Monday night at 9:30pm, I began a 72 hour fast. With my deep love for food and all things edible, this is my first time doing this. I wanted to see if the fast had a positive impact on a skin allergy.
The first day went very well. Energy and mood stayed great throughout the day, not much change from normal at all. I had a cup of coffee in the morning with a tablespoon of cocunut oil blended into it. A half-caf in the middle of the day that Drew brought me, and another cup of decaf with coconut oil around 5pm. I made sure to stock up on Smart Water to stay hydrated and also get electrolytes. I also took a few dashes of salt throughout the day.
I was not so much physically hungry, as much as psychologically I would think of food around the times of the day I would normally eat. I didn’t feel it effected my training at all, which was my biggest concern. I began the day at around 180lb and by midday had dropped to 177. I slept very good the first night.
The second day I handled things about the same, two cups of coffee with coconut oil, a few dashes of salt straight to the face, and lots of smart water throughout the day. Just as in day one, I wasn’t so much physically hungry as psychologically I thought about food during normal eating times. Our 6am BJJ session felt like normal, no noticeable change in energy.
What I began noticing on day two was that my energy was high when I was doing things, but during down time my body would easily sink to rest. It knew I wasn’t doing anything and would automatically shut down. This was actually kind of great, as I took 3 short naps throughout the day, then would be full of energy when I got moving again.
At about 40 hours in, I began to notice that the irritation in my hands seemed to be suppressed and the redness was turning to a slightly lighter shade. That was very promising for me.
I began the day at 176lb and weighed in at just over 175lb by midday.
That night, I was a bit restless when first going to bed. Couldn’t seem to settle into a comfortable position. Almost like restless leg syndrome, but in the whole body. After 30 or so minutes though I was able to shut down and slept straight through the night.
On the third day I stuck with my plan so far, I only took on one cup of coffee today, again with a tablespoon of coconut oil. A few dashes of salt through the day and a lot of Smart Water. I had a four hour training seminar that morning and was worried going into it that I would be lethargic. I was pleasantly surprised, as my energy was high throughout the entire session. I even rolled a few rounds with them at the end and felt no lack of energy.
Thursday is normally my day off, so after the morning training, I had lots of downtime. As mentioned before, that’s not exactly the best. I came home, took a brief nap, then decided to run up to EGA Shooting Range and test run a new gun. This was good. Between the driving and time on the range, this helped occupy about 2.5 hours of time. When I got home, I laid down for another few minutes, then was happily visited by Drew and Chelsea for a little less than two hours. I then passed the last few hours before my first meal editing the book, which fully occupied me.
I certainly noticed throughout the day that my energy seemed to be a bit lower than normal. Nothing drastic, but naps could certainly overtake me if I let them. I also had a slight sense of a headache, similar to what you get when dehydrated. Again, nothing drastic, just noticeable. I honestly think I could easily have gone on for a few more days, however with the training regimen I had planned for Fri-Sun, I thought it best to refuel.
I also noticed a significant improvement in inflammation by the 72 hour mark and am excited to monitor that moving forward as I begin to eat like normal again.
I began the day at 175lb and was just under 173lb at about the 69 hour mark.
First meal back was 5 tacos, spanish rice, a kombucha, and a pint of ice cream. I didn’t feel overly full (I was worried my stomach shrank over the three days hah), and I didn’t have any issues with it. I have read of people that are irritated after their first meal if it’s not something specific. For me that wasn’t the case. The food was delicious, I ate a lot of food, I slept great, and I felt great in the morning.
This was a great experience for me. I learned a lot about my body and how I feel under these circumstances. I was surprised by how well my mood kept up and how high my energy stayed. Though I lost 8 pounds over the 3 days, most of it was just waste, and I don’t feel like I lost any strength at all.
My plan is to try a 4-5 day fast in July and see how my body responds.
For me, it is always easier to just commit 100%. Water, coffee, coconut oil, and salt is all I needed. For others, that may not be best. I’m sure it also helped that I normally only eat at 1pm and 8pm, so I am used to going semi fasted everyday as there is roughly 16-17 hours between dinner and lunch for me.
That being said, I think this is something everyone should look into. Start with 24 hours, maybe build from there. For me, the biggest takeaway was that I can fight through cravings. That’s always a big deal for me. I hate the concept of fully relying on anything. I like to know I am in control when needed. Many people commented they couldn’t imagine doing this, but it’s honestly empowering to know your not actually controlled by food intake and that you can make changes when needed. If you can fight off an entire meal, it might be easier to turn down that extra piece of cake hah.
That’s just my input.
Now back to our regularly scheduled massive meals… just in time for Fourth of July Grilling!!!!
Aaron Jannetti 