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7) NVious / 4 days
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10) Jadedfadedisbae / 3 days

This thread is intended for anyone who engages in fasts over 48 hours or longer. I know there are a few more of you out there to be added to the list. Feel free to post any current or planned fasts and any past experiences.

I know many have rapidly added fat during the last few months of lockdown and could stand to go without food for a while. All bloatlords and sedentary miscers are especially invited to participate.

I'm not personally interested in arguing about the efficacy and pitfalls of this approach in this thread, but others are welcome to if they so choose.

How active or sedentary are you? Gimme a rough picture.

why would I do this as oppose to PSMF? srs aware me

Prior to lockdown, I was running about 4 times a week on the treadmill. Now I am biking roughly three times a week.-Many pursue it for the auto****y that starts to kick in after a few days. Digestion is an intensive process in the body, and there is some cellular housekeeping that takes place after glycogen has been depleted for a while.

-There are benefits in terms of insulin resistance for those who have issues on that front. Some diabetic intervention programs utilize extended fasting as a treatment with great success.

-There is some evidence that extended fasting tends to be less metabolically unfavorable than VLCD's and there are some mechanisms for the retention of lean mass compared to VLCD's, including a surge in HGH secretion.

-Fasting produces rapid fat/weight loss in those who have adequate fat stores. For those like me who were very obese, there are purported benefits in terms of minimized loose skin, potentially related to the auto****y.

-Fasting is an extremely effective tool for diet resets and behavioral eating changes. Your typical ghrelin pattern will not persist through an extended fast, and it may be easier to establish a new type of diet after breaking the fast.

-Some people pursue fasting as a strictly spiritual/ascetic routine and want the challenge and the altered mental states that come with it. For some there may be a religious element.

Sounds minimal.

And when you’re not doing your runs/cycling, are you office bound or spend a lot of time sitting down?

Correct. Performance and endurance will be reduced while extended fasting. Excess exercise during an extended fast is often thought to be counterproductive, especially vigorous/anaerobic exercise. To me it seems that any diet that lacks carbohydrates will result in suboptimal performance.

Yea I know, but you’ve incorrectly assumed what i’m getting at.

I was trying to hint that maybe a lifestyle change is in order. Take a year out from work and become a farm hand or something.

Meh, financially I am on a pretty good path where I am at. I grew up on a farm, I enjoy the more cerebral nature of my work. I'm not good at much, but I'm good at what I do now.

Maybe.

But to my mind having to resort to such extreme fasting is indicative of a lifestyle problem. What you’re doing is akin to taking anti-depressants rather than addressing the actual problems in your life; treating the symptom, not the cause.

However, I do understand what a big sacrifice it would be to let go of promising career, but this is also why I suggested a 12 month experiment to begin with. If done right and planned well, it probably won’t jeopardise your career path should you wish to return to it.

My main problems at this point don't really relate to body composition any more, although I do believe that improving body composition will improve some of my problems. For me, fasting is a strategy that is primarily focused on two elements:

1) Time efficient reduction of body fat
2) Self-control and discipline within an area that at all points prior to the Summer of 2019 had been so out of control.

This thread is intended to be less about me than my prior fasting threads, and is more focused strictly around fasting. How many other participants there will be remains to be seen as this is a bodybuilding forum after all, but I'll dump my other chit in the WLB thread.

Do you get any benefits of auto****y at the 16-24 hour mark if you intermittent fast ??

The 24 hour mark is supposed to be significant, but getting to 36 hours will keep you in that state for a lot longer % of the time.

Currently planning a disciplined routine.

-Monday to Friday job that's keeping me very physically active for 7 of the 8 hours spent there.
-Lift only during those 5 days and use the weekends as recovery days so I can focus my free time and energy into other hobbies
-OMAD during the week and planning on doing 72 hour fasts on the weekend until I reach my body fat reduction/physique goals. So it would be a meal on Thursday at say 5 pm, then not eating until Sunday at 5 pm.

So when you fast for 72 hours what do you have ?is it just water ? and do you account for the protein you were supposed to eat on the days you fasted on the days you do eat?That must be a chit ton of protein to consume then

In.
Personal best: 7 days.

Das it. Added.

I'm starting a 7 day as of last night, will end right as I travel back home for my birthday. Will be cooking out and smoking meats I'm sure so want to be in a good spot going in.

Mirin hard.

Why do you practice extended fasting?

4 days is my max, but I'm relatively lean, don't know how you guys go beyond that.

My biggest prob is my sleep sched which gets ****ed.

I can fast 14-16-18 hours, but when I'm awake 22 hours, it basically adds another .5 day to my day.

I was a life long binge eater since childhood. Was ~360lbs last June, about to cross the 200lb mark soon since I started incorporating these long fasts on a regular basis (w/ meat heavy keto OMAD as my main diet otherwise). I believe it to be the the most effective strategy to overcome horrible patterns of eating and abuse of food.

I will continue the regular extended fasting until I hit somewhere around 160lbs, then hopefully get skin/gyno surgery, and start to rebuild from there.Added. Other than the potential benefits to longevity and health, I can't imagine that there is much for you to gain by engaging in longer fasts than that. I also imagine that it is far more difficult subjectively to continue when one is as lean as you are.

Day 2 complete, feeling irritable af right now. Looking forward to the work week to speed this up and get into a groove

I wish you the best of luck in recovery. I also struggled with some binge eating after I cut too much. I had to regain over 25 pounds to reset my hunger/satiety signals. Now I can eat ''normal'' again.

Fasting is a very powerful tool to say the least.

Yipee!! I made the list.

I did a 12 day water fast in Ramadan. I took in electrolyte water, zero cal, upon breaking my evening fasts and took a women's multi-vitamin every other day.

Honestly, water fasts isn't even about losing weight. The absolute BEST part of it is that it helps you break bad eating habits and makes you more aware of what you're putting in your body.

I highly recommend trying it at least. It's not really as scary as people think and you crave no food after the 3rd-4th day.

I'll probably start doing 6 day fasts at least once a month after Ramadan ends.

Edit: that snake juice dude seems batchit crazy. He's not right in the head. O_o

Yeah, it's like a complete diet reset button, especially for anyone who has gotten into a bad eating cycle with eating sugar/carbs every few hours and experience constant hunger signals.

Also, the first few meals back are like the best thing in the world. Food is never so enjoyable as after a long extended fast. Even the smell of it while fasting is incredible

Tell me about it. The chicken broth I had after my 12 day fast was the best thing I've probably ever eaten. lol.

Btw, when do we get to see your pics of your 360 to 200 lbs before and after pics?

5 days is the longest I've ever done.

Planned on doing a lot during said lock down - for some aggressive cutting, since I'm not going to the gym or anything anyway. Mostly just at home working and rotting.

However - due to all the boredom and stuff I have failed (particularly the drinking). Shame on me. Still not ripped.

About 4 days but I had chicken broth.

Quarantine is the best time to do it srs.That's not water fasting.

I know, but the flip side is all the additional down time/boredom can make it a lot more (mentally) difficult. Especially since boredom often leads to me drinking.

Gyms are supposed to be reopening in my state on the 26th, so looks I've mostly squandered the opportunity.

I've done about a 50 hour fast last summer and did a few 40+ hour fasts since then. During the lockdown I've binged a bit more than normal. When it's over I plan on doing another fast. Though, it's tough to do with a couple picky toddlers...at least having to explain why dad isn't eating and they still have to. If they were older or younger doing a longer fast would be much easier. Gonna do one when this is all over.

Y'all are some beasts. I've lost 7 lbs over quarantine by doing kettlebell complexes instead of heavy weights not that I really had a choice since my gym's closed.

Down from 195 to 188. Gonna update my avi when I go back to the gym