Okay, so you decided that you actually want to do a long fast. Should you just do it cold turkey? Or are there smaller milestones you should hit along the way before being ready for a multi-day fast?
Just go for it!
Rip the band aid off! General advice for newbies – just go for the 3-day fast. Your body is more capable of handling it than you think, and once you complete it, you know that you will be able to do it again. It is less time consuming and if it becomes too intense, you can always stop early and then try the gradual method.
I have had many friends and colleagues dive right into a 3-day, and are completely shocked that they were able to do it, and that it was easier than they thought it would be.
Gradual progression
Is the above approach too sudden, abrupt, or scary? No problem! Here are the incremental milestones to consider when working up to a long fast.
- Stop drinking sugars / calories – People tend to drink a lot of sugar and calories. Orange juice. Milk in their coffee. Sodas, energy drinks. Smoothies after a workout. Beer and cocktails after work. Being able to cut this out for a day+ is a good first step.
- Slow carb day – Popularized by Tim Ferriss. You can still eat carbs, but they need to be slow carb. Your carbs are pretty much coming from lentils and beans.
- Okay: Legumes (lentils, beans), Protein (eggs, chicken, fish, zero/low-sugar protein powder), Vegetables (spinach, peans, asparagus, broccoli, kale, etc), Fats (nuts, oils, butter)
- Not okay: bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, tortillas, corn, soda, sauces with sugar, fruit, milk/yogurt, cereals, oatmeal, wheat, quinoa, crackers, etc
- No carb day – Now try dropping the carbs altogether. Have as much veggies and protein as you like.
- Skip breakfast – This is what most people think of when they do “intermittent fasting” or 16:8. Finish dinner by 8 or 9 PM. Don’t have lunch until noon or 1 PM the next day.
- Skip breakfast and lunch (i.e. One Meal a Day, OMAD) – This is equivalent to a 24 hour fast. Even though technically it’s a 1-day fast, it doesn’t feel like it because you still get to have a big meal once in the day. In my experience going from 4-5 PM until 4-5 PM the next day is easiest.
- 36 hour fast (1.5 day) – This is a big milestone. You have gone through a full waking day without eating. You went to bed with no food. If you made it this far, you should be able to fast to any arbitrary length. That first day of not eating is usually the hardest.
- 72 hour fast (3 day) – This is beginning of long fast territory. You will likely need to take supplements (salt mostly). You will have slept for 2 nights in a row without having food that day. You will have successfully gotten into ketosis, and on the last day maybe even touched deep ketosis where autophagy really kicks in (and the presumed longevity benefits).
- 5-7 day fast – A true long fast! If you care about the anti-cancer/alzheimer’s benefits of fasting you are going to want to work up to this. Day 3 is usually when deep ketosis and autophagy ramp up, so Day 3+ is a real sweet spot. You will be an absolute fat burning machine. Hunger goes way down. Supplementing with salt is a must. Exercising to preserve muscle is a must. Your sleep will probably get messed up. Given the length of time, you will probably need to interact with people in the real world when fasting (work, social events, school, etc).
Over 7 days – Unnecessary unless you have a tremendous amount of weight to lose. Muscle loss trade off is not worth it for most people. Seek medical guidance if considering this.
