Supporting each other on 24+ hour fasts

[LittleLamzyDivey]

As promised, here's the new thread for us long fasters as the old one is nearly full.
Check in when you are able and let us know how you're doing!

Hello! I’m on hour 36 of 42. Woken up with a pounding headache and am hoping some
electrolytes and a green tea will sort me out! If not I might break my fast early.

Thanks for setting this up @LittleLamzyDivey. Just got to 36 hours. Plan was to keep going for a bit longer - I definitely didn’t drink enough water yesterday so downing these now.

@Flibbertyjibbertyhope the headache shifts and you feel better soon.

@Flibbertyjibberty Take some salt!

@LittleLamzyDiveyi did - sorted me out a treat! It’s funny how a glass of salty water can feel extravagant when you’re fasting

Haha this made me chuckle!! I went to 43 hrs, was considering doing longer as felt fine but decided to just have some boiled eggs and fruit as planned. Then I got home and I want to eat everything! Currently eating from a big bag of onion rings… must take dog out and step away… thanks for the thread @LittleLamzyDivey . Well done todays fasters!

Well done @Jollyjoy- solid fast. I broke at 40 hours with a big brunch. Trying to think about dinner that won’t be too carb heavy.

You've set the bar high, @Jollyjoy - right, no more faffing about with 24 hours. Game on!

Well I just do it once a week, not like you twice or thrice a week fasters, I think that is the high bar!

Hey all! Question for those of you that do rolling fasts - if you feel good enough to carry on when you reach 24 or 36 or whatever, what do you do? I'm doing the Fasting Method protocol, which means I start tomorrows fast after dinner tonight. If I do carry on, I'll either have only one meal before fasting again or I guess I could just run it right into tomorrows fast...
Nah - not going to happen. Breakfast it is! It'll be 45 hours, by the way, by the time I sit down to a meal 😁

@LittleLamzyDivey well in theory I would just keep going but I’ve never got past 42/43 hours and not been ready to stop! If I felt good then I might keep going. I’ve been listening to some fasting method podcasts and they seem fans of a couple of long fasts a week. I am trying to work up to that - I’m doing 23 hours today, after a long fast Monday. Not sure I can go much past that! Are you tempted to try 72 hours one day? I have heard it gets easier as time goes on although I’ve not had that yet!

@Jollyjoy I almost always break a long fast with boiled eggs! They are sooooo good

Hey @Flibbertyjibberty ... 72 hours still seems a bit of a stretch, although the 42's are definitely becoming easier. I started Mar 1 by skipping breakfast for a week, then breakfast and lunch 3 days the next week. Last week I had a go at 42's and managed at least 40 each of the 3 days. And this week is off to a flying start. There's a lot to be said for "exercising your fasting muscle".
I may start looking at 48's in April and seeing how that goes. And yes, eggs are my go-to fast breaker, too!

Evening all. @LittleLamzyDivey, by ‘rolling fasts’, do you mean multiple times per week? I can imagine that doesn’t leave room to flex how long you do since you need to fit in enough calories before the next one.

I’ve really enjoyed the process of gradually pushing up my capacity in terms of lengths of fast, and of what exercise I can manage. At the start I’d not have dared exercise too hard during a long fast, for fear of being left mega hungry or feeling weak, yet none of those things have happened, so it’s quite jolly to see what the body can manage.

I’ve had a bit of a crappy couple of days food wise. Ate McDonald’s tonight which I don’t even enjoy that much! Immediately regretted it.

Fridge is pretty empty so need to fill it with wholesome things and get back on it. Planning omad tomorrow with an early dinner about 5.

Interesting

Bloody hell this is mind blowing for me.

Any kind of fast beyond bedtime would see me unable to sleep. And before that, I’d be feeling like I wanted to vomit/ dizzy etc.

yes, I know that humans historically would have had fasting periods. But tell me, do you manage to have fully functional work days whilst completely fasting??

Also… what does this do to your muscle mass in midlife? I’m 48 so this is a concern for me.

One of the benefits is less brain fog and more energy/clarity. I think you do need to wean yourself off sugar though otherwise the hunger is too much.

You can still weightlifting on fasting days, but need to prioritise nutrition on eating das.

I don’t have any brain clarity when I’m really hungry (think 3+ days of under-eating usually in my case for reasons of can’t get enough GF food in remote places I have to visit - EVERYTHING has gluten and no shops here have no-gluten food plus I am veg). I just have loads of food noise and feel first snappy and unable to concentrate, and then increasingly zoned out and unproductive.

I’m wondering where the borders of 24+ hour fasts and anorexia/ severe food restriction lie.

Sounds like this isn’t a method for you. It’s not for everyone, including those with a history of disordered eating.

The beauty of it is you can have days where you eat a lot more/ have a longer eating window and still lose weight. It’s really flexible. I’m weighing regularly and my weight and body fat are going down, muscle mass has either stayed steady some weeks or gone up (I run a lot and strength train four times a week). I’ve not suffered from an eating disorder so don’t know much about them but I imagine that is more about restricting all the time? And it’s not just about weight loss, there are lots of other health benefits to fasting. Have a Google! It’s a common misconception. But as Peae says, if you’ve suffered from an eating disorder in the past then it’s not for you.

Also, you shouldn’t jump in to long fasts with no warm up - it’s better to try TRE for a few weeks/months first (eg, 18:6/19:5/20:4) so you become fat adapted and used to fasting. Once those protocols feel okay then you can try a 24/36 hour fast. I imagine if you jump right in you most certainly would feel awful! That said, my first 36 hour fast wasn’t great. But since then they’ve mostly been pretty okay. It gets hard around the 24 hour mark for me then easier again, likely because it’s bedtime then I’m asleep!

Also, you shouldn’t jump in to long fasts with no warm up - it’s better to try TRE for a few weeks/months first (eg, 18:6/19:5/20:4) so you become fat adapted and used to fasting.

This is what I came back to say. Maybe our first post could include a link to TFM too?

I started at 7pm yesterday so can I join you all for a little extra support? Hoping to go to lunch tomorrow as I never fancy breakfast anyway.
I always have tea with a little milk so I'm having that now.
It works well for me and I use it as an extra boost when the scales stick at a number and it seems to reboot my system again so I can continue losing.

Hi @undrugged,I think the others have given you good advice. I can promise you no eating disorder here!! But intermittent fasting a great way to explore fasting and see how your body feels. Many of us in our 40s find it a great method.

Hi @126orbust, of course and welcome. How are you doing so far?