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MTF

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My Greek salad. It was everything I dreamed of and more. So fresh, so juicy, so salty, the explosion of flavor was incredible haha. I didn't know I craved salt so much. Now giving the body an hour or so to restart the system before eating some berries.

I broke the fast after over 89 hours, my girlfriend after 87.

Her final stats:

Weight before: 115 lbs / 52.2 kg
Weight after: 109 lbs / 49.4 kg
Loss of 6 lbs / 2.8 kg

I consider this crazy for a person her weight. She was feeling weak yesterday and today morning as well but managed to keep going until the finish line. After she finished her salad, she removed almost half of her list of foods she wanted to eat and restaurants she wanted to go to after a fast haha.

So happy to be able to eat again!

Couldn’t finish it all! I’m 6’3 and 105kgs so it’s unusual for me not to finish any meal let alone on after 3 days off!

Yeah, it's important to take it easy during the first few hours at least. I guess that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow you should be able to eat your normal portions (but they will be probably a little smaller anyway because of the weight you lost).
 
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Bearcorp

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So based on your GF weight lost percentage I should have lost around 7-8 kgs :rofl: Dam it would be nice but my guess is it’s around the same as she did, great work both of you!
 

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It will be 90 hours by the time my bun-less cheese burger arrives from Five Guys. I just ordered it with Door Dash. I'll have a rib-eye tonight.

I was low-carb before the fast, so I only lost 6 ponds over the 90 hours.

I'm going to go back to low-carb until the end of the month.

Then I'll either do keto, no carb, or carnivore.
 

fishgodeep

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What meal is everyone having to break their fast?

CC02517B-17C6-4548-914A-DD79134E4BD8.jpeg

I ate ~4lbs of ground beef and slept like a bear.

I’m going to do another 72 hour fast starting Sunday evening ending Wednesday evening. This time I’m going to do a better job of tracking; weight, mood etc.

Anyone else care to join?

P.S. congratulations to everyone that took part, including those that were unsuccessful
 
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Sander

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So, my watch has ended.

96 hours, and just finished my first meal - grilled chicken with garlic marinade, a light sauce, salad and a grilled sausage.

25943

And in a few minutes I'm going to dive into the fresh new strawberries on the side.

Thanks @MTF for creating this challenge. Didn't have any plans for doing this before I saw your post in the other thread. I love to do impulsive stuff, even though my wife told me I was stupid (with a smile) through the entire challenge, when she saw how low energy I had, how hungry I was etc.

I'm kind of jealous that some of you didn't feel the hunger for through the whole thing. I was hungry from day one until today 18:17 PM, when I could eat again.

Yesterday was tough. Could barely finish my 45 minutes on my home bike. Didn't have any energy yesterday - but made my 45 minute walk and 45 minutes biking anyway. Today I did the 45 minute walk earlier, but saved the biking to after my dinner.

This was hard. But it was worth it.

It was never an option to quit, but it wasn't a pleasure the last 48 hours.

Have madly respect for those, who don't have a choice, but have to live without food for days or even weeks.

Don't know if I'm going to do this again. Maybe for a shorter 24-48 hour period once in a while, or maybe two 24 hours per week.

For now I'm going to stick to keto.

Can't tell anything about a weight loss, because I don't own a weight. But I feel lighter, so I guess there has been some progress.

If anyone is up for an endurance challenge, try this. It will really test you.

And respect to anyone who was a part of this challenge. We should everyone be proud of what we did, even if you ate before time. You still pushed yourself to your limit, and I think that's a healthy thing to do - maybe not everyday, but at least once in a while.

Didn't experience the mental clarity that many of you talked about. Was feeling dizzy everytime I stood up, feeling extremely hungry all the time, and couldn't even concentrate about work yesterday and today. Hats off to you who did this while working full time. I'm writing as a freelancer, so no problem in low work effort for a few days.

However, I have experienced mental clarity while being on keto, so really excited to start on this again.

Thansk for a fun challenge.

Could be nice with more stoic challenges as suggested earlier in this thread. Or just other endurance challenges.

Have a great evening with full stomaches everyone.

Cheers.
 

MTF

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So based on your GF weight lost percentage I should have lost around 7-8 kgs :rofl: Dam it would be nice but my guess is it’s around the same as she did, great work both of you!

Yeah I'd say 3-4 kg, maybe 5.

It's interesting that you said you're 105 kg/190 cm and you were able to see your abs after fasting. I'm almost 25 kg lighter than you, just a bit shorter, but all that changed visually is that I look even skinnier, but with no visible abs. Perhaps you have a lot more muscle mass.

It will be 90 hours by the time my bun-less cheese burger arrives from Five Guys. I just ordered it with Door Dash. I'll have a rib-eye tonight.

I was low-carb before the fast, so I only lost 6 ponds over the 90 hours.

I'm going to go back to low-carb until the end of the month.

Then I'll either do keto, no carb, or carnivore.

Congratulations, @Rawseed. 6 lbs while being previously low-carb is IMO still a lot of weight lost. I wouldn't be able to do keto for an extended period of time, love fruits too much... Respect for going straight from fasting back into low-carb.

I ate ~4lbs of ground beef and slept like a bear.

I’m going to do another 72 hour fast starting Sunday evening ending Wednesday evening. This time I’m going to do a better job of tracking; weight, mood etc.

Anyone else care to join?

P.S. congratulations to everyone that took part, including those that were unsuccessful

Congratulations, @fishgodeep! Man that is A LOT of meat!

I need a break from extended fasting for now (going back to my usual routine which is between 16/8 to 20/4) but there were some people in the thread who wanted to start next week.

So, my watch has ended.

96 hours, and just finished my first meal - grilled chicken with garlic marinade, a light sauce, salad and a grilled sausage.

Congratulations, @Sander. I would be really, really tired mentally if I had to fast for another 7 hours so respect that you did the entire 96 hours.

Hunger pangs were not an issue for me, but overall my mental state, lower energy, occasional lightheadedness and particularly recurring heart palpitations (the worst ones before falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night) were tough this time.

Didn't experience the mental clarity that many of you talked about. Was feeling dizzy everytime I stood up, feeling extremely hungry all the time, and couldn't even concentrate about work yesterday and today. Hats off to you who did this while working full time. I'm writing as a freelancer, so no problem in low work effort for a few days.

I didn't have any problems working so that was nice. There were occasional tougher periods but in general my productivity didn't suffer. As for feeling dizzy every time you stood up, perhaps you had electrolyte imbalance or were dehydrated?
 

Sander

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I didn't have any problems working so that was nice. There were occasional tougher periods but in general my productivity didn't suffer. As for feeling dizzy every time you stood up, perhaps you had electrolyte imbalance or were dehydrated?

Drank around 5-6 liters of water everyday. My goal was 4 liters for the 75Hard, but finished my 4 liters around late afternoon, so had to drink some more in the evening to keep my hunger in place.

Added salt to two glasses of water yesterday, but that was it. Don't know anything about electrolytes, so nope, didn't. Maybe it could've helped.
 
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MTF

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Added salt to two glasses of water yesterday, but that was it. Don't know anything about electrolytes, so nope, didn't. Maybe it could've helped.

I think that salt should have helped. Did you drink only tap water? Or maybe you actually drank too much water. That might be the reason why (you urinated too many electrolytes). That's why I drank both tap water and mineral water.

Some info about it here:
 

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I'm kind of jealous that some of you didn't feel the hunger for through the whole thing. I was hungry from day one until today 18:17 PM, when I could eat again.
@Sander I'm with you, felt 'hungry' on and off the whole way through. Now though I have a different perspective on what hunger really is. As I think we all do

Congratulations, @fishgodeep! Man that is A LOT of meat!


View: https://media.giphy.com/media/1qjvWFkKfyd3K4YGU2/giphy.gif
 

Brian Suh

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What meal is everyone having to break their fast?
Avocado and blueberries mixed with egg whites. When I was 17-19 and did a fast I would break it with donuts or a big meal. Bad mistake and will lead to bad relationship with food. This is a lifestyle change. This is giving your NATURAL BIRTH RIGHT BACK. It’s about stop handing over your body like a prostitute to major corporations. “Your exaggerating Brian!” No. I’m not. Everytime you eat something for pleasure and not sustenance, you are using your own body as a means and not an end. This is wrong. Would you give your child a small hit of cocaine every morning? No? Then why are you giving him cocoa pebbles every morning? Would you give your kid a beer every night? Then why are you letting him rot away his brain watching tv?

Creating REAL change starts from individuals and we are what we eat. I believe starving small amounts is good as it reminds us of how wonderful life is when we have a bite of the first piece of fruit after a fast.
I didn’t have a drink until 4 PM today. I was THIRSTY. Got a cup of water and my god. It was amazing. When life becomes too comfortable we lose meaning. Those that live in third world country don’t have concerns like “life purpose” or “how c an I be happy” they are just looking for that next meal.
 
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MTF

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Creating REAL change starts from individuals and we are what we eat. I believe starving small amounts is good as it reminds us of how wonderful life is when we have a bite of the first piece of fruit after a fast.
I didn’t have a drink until 4 PM today. I was THIRSTY. Got a cup of water and my god. It was amazing. When life becomes too comfortable we lose meaning. Those that live in third world country don’t have concerns like “life purpose” or “how c an I be happy” they are just looking for that next meal.

Temporary manageable discomfort is definitely good and I agree wholeheartedly with what you said about being too comfortable (brings us back to a more natural state I'd say, yin and yang). Consistently overstressing your body and mind is not, so it's also important to keep things in balance.
 

Brian Suh

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View attachment 25944

So, my watch has ended.

96 hours, and just finished my first meal - grilled chicken with garlic marinade, a light sauce, salad and a grilled sausage.

View attachment 25943

And in a few minutes I'm going to dive into the fresh new strawberries on the side.

Thanks @MTF for creating this challenge. Didn't have any plans for doing this before I saw your post in the other thread. I love to do impulsive stuff, even though my wife told me I was stupid (with a smile) through the entire challenge, when she saw how low energy I had, how hungry I was etc.

I'm kind of jealous that some of you didn't feel the hunger for through the whole thing. I was hungry from day one until today 18:17 PM, when I could eat again.

Yesterday was tough. Could barely finish my 45 minutes on my home bike. Didn't have any energy yesterday - but made my 45 minute walk and 45 minutes biking anyway. Today I did the 45 minute walk earlier, but saved the biking to after my dinner.

This was hard. But it was worth it.

It was never an option to quit, but it wasn't a pleasure the last 48 hours.

Have madly respect for those, who don't have a choice, but have to live without food for days or even weeks.

Don't know if I'm going to do this again. Maybe for a shorter 24-48 hour period once in a while, or maybe two 24 hours per week.

For now I'm going to stick to keto.

Can't tell anything about a weight loss, because I don't own a weight. But I feel lighter, so I guess there has been some progress.

If anyone is up for an endurance challenge, try this. It will really test you.

And respect to anyone who was a part of this challenge. We should everyone be proud of what we did, even if you ate before time. You still pushed yourself to your limit, and I think that's a healthy thing to do - maybe not everyday, but at least once in a while.

Didn't experience the mental clarity that many of you talked about. Was feeling dizzy everytime I stood up, feeling extremely hungry all the time, and couldn't even concentrate about work yesterday and today. Hats off to you who did this while working full time. I'm writing as a freelancer, so no problem in low work effort for a few days.

However, I have experienced mental clarity while being on keto, so really excited to start on this again.

Thansk for a fun challenge.

Could be nice with more stoic challenges as suggested earlier in this thread. Or just other endurance challenges.

Have a great evening with full stomaches everyone.

Cheers.
I’m down for no fap. I remember doing it in college (it was hell) and I felt very spiritual and peaceful. Felt one with my body. Felt like fasting. Watching porn is like eating junk food. The more hardcore the porn is like eating greasier food. Having a healthy wank to your imagination or that girl you’ve been talking to is like having a nice meal of salmon with quinoa lol.
 

fishgodeep

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Started my fast yesterday evening (Sunday), running through until Wednesday. Also took my weight last night and some pictures. My goal this time around is to do a better job of tracking everything, including my mood. So far so good

03D1CE83-33E7-4573-97FA-8585627031FE.png
 
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MTF

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Good luck!
 

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Thanks for making this thread.

I didn't partake in the fast, but this has motivated me to get back to intermittent fasting (baby steps).

For those of you that have done this multiple times, what effect would you say this has on your muscle mass? Does anyone here measure their bodyfat percentage before and after?

What about lifting/working out? Do you guys do any physically strenuous activity during the fast?
 

Raoul Duke

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Thanks for making this thread.

I didn't partake in the fast, but this has motivated me to get back to intermittent fasting (baby steps).

For those of you that have done this multiple times, what effect would you say this has on your muscle mass? Does anyone here measure their bodyfat percentage before and after?

What about lifting/working out? Do you guys do any physically strenuous activity during the fast?

 
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MTF

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Thanks for making this thread.

I didn't partake in the fast, but this has motivated me to get back to intermittent fasting (baby steps).

For those of you that have done this multiple times, what effect would you say this has on your muscle mass? Does anyone here measure their bodyfat percentage before and after?

What about lifting/working out? Do you guys do any physically strenuous activity during the fast?

I didn't measure my body fat, only weight, but I'd say I lost about a pound of body fat.

I exercised as normal during the fast, and didn't notice any difference physically (only mentally). Actually I had a workout today and it was one of my worst workouts in the last few weeks, while my fasted workouts last week were pretty good compared to this one.
 

fishgodeep

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For those of you that have done this multiple times, what effect would you say this has on your muscle mass? Does anyone here measure their bodyfat percentage before and after?

What about lifting/working out? Do you guys do any physically strenuous activity during the fast?

Body fat % measurements are not accurate and open to wide variability. Your hydration levels can throw it off by several % points. In my opinion they do more harm than good. Weight scales are also open to interpretation, most weight lost will be glycogen and water.

The best metric for measuring physical progress is the humble mirror. The mirror does not lie, combine this with a selfie and you have real accountability.

I can only speak for myself but I got leaner on my last 72 hour fast. My performance was good I do 45 mins of cardio every morning and Jiu Jitsu in the evening. I felt good on the mat this is my main measuring tool.

Am I doing less rounds? If yes then fasting is limiting performance. If no then it’s not limiting performance. The answer was no, overall I felt good physically.

The common criticism I hear from people is muscle loss. I find this amusing. Why? Do you have body fat? Yes. Do you have excess body fat? If you can’t see any abdominal definition then the answer is also Yes. So why would the body go through the extremely inefficient method of catabolizing it’s muscle tissue when it has ample energy reserves in the form of fat to utilize?

Is it possible the hysteria around muscle catabolism has been created by the same companies that create products to ‘help’ this ‘problem’? Maybe, I don’t have all the answers just questions.
 

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The common criticism I hear from people is muscle loss. I find this amusing. Why? Do you have body fat? Yes. Do you have excess body fat? If you can’t see any abdominal definition then the answer is also Yes. So why would the body go through the extremely inefficient method of catabolizing it’s muscle tissue when it has ample energy reserves in the form of fat to utilize?

I appreciate the response, but I don't think it's that simple, and think that your response is a bit misleading and not based in fact.

The data heavily supports that cutting calories equates to muscle loss. You see it in normal people. You see it with pro-athletes that try to go vegan and realize there's not enough calories for them to function at a high level.

Body fat % measurements are not accurate and open to wide variability. Your hydration levels can throw it off by several % points. In my opinion they do more harm than good.

This is true, but they are a good measurement of progress. If you measure yourself every single day in the morning when you get up, then you have enough consistency to track progress. My body fat % monitor may not be the exact true body fat %, but it does tell me relatively if my weekly results are positive or negative.

I exercised as normal during the fast, and didn't notice any difference physically (only mentally). Actually I had a workout today and it was one of my worst workouts in the last few weeks, while my fasted workouts last week were pretty good compared to this one.

Out of curiosity, what kind of workouts are these? Weight lifting? Cardio?

Were you working out after caffeine intake? Maybe the decline in workout performance was a result of lower caffeine effectiveness.
 
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AgainstAllOdds

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Anyways, did a 24 hour fast after seeing your guys' thread. After that, ate enough to hit my protein goals for the day. Currently feeling extremely full.

Some takeaways on the first 24 hours:
It was pretty easy overall. Drank a normal dose of caffeine, but felt alert for longer throughout the day.

Hit hunger pangs a couple times, but they went away after 20-30 minutes or so.

Started feeling a little bit "high" (lightheaded).

Overall felt good. Think that I can do a 3 day fast, but want to do more research on muscle loss first. I don't want to lose a pound of muscle in 3 days. Same time I want to challenge myself like you all did and reap the benefits that do exist from a fast.

@MTF - thanks again for making this thread!
 

MTF

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Out of curiosity, what kind of workouts are these? Weight lifting? Cardio?

Were you working out after caffeine intake? Maybe the decline in workout performance was a result of lower caffeine effectiveness.

Calisthenics in the morning, yoga in the evening, some cardio in the day (last week it was cycling). I always train fasted in the morning.

I drank tea a few hours before the workout.

@MTF - thanks again for making this thread!

You're welcome. Let us know if you want to start a 3-day fast and perhaps other people will want to join as well.
 

Brian Suh

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Thanks for making this thread.

I didn't partake in the fast, but this has motivated me to get back to intermittent fasting (baby steps).

For those of you that have done this multiple times, what effect would you say this has on your muscle mass? Does anyone here measure their bodyfat percentage before and after?

What about lifting/working out? Do you guys do any physically strenuous activity during the fast?
If I am trying to lose fat working out during a fast then having a post workout meal works AMAZING for me. But in terms of building strength and size it sucks unless you have a big meal before you sleep which also works awesome.
 
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fishgodeep

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your response is a bit misleading and not based in fact.

The data heavily supports that cutting calories equates to muscle loss. You see it in normal people. You see it with pro-athletes that try to go vegan and realize there's not enough calories for them to function at a high level.

In my opinion

I can only speak for myself

I don’t have all the answers just questions.

I thought my post was quite clear that everything I say is based on experiential knowledge through practical application. But I’ll repeat myself, everything I write is from experience not ‘data’ or ‘studies’. My data is my own results, not trying to ‘mislead’ anyone. I’d invite you to complete your own extended fast and come to your conclusions. I’d love to hear them. The more personal experiences we have the better.

I do not promote veganism, not sure how you drew that conclusion. If you follow the thread you will see I broke my fast with by eating 4lbs of beef. ~90% of my diet is red meat, I plan to break my fast tonight with ~5lbs of beef.

Anyway welcome aboard, look forward to hearing your personal results.

EE4D3308-4FBD-46BE-9EFD-EE7AA208349B.png

Just over 8 hours to go on my second 72 hour fast. This one has been tough so far physically. I believe it’s to do with the weather, it’s been <30 C and it is kicking my a$$. Still working out twice daily, performance has been good. But motivation is very low, I would happily settle for a brisk walk.

Mentally I feel great, the way I would describe it is the noise that’s usually in my head is turned down. I find it much easier to focus. Also been having some incredibly vivid dreams.

On the cusp on having a four pack which I never had with this amount of lean muscle mass. This will be my last long fast for a while I believe, but I’ll continue to do 24 hours daily. I love the simplicity and amount of free time from eating once daily.
 

luniac

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Anyways, did a 24 hour fast after seeing your guys' thread. After that, ate enough to hit my protein goals for the day. Currently feeling extremely full.

Some takeaways on the first 24 hours:
It was pretty easy overall. Drank a normal dose of caffeine, but felt alert for longer throughout the day.

Hit hunger pangs a couple times, but they went away after 20-30 minutes or so.

Started feeling a little bit "high" (lightheaded).

Overall felt good. Think that I can do a 3 day fast, but want to do more research on muscle loss first. I don't want to lose a pound of muscle in 3 days. Same time I want to challenge myself like you all did and reap the benefits that do exist from a fast.

@MTF - thanks again for making this thread!

regarding muscle loss
 

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I’m actually seeing a diet coach/personal trainer right now and he recommends eating smaller, more frequent meals everyday instead of fasting which puts more strain on your system due to the ever changing blood sugar levels. Will let you guys know my progress as a good comparison/contrarian diet plan.

Hey guys,

Just giving a brief update. It's been about half a month since I started eating regularly (300-400 calories per meal 5-6 meals per day) and I haven't been fasting at all, yet I've maintained my muscle mass and also have lost 3.5 pounds of body fat.

It may be too soon to attribute this to my new diet plan (counting calories, keeping track of macros, making sure I eat a balanced diet) but I haven't been fasting at all and I feel like I have good energy. I've also been keeping up with workouts, doing 2-3 workouts a week with a personal trainer.

Just wanted to let you guys know don't always trust fad diets (keto, IF) since the most important thing is eating a caloric deficit and sticking with your habits. It's okay to eat a cheat meal once in a while since human psychology makes it so that you always want what you can't get (e.g. if someone tells you you can't eat pizza for a month you'll be thinking about pizza) so the diet plan my trainer provided is way more doable since he doesn't forbid me to eat anything I want. Just as long as I get back to my 5-6 meals a day and under 300-400 calories each meal.

Fasting is great for once in a while, and there are benefits. However to keep fasting for the rest of your life and beating yourself up for ending a fast probably isn't very sustainable in the long run. Just my two cents.
 
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Hey guys,

Just giving a brief update. It's been about half a month since I started eating regularly (300-400 calories per meal 5-6 meals per day) and I haven't been fasting at all, yet I've maintained my muscle mass and also have lost 3.5 pounds of body fat.

It may be too soon to attribute this to my new diet plan (counting calories, keeping track of macros, making sure I eat a balanced diet) but I haven't been fasting at all and I feel like I have good energy. I've also been keeping up with workouts, doing 2-3 workouts a week with a personal trainer.

Just wanted to let you guys know don't always trust fad diets (keto, IF) since the most important thing is eating a caloric deficit and sticking with your habits. It's okay to eat a cheat meal once in a while since human psychology makes it so that you always want what you can't get (e.g. if someone tells you you can't eat pizza for a month you'll be thinking about pizza) so the diet plan my trainer provided is way more doable since he doesn't forbid me to eat anything I want. Just as long as I get back to my 5-6 meals a day and under 300-400 calories each meal.

Fasting is great for once in a while, and there are benefits. However to keep fasting for the rest of your life and beating yourself up for ending a fast probably isn't very sustainable in the long run. Just my two cents.

Hey @icemat - My diet is very similar to yours. I weigh everything. Count calories. Try to create a 400 calorie deficit per day while getting an adequate amount of protein.

However, I don't think that has anything to do with this thread. Read over @MTF 's intro post again:

Let me sell you on the idea:
  • Eating takes a lot of time out of your day - shopping, prepping, cooking, eating, cleaning up, etc. During the fast, you'll free up at least 2 additional hours a day, if not more. This can be a great time to set more ambitious goals for your business because it will be like getting a free workday.
  • It's a great exercise for self-discipline, one of the keys to success. There's @Fox's thread about a 75-day challenge that shows how important this skill is for everything in life. After going without food for 3 days, other willpower challenges will be easier.
  • You'll lose some weight. A lot of it will be water weight you'll regain, but there will be some fat loss, too (based on my experience, it should be at least 1-3 pounds, or 0.5-1.5 kg). While on a fast, particularly the second and third day, it might be a good time to go hang out at the beach (with a bottle of water only) as your physique will be much more defined. Who knows, maybe you'll see your abs for the first time in your life :)
  • You'll reset your body as you won't be supplying any of the crap coming from processed foods. Your body will begin the process of autophagy (self-eating), which sounds scary, but in reality is desirable as it will clean out damaged cells to replace them with new, healthier ones. Your insulin levels will drop and inflammation will reduce. It might help improve your physical appearance (reduce acne, redness, etc.). Here's an article on the 5 stages of prolonged fasting.
  • You'll gain more mental clarity and improve your relationship with food. After a fast, even a very simple meal will taste incredibly and junk food will probably taste strange, if not way too sweet/salty/greasy, etc. This can help you rebuild your diet from the ground up.
  • You'll probably have some weird vivid dreams, which is trippy, but also fun.
  • Perhaps for the first time in your life, you'll feel true hunger, not fake hunger you feel in between meals. It's a humbling experience that will help you understand the struggles of those less lucky who are forced to fast.
  • You already have two guys who will hold you accountable and share the experience with you. It's much easier to do it with someone else also doing it at the same time.
  • It's a simple challenge that, even if you decide not to repeat it, will be a cool experience. You'll be able to brag that you once went without food for 3 days :)

These are the benefits.

I don't think anyone here is hyping up fasting as a means of getting in shape (maybe they are, I haven't read every single post). Instead they're hyping up the other benefits that @MTF described.

Even though I'm doing what you're doing, on Sunday I plan to start a 3 day fast if anyone else is in. The reasons why I'm doing it:
  • Practice discipline.
  • Reset my body (hormones that force me to want to eat)
  • Improve my relationship with food.
It has very little to do with the weight lost over the course of 3 days. I still hold the belief that any weight lost during the fast comes at the loss of some muscle, but still want to do it because of the other benefits and challenge.

Anyways, congrats on finding something that works for you. However, take a moment to reconsider how you perceive fasting.
 

MTF

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Just wanted to let you guys know don't always trust fad diets (keto, IF) since the most important thing is eating a caloric deficit and sticking with your habits.

IF is not a fad diet because it's not even a diet. It's an eating pattern. You can be intermittent fasting and doing keto, being a carnivore, vegan, or eating only junk food. IF is not about what food you eat, it's about how often you eat.

And like @AgainstAllOdds pointed out, it's not just a tool to lose weight, and for many, it's not a weight loss tool at all. There are other benefits of it, one of the biggest ones for me the convenience of it. I don't have to worry about eating every 2-3 hours (sounds like a nightmare), I can comfortably skip an entire day of eating when traveling instead of eating bad airplane food, when I do eat I can enjoy larger portions, etc.

Fasting is great for once in a while, and there are benefits. However to keep fasting for the rest of your life and beating yourself up for ending a fast probably isn't very sustainable in the long run. Just my two cents.

If it works for you, that's great. IF works for me and we're all happy :)

As a person who's been fasting for about 8 years or so, I've never beaten myself up for ending a fast. Perhaps you think that the only "true" fasting is not eating for several days in a row, but most people do 16-20 hours without food. It's hardly a challenge. Most of the time you don't even think about it at all.

IMO eating 5-6 meals a day would be completely unsustainable in the long run for me as it sounds like your life revolves around food, yet you never eat a satisfying meal with these crazy small portions. But like I said, if you can stick to it easily, then that's your best bet. Successful nutrition is IMO a lot about your preferences and making it work for your lifestyle.
 

million$$$smile

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I just finished a 6 day fast.
Water only.
I was going to continue but I have a small medical treatment in three days and my doctor recommended that I eat so that I heal quicker.

Some takeaways:
My first and second day. I had a slight headache, most likely due to no caffeine. I am a big coffee drinker and normally in the past, I would continue to drink coffee, but I thought this time I would try a full cleanse and go water only.

Hunger pangs were not overwhelming for the most part during the complete fast, and mainly occurred during the day on day 5. That was a tough one. I noticed an overall feeling of weakness and along with that more hunger pangs. Later in the evening, it seemed I got my "second wind" and I felt like I could have run a 5k (of course, I would have probably dropped 5 minutes in the run!) but I felt great.
No craving food, and wishing I could have continued my initial plan of several weeks.

Day six (last day) again felt fine. But I knew I was going to break the fast that evening when meeting up with some business friends for dinner.
My first meal was fish and greens and a bit of rice. And a glass of wine. There is nothing better than relishing the taste of food after abstaining for a few days.

Today, I have gone back to 20/4 and plan on a meal (lean meat, salad) this evening. I do feel a bit weak and hungry. Probably due to having had a meal last night. Tomorrow and the next 2 days I am planning on eating 2 meals preparing for my doctors visit and will continue that for a week while my body heals. This procedure is minor so I don't have any concerns.

Lost a total of 12 lbs in 6 days. I'm sure there was a bit of muscle loss, but I believe I can gain that back with the same effort I focus when fasting.

I am not recommending this to anyone unless they really know themselves and what they are in for.
I have done several extensive fasts in the past (up to 14 days) but not water only.

This has been a great thread for me because it inspired me to try with water only.

Fasting has taught me a lot about myself. Especially in a work environment and being around stressful
situations. I have been learning to not allow my personal edginess to reflect on those around me. This has been an incredible insight on learning to "breathe out my stress" when I feel it coming on during fasting.

Fasting has much to do with preparing the mind and realizing that our form of eating 3 squares a day is induced much of the time on habit rather than hunger.

Thought this might help someone.
 
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MTF

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Thank you for sharing your experience, @million$$$smile. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Fasting has much to do with preparing the mind and realizing that our form of eating 3 squares a day is induced much of the time on habit rather than hunger.

And for some people the habit is so strong that they talk themselves into thinking that they actually get weak and dizzy after not eating for a few hours...
 

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