Dry fasting: another look

oura
hrv
dry-fasting

(Mame) #21

I think I may ask for a device to measure this for my birthday.


#22

Checking in - another dry fast done and I feel good! As before: HRV up (not as high as usual on a dry fast but way higher than my normal) and deep sleep great, but overall sleep time (and REM) not so good. Usually I recover really well by the following night but this is a tough work week for me - until 10pm for the full week - so fingers crossed…
In any case, I’m loving this experiment! I wish there were a way to measure things like inflammation (aside from getting a blood test for CRP every week), but I’ll continue to use HRV as the main guide to how my body is liking the dry fasting.


(Tamela Robinette) #23

I just found this thread! Yay for dry fasting! I don’t measure HRV but I’m intrigued. I’m 27 hours into a dry fast and almost at 40 hours total. How has your breaking the dry fast experience been? I’m thinking I will have 8 ounces of water at 10 a.m. (since I’m breaking my fast at 12 to eat) and then another 8 ounces every 30 minutes or so thereafter for the 2 hours leading up to breaking. I don’t want tummy issues in the middle of a work day.


#24

When I break a dry fast, I have a glass of water with electrolytes (either Fasting Drops or just a mix of salt, potassium and magnesium), and I try to sip that over about half an hour.

After that, I break as I would usually break a fast. For me that just means a full normal meal, sometimes with a bit of sauerkraut half an hour before I eat if I remember to, though I know other folks need to be more careful when breaking any kind of fast. I definitely drink more in the hours afterwards but I just use thirst as a guide, and I try to make sure that I’m keeping up with salt (lots of straight water will start to skew electrolytes - just flushes them out!).


(Tamela Robinette) #25

Ok sounds like you don’t have a lot of issues breaking a fast. I just sipped my 1st glass of water and took a magnesium capsule. Gonna get in a little pink salt too but I don’t have any potassium with me at the moment. I did bring an avocado so maybe that has enough potassium to get me through. I downloaded a HRV app and I’m going to begin tracking that data. Gotta do a little me research to understand what I’m looking at lol.


#26

I had been tracking HRV for months before I started the dry fasting, which is why I did a double take the first time I saw such a high number, but once you’re used to using it I bet you’ll see if there’s a correlation (with dry fasting or with anything else). There are lots of factors, but a few have jumped out to me, and it’s definitely nice to have a long term view on it.


(April Harkness) #27

What a coincidence. Just did a dry fast yesterday! And documented it! Today as I reflect and now have my first and only coffee- I was able to really taste the hints of maple and bacon in my coffee(no worries guys, it’s black coffee but the flavor profile I couldn’t taste as well is magnified after my dry fast! The coffee has a sweet taste without any sugar and hints of bacon. A truly fantastic coffee after a dry fast. I had bought this earlier and could taste it the first time I had it. SUbsequent tastings, I could no longer taste it. But after a dry fast? I am really able to appreciate the intricacies the coffee plays on my tastebuds! FInished and have no need for a 2nd cup! Dry fasting for the win!)


#28

Just wrapped up another weekly dry fast (about 36 hours within a 48 hour fast). During the day yesterday I felt amazing: strong, energetic, clearheaded. That was basically for the first 28-ish hours.
Then last night I had a lousy night of sleep (with a high-ish HRV but not like the earlier times). It might be that I felt so good during the day that I pushed things too far? Idk, and I really wish I could figure out the sleep component. For me, the sleep at 28hrs of a dry fast is kind of like 96 hours of a water fast, so broken sleep on fasting is not new but just comes much sooner. The other difference is that when I get to that point in a regular fast I’m usually out of commission - sleep-deprived and miserable - for the rest of the day, but after the bad night of sleep from a dry fast I’m cranky for the first hour or two but then fine for a busy day.

Watching my Oura ring, the sleep is interesting on my dry fasts: generally I get longer deep sleep than usual and a high HRV - both of which are terrific - but then very broken sleep with lots of waking after the first 3 hours, and very low REM sleep.

The other new thing is that my hamstring injury might just be a bit better: the other day in yoga I had no trouble in the pose that usually makes me feel it, and in fact I went deeper than I ever have. Very cool. I don’t know for sure if it’s related to the dry fasting, but just in case it is, I’m willing to deal with one night/week of lousy sleep to keep trying.

There’s a cool story from someone who incorporated dry fasting and watched her inflammation levels (measured by CRP) drop dramatically. I’ll post it when I get a chance.


(Becky) #29

Hi,

A bit of backstory first. 3 years ago, 274 lbs, began keto, immediately lost tons of weight, 65 lbs, blood sugar, blood pressure normalized within first 2 months. 6 months later began stalling over the course of next 6 months. Finally got a fasting insulin test and learned I was 5X higher than normal.

By then, my emotional based food/carb addiction was creeping back in and over the next two years gained back all of my weight and unhealthy markers. Repeated attempts to restart keto failed.

It has been 2 months now back on keto. 1 month in, I wasn’t losing any weight and my markers remained high. Knowing keto works, I began IF, and 24-36 hr water fasting. Now I seemed to be getting puffier and puffier. BS 150s, BP 150s/115.

Saw some information about insulin resistance and dry fasting allowing the body to harvest excess water from the cells, reducing inflammation and insulin resistance. Over the course of a week I DF (dry fasted) 23-26 hours OMAD, over 3 days. BS dropped to 120s-98! BP 130s-115/110-91.

I was very cautious beginning DF. I stayed home, checked my BS, BP 3X a day. Paid attention to thirst and hunger signals. I didn’t experience any adverse symptoms. I slept well and only stopped because other people seemed very leary about it. However, over the next week-10 days I went back to keto and IF and my high markers, puffiness, etc returned.

So, I’m back to OMAD and dry fasting for the last two days and my markers are coming back down. I’m not recommding DF to anyone. I am not using it for weight loss, (good since neither time did I lose much). I know the weight will drop when it is ready, but I want my BS and BP to not kill me while I’m waiting for the weight to drop.


#30

This sounds great, Becky! Seem like you’re being super smart about it, and your story is similar to a lot of others that I’ve seen at this point. Thanks for coming onto the thread to tell your experience.


(April Harkness) #31

I am a big believer in dry fasting. It helped reduce my reliance on coffee, something I was not expecting. I do dry fasting once a week. For some reason it is much easier than fasting with coffee, tea and water


#32

My husband, who’s been supportive of my fasting in general and even has tried a day with me here and there, actually tried a dry fast last week. He definitely suffered a bit from the lack of coffee- he’s a pretty big coffee drinker - but by the next day felt amazing. He was surprised and happy :slight_smile:


#33

I’m just wrapping up another dry fast and I’ve decided to take another approach to the sleep issues -to welcome them as a weird, somewhat trippy energy surge. Last night I got up and listened to an interesting podcast and then a short guided meditation, went back to sleep for a few hours, then listened again. It’s an odd insomnia and if I don’t fight it I have to admit it doesn’t exactly feel bad, just unusual. According to my Oura app, my HRV was high and my deep sleep was almost double my usual (but REM is low and overall sleep time was barely 5 hours). I may try to fit in a nap today on a work break but right now I feel good.


#34

One more update on this post-DF day: once I re-hydrate and re-feed I feel unbelievably good - strong, happy, clearheaded, almost invincible. I’m fine on the day of fasting but my energy is definitely a bit down and I feel somewhat muted during the fast itself. (Part of this might just be that the dry fast happens within a 48 hour fasting window, and I’m relatively lean right now.)

This morning I also noticed the same thing I sensed a few weeks ago: I’m more flexible and my muscles feel more pliable. I’m active and work on my mobility, so I’m usually fairly flexible, but this morning - first thing this morning out of bed - I was able to put my hands flat on the floor with my elbows slightly bent (standing, legs straight). That’s generally where I am at the end of the day or by the end of a yoga class, definitely not normal for 6am. I can’t say for sure if this is connected to my dry fasting (I feel like it is, but it’s obviously way more subjective than HRV and deep sleep data!). @April_Harkness I’m curious if you’ve seen any differences in your workouts or mobility?


#35

Here’s the cool story from a woman on Reddit that I wanted to share on here. Water fasting dropped her CRP levels a bit and dry fasting dropped them dramatically :slight_smile:

A bit of backstory: I am obese - 300+ pounds. I also have Selective IgA deficiency which leaves me prone to infections in the mucous membranes of my body(sinuses, eyes, GI tract). Before it started fasting I had a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) level of 88. (Healthy levels are under 7). My doc wasn’t sure why but chalked it up to a combo if my weight & an infection yet to be found.

After 2 months of water fasting (including a 21 day), my CRP levels dropped to 77.

From August -October, I began experimenting with dry fasting. I most recently completed a 102 hour dry fast.

Just this week I got my newest lab results back. My CRP levels are down to 22!! This is amazing! I fully attribute it to dry fasting because, my CRP levels have remained high on previous diet attempts when I have been at a lower weight than I am now. As in they’ve never budged from the 80s before even with weight loss of over 150 pounds. Yet, in 3 months dry fasting has brought it down by a whopping 50 points!!

TLDR: I fully believe dry fasting had dropped my CRP levels drastically. :slight_smile:


#36

Just checking in. I’ve been doing a 24-40 hour dry stretch in the middle of my weekly 48 hour fasts, and it feels pretty normal. Actually this week I’m doing the same but with ADF, so it’s a series of (mostly) dry fasts.
I haven’t felt a twinge in my hamstring (healing an old pull was one of the reasons I wanted to try dry-fasting) but I’m not sure it’s 100% gone.
My sleep is still lousy on my dry fasting nights but HRV is still elevated on those nights and I feel really good - flexible and strong.


(Ben ) #37

I just finished a 21hr dry fast. Keytones went up, blood pressure went down and blood sugar went down. It appears that your body can make its own water from the breakdown of fat. Thomas Delauer has a nice video on dry fasting.