I agree with you. Not sure why we couldn’t last as long as we had enough stored fat. I’d like to push it, but it’s tough for long periods with me. I am very active in a very hot and humid environment. Tough when fasting. I want to try mineral baths to see if that helps.
I heard Filinov say that the 5 day thing is because people confuse a heal crisis with an emergency medical issue and then overreact. He also mentions that we are soft these days and can’t handle longer fasting.
Depending on the environment factors, you risk a heat stroke, fainting especially when driving, or having your poop dry up in the intestines. Speaking from first hand experience, I think it’s very reckless to your own health and an endangerment to others if someone dry fasts without replenishing electrolytes.
The theory, not proven, is that your electrolytes are spared during a dry fast. The studies have been posted in this group. Water fasts require electrolyte replenishment as the the excessive water purges those minerals through urine. Look at camels, they get their water from fat (that’s what is in their hump) and bears and numerous other hibernating animals from their body fat. They all survive till that fat is gone. There needs to be A reason why a person with ample fat stores would have to stop. It is not electrolytes.
I look at fasting as a natural biological adaptation to exhibit a positive physiological response to food and/or water deprivation.
If you think in terms of humanity 20,000 years ago, you’re mostly staying near water. Natural water has lots of electrolytes.
Hence IMO you can water fast for far longer if you have the fat fuel than you can safely with dry fasting.
Dr. Fung points out that you store electrolytes naturally, but at some point those stores run out.
I get blood tests to give me data on long water fasts. After 2 weeks, I was low in chloride, so I started supplementing potassium chloride.
If I’m low on a water fast after 14 days, I personally won’t go near that with dry fasting.
I mostly use fasting for losing weight, so I will throw in some dry days for the benefits, but I won’t use dry for serious weight loss.
And again, this is my personal data from my experimenting.
I encourage blood tests so that you know your body and can make an informed decision on your own.
I’ve dry fasted for 7 days. And although I heard of some people that have gone longer than that I personally would never want to. 7 days was unbearable I felt really week at the end and I knew I would be fine once I broke my fast but I do feel my electrolyte levels were really low and depleted. I’m personally dry fasting again now but I’m only going up to 4 days then I break and drink snake juice (salt water and electrolytes) and have a little fruit then I go back on another dry fast. It’s been working for me so far and it’s a lot more bearable. You can still get alot of great weight loss and healing effects from dry fasting for a few days, breaking then starting again like I am.
Well I’m about to approach it from an emotional perspective from someone who just this weekend finished a 5 day dry fast… my very first, which I enjoyed. it presupposes on that one must be fixed, and fixed quickly. As opposed to luxuriating in the life process, the variable nature of our bodies - and forgiving ourselves for each time we fallI understand what you mean though I have picked at this question quite a lot. But as someone who considers themselves doing this for religious purposes this quote reminded me today -“[Christianity] should feel like “My chains fell off” not “I better not screw up!”
Evolutionary speaking, we have never been that overweight and that inactive to adapt to 40 days of dry fasting. 3-4 days is probably max for a healthy person, and 11 days is around max for an ill person who is hoping to heal a condition. There has never been a need to lose 10lb, never mind 100lb.
Go ahead and do 40 days if you want. I’d give you 5 days max until you quit. You can’t make it that far without having some sort of health hazard and without having electrolytes. I would believe you if you said 40 days water fasting with snake juice, because you’re actually hydrating with electrolytes but dry fasting is a whole other beast. The thirst, the hunger, the weakness. It gets to you. Also I’m not sure where you’re getting these “studies” that tell you all the electrolytes stay at an acceptable level. But if you believe them, try it yourself. Exercise while dry fasting and see how energized you feel by the third day.