How often do most of you fast in a week? “How many days a week?”
Let’s make this a poll, shall we? (—PaulL)
Enter your usual rate of fasting:
0 voters
Hi there.
I fast every week, mostly for 48 hours, sometimes for 60ish. I also eat 1x/day
I would say that for most people, the number of fasting days per week is zero.
I tend to do a short fast of about 1 or 2 days, once a month. That’s generally 24 to 36 hours, so 1 day every 4 or 5 weeks.
I will sometimes do 24 hour fasts out of convenience - like if I skip breakfast and don’t have time for lunch for some reason, but that’s not a specifically planned activity.
Thank you for your input. I am curious. Cause I fast 20hrs about 2x a week. And was wondering what the average was.
Yeah for the most part, it depends on what you consider fasting. Some folks consider eating 1x/day as intermittent fasting, while others call it time restricted eating. I guess it just comes down to semantics.
But yeah, I’ve run a lot of little experiments on myself and have come to the conclusion that the only way I can continue seeing considerable weight loss is to eat 1 meal/day that is mostly carnivorous shortly after working out, and fast for at least 48 hours.
I switch up my fasting/eating schedule each week. Some weeks I’ll do three fasts, one 36 hour and two 24 hour. Some weeks (like this week) I’ll just complete two 36 hour fasts and some weeks I do one 48 hour. I let my social schedule dictate my fasting structure for any given week.
I like to complete at least one longer fast per month at 60-72 hours. I used to do even longer with a 96 hour minimum but have found this year that I just don’t want to do that anymore. Those super long fasts have gotten harder and I see plenty of benefit from a 60 hour fast, so I don’t bother.
On eating days I find that I’m most comfortable with two meals a day within a six hour window.
I’ve found that when I don’t consistently fast, my weight loss stalls out completely, despite a rigorous, clean ketogenic diet. That wasn’t the case when I started the way of eating but now it is.
I understand, everyone has to tweak their diet, to fit their own needs. And what ever it takes to maintain a steady weight loss. I could fast every day. But I wasn’t sure how healthy or how it would affect my weight loss.
Thank you, that’s what I was thinking also. That if I fast too long my metabolism may slow way down. I used to be able to fast for up to 14 days. But that’s not what I’m after this time. Il test it out for a few weeks and see what the scale says. I appreciate everyone’s experiences. Thank you!
I’m thinking that it’s more a matter of the weight I’ve lost thus far. If I understand the science correctly (admittedly I may not) your body fat has the ability to draw down a certain amount of caloric energy. So more body fat equates to an ability to fast longer? I still have plenty of body fat but have shed double the amount left to go in the last year. I dunno. Just thinking through the possible reasons for the change without having any kind scientific knowledge on the subject, or the time and desire to scour the world for the right answer. I just, from week to week try to find that sweet spot with an energetic body and a clear mind. However you fast, feeling awesome is the point!
FWIW (you asked!) I do three alternate day fasts a week. Each fast runs about 40 and usually 42 hours. That’s counting from the end of my last meal to the start of the next; typically one night at 6-ish through 42 hours to alternate day’s noon. On eating days, that means eating between noon and 6 PM (which starts the next fast except for once a week).
Same schedule every week. Whether or not there are better ways, I can’t say. The few times I mixed it up it didn’t seem to matter.
Depends on how you define “fast.” I do TRE every day (usually 16:8 to 18:8). Some people define this as fasting, so they might say I fast every day. I don’t consider those fasting days. I aim to fast three to four days a week for 42 to 64 hours at a time.
This is believed to be the case. Here’s the blog post and a calculator from @richard.
I’m lucky to get one 36 hour fast and one 22 hour fast, with eating about 16/8 every day I do not fast. However, some months, I’ll go for a longer fast of 4.5 days or so. I’ve done two of those so far this year.
I’ve set goals of two 36 hour fasts and one 22 hour fast per week, but I find it too hard to do, most times. I might have made that once so far this year. I keep getting too cold when I do that.
I do a daily IF of 20/4. I just finished a 74 hour fast from Thursday-Sunday and am on a Fat Fast right now (eating just cream cheese IFFF I want some, you can have up to one package a day, but I have had 1 tablespoon so far so might be more of a fast with that once in a while, which is what I am aiming for) I am hoping to have this one 72 hours as well. I try to do atleast one 48 hour and one 72 hour once a week, but I might make the 72 hour weekly one to include cream cheese a bit if this one goes well =).
I’m just now into my 2nd week of Keto and I’m doing 18/6 which seems to be working for me and helping me adjust to a new way of life. I’m hoping when I get to 4 weeks in I’ll be ready to start doing a couple of longer fasts each week. You guys are very much an inspiration to me so thanks for sharing your experience
I may also be when you started, how much you weigh now versus when you started, etc. For instance, I’m low carb/keto for 5.5+ years, and have been fasting for at least 3 (or 3.5? or 4?) years of that. When I started fasting, I started skipping just breakfast a few times a week, then bfast and lunch a few times a week, then started doing 4.5-5.5 day fasts. When I did the longer fasts, I could exercise 1-2 times during those fasts. Now, I do not attempt any exercise for longer fasts of that duration. I also rarely got cold during a fast. Now, I get cold all the time. I’m down about 60 pounds of fat, though, so I’m getting closer to where I want to be. It seems to be getting harder for me to fast.
You are doing great; you will be building up fasting muscles easier when you do fast, from being in this routine =).
Yep- exactly. I’ve got about 40 lbs of fat left to draw from and my experience is similar to yours. The length of time I feel good while fasted and the amount of exercise I can do during those fasts diminishes as my body fat does. I’m in a 36 hour fast now and easily completed my elliptical and core routines. When I tried to do the same routine during my 72 hour last week, I felt like poop and couldn’t complete it, despite being well hydrated and salted.
So long fasts are harder because we’re less fat than we used to be. From that perspective, feelings of awesomeness ensue…
I fast between 0 and 15 times a week depending on the week. I eat between 0 to 15 times per week too. I make it a habit to fast between all my meals…