Have you fasted and what effects does it have on you?

[lightbulb27]

I just finished fasting for 2 days as part of a personal challenge with my GAG buddy @highlyvolatile.

There's reportedly many benefits. Here's what I experienced so far...

Produces feelings of sadness, sensitivity. That's good, increased my sensitivity.
Some weight loss, several pounds.
I was able to breathe better for a while, then worse at times.
Saved $30 in food, that helps balance the rise in cost of everything.

Some cultures fast religiously, such as Muslim, Hindu, Christians. People who are starving and hungry do so for no choice.

I'll be fasting again, probably Intermittent fasting to start.
Good luck in your endeavors! Thanks Mr. @highlyvolatile!

I fast

I'll consider it now

No way

Other

Updates

+1 y

We’re cheering for you!

[HighlyVolatile]

I'm on the second day with the no-alcohol challenge. So far so good! Maybe I benefit from people daring me like this! :-D It was a little bit tempting last night because my wife wanted to drink and asked if it was okay if she had some beers, and I had to avoid drinking any.

As for fasting with food, I did a water fast one time for an entire 2 weeks long ago in my early 30s after I started getting a bit of a dad bod thing going from dining out so much and not working out at all. My wife called it "happy fat".

I didn't initially plan to do it for so long but I kept dropping about a pound every day in ways that made me want to do another day, and another day. By the end of the two weeks, I had lost almost 8kg (~17.6lbs). Unfortunately, I found I regained the weight quite rapidly once I started refeeding (even though I didn't dine out or eat junk or drink), and I suspect in hindsight because most of the weight I lost was mere water weight (and maybe even some muscle).

So I did a second attempt at weight loss the old-fashioned way through lots of physical activity while being very reasonable with what I ate, and then I ended up managing to lose around 35lbs in 6 weeks, most of which I think was body fat. I've managed to largely keep that off since.

One thing I've done most of my life and now swear by is skipping breakfast. I did that originally for athletic reasons when I was on the track team in school. I noticed all my best sprint times and longest jumps always happened when I skipped breakfast and had a relatively empty stomach. I made enough comparisons and noticed a consistent trend that it seems I objectively perform better when skipping breakfast. So I've skipped breakfast ever since and basically do an informal version of intermittent fasting as a result.

[lightbulb27]

Good job on the challenge! Yes, seems good challenges suit you well!
I'm skipping more breakfasts (intermittent fasting).

[HighlyVolatile]

Cheers! I'm almost complete with your challenge. It's currently 1:26 AM spilling into Monday and no alcohol so far. That was surprisingly easier than I thought even though I think it's the first weekend I've spent completely alcohol-free in over a year. I'm thinking I should go for at least 5 more days if I can manage it. 7 days without drinking with be a whole new record since COVID lockdown.

[MCheetah]

Yes, I fast all the time. In fact, I never get hungry; I have to remind myself to eat because my metabolism is just that sh*tty. Fasting does nothing for me, though. It's just good for saving money.

[Cynicaldreamer]

I'm actually in the process of fasting right now! I'm doing 16:8, and am on day 4 of doing so.

Down 4 pounds so far :) Going to continue this fast for about a week, then I will go back to my normal regime.
I started it because my weight was steadily creeping up even though I exercise regularly, so I'm resetting my metabolism a bit, along with working on portion control.

As for effects? Well I'm hangry as heck, but I try to combat that with water and tea. However, I notice when I do break my fast, I tend to eat less (hence the portion control), and I'm more cognitive of what I eat since I can only eat for a few hours a day, so I make those few meals count. And I'm craving healthy foods more!!! I typically break my fast with a chicken salad, protein balls, or yogurt.

In addition, I'm still exercising (walking, running, fitness bootcamp). My energy levels are more or less the same as when I wasn't fasting, but overall I feel okay-ish.

[skyeee_]

i haven't fasted ever. however, i may have to start from next year

[DJB72]

I'm a Christian and i used to fast quite often before I got married. The shortest I did was 3 days and the longest was about ten on a full fast (nothing but tea or water) and on a "Daniel" fast over a month (certain food groups)

I fast to get closer to God. It's harder as a diabetic married to s doctor to be able to fast properly. Ironically I fasted to hear God about whether to propose...

For me it worked well. By forcing myself to truly put my spiritual need to get closer to God before my body's cravings I found my relationship with God deepened through fasting

[FreyaRed]

No
I have problems to keep 18 BMI despite I eat a lot, three days fasting and I would end up in hospital.

[exitseven]

I have to have a fasting blood test every year. I always get hungry. Also fast to have colonoscopy. That is for two days.