Hi everyone, just joined up today, I’m hoping some people can help me by sharing there methods of breaking through the mental barriers that come with water fasting. I have previously done a few minor water fasts, few 3-5 day fasts, longest i made it was to 10 days then i broke it out of boredom and my mind was just thinking about food all the time plus When I’m fasting i try to keep it a secret and not tell anyone as they don’t understand the whole fasting thing and you find everyone has the same response, “you’re going to die etc” i know my partner had this response so i used to just lie and say i had an early dinner etc. I find hunger isn’t my issue bar the usual day 3 wall you hit then it balances out nicely, i just find i start to think about food out of boredom or being around the home or cooking the kids there dinners and before i know it I’m eating something only to be met with disappointment in myself. I have just started again today and i would love to get to 21 days this time, hopefully some of you can help me make this goal achievable. Thanks. 
Advice on Breaking Mental Barriers whilst Water Fasting
Few reasons, have a good cleanse, detox the body and reset my digestive system and lose a bit of weight. Id also like to better my mental ability in relation to patience and will power.
Distract your mind, don’t cook for others when you feel this way, journal your thoughts and what might be causing them.
Fasting is easier for me when I keep busy away from food. I am able to search for new recipes, make up bone broth, etc. for a while but then I have to focus on something not food related. I personally did not find any added advantages to going beyond 4 days. I could easily go longer, but socially, it gets too hard to say no to friends and family. I always feel great after a 3-4 day fast. So I am good doing those.
Good luck on finding your sweet spot.
I’m new to fasting, so I’m no expert. I know it’s popular to set a goal to fast for a given number of days, but that’s not my approach. I decide when to start a fast, but when it ends is dictated by how my body feels or by life’s circumstances (ie. visitors from out of town, charity dinner). There’s no pressure to go for an arbitrary number of days. No disappointment. It’s successful if my mind and body are better off after the fast than it was before.
A few weeks ago, I decided to fast until I got down to 25% bodyfat. This could take 90+ days. I am unwilling to structure my life around fasting. For me, fasting must fit around my life. What this means is, from time to time, I have a meal then continue on my fast. Some may call that a series of fasts done back to back. Some may call it pausing an extended fast. Given the existing nomenclature OMAD (One Meal A Day) perhaps it could be called OMAW (Week) as a generalization, but again, in my case it winds up being one meal every 4-10 days as circumstances dictate.
I don’t know if I’m missing some of the benefits that are associated with an uninterrupted extended fast. But my way is working sufficiently well enough for me.
Hi Lee. 
Very familiar experience, there. I don’t think I’ve experienced true hunger for decades. We are so used to eating, to thinking about that next meal, etc. I have yet to totally forego all food when I’m at a meal where others are eating. Cannot resist the lure of going out to eat with co-workers; such a huge part of my life for so long. I do best when I’m by myself.
Staying busy helps with boredom, and hunger comes in waves - this has a biological basis in that hunger hormones rise and fall during the day; there are usually about 8 peaks in them. If we can get by for 20 minutes or a half hour without eating, it gets easier for a while after that. I tell myself, “No food today,” and there is a slight aid there - it’s as if I’m talking to somebody else and to a point they give up on the food thing.
I’ve done about 12 fasts this year, 3 to 5.5 days long. Have never felt really bad, but also not euphoric. Some few periods of increased mental clarity, or is that just that steady and lower blood sugar has benefits? Fasting has definitely gotten easier with practice - I am sure the body gets better at it, and when one has a lot of fat to burn, as I do, then it can be no problem at all, as long as those mental barriers stay down. There is also a vast positive mental component there - the great feeling that I’m not adding to my problems, not taking in anything harmful, that my liver and kidneys are getting a break from handling all that stuff they normally do, that my insulin sensitivity is increasing and the scale numbers going lower.
I know all this, and still have always given in to some impulse thus far. Perhaps this is a case where one doesn’t truly know something until they do it.