My previous longest was 3 days. At first I was trying for 5 days, but in the end I I had the extra time and felt I could go longer. With each subsequent extended fast, the first days feel easier for me with less pains and cravings.
At this point I don't think I'm going to feel that fasting euphoria I keep hearing about... The closest I felt was a brief adrenaline high. I never really felt great, but I never felt terrible, sometimes pretty normal. I had a low-grade tense feeling at all times though, hard to fully relax, and hard to sleep at night (probably the cortisol).
Some notes on my experience:
Some things I didn't expect: Around day 5 I felt so dehydrated even with increased water intake (I was supplementing with electrolytes). My mouth was so dry, I had to sip water continually, and I didn't pee as much. Then my lung capacity seemed to decrease since I could not breathe as deeply as normal during meditation. It never got hard to breathe, but it was easier for me to feel winded when exerting myself in the least. And when I did any moderate activity, my heart would pound. Also, my attention span went way down. For instance, I would have to rewind shows I was watching over and over because I kept missing things. I'm glad I didn't plan on anything very involved or requiring focus during this period because I don't think it would have worked out.
I did some extra meditation during this time, curious if the fasted state could help enhance anything. Well, nothing substantial as far as I could tell. If nothing else, I was able to feel a light qi feeling in my hands, and it's been a while since I've explicitly noticed that.
I was surprised when I had 2 bowel movements, both mostly solid. I'm constantly worried about the "don't trust a fart" rule, but the liquid hell did not strike.
In terms of weight loss, I'm down 10lbs from the start of the fast, but I expect I'll regain at least half of that. My belly was the flattest I've seen since I can't remember. A lot of fatty areas shrank down and the skin didn't look saggy at all. I know I'll probably bloat up in the next few days, but it's nice seeing a "sneak preview" of things to come if I stick with things.
I probably could have kept the fast going for longer since I didn't feel too bad, but since I'm not experienced with refeeds, I didn't want to push it. It's funny reading people's glorious extended fasting stories, because for me extended fasting really is a slog. At times I wondered why I was even putting myself through this. But I am trying to work on health concerns and general well-being, so I think a little suffering is worth it if it works. Oh, and losing some weight is nice. I got within 10lbs of my goal weight, and I haven't been that low since probably high school.
I refed with bone broth with coconut oil, a sugar-free meal-replacement protein shake, and supplements. No problems and gut rebellion so far. In a few days I'll try to take in a Thanksgiving meal. All in all, it's been a test of endurance, but I'm glad I was able to make it!
Anyone have any similar experiences and/or can offer advice on the challenges of extended fasting? I'll probably try for at least another 7 day in December.
Answer
Congratulations on completing 7 days! It’s amazing that you’ve worked your way up to this point, and stayed consistent throughout. As someone who is currently on day 7 of my own fast, and have been doing back to back 6-7 day fasts this past month I’d say that I’ve kept off a majority of the weight, and continue to gradually go down.
As long as you eat responsibly, and stay consistent in your diet you shouldn’t put on too much of it back. As far as the lack of focus in certain tasks, I can say I’ve experienced something similar. I normally love to play video games, but have noticed I lack the desire to play them anymore while fasting. It feels like it takes too much energy to focus on them for me personally, so I find myself watching videos and shows instead.
Anyways, the only advice I can say for challenges with extended fasting is making sure you’re always getting the proper amount of electrolytes. I used to struggle immensely to down pink Himalayan salt, even while it was diluted. I even threw it up during one of my fasts. Now I follow the snake juice recipe in combination with an electrolyte powder that seems to make it way more tolerable, and delicious for me.
But I want to congratulate you again on completing 7 days, thats an amazing feat that takes a lot of mental strength to accomplish, and I hope you enjoy the refeed!