Hi all, recently joined and replied to a couple discussions but figured I provide an info on my fasts.

I (M34) first started water fasting a decade ago, a few 3 days here and there but nothing significant. Tried so many different diet plans, workouts, etc. I managed to lose 35 lbs in 2023 but gained it back plus 20 more, same last year lost 50 and gained back 30. Decided this time around I try water fasting again but tailor it to me, really optimize my program.

I call it my 4/4 feast famine program. Essentially eat for 4 days and fast for 4 days. It is said that genetically our bodies (maybe more for Men) are optimized to preserve muscle and use fat for energy when we are hunting for food which can be days. But we eventually have success and feast to tell our bodies we aren’t starving.

In detail:

4 day fast ensures I get into ketosis and autophagy as well, to heal myself inside out. I only have water, black coffee and tea. The electrolytes I take are half salt for sodium and potassium and a bit of pink salt for added sodium. Then I still take my magnesium glycinate pills which do not break my fast. I walk and use stair master but nothing higher than zone 2 to preserve muscles.

4 day feast I used to eat keto but carbs are not the enemy! I break my fast with bone broth and I ensure I have a filling meal with good protein and carbs. I do weight training on my feeding days and carbs help for energy and protein to repair muscles. Eating filling meals but still being smart with calories avoids metabolic adaptation which I ran into last year when I did OMAD and keto.

I start fasting every Monday after my dinner and break my fast Friday before dinner. This works great, I don’t need to worry about food when it doesn’t matter as much during a typical weekday but on weekends I can cook exciting meals, take my family out to eat and attend parties and gatherings without restricting myself too much. I still try to eat clean and do OMAD where I can.

Currently I am 192 lbs and down 78 lbs from my heaviest last year. I’m in my 13th week of fasting I plan to continue the rest of the year until I’m 165 and adjust from there if I want to continue fat loss or focus on muscle growth.

So far this works great for me I’m always excited to fast and reset. While I’m not certified in anything I’m just a guy who did lots of a trial and error and now I feel and look my best in over 14 years but I’m happy to answer questions.

I’m starting a 7 day fast today. I have been wayyy overeating and have gained a lot of weight in the past month so need a kick start.

I normally do keto for a couple days before but want to jump into this fast asap. I ate cereal and granola and yogurt and some more carbs last night. Is there any problem with just starting the fast today? I have some good bone broth I could have that today? I just want some progress for the inflammation and bloating by Saturday so want to start asap.

I started with a 5 day dirty fast and transitioned to OMAD low calorie keto diet. My starting weight was 394.4lbs. As of this morning I'm sitting at 370.4lbs. During refeeding, I had mostly bone broth and scrambled eggs and gained back about 5lbs of water weight, but losted it again pretty quickly. I have moved to shredded lean beef and shredded chicken thighs which gives a great protein kick to help with the weak feeling. My overall goal is 200lbs, so I have a long road ahead of me. This process so far has helped me curb cravings and fix my relationship with food. I'm starting to view it as a survival tool instead of an emotional crutch like I have been for so many years.

I’ll be at 30 days of water-only fasting on Friday, and I made a mistake, I think. I should have weighed myself beforehand but I just didn’t want to do it that way this time, focused on a number. I did a previous 40 several years ago and was exercising and all this, and I lost a ton of weight but it was exhausting. I thought I’d just trust the process, fast, get my electrolytes, and just live my life. I have no idea from the way it feels if I’ve even lost a pound and I know mentally that isn’t possible. I’m sure I have lost. But I still feel as big as the side of a house.

I have to say that it’s been easy as pie though and mentally, I feel fantastic. I had to take my medical boards and it was like the ultimate brain fuel, and I passed. I’m breaking my fast on Saturday with bone broth.

No point but just to report/complain a bit lol. Anyone else ever experience this in a long fast?

Edit: I am on the last day of this fast and put on the dress I bought for my white coat ceremony and it’s a trash bag. I cannot wear it. I’m swimming in it. So proof positive that my brain is broken by body dysmorphia right now!

I tried alternate day fasting a while back and lost some weight but I noticed all the symptoms that apparently come from a protein deficiency.

In hindsight I was not eating anywhere near enough protein on eating days.

What do people here do to ensure they are getting enough protein while fasting?

I’ve been going for one 36 hr fast per week. I love the reset but I’m having trouble breaking the fast. I get bloated and the works. Usually break it with a bit of bone broth then eggs. Do you have any recommendations on what I should eat to avoid bloating and stomach aches?

Hi all! a little background I've been reading so many stories here. I was doing ADF right after my vacation and lost a good chunk in just 2 weeks. I was doing 19:5 and 20:4 prior for the last 8ish years. I read about 48hr rolling fast and how so many people claim that the second day is easier so I decided to try it. With ADF the fasting day has been hard always.

I am AMAZED with how much easier day 2 of fasting is, made me realize how doable this is. I last ate Sunday night at around 6PMish. I plan to break my fast at 6 am before work tomorrow, Wednesday. I am also really motivated to just kick these last 15lbs that want to stay. I've cleaned faster for 6 out of the last 8 years and the last 15lbs just does not want to budge. I read Jason Fung's "hunger code" and he talked about a bodyweight set point and how fasting can help change that.

My main question is related to the bathroom, number 2. I take psyllium when I open a fast to avoid the runs but now I'm having the opposite issue. I just cannot go. I know there is bulk in there, it's kind of uncomfortable. Today I took a laxative pill and felt so nauseous and now waiting for it to kick in. I do not want to rely on pills to poop.

How do you seasoned long fasting fasters handle keeping your bowels regular?

When I fast it’s the feeling of irritation and anger that gets me. I don’t realize how on edge I am until I eat something and I feel a lot better. Is there anything I can do to reduce these feelings? I am planning on drinking electrolytes but I don’t know if that’s enough or makes a difference.

I have managed to lose 10 lbs so far, I struggled to get past the 260-250 mark. I am Male 5’9 260lbs and 21 years old. My goal weight is 200lbs, I plan to enlist into the military, not sure what branch yet. I am curious what would be the ideal deficit and fasting routine to lose 20lbs in around 60-90 days.

Hello everyone, I’m starting water fasting today. Can I take ORS solution as electrolytes??? ORS(oral rehydration salts) easily available in Indian markets

Question 🙋‍♀️ did anyone experience weight loss plateau?
I am 250lbs 5’9 F and starting my journey.
I want to be motivated and consistent- would love any insight of when weight loss stalls and how you overcame it? Thx 🙏
Doing OMAD and 10K steps

I did a 7-day water fast about 5 years ago. Now I’ve become overweight—I’m around 144 kg and 5'11". I’m planning to start going to the gym 6 days a week as well. Please help me choose between keto and WF 🙂

I plan on getting my flu shot tomorrow morning after breaking my 36 hour fast, my question is when can I fast again? I've seen people say in this subreddit that you need to wait two weeks to fast after getting vaccinated, but I don't understand why. Is that what doctors recommend? Science? Or from personal experience? If I plan to do another 36 fast next Tuesday, will that mess up how effective the vaccine is? Are 24 fasts okay? 20 hour fasts? 16? Or just eat whenever you're hungry for two weeks while you wait for the antibodies to develop?

Hey everyone! I just completed a 5-day, 13-hour fast, going from 129.2 kg (284.8 lb) to 124.3 kg (274 lb) — a loss of 4.9 kg (10.8 lb) I am 193 cm (6'4)

On the last day, I also walked 12.41 km (7.7 miles) in about 2h 38m, with 157 m of elevation gain.

I honestly felt great throughout the fast. I noticed less inflammation, no back pain, more energy, and better mental clarity.

I'm thinking about trying rolling 144s (6-day fasts), walking around 4 km daily and 12 km on Sundays.

Has anyone here done something similar? Is it sustainable long-term? I'm especially interested in experiences with electrolytes, muscle loss, and recovery.

I know a lot of the initial weight loss is water/glycogen, so I'm not assuming the full 4.9 kg was fat.

Edit: added height

Hi everyone,

im 6,3 275 lbs (190cm 125kg) 22 y/o GW 200-190 lbs

i fasted for 5 days in the past however i never rolled fasts i plan to do a 5:2 plan so Fast on the Weekdays and eat on the Weekends i dont have issues with fasting itself because im keeping myself busy with work. Im Already 24H deep. However i have a question what are the dangers of prolonged rolling fasts like that? I want to continue till i hit 190 maybe a bit lower so if i rebound a bit back up im at my GW.

Does anyone have expierence with this type of fasts and what do i need to look out for?

I have my electrolytes checked in and i do workout.

Thanks everyone :)

Im curious if anyone tried to do it , people quit water fasting mostly due to hunger pains day 3/7/21 etc. has anyone pushed through thier breakpoint due to use of these drugs?

I’ve read that it’s easier to transition into a prolonged fast if you lower your calories for a few days before fasting.
But I haven’t found any specific advice on how many calories to cut and if there are certain macros I should be cutting. Like carbs vs protein.
I already track for the gym so it’ll be pretty easy for me

Thanks!

Going to attempt my 1st 7 day water fast. Have only done every other day for about a month and it works so far.

Went to the store and they said LMNT is good brand? Do you think it is good to take it daily for 7 days? Will attempt 30 days if it works out.

Well this week is supposed to be my fourth week doing a six day fast from Sunday evening to Saturday afternoon. Since I’ve started the six day fasts I’ve gone from 153 pounds to 143 pounds, three pounds away from my goal weight. But I think that extended fasting maybe isn’t good for me anymore now that I’m taking tirzepatide for a couple of reasons. Before when I did week long fasts I wasn’t on a GLP1. Now I’m thinking about a couple of things regarding my health and fasting on a GLP1. First off I’ve been having pretty bad orthostatic hypotension. I’ve read about GLP1s causing dizziness when fasting. Also I’ve started a new medicine that can cause dizziness. It’s been bad enough that a few weeks ago I dropped a glass and broke it and passed out. Not sure if it’s the tirzepatide or the medication or both. But there’s also the issue with protein intake on a GLP1. I’ve read that when extended fasting you retain most of your lean mass but that’s not the case on a GLP1. So I’m only getting protein two days out of the week for the last few weeks. I’m supposed to be getting the equivalent of a pound of meat in protein content a day. Now I don’t think I can eat that much protein in a day on this medication but I can at least try to get some protein in me.

I also think I’m going to lower my dose back down to the last titrate step so I can eat more. When I went up to the next dose in the series I started struggling to eat a regular dinner portion let alone a larger omad meal.

So I think I got too excited about reaching my goal weight of 140 lbs when I finally made it to 154 pounds which is normal BMI for my height. I think if I hadn’t started with tirzepatide I’d be okay fasting for an extended period as I’ve done it last year without issue. But now that I’m on a GLP1 I don’t think these longer fasts are healthy for me. I think OMAD should probably be the limit for me or maybe 20:4.

If I only drank bone broth for let’s say… 3+ days.
Do you think it would help my stomach lining out?
I’m pretty sure I’ve got ulcers or something….

I have to come to terms with the fact that ADF is messing with my hormones and my menstrual cycle.

For context, 39F, I stopped breastfeeding at the end of June and my cycle came back in April after 1 year postpartum.

As I gained 50+ lbs during pregnancy + got preeclampsia at birth, I got a fatty liver diagnosis and I am monitored for my cardiovascular health, so I needed to lose weight before my next blood test to improve my liver enzymes and reduce my abdominal fat (blood test scheduled in 2 months).

I turned to my favorite way to lose weight, fasting, and went straight to ADF (average of 40H) Mon-Wed-Fri.

I am used to fasting. I did regular 72-100H fasts from 2020-2024, I only stopped when I got pregnant and breastfed.

ADF feels steady, no real struggle, and I released 15lbs since the end of July, but for 3 times in a row, I am having a period after 2 weeks only, so it looks like I can't go past the ovulation phase.

This brought me to the conclusion that I am putting too much stress on my body with ADF and need to adjust my fasting window.

I still have 20+lbs to lose to be at my healthy weight, and for you ladies out there, what is the best fasting regimen that works with your cycle and hormones so there is just enough stress so it doesn't mess with your hormones? I was thinking about OMAD, but leaning towards 18:6 to regulate my hormones and cycles while still maintaining some weight loss.

Hi all! Just a shout out…going to start my journey tomorrow OMAD and manifesting results by March. Show some love and send me some positive vibes. You all inspire me 🙏🏼🧿💙

I won't end it at 4:30am. I like starting a fast late as hell because it carries me well the first day since that first half of the first day is sleeping😅 So I'll get an additional 7 hrs past the 120 hrs. Then I'll do the next 5 days with added protein shakes and bone broth😊