I just finished a 3-day fast.
My main reason for doing it was autophagy. "Auto" is pretty straightforward and "phagy" means eating (as anyone who has seen Project Hail Mary already knows). Around the 48-hour mark of not eating, the body runs out of fuel and starts effectively eating itself. It cleans out the bad cells, which is supposed to help heal inflammation and prevent disease.
The 3-day fast is considered the sweet spot. It is not too long to be dangerous, but it is enough to get those massive health benefits. The rule is 0 calories. Only water, salt, potassium, and magnesium.
I am not going to lie, for me it was quite hard.
Day 1 was the easiest because I had a lot of activities planned, so I kind of forgot about food. However, I woke up a few times that night with a headache, probably caused by a salt deficiency. It went away quickly once I did a few licks of salt in the morning.
Day 2 was a struggle. I kept telling myself it would get easier because ChatGPT assured me that around the 36 to 48 hour mark the hunger would disappear. That did not really happen for me, the hunger stayed pretty active.
Day 3 was when I was only thinking about food. I read on Reddit people were saying they get a "zen" feeling or that they wanted to keep going past 72 hours, but I was the opposite. I was counting down the hours and minutes until my first meal. I ended up breaking it at 70 hours so I could get some nutrients in and let my digestion settle before going to sleep.
As for the results: I have had pain in my mid-back for about a year, and I have to say it feels substantially better. It is not totally gone, but the intensity is lower. The fast was a massive test of willpower, and based on the research, the autophagy benefits are worth the grind.
The recommendation is to do this four times a year. If I do it again, I will report back.
My main reason for doing it was autophagy. "Auto" is pretty straightforward and "phagy" means eating (as anyone who has seen Project Hail Mary already knows). Around the 48-hour mark of not eating, the body runs out of fuel and starts effectively eating itself. It cleans out the bad cells, which is supposed to help heal inflammation and prevent disease.
The 3-day fast is considered the sweet spot. It is not too long to be dangerous, but it is enough to get those massive health benefits. The rule is 0 calories. Only water, salt, potassium, and magnesium.
I am not going to lie, for me it was quite hard.
Day 1 was the easiest because I had a lot of activities planned, so I kind of forgot about food. However, I woke up a few times that night with a headache, probably caused by a salt deficiency. It went away quickly once I did a few licks of salt in the morning.
Day 2 was a struggle. I kept telling myself it would get easier because ChatGPT assured me that around the 36 to 48 hour mark the hunger would disappear. That did not really happen for me, the hunger stayed pretty active.
Day 3 was when I was only thinking about food. I read on Reddit people were saying they get a "zen" feeling or that they wanted to keep going past 72 hours, but I was the opposite. I was counting down the hours and minutes until my first meal. I ended up breaking it at 70 hours so I could get some nutrients in and let my digestion settle before going to sleep.
As for the results: I have had pain in my mid-back for about a year, and I have to say it feels substantially better. It is not totally gone, but the intensity is lower. The fast was a massive test of willpower, and based on the research, the autophagy benefits are worth the grind.
The recommendation is to do this four times a year. If I do it again, I will report back.