Beginner, first 72 hour fast. Notes and take-aways

TLDR: First 72 hour fast after a 16 hour trial a day before, went well, had a few interesting take-aways and will do it again. Motivation is getting my body repaired after clubbing it with alcohol and stress and getting leaner. Additional motivation, now that I’ve experimented that, is mental clarity, productiveness and depression aid. 1. The intro A bit of background info here: mid 30s (F), pretty active in general, but recently work (and work travel with crazy schedules) hit with a bang and sidelined me for 3 months of fluff-gaining. Keto (proper) for about 6 months back in 2018, until I got into lifting, with which I struggled for about two months before eventually getting carbs in, because I was getting completely wiped and not recovering properly. Casual drinker until March 2020, when it became all-hours-of-the-day-not-casual. Went through life changes, held steady at 1-1.5 bottles of wine per day, or a combination of different things that equalled about the same alcohol quantity. Had a dry start of the month, then Sundays with parents, birthdays, Christmas parties. However, things have improved. I used to go over 95 BPM while sleeping. Having went down the rabbit hole of reading about prolonged fasting and its benefits, I said eff it – why not try. There’s a serious relationship change with food and drinks that has to happen for me, and best to go for it sooner rather than later, while I’m still amped up on \*knowledge about new and shiny thing\*. I’m usually eating since I wake up and into the night (always, always chocolate in bed. Yes… I know). Whenever I am stressed, I default to downing something, whether it’s coffee or alcohol or coke zero or all sorts of ungodly munchstuffs. Anyway, here we are, long intro done. 2. The test I’ve never in my life fasted more than 16 hours. So I started with that, from Sunday until Monday at 11:00, and it went well. Not stuffing myself in the evening meant trouble falling asleep, but sleep eventually was good, and my heart rate was great. Had a snack the next day and a smallish lunch at the office. Went back home early after a work meeting close by (I have full flexibility). Started my 72 hour fast on a highly uninspired last meal consisting of cashews, leftover cake from the Saturday Christmas party and half a bottle of wine. Worked out after for an hour. 3. The fast Start was Monday 19th of December, 17:00. At 21:00 my stomach was grumbling. Went to sleep annoyed and took 2.5 hours to actually fall asleep. Woke up early and hungry. The first day was the worst – a constant loop of thinking about food and feeling the need for food, both physical and mental. Had a coffee at 07:00 and another one at 11:00 but couldn’t finish the latter. Decided to go for a run, started feeling better and ended up doing 7 miles. Walked in the afternoon. A bit of brainfog here and there and an underlying feeling of stress and being overwhelmed. I made myself sparkling water with lemon juice and popped a couple of electrolyte tablets. After the 24 hour mark, switched to teas and had magnesium and melatonin before bed – still went to sleep an hour+ after lights off. Second day was all in all a whole lot better. My brain started recognising and reconciling with the idea of hunger, so hunger dialled down. The thought of putting food in my mouth was interesting and seductive, but not something I’d break a fast over and wipe all the benefits of holding on and making it to the next milestone – yay gamification! Woke up, had a cup of coffee (didn’t finish coffee), got reaaaally cold, decided to take a walk before the workday, got reaaaaally cold again while working, made tea, ended up with my feet on the radiator for a while. Took a 7 mile walk to a mall and back, got some Christmas presents, stared at the Starbucks for a bit, took in all the smells, came back successful. Had a small workout – abs, glute band, then threw in a bit of upper with light weights. Managed 15 push-ups in a row, I can usually do 20+, but it was something. Washed the xylitol sweetened coating off two pieces of gum and had those while taking a bath. Not particularly proud of that, but I go through gum like a maniac usually, and it was time to chew. A pound bag of salts went into said \*hot\* bath – I felt much colder than usual throughout the whole thing, and my resting heart rate went down 20-30 bpm from its usual. After the 36-hour mark, it was all mental clarity and peacefulness. Insane productivity, after such a long period of feeling like I dumbed down for good because of life stress, anxiety, depression and alcohol. I was able to multitask like I was 25 again, took small crises in stride, and solved a lot of things. It was so, so, so good. Last 12 hour stretch was me waking up after a fantastic deep sleep (I have a monitor, this was the first time ever where my “sleep score” was 96/100), made good Colombian coffee, shopped for presents, tested my new coldgear running leggings in 28F weather (6 miles), got out again to get bone broth and a few other things, completed a conference talk proposal, and eventually ended my fast at 18:00. I wanted to keep going, but I was very cold. 4. The end & take-away Broke with bone broth, then low fat fresh cheese with psyllium (TMI: one single very disappointing Number 2, but then again I am a forest animal hovering between Type 1 and Type 2). Avocado and feta. Glass of wine (yeah, I know, I know, but it was one). Bit of cashews and peanuts. Overall, I dropped A LOT of water weight – from 138 to 131 in three days. I expect to see it back, but I am keeping it low carb until Christmas lunch with my family, where my mother would impale me for skipping on the traditional stuff. My heart rate went lower and lower and ended going down mid 40s during the night and mid 50s during the day. After eating, it’s back at the usual 85. Ah well. Tis only the beginning. I plan to run another one between Christmas and New Years, and if that goes well too, another one starting 3rd of January (2nd is a birthday). I just now start to understand how hectic my life is, I fly internationally very often for 3-4-5 days and must have social and work lunches and dinners. I often don’t have much choice in what I have. It’s going to bum me out, but it’s no excuse for trying when I actually can try. Bored yet? Sure you are. This concludes my wall of text – thanks for joining me, and a HUGE thank you to the community for all the valuable resources and discussions available here. I dug deep. It’s gold.