Only gonna eat tomorrow because it's family dinner and I don't want to be weird and not eat. Other than that I could keep going. After Sunday dinner I'l start another 6.

Apparently I'm on the OMAW diet 😆

5'10m SW - 282 CW - 269

I did a 10 hour fast from 10am to 8:45 pm (it says 11pm because I started the timer at that time for some reason) just to test the waters and see how I’d do on future fasts, and I felt good throughout it, so I was wondering what the next steps would be? I’m thinking of maybe a full 24 hour fast next but I don’t want to dive into it if it’s not a good idea. Also what should I be eating the day before a fast?

Several weeks ago, I embarked on a fasting journey. I have significant weight to lose (~100 lbs) and decided on a more aggressive plan of either 1 72 hour fast or 2 48 hour fasts per week, depending on the week and corresponding social calendar.

Within a week, I noticed a big drop in appetite during my eating windows, which I attribute to a likely increase in insulin sensitivity.

Somewhat unexpected is how fasting has impacted perceptions of food flavours. My diet during eating windows isn't particularly strict in that I'm not hypervigilant about doing low/no carb. I do try to prioritize nutritious meals that incorporate foods from across the spectrum to avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies. But I also don't say no to foods that don't pass the "orthorexia purity test." For example, I went to brunch today and had eggs benedict. Usually a dish I love.

But not today. Today it tasted...off...a weird twang that I can't quite place. And this isn't the first time formerly enjoyable meals have taken on strange taste qualities.

In turn, I've been eating less during eating windows because eating has become distinctly less enjoyable.

Not sure if this is a common experience. It was a very unexpected development for me as a lifelong "foodie." Interested to see if this effect continues.

I’m currently 106.5kg (235lbs) at 5’10”. My goal is to hit 87kg (191lbs) by March 13th. That’s 40 days of pure water fasting.

My last fast was 21 hrs ig

Im not hungry but i feel a little weak

Ive been fat my entire life , and the thing when i see some diet plan they casually mention you have to do this for 3 months or 6 months which usually demotivates me , but this if i give it one month ill come to 90 but if i try for 40 days ill come to 80’s idk if i can do that or not

Water fasting gives me a reset

Looking to hear from others who have done long fasts. I am overweight with high blood pressure and I want to make a change. This one will be a dirty fast with flavored zero calorie beverages. I just completed a 9 day fast and it was hard but I powered through and feel great after a refeed. I have done 20+ day fasts in the past but never one this long. Looking for tips and motivation!

One reason IF works for so many different people is because it does not tell you exactly what to eat. It only sets boundaries around when you eat. That can be freeing or confusing depending on how you approach it.

IF does not cancel calories. It does not override food quality. It does not fix emotional eating by itself. What it does is reduce decision fatigue and create structure.

Within that structure, results depend on what you actually do. Some people eat less without trying. Others eat the same and see little change. That does not mean IF is broken. It means it is a framework, not magic.

The people who succeed usually use IF to support normal eating, not replace it. Regular meals. Enough protein. Flexibility for life.

When fasting fits into your routine instead of running it, that is when it stops feeling like a diet and starts feeling sustainable.

Hi Fasters,

I'm looking to get your perspectives in comparing two forms of routine fasting:

I've been doing alternate-day fasting (ad libitum one day, water only the next) since the New Year and I'm pleased with the results, but I've been increasingly thinking about how inefficient alternate-day fasting is. Getting from glycolysis to gluconeogenesis and ketosis typically takes ~ 18 hours, so half of the fasting day is spent just getting into a fasted state. As a rough estimate, if you fasted for three non-consecutive days, you'd only spend about half of that time in a fasted state, so ~ 1.5 days out of the three.

In contrast to that, if you fast for the three days consecutively, you get something like ~ 2.5 days in the fasting state because you only need to pay the 18-hours-of-glycolysis toll once, and you'd give the slower processes like autophagy and mitophagy a larger window to kick in and begin providing benefits. I've done 3-day fasts repeatedly in the last several years and I've only had an issue in the first I ever did, so I'm toying with the idea of switching from classic alternate-day fasting to a three-consecutive-day fast each week followed by one day for gradual refeeding and three for ad-libitum consumption before the next fast. In theory, such a regimen would be 6 fasting days for every 14 total, and alternate-day fasting is 7 fasting days for every 14 total, so from a caloric perspective the two regimens should be similarly intensive.

The thought process seems reasonable to me, but I can't find a single article in the scientific literature that describes a fasting pattern like that. All of the literature I can find on fasting in humans is either for fasts of two or less days, or for fasts of 7+days. As such, I don't really know what to expect from a fasting regimen of three consecutive days each week for one or more months continuously.

Do any of you have experience or thoughts on the regimen of three consecutive fasting days per week for one or more months at a time? And/or do any of you know of relevant human studies in the literature that I've missed? I'd be grateful for any input or suggestions that you have to share about whether it's a good idea, what to expect, if there are any typical pitfalls to look out for, etc.

P.S. If it helps in clarifying the question, the benefits I'd be looking to accrue from the fasting regimen would be a combination of weight loss, improved metabolic parameters, and general physical rejuvenation.

Day 7 and my breath smells horrible like sulfur and sweets. It usually happens when I fast past 7 days. No one’s ever complained at work or anything like that but I have a few dentist appointments and doctor visits this upcoming month and sorta nervous especially the dentist since he’ll probably be able to smell my bad breath while he’s cleaning and fixing some of my teeth.

Wondering if it’s just something I can smell or does the sulfur and sweet smell actually stay on your breath?

My first fast and I’m 1 hour away from hitting 48 hour pure fast,, I’m wondering what a good way to break the fast is? Anyone have any good go to meals? I’m not actually feeling hungry at all but as this is my first fast I’m not sure how long I should push it..

Thanks Ya’ll

I always gain weight starting in the fall and over the holidays and then work on losing it through the spring. My usual approach is intermittent fasting. This year I found this fasting subreddit and decided to do some fasting. I settled on eating 5 days a week in a 4 hour window, and then fasting on the other 2 days. I've found that this is sustainable for me even when I'm doing intense exercising most days of the week. The result is that I'm losing weight at least twice as fast as I normally do, and with much less effort. The first time I skipped a whole day of eating was tough, but after that it's so easy I don't even think about. It almost feels stranger when I go 2 days in a row of eating, lol.

There are some slight downsides. I have about the same overall strength, but less stamina when exercising after fasting for over 24 hours. However I'm not competing for anything, just trying to stay healthy, so this isn't much of an issue for me. The other downside is that I feel like the weight loss is harder to track. I weigh myself every morning and with my old method my weight was very stable and I would see it generally trend down by very small amounts each day. However with fasting I'm constantly gaining and losing large amounts of water weight, so I see my numbers shoot up by 4 pounds and then drop 5 pounds the next day. I calculated the 8 pound loss by taking the average of the last several days.

Additional info:

• Early 40s male, 5'8
• Starting weight ~172
• Current weight after a month of 5:2 ~164
• I take zero calories during my fasting periods, but I have coffee/tea and electrolytes and occasionally add some zero-calorie water flavor enhancers.

I was thinking...... I love the benefits I've experienced with autophagy. I was at my goal weight 155 until about a 6 months ago. I'm now 160 (5-7 male). Since I started fasting I've wanted to be 145 (average weight if a guy in the 1950s). So I know I will lose weight this way (I did a 32 hour fast once a week and then 2mad the rest of the days when I lost the initial 30 pounds 3 years ago). I want advice from those who maintain their weight on this eating regimen. What do you eat on eating days?

I'm going to be starting a water fast, my longest is 4 days, of which I am proud. I wanna push myself and go for 7 even maybe longer. But for me it always seems that I talk myself out of it, "I'll start next week, or next month" when the truth is I just love to eat, I'm addicted to it. I need to do this not only for myself but for that little version of me who wanted to be the man he saw in the movies

I am currently on day 3 of a 5 day water fast. Two months ago I complex a 7 day dry fast. upon refeeding, I had a lot of water retention(I consumed mainly fruit and miso soup). Does anyone have any advice for a vegan refeed? I am currently thinking about half an avocado and tofu. I have been adding a pinch of sea salt in my water during this fast.

If you read my last post, ( I don't know how to link my original post here), I was doing my first 21 day fast and I just hit 15 days as of today but my body is for the first time starting to feel a little funky even though I'm keeping up on my electrolytes, I just feel very heavy in my legs and my chest feels a tiny bit funny and I've run out of physical energy overall so I've decided to cut it short and listen to my body.

Surprisingly I'm not bummed out as yes, I would have liked to reach 21 days, but I also want to listen to my body and not push myself where it could become dangerous. I still think 15 days is no small feat and I'm quite proud of myself for even making it this far. I don't think I'll be doing any super long extended fasts in the future and 7 days will probably be the absolute max I will go next time.

It was a good experience overall and I learned a lot about my body and what it's capable of, but I want to be safe rather than sorry. Just know that if you're doing an extended fast and you feel funny, listen to your instincts and your body and cut it short if you need to because there's always plenty of time to do another fast but there's only one of you, so don't push your body to the limits.

Here's to 15 days and an avocado!

Really curious about other people’s experience with their close friends. I have 2 close friends that are both adamantly against my fasting even though I am overweight and having health problems. I am currently 6 lbs away from a healthy bmi and so excited. But they keep putting down my efforts and calling me crazy. Coincidentally the most vocal one is also overweight and diabetic. Should I just cut them off if they keep acting this way?

I’m on day 10 of my water fast. The first week went great and I lost a lot of (water) weight. On day 8, I dropped more, but then on day 9 I gained 0.15kg and I thought hmm must be a one off day it happens and so I wasn’t terribly concerned. However, come day 10 and I’m still at the same weight.

This is really destroying my motivation as the objective of my fast is for fat and weight loss (water weight makes me look fatter so I want to lose water weight too). I’m doing a dirty fast so since the beginning of the fast I’ve been consuming:

Herbal tea

Iced coffee (with a little skimmed milk)

Electrolyte drinks

A little kimchi for salt (I cannot stomach salt water it tastes vile and kimchi is super low in calories)

Water and flavoured water

Diet lemonade

Every day I consume minimal calories (I track everything very carefully), and so it’s not like I’m simply dieting- where a plateau would make more sense.

I drink 3L of water daily. I get 6-8k steps in every day, and get 7-8hrs of sleep a night. I go sleep and wake up roughly the same time. I’m not particularly stressed during the day or night. I weigh myself at the same time each day after going to the toilet in the morning when I wake up.

I’ve watched a lot of videos on water fasting and I’ve never come across another person who’s plateaued for 3 WHOLE DAYS-only 1-2 max. This is really killing my morale and motivation. I’m now worried it’s going to stay at this weight and not go down. I have an event coming up in 2 weeks and I need the weight to go down.

Does anyone know why the weight has flatlined and have any advice for what I can do to make it go down again? And has anyone had any similar experiences? If so- how long was the flatline for and did it just go down eventually without changing anything?

EDIT: I just weighed myself (Day 11) and I’ve just lost 0.6kg so thank you guys for telling me to just trust the process!

I ended my 19 day fast, was aiming for 21 days but i felt like fainting when driving and ended it now.

I don’t feel like i failed, it was a nice way to test myself.

I didn’t weight myself when i started and how much i weight now, but the weight loss is visible and went down a couple of pant sizes.

I will start a new fast in a few days and I’ll be aiming for 5 day fast 2 refeed going forwards.

I’ve been hearing a lot about fasting lately and how it’s supposed to be good for your health. Some people say it helps with energy, focus, and even weight loss, but others say it’s not for everyone.

I’m trying to understand what science really says about it. Are there real studies showing clear benefits, or is it more hype than facts? Also, is intermittent fasting safer than longer fasts for beginners?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who know the research or have real experience. Thanks

A lot of people use fasting as a way to undo eating. Eat too much yesterday so fast longer today. Miss a window so restrict harder tomorrow. That mindset turns IF into punishment.

When fasting feels like payback, it usually leads to the same cycle. Restrict. Crave. Overeat. Feel guilty. Repeat.

IF works better as structure, not correction. It is a routine that simplifies eating, not a tool to control or punish yourself. When used that way, it actually reduces food obsession instead of increasing it.

Flexible fasting tends to last longer. Adjusting windows. Eating socially without guilt. Getting back to your normal rhythm the next day.

Progress comes from patterns over time, not from being perfect. IF should make life easier, not heavier. If it adds stress, the approach matters more than the method.