Fasting?

Cynt

Cynt

Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
176
So just for the hell of it I am going to try fasting for 3 days. Never done it before, so guess I want to make sure I'm up for it and to know what to expect in a real survival/self-reliance situation. I'm a strong believer in "what don't kill you, makes you stronger." and that familiarizing yourself with things that might be uncomfortable makes them less formidable. Not that I punch myself in the sack for fun or anything crazy.

I'm drinking plenty of water. Might have some hot tea at some point, but other than that, nadda. Not going to be doing my usual workouts, just a light 1/2 hr walk every morning.

Anybody have input/experience? :confused:
 
I had to fast for three days prior to surgery last year. Nothing but clear liquids. Lots of water and Peppermint tea.

You have NO energy but you get used to it.

Stay busy, and don't watch TV...I found out every other commercial is about food.
 
So no food at all? Or maybe a light snack every day? Like if you were to catch a frog or a bluegill or something.
 
Unless a bug flies in... nothing. Well plenty of water. But I'm also not going to chug Gatorade and muscle milk, just water or hot tea.

The office is proving to be hard enough. I work at a newspaper as a graphic designer, at least I do car ads and not the multitude of food ads. Add to that all the snacks laying around the office I never really "saw" before. :D
Sure when lunch hr rolls around I will smell everything!
 
If you're drinking water drink it hot like when you make tea. It's easier on your system.
 
Could be an opportunity to clarify body and soul...meditate or prayer if you are so inclined..might be a good use of some of your down time.

I'm the Father of a former newspaper graphic designer whose company outsourced all such work overseas....paper has shrunk in size while increasing in price...my daughter is teaching school now and likes everything but the MONEY. LOL.
 
If you can get some potassium in you will have a ton of energy.

I was on one of those medially supervised starvation diets once and that made the difference between energetically happy-go lucky and grumpy as hell.

micro k extend caps are magic and over the counter
http://www.drugs.com/pro/micro-k.html
 
Stay hydrated. I involuntarily fasted for 2 weeks when I was 20 years old, and it was a miserable experience. I had my tonsils out on 17 Dec, and it was too painful to swallow until 1 Jan, and I was fairly dehydrated the whole time. This was back in the 70's and there wasn't any good advice or internet.

It's something that I never want to do again - once you know what REAL hunger is like, you never forget it.
 
I fast regularly, but only 24 hours at a time.

It is rough at first. By 10-12:00, I am ready to kill. After 13:00 my brain starts to tickle and I feel focused (I know this sounds loopy). I call it my starvation high. Coworkers and wife think I'm nuts, but I always lose the weight.

Oh... and I think about weekend beer. Have you ever had 1-2 beers after eating nuthin' all day?? :D:D

Oh... I also recommend distance running or long hikes while you do this in order to keep your endorphins up and help you stay positive.
 
Last edited:
Oh that's another thing... I don't want to be thinking about it only hrs in, but breaking - fast... what should I eat? I don't want to load on crap. Was thinking maybe oatmeal, some complex carbs or fruit?

2 beers sounds like a good time after nothing for 3 days... you trying to make me a cheap date for my wife?

Thanks for the article and more info!


Hope to maybe fool around with some heavy lifting on day 3, just to see how my body reacts to it. Maybe a good time to try a friction fire technique?
 
Last edited:
I'm just coming off an involuntary one due to a pretty nasty illness; the medication actually caused the inability to retain food. I don't recommend it.

Generally, though, it's absolutely true: I was hungry for the first day. By the third day, I wasn't even aware that I was going 12+ hours without eating.

But you feel incredibly weak, want to sleep, and everything makes you irritable.

I think you're okay to try it, especially since you're limiting yourself to only 3 days, but...

a) I suspect you're not going to want to try physical exercise in that time; being that weak is not quite what you'd expect it to feel like. :barf:

b) You probably aren't going to go back to a 3,000 calorie intake on the fourth day. You may become quite nauseated or even outright sick if you try to wolf down food. Start back to regular foods by trying easily digestible things first...you'll know them when you see them and develop a strong taste for them.

c) Avoid driving or any serious work...your attention span falters a lot, and in my case had no end of sudden losses of equilibrium.

I learned a lot; but I'm not sure I'd want to go another week like that one.
 
as well informed as all the folks on WSS are...

get medical advice from folks who have been educated in medicine and practice it as a profession.
 
the three day mark sucks, it's usually the day before my metabolism turns around and I feel fine not eating anything. Day three is by far the worst... every move you make feels like it takes all the motivation and energy in the world, you are willing to eat anything edible or not, you want to sleep constantly and start to go a little crazy. By the morning of day 4 I feel fine, energized and ready to rock and roll. Either subconciously I decide I'm going to die if I continue on moping about and that I should do something about it, or my metabolism drastically slows down. It takes alot of willpower when food is readily available. I find pounding water only makes matters worse. You are constantly stretching out your stomach by doing so and have to go through hunger pains for the entire three days, versus just the first six hours. You'll be much more tempted to eat if you guzzle water. Just drink what you would typically need to get by so your stomach isn't acting like an inflating balloon with a hole in the top.
 
PayetteRucker said:
the three day mark sucks, it's usually the day before my metabolism turns around and I feel fine not eating anything. Day three is by far the worst... every move you make feels like it takes all the motivation and energy in the world, you are willing to eat anything edible or not, you want to sleep constantly and start to go a little crazy. By the morning of day 4 I feel fine, energized and ready to rock and roll. Either subconciously I decide I'm going to die if I continue on moping about and that I should do something about it, or my metabolism drastically slows down. It takes alot of willpower when food is readily available. I find pounding water only makes matters worse. You are constantly stretching out your stomach by doing so and have to go through hunger pains for the entire three days, versus just the first six hours. You'll be much more tempted to eat if you guzzle water. Just drink what you would typically need to get by so your stomach isn't acting like an inflating balloon with a hole in the top.
Click to expand...

Go for like 5 days. It'll be better on your mind. The first three days are the hardest and then it's alright. If you quit on day three you wont really reap the benefits. Have fun. Oh, and can I has your food while you doesn't eats pls?
 
It's 1730, If someone wanted to throw me off, they could put a 1/2lb medium rare blue cheese & bacon cheeseburger with fries in front of me.

Guess the crankiness is setting in.
 
i fast somewhat often as it is part of my faith and i can say you should start with a day first and work up to 3 as it can become very mentaly straining as well physicaly but if you really want to do 3 then make sure you dont have any large meals directly before or after and drink tons of water
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top