I’m a seasoned faster. I’ve completed 3 separate 6 day fasts in the past. I used to regularly eat every other day, if not longer in between. I religiously follow OMAD, so I regularly fast every day for 23 hours.
I haven’t done an extended fast in a while (longer than OMAD), and I’m really feeling the difference:
-It’s harder for me to not eat all day and stick to OMAD. Before it was so easy.
-I want more food when I start eating. It’s harder for me to reach satiety (I think the technical term would be insulin resistance).
-I just feel heavy and tired.
-I have more joint pain/ mobility issues than in the past.
Anyways, I just wanted to point out what I noticed as motivation to start scheduling in more and longer fasts. One of the things I love about fasting is it serves as a “reset” for my mind/ body. It’s so good for me in every way! I only have a few frozen meals in the freezer, so no food will spoil. That’s definitely one of my triggers (not wanting to waste fresh food).
Perfect time to start!
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I’ve noticed that any longer fast I complete makes it easier afterwards to fast for shorter amounts of time. For example, fasting for 36 hours makes OMAD super easy. And fasting for 3 days makes any subsequent 48 hour fast seem like nothing. So that is a big benefit to throwing in occasional longer fasts.
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I’ve just finished a week; my first extended fast since… sometime in spring, I think? Anyway, yes. It was getting kind of difficult going for more than a day (for rolling 48s) but now… it could be too early to judge but I feel like a new person again and I think it will be a breeze.