Sharing experiences - Three days of fasting

🇬🇧 English speaking Forum General Discussion
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tea

Few weeks ago, I was talking with a couple of friends who had just finished three days of fasting. While they were telling me about their experience, I kept thinking “I would never be able to do something like that”!

I was sure about that because I get nervous very fast when I’m hungry and I really enjoy eating a good dish, but some random events changed my mind.

One week after, on a Wednesday morning, I woke up and I just didn’t feel the need of having a breakfast which is something that I normally do. Maybe I just eat too much the evening before, so I start working without eating anything.

After 4 hours it was time to decide what to cook for lunch, but I was not really inspired (maybe with a full fridge the feeling would have been different, but I had not been to get groceries so…).

In that moment I thought “What if I try?” Could I be able to fast? I was curious and I was actually underestimating myself.

So I skipped the breakfast and the lunch, and I started drinking a lot of water. I started reading some articles online and I decided that my dinner would be a vegetable broth (but without eating the vegetables, of course!) and I kept doing it the next day and the day after. I just added a cup of tea in the morning and a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Actually, that was the most difficult part: filling the moments where you normally are used to eating. You feel a bit lost during lunch break at work, for example. Also, I needed flavors. Surprisingly, it was not the fasting itself that was the hard part but not tasting any flavors; so tea and broth were very helpful in this.

Around the afternoon of the second day, I shared this experience with some colleagues here at work and they shared with me some very interesting videos about the topic (you can find at the bottom the one I liked the most), and I started realizing that I was actually doing something good for my body. A short fasting (2-3 days not more than twice, three times per year) seems to have very good impact on it so I really wanted to resist one more day.

I was very surprised about how easy was to not eat, and I wasn’t feeling bad either.

During this experience I realized that I probably eat every day more than I really need, and for sure more sugar than I should. It was also surprising that the first thing I eat (and be careful because you must start eating again gradually and avoid big quantities of sugar in order to not suffer a sugar spike!) had a different flavor than expected, somewhat bitter. Still this feeling changed in the next few hours.

In some of the articles I read, the journalists were saying that after a fasting your need of sugar is less than before starting. Honestly, I’m not so sure about this, I was really looking forward to some cookies! But I still thought that the experience was interesting and I’m happy to have done it. I’m also happy to have done it in a very relax mood. I had it clear in my mind that if that was too much for me, I would just have stopped it and I would have started eating again.

Personally, if the benefits are really as much as they explain in the video, I’m not excluding doing it again in the future. But I’m curious about your opinions. Have you ever tried, what do you think?

Disclaimer: the intention of this post is just to share an experience and to collect opinions. As explained in the text, this experience cannot be prolonged and skip meals on a regular basis is not a good behavior. You should consider talking with your doctor if you’d like to do this experience as well and don’t think of this experience as a faster way to lose weight; it is not. Even if you see a change in your weight that is more than anything just liquids, so if you consider to start this experience, just do that with the right objective and the right state of mind.

Looking forward to reading your opinions on the topic. Take care of yourselves.

Esri

Here is the video recommended to me by my colleague, if you’d like to take a look: What Really Happens When We Fast? - YouTube

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Ok, you really have me interested @Esri! I have a load of questions :rofl:

So did you just wake up and decide to try to fast for 3 days? I almost feel like I would need a week of mental preparation!

How did you make this? Or was it literally a case of boiling some vegetables in water, draining the veg out and drinking the liquid broth? That can not have been very filling :rofl: And when did you have the broth? For each meal time or just dinner?

I’m guessing these were herbal teas without sugar? I imagine coffee is a no go? I think that would be the hardest ask for me…no coffee :see_no_evil: :gun:

Also, did you train at all over the 3 days? If so, I wonder how you felt during and after the training?

I’m intrigued, and now thinking if I should give it a try! :rofl:

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Hi Ben!

Let’s try to answer your questions! :smiley:

  1. Yes, I just decided it in the morning. Actually maybe it was better this way because if you think about it too much you will probably feel much more stress than needed; I can assure that is easier than you think. But for sure, if you prefer you can just start gradually reducing food a bit every day or eating not too heavy meals in the days before fasting :strawberry: :kiwi_fruit: :avocado:

  2. For the broth I actually used an Italian soup cube (I think that’s the English translation) which I like but if you have time and you are inspired, you can just boiled some vegetables as carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes and a bit of salt and pepper and prepare your home made broth, then yes, you have to drain the vegetables and just drink the liquid :face_with_hand_over_mouth: My advice is to use anyway a bowl and a spoon because you will have the feeling of a (almost) real dinner :bowl_with_spoon:
    And as you probably already understood, yes, just in the night. Lunch break was just a bottle of water :sake:

  3. About tea and coffee…I never drink coffee but one of my friends decided to keep drinking it, just without sugar, so maybe you can do the same… :wink:
    From my side, I’m for sure a more tea person and I’m used to drink black tea with no sugar so that was not a big deal for me. :coffee:

  4. Last but not least…no, I was not training during the fast, but in the video the guy says that doing some light exercises in the morning should help the body even more. As you are more trained than me, you will may be able to combine the fast with not too strong training sessions :woman_in_lotus_position:

My last advice is: better fasting during the week, while you have a lot of things to do and your brain has other things to think about, so you won’t be constantly thinking in food.
Please, if you try, let me know! I would really like to know your experience. :muscle:

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Ok, I have decided to challenge myself :see_no_evil:

I can’t see myself finding it easy at all-you don’t know how much I snack throughout the day :rofl: But a question, I guess if you just started spontaneously, you ate normally the night before? So you wouldn’t suggest eating a 5000 calorie feast the evening before starting?

Nice tip :+1:t2: I will use a small spoon to give the impression of it lasting longer as well! So, other than water, you literally just had a morning and evening cup of tea, and one bowl of this broth per day?

I think I will try* to forgo coffee whilst I do this. And I probably won’t train, I’ll just go for an hours walk or something (depending on how I feel).

I was already thinking this! :rofl: There is no way I would get through the weekend.

Oh, last question which may seem strange, I assume you started counting 72 hours, or 3 days, after your last meal and not the morning when you decided to actually start fasting?

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hahahah I’m also a snacky person :joy: And yes, I normally ate the night before. I’m not really sure what I ate tbh but I think was a risotto so not suuuper light dinner. Maybe just don’t have a soup :rofl:

Good idea also the small spoon! That’s claver! You have to fool your brain haha
Maybe is a good occasion to also reduce your need of Coffee. If you can do that, you can be very proud of yourself :medal_sports:

Good idea also to take a walk, it will probably also help to distract yourself longer.

Actually around Friday afternoon I started asking myself exactly the same question. I needed taste flavors :rofl: So actually I realized in that moment that the 72 hours would have ended around 10 pm and at 10.05 pm I was eating bread with tomato and oil hahah

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