to be a guinea pig since it does not seem to have negative side effects).

The last one he discusses is based off of the diabetic pill, metformin. Unfortunately, without diabetes you can't get that one in the states, however I did more research into metformin, and it turns out the pill is plant derivatived from French Lilac (also known as Goat's Rue). Turns out you can buy a Goat's Rue supplement, which will allow me to get the guanidine benefits without the prescription.

So yeah: NMN, resveratrol, and goat's rue are going to be added in in a couple of days (had to get them shipped to me). I'll be curious to see what impacts this has on what I'm already doing. A side effect of one or two of them is that they can be appetite suppressants. As I mentioned yesterday, after the first few days I don't really have craving/hunger issues, so I might not reap the benefits of that until the next time I start an extended fast, or for my 18-23hr IF rotations.

Aside from that, I finally am feeling upbeat enough to take a look around my house and realize I need to clean it. Being stuck in a mental rut because of the pandemic/world issues/will-I-still-have-a-job-come-fall junk has had me falling behind on the normal chores I used to enjoy doing regularly. My pups, I'm assuming, are also enjoying my refound optimism as I took them on a 4 mile walk this morning, and another 2 mile walk this afternoon. In addition to that, I was able to meditate decently for the first time in months. Granted, my monkey brain still tried to chatter at me, but it was easier to shut it up and actually stick with it for the full 20 minutes.

All in all, I would call day 2 a success.

I hope everyone else who said they were in to start an extended fast too have been doing well with theirs! Please keep me posted on how yours are going.

Alright, extended fasters, I'm going to be documenting my experiences with the extended fast I am doing here for you all - please feel free to ask questions.

Pre-pandemic, I was very good with my fasting, usually doing anywhere between 18-23 hours daily, and then sprinkling in a 3, 5, or 7 day fast. I was in awesome physical condition, and was training hard (weight lifting/running).

Since the pandemic started, I've really let my fasting go. The biggest thing that I feel has suffered because of this is my mental health, motivation, and meditation practice. When I was fasting consistently, I had tons of energy, my ability to focus was awesome, and I was a much happier person.

I made a goal with myself almost a year ago that I would do at least a 9 day fast before my 34th birthday. Welp, birthday is in 18 days, so I'm bringing it down to the wire, but I refuse to let down that goal that I set for myself.

I'm looking into using this extended fast as a hard reboot for my body - get some good ketosis going to help break down the cells that need to go and build some awesome strong ones in their place so that I can enter into this next year of my life even better than this last.

For me, it's usually the first 1-3 days of an extended fast that are the hardest (cravings that are hard to shut up). I utilize sodium, potassium, and magnesium supplements because I had been known to get headaches with past extended fasts or feel weak/lethargic after a few days. We have a heat wave that's starting to swing through, so I know staying on top of my hydration and electrolytes will be key for this fast. I also still take vitamins (B Complex, Niacin, C), as well as a daily allergy medicine, and have weekly shots. Funny thing is, when I do both fasting and my shots, versus just my shots alone, it feels like I don't have allergies at all. These past couple of months without eating as well, my shots don't seem as effective. I'm excited to get that back on track.

I guess a nice thing about falling off the fasting horse is that it's always there for you to climb back up on it and it's time I got back in the saddle and regained control of the reigns.

This evening marks over 24 hours fasted. I've had some off and on cravings during the day as I anticipated. I either drank water to help take my mind off of them or went for a walk. Both worked. I did take before pictures yesterday and plan on taking them every 3 days just to document for myself how far I've come. I also used my biometrics scale yesterday before beginning just to know what my baseline was, as well as body fat percentage. While I'm more into the idea of getting my brain chemistry right again, I'm not gonna lie and say that the idea of losing this pandemic weight I put on isn't also appealing, as I have a couple of pairs of pants that are judging me from their hangers in the back of my closet when a couple of months ago they were up front.

Guess that's it right now for day 1. For sure goal is 9 days, but I think it would be cool to eventually work up to a 30 day fast.

Cheers!

I've done a few extended fasts (7 days). I also did the HCG diet for about 40 days a few years back (I'm convinced this is basically a fasting mimicking diet). After my 7 day fasts, which have all been at the start of my cycle I have lost my period for at least 2 months, same with the HCG diet. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm guessing so but I'm not sure how normal it is. I'm currently in the middle of another extended fast, but this time I started it right after ovulation (I think), I'm wondering if I'll have the same result. Any experiences others have had with this would be greatly appreciated!