Day 7 - 04JUN23
SW - 115.5kg
CW - 111.7kg (-3.8kg/8.4lbs)
So I had the best sleep ever! Slept 17 hours! I only gained 200grams too after I broke my fast. Now they say you should slowly refeed. I started with lots of coconut water felt fine, tasted amazing! But then I had biryani and Korean noodles and two coffees. Yes, terrible and I HIGHLY suggest no one to break a fast so big and with so much carbs and spicy food. Fortunately, I feel fine and I only gained 200grams so I’m happy.
Going forward, my plan is to do OMAD and maintain this loss. I started this fast on Saturday night but ate on Sunday night so had to restart. But my efforts started Saturday so I like to think I went strong for 7 days.
On Saturday I weighed 118.8kg. So including that in a week I lost 7.1kg/15.6lbs. My goal was to lose 7kg and I did. Getting to 108kg would have been great but I had to listen to my body signals, no choice.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my journal. Thanks for reading! In the future I plan OMAD and 48 hour fasts on the weekend. I might return here for a 72 hour fast in July.
My advice to anyone attempting a extended fast is as follows:
1. Beginner guide - if you’ve never fasted, start intermittent fasting at 16 or 18 hours. I know you want to get results and we all want fast results but you need to be realistic and also not set yourself up for failure and disappointment. I’ve been fasting on and off for 5 years and this year is the first time I attempted a 3 day fast and this 10 day fast. If you can do 16 move to 20 to 24 to ADF (36 hours on alternate days). Then you can try a 3 day fast and if that is doable attempt 7 or 10 days. You just have to listen to your body, this is key. Your body is a complex system of functions you don’t want to damage, injure or strain your body - start small and slow. Slow and steady always wins.
It’s good to start eating a ketogenic or low carb and no sugar prior to your water fast as well. This will help your body enter ketosis easily and also make the transition to water fasting easier. I was on HelloFresh vegetarian meals for two weeks prior to my fast so as long as you’re eating relatively healthy you should be fine. Remember for some, they can jump straight into a 3 day fast with the right mentality and strength but not everyone. Preparation is always better guaranteed success. You only know yourself the best. At the end of the day just tread carefully.
2. Do your research - read up on water fasting as much as possible. The more you know, the better informed and ready you will be. Watch videos on YouTube regarding water fasting. Watch all lengths. Initially I was only watching 10 day vlogs/info channels but I moved to 3/7/21 days too. Watching these videos will not only give you insight, tips and ideas but motivate you as well. Especially make sure you read and do extensive research on refeeding as this is often neglected but a very important part of the fast.
3. Mental strength - be ready. Hype yourself up before the fast. Tell yourself you can do it and you’re determined to meet your fast. Tell yourself no matter what others say, you know you can do it. Believe in yourself when no one else will. You need to be able to stand alone because if you can do that when someone believes or assists you it will be a massive bonus not a necessity. I agree accountability partners help the journey and a communal effort really helps but i find i get discouraged easily because accountability is hard and not lasting for everyone. Hence be strong on your journey by yourself.
4. Your why - Why is the next massive crucial factor. You have to have a massive and solid why for all this. Water fasting is not for the faint. It takes a certain level of strength and commitment. If you have a good why you can always come back to it and replenish your strength. So take some time to find your why and make sure it’s meaningful to you. Write it down and pin it somewhere you see regularly - fridge, mirror, room. For example if your why is weight loss, why do you want to lose the weight? If it’s solely for appearance, you will not survive. That why will fall through very easily. Why your appearance? Is it social embarrassment or someone making fun of you? Personally I think you should have a why that includes for health, avoiding future disease, increase energy, mental clarity, self discipline and a reset are some good whys. Yasemin says and her YouTube videos are great for this - you can find it pinned in each category of this forums categories. Say positive affirmations out loud. This may seem trivial and cliche but it really works. I’m one of those people who used to think yeah this is just a fake tool but it’s not. There’s gonna be a lotta of neigh sayers on your journey. You have to be prepared for that. Best to not tell anyone or less people as possible. Yasemin said a great tool is instead of telling people you’re on a water fast say you’re on a cleanse. Most people won’t question a cleanse but send alarm bells if you say you’re water fasting.
5. Motivation - I highly recommend you binge watch this channels YouTube videos. She has a YouTube channel called Fast Forward to Health i think. If you click on her videos in the category pins youll find the exact name of the channel. Suscribe too for great updates and motivation. Yasemin’s advice is exactly accurate information on what you need for a water fast - she is also funny which makes it enjoyable to watch.
Also, start a daily journal in this category. This thread has a pinned note telling you exactly what to include in your daily journal - this was vital to my accountability in my journey. It also made it fun to write and share my success and setbacks even if no one is reading. One thing I’d say to definitely include in your daily post is the Day you’re on, the date, Start weight and current weight. You are, i like to say guaranteed to lose weight even if only half a pound unless you’re doing something other than water fasting or over exercising. This is a great motivator to see the scale drop and look forward to each morning. For some people the scale doesn’t move but they have inches drop so if you dont like the scale, take measurements or see how your clothes fit. By the way over exercising causes your muscles to retain water in them hence show a increase in the scale. This happened to me when I had walked 3-5 hours a day and I was doing ADF. Alternate day fasting - 36 hours fasts every second day. I’d recommend not to work out during a extended fast. Your body is going through a psychological stress it doesn’t need added stress. Do light walks that’s enough. If you can’t that’s ok too. Rest your body it’s going through a tough mental and physical challenge and shock.
6. Progress indicators - even though you may not like the way you look right now, take photos side and front of how you look before you start your fast. You don’t have to share them with anyone unless you want to. At the end, take photos and you might be happily surprised of the comparison. Also, take face shots as your face is most likely one of the places you will see your weight goes down. Take measurements too. The scale is very deceiving. It includes muscle weight, bone, water weight and fat to my knowledge. So be weary. Also remember you are not losing 16lbs of fat in a week. That’s impossible. Most of it will be water weight, I think 2-3lbs may be fat maybe more for others. Ideal outfit. Another thing you may like to do if you don’t like numbers is choose an outfit that you like but doesn’t quite fit yet. Take photos side and front on. At the end of your fast, take photos and be proud.
7. During fast - during your fast make sure to drink plenty of water at least 3L/gallon. Your body gets a lot of water from food so there’s a high chance you’ll get dehydrated quickly during a fast. So drink water! During your fast you’ll need electrolytes. I wanted to be sure not to take anything so I didn’t take electrolyte water. Sea salt/Himalayan pink rock salt are perfect electrolytes. Either take a pinch of either salt under your tongue or 3grams mixed in some water. Some prefer warm water even as it reminds them of soup. Do this regularly. These will provide much needed minerals to help you last your fast. Use these salts when you’re feeling light headed, dizzy, tired or hungry. Personally this worked a charm for me for 6 days. If you feel nausea or vomiting personally speaking, stop your fast - you are too precious to put your body through that pain. Sometimes nausea goes away with the salts so you should be fine. Vomiting may not be so easy to dismiss or safe! LISTEN to your body signals. Know your capabilities and limits whilst testing the waters.
8. Refeed - make sure you break slowly. This will take a few days. I’m not the best at giving this advice as I did it COMPLETELY wrong. So please do your research properly.
9. Celebrate - you have come this far!! No matter how much you completed or not be proud and content that you made it! Even if it’s a few hours it takes a big commitment to start choosing to start. Every time you attempt a fast you are building your fasting muscle which means it will get easier every time. Don’t worry if it takes someone else a shorter time to get the hang of it. You focus on yourself. It’s all about your journey to better health. You are doing this for you and that’s all that matters. Keep trying! Remember during fasting you will feel tired or hungry but this will pass. Usually your body increases ghrelin at certain times of the day when you normally eat so just ride the wave or take a nap.
All the above is the best I know to my knowledge and I just wanted to share to help you on your journey but it may or may not be accurate so please remember to do your research!
Happy Fasting and all the best!
Thanks for reading, till next time,
Nisha
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60min walk