72 hrs fasting?

fasting
(Savannah Tr) #1

Should i fast every 72hrs for a long period of time until i get my ideal weight instead just doing it once a week or once a months like everyone else? Is it dangerous? Did anyone use to fast like this?

#2

Missing a lot of information from you, but you don’t need to fast like that to lose weight on Keto.

(Carl Keller) #3

Hi Savannah.

How long and how often to fast depends on how your body responds to long periods of time without food. I believe we should listen to what it tells us. Maybe yours is ok with substituting body fat for fuel in the absence of food? Maybe you would prefer to eat LCHF for a while so that you have better control of your hunger and cravings before fasting? Fasting is not necessary to lose weight but it can be a useful tool in your metabolic toolbox.

Humans have been fasting for eons, often because the prey we hunted was more motivated or luckier than we were. It’s hardwired into our DNA to make metabolic adjustments to maintain our level of energy so that we have a better chance to succeed in our next hunt. If fasting were hazardous, humans as a species would have never made it this far.

The danger in fasting is when our bodies recognize a long term pattern of restriction. This is why it is important to switch things up. We need to eat well fairly regularly so that we can assure our bodies that starvation is not a threat. If our body perceives famine, it can slow our metabolism which means we start to sacrifice bodily functions that make us feel normal. We become sluggish. We feel cold and become agitated easily. Our body prioritizes keeping our organs warm and working properly and most every other low priority part of our body begins to suffer. This is what we want to avoid and that can be done by listening to your body.

If you start to feel unwell, you are either fasting too much or too long. Make sure you include some days of feasting to prevent this. Let your body know that ample meals are not far away.

(hottie turned hag) #4

@CarlKeller’s posts are always a tough act to follow and I can add nothing better to what he states :point_up: but just chiming in to say I’ve fasted 48h more times than I can count over past 2yr and 72h ~10 times and I love doing it. It does always seem to push my loss forward and I do sustain the loss afterwards.

(Robert C) #5

I am not diabetic but I have seen some posts about fasting and blood sugar changes being an issue. If I remember correctly, it was suggested that you work with a doctor to adjust doses of medication in this case.

@CarlKeller is correct about making sure your fasting pattern cannot be perceived by the body as simply calorie restriction (72 hour fasts will avoid this issue nicely).

From the “if it was easy, everyone would do it” department, let me give you a little personal perspective (having tried something similar in the past). Early fasts (first 2 or 3) go great, you’re motivated and there is good progress. Then, starting the 3rd or 4th fast, you might suddenly notice you want to put it off, you don’t like the idea anymore. If this is the case with you, you might consider less fasts (less times having to start a fast) by doing 5 day fasts instead.

Finally, if you do undertake this mission, it might be a good idea to stick with water / coffee / tea to get autophagy going. It seems to have true health benefits and it is only a little bit more difficult to achieve (essentially just cutting out bone broth and cutting the little bit of cream some put in their coffee - or any other things you might be thinking are “okay” on a fast).

(Savannah Tr) #6

Thank you dear, i appreciate this :blush:. Yeah i did 48hrs fasting some times, and i was fine with this, i’m gonna take the next step to 72hrs for some of its benefits. I will listen to my body!! Thank you

(Savannah Tr) #7

Thank you, Rob!