How long do you wait between extended fasts

(Mike Ratcliffe) #1

I planned on fasting 40 days, feast for 2 weeks and then fast for another 40 days (I have plenty of weight to lose and still will after both fasts.

But on “The Fasting Movie” last night one of the doctors said that with a fast of 40 days you shouldn’t fast again for 6 months to build up your nutrition stores.

Does anybody know any different? I take vitamin supplements, potassion, magnesium, calcium and vitamin D so I don’t understand why I would need to recharge anything but the doctor seemed to know what he was talking about, hence my concern.

(Mike Ratcliffe) #2

Researching this it appears that because I am taking in plenty nutrition whilst fasting I don’t need to worry too much about replenishing my nutrients.

There is precious little online about this but It seems that as a general rule you should wait at least as long as you have fasted so if I fasted for 40 days I should feast for 40 days. This feels like it is right to me so that is my plan.

#3

40 days is a VERY long fast. There is a link to someone on here who did a 40 day fast, not sure it’s something that I would recommend. Personally, I do EF of 3 days once a week and 4-5 days once every 2 weeks. Ultimately very very long EFs, 40 days or even 7-14 or more days, seem unnecessary to me because the effect of shorter EFs is cumulatively fantastic (I’ve lost 17 lbs in 2.5 months) without having to worry about extreme sorts of scenarios like nutrient exhaustion or other unanticipated issues from very long EFs not done under medical supervision by someone who is a real expert like Dr. Fung. Extreme fasting periods lead to more risk of weird and hefty weight gains on refeed. Maybe someone disagrees on here? (BTW I have no idea whether or not 40 days of fasting leads to nutrient deficiency requiring not fasting for so long, that seems like it might be speculative–that doctor avoiding liability issues in the movie).

#4

Here is the 46 day fast journal: A really extended fast: going for 46-days!

Not sure the results redound to long term sustainable results given his amount of regaining. In my thinking the fasting has to lead to sustainable weight loss and be maintained by IF and occasional EF. Very long “binge fasting” is interesting and I’d like to see more data on it, but we are mostly n=1 people here. Personally, family and social life restrict me to 4-5 days max, but it is working for me very well. I’ve gotten to where 24 hours doesn’t feel like a fast really anymore.

#5

Unless you’ve already done extensive block fasting, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. Very, very few people have the wherewithal to fast for anything approaching that long. That said, if you can fast for 40 days, why break it? Fast for the entire 80 and be done with it.

My first ever fast lasted 7 days. Then for the next 6 months, I ate (every 4-10 days depending on social eating obligations) on average, approximately one meal a week. This fit into my life and wasn’t disruptive like a very long fast would be. I halved my body fat without any unexplained stalls. Obviously, this couldn’t be sustained over the long term. I am now using shorter periods of fasting (typically every 2-3 days) to improve my insulin resistance.

I find fasting more a mental rather than physical challenge. The biggest benefits have also been mental (ie. discipline, self confidence, willpower) and applicable to other aspects of my life.

Good Luck!

#6

My first fast lasted 21 days, very glad I achieved a major reset of my physical and mental health. Now I feast on the weekends and fast for most of the weekdays, this works for me.

And that is what you might need to discover is what works for you and your body right now. For what will work for you and your body in the future will most certainly be different.

My point is; listen to your body and go with what is working and pay attention when things are not working so you can make adjustments.

Adapt and overcome.

(Mike Ratcliffe) #7

I am surprised that people are saying that 40 days is a long fast. At almost 300 lbs I have plenty of fuel to go much longer than that… I wouldn’t try it without all the essential nutrients that I need.

My first fast was 38 days and I found that it felt completely natural and was very easy… in fact, for refeeding I made a very large omelette with bacon and grazed on it for about 3 hours without any ill effects. Fasting comes very naturally to me.

It didn’t feel like a long fast to me at all, in fact I felt like I could easily go on for much longer. The only reason I stopped was because I took an “after” photo and even overlaying them on a computer I looked identical. With hindsight I should have relied on the fact that I could wear clothes that I hadn’t been able to wear in 10 years :wink:

My current fast is even easier than my first thanks to my keto-aid mix. No cramps, headaches etc.

Of course, I know all the warning signs indicating my micros are out of balance and the warning signs that I should end my fast.

To give this some context, aged 15 - 23 I was a drug addict and it was very common for me to choose to go 2 - 4 weeks without food so that I could buy extra drugs.

With hindsight I don’t think I was ever really addicted to the drugs but I was certainly addicted to the lifestyle… I was the type that would take care of all the addicts around me. I would help get them an address, bank account, job and finally a house.

In the end I learned that you can’t save everyone and you can only watch so many people die before you realize it could be you next. That was 21 years ago though and my junkie days are way behind me.

Saying that, my new drug of choice is probably food. I plan on going full Keto when I eat and will use a well known Keto app for meal plans. My issue is that I tend to overeat protein so following a meal plan seems the best way to go.

#8

Go Mike!

My hat is off to you sir.

(cheryl) #9

I tend to overeat protein also.

#10

Mike, if you can run for 40 days or 80 days, do it man! We support you! Do whatever it takes. The first 30 lbs I lost, when I started doing Keto again, I also found a low carb doctor to motivate me to show progress between visits. I also would tell myself that this is what I decided to do, that everything was going to be different. You quit taking drugs-- that is huge! You got this! For me, I’ll stick to my 4-5 days, but I’ll be fasting with you often! Keep us apprized and I want to see the after pictures :slight_smile:

#11

That’s what I meant— 40 days is longer than a month. I do consider that a long time :wink:

#12

Do you really have THAT much fat to loose to justify those type of prolonged fasts? While many people spread fear tactics that typically aren’t true, like muscle loss, doing 40 days fasts WILL do that! Muscle is your friend especially with your metabolism and it’s rehabilitation. I’m a big fan of fasting, but 40 days is serious stuff. have you gone that long before?

#13

There isn’t a reality that exists where going 40 days without food isn’t a long time! Even in fasting circles.

(Mike Ratcliffe) #14

My last fast was 38 days and I found it really easy and natural… to refeed I had a big omelette and ate it gradually slice by slice.

Anyhow, it turns out that we have guests coming for dinner on Tomorrow so I do need to stop for a couple of days.

Our plan is Swiss Raclette so completely Keto friendly :wink:

After that I will just continue fasting… I totally believe we should be flexible like this.

#15

My fasting schedule was dictated by my social calendar. I reached normal weight quickly, which I expected. My insulin resistance is improving, which I expected. What I didn’t realize is how useful a tool fasting is for maintaining weight. If I gain a few pounds, I can quickly lose them before it gets out of hand. I also appreciate that fasting allows for greater dietary flexibility. I generally follow a Paleo diet, but not always. The only hard rule is there are no hard rules. For me, there are no “bad” foods (though some are healthier than others), there are no “cheat” days, and there is no guilt. So long as I’m in ketosis most of the time, I’m fine.

(Ginger) #16

There are loads of people reporting on 30+ days fasts on r/fasting on reddit and extended water fasting on youtube, so I disagree with some of the comments above that 40 days would be considered extreme throughout the fasting community. Every forum and online community have their own microculture, so maybe 40 days is extreme here on ketogenic forums, but certainly not the entire fasting community.

Some people just psychologically find long (20+ days) fasting easier for a host of reasons, and if their reasons for fasting in the first place are motivated by serious health concerns, and they are doing a well research fast, they are not nutrient deficient, have plenty of body fat and take care during the refeed I say, good luck. Wishing you the best Sir!

Your nutrients may or may not be depleted after 40 days. We are all different, the only real way to tell is to go and get those specific lab tests. So if you really want to be sure, get those blood tests. Then fast according to how healthy those are.

(Adrian Lee) #18

Mike I did a 63 day fast and stopped because I was doing a bike ride a month later and wanted to prepare for it by getting my glycogen levels back up. The day after I fasted for 49 days and stopped because my body was telling me to. In total I lost 105lbs.For me it was easy , after the first seven days the brain had given up telling me I was hungry and I just felt empty. My opinion and it is only an opinion is you could continue or break it for say 10 days. I would continue but obviously it’s your personal choice. By the way if you think 63 days is enormous a friend did 75 days.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #19

About the longest the average person can go without starving to death is sixty days. If you wish to fast longer than that, please do so only under medical supervision. You might do an Internet search on Angus Barbieri and learn the conditions under which his doctors agreed to let him fast for as long as he did.