Fasting Once A Week - How To Start?

[Michael569]

To those of you who engage in 24 hour fasting once a week or maybe once in a certain period. Could you describe how you prepare for it? What do you drink? What benefits have you observed or researched? Anything else that is important to know for a newbie to this topic? 

I'd like to give it a shot but wanted to hear few direct experiences. 

Thanks

Edited March 31, 2017 by Michael569

[Siim Land]

I have a few guidelines I like to follow, which my time fasting very enjoyable:

• (Optional) Sleep in if you want to.
• Balance your electrolytes. Add a pinch of sea salt or pink Himalayan rock salt to a glass of water and gulp it down first thing in the morning. This will also keep cortisol at bay.
• Follow your regular routine. Take a shower, get dressed, journal, meditate, whatever, just do it sans food.
• Don’t drink coffee right away. Although a powerful appetite suppressant, you don’t want to cash in on it immediately. Drinking too much coffee will make you dependent of it and you would want to use it only when you’re actually hunger. Whenever you get hungry, drink some water and wait for about 30 minutes. If it gets excruciating then drink coffee but most of the time, hunger is just a sign of dehydration so drink water ?
• Drink herbal teas. Green tea and black tea have some caffeine so don’t overdo them either. Other teas, like chamomile, hibiscus, lemongrass, ginger etc. are great.
• Sparkling water is another amazing appetite suppressant. To be honest, I feel like it’s cheating because the carbonation will starve off hunger instantly.
• Salt crystals were my go-to-hack when I had my 100 hour fast. You want to keep your electrolytes in check to have more energy and less stress. To trick your mind, you can bite on some solid sea salt crystals whenever you feel exhausted.
• Brushing your teeth also helps and keeps your mouth fresh. However, there’s the danger of artificial sweeteners spiking insulin so you would want to use it only as a last resort. To be safe, use products with natural ingredients without sugar. The same goes to chewing gum.
• Apple cider vinegar. While fasting, get a glass of warm water and add 1-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Any more than that may have some unwanted consequences, so don’t go overboard. Consume it right away and be done with it. Your body will thank you.
• Drink decaf coffee. It doesn’t have to be caffeinated to stop hunger. You shouldn’t drink more than 3-4 cups of caffeinated coffee a day but decaf is potentially limitless. By the same token, it will still dehydrate your cells so be wary and watch your water intake.
• Don’t make a big deal out of it. What I learned from my own first 24 hour fast was that you get hungry only when you think about it. At other times, I felt fine, even amazing and wasn’t tired or starving or anything the like. Only when I realized that I hadn’t been eating anything for nearly 20 hours did the hunger signals kick in.
• Keep your mind busy. That’s why you would want to trick your mind into focusing on other things. Work on a creative project, read a good book, watch a movie or do something else mentally stimulating.
• Stay away from food. Don’t set yourself up for failure by spending time in environments where there’s food. I mean, if you’re surrounded by sights, sounds, and aromas of sizzling bacon, fresh vegetables or cake, then, of course, you’ll get hungry. Unless you’re a Jedi-master who isn’t affected by those type of things then stay away from kitchens, supermarkets, restaurants and people eating food next to you.

These things really make it easy for me.

I've written a blog post about it as well with some tips on how to break your fast and what can be the potential side-effects of fasting for 24-hours.

Stay Empowered
Siim

[Ludwig]

Know that the "hunger" you will feel is not hunger. It's your body cleansing and detoxifying itself. It's a very good thing. This "hunger" passes about 2-3 days into the fast. Real hunger is very different. 

[Zenrik]

On 31.3.2017 at 7:28 PM, Siim Land said:

Don’t make a big deal out of it. What I learned from my own first 24 hour fast was that you get hungry only when you think about it. At other times, I felt fine, even amazing and wasn’t tired or starving or anything the like. Only when I realized that I hadn’t been eating anything for nearly 20 hours did the hunger signals kick in.

I totally agree with this. 

I often do 34 hr fast. And its really no big deal. I dont prepair, I just dont eat for a whole waking day and only drink water.  Just dont go crazy when you eat again, start with something light then wait altleast 1-2 hours and then eat some more. If you dont go carzy with your eating after the fast, you will feel great. 

[SFRL]

On 3/31/2017 at 2:55 PM, Ludwig said:

Know that the "hunger" you will feel is not hunger. It's your body cleansing and detoxifying itself. It's a very good thing. This "hunger" passes about 2-3 days into the fast. Real hunger is very different. 

True

Also what is often perceived as hunger is just an insulin spike by the body notifieng you it's feeding time. It's when the body is used to getting food. That feeling will also go away usually when you ignore it for a couple of hours. 

Real hunger is when your teeth come loose and you start to see light flashes. Things like that. 

[Michael569]

@Siim Land thanks man, great article!

Had a look at your web and some of your content, great stuff, I like the "early wake up" article, Currently experimenting with my regime but backsliding a lot  

You are doing an awesome job, keep it up ! Wish I was at that stage with my life purpose. 

 

 

[Siim Land]

@Michael569 Thanks! There are no obstacles on the way.

[Dan Arnautu]

@Siim Land Do you follow Kinobody on youtube? Most of the tips you shared I heard from Kinobody. Highly useful. Been fasting for 2 years now.

[Siim Land]

@Dan Arnautu Yes, I know Kinobody, but I've been doing intermittent fasting well before I found his channel. I've done it for 6 years or so.