Today I’m in the middle of a 40 hours fasting; I’m hour 20 right now. Some friends ask me how I can do it, so I’m going to list a few things I do before and during my fast:
- Eat well the day before: I like to eat a lot of protein, green stuff. At the end of the day, I could add some carbs to get the extra energy.
- Plan ahead: I plan to have my last meal on Sunday at around 7pm. to have lunch at noon on Tuesday. This scheduling makes it easier because of the 20+ hours I sleep at least 8 hours.
- Reward yourself: I usually plan ahead how I’m going to break my fasting. This time I’ll reward myself with two double-double protein-style burgers from In ‘N Out (Yes, two!). This goes with planning ahead.
- Make it on a busy day: Mondays are my busiest day. This helps me make fasting easier because I have other things planned for that day.
- Drink a lot of water: Water has a lot of benefits. It keeps you energized during the day, which is essential when you’re not eating. Not drinking enough water can gives you headaches which can be confused with hunger. You should drink at least 2.8L of water per day or around 6 glasses.
- Another hour: The most challenging hours lapse are between 20-25th hours. When I feel hungry, I usually drink a glass of water and tell myself… One more hour. Most times, hunger will pass after a few minutes. After the 25th hour, it becomes effortless. I’d say you won’t feel hungry anymore.
- Don’t be rude to yourself: Sometimes I plan to fast, but life happens: I get very starving, a good friend invites me to eat, family meetings, etc. Other days I will break my fast earlier.
- Start slow: I started fasting more than 2 years ago and have been doing 16:8 almost every day since then. Some days I do OMAD (One mead a day) or 20:4. If you’re struggling with 20+ hours fasting, try with 16 or 18, do it a few times until this becomes easy, then go for the 20 or even 40 hours fasting.
- Bonus tip. Have a reason: Fasting has many benefits; Choose one that will be a strong motivator. My reason is Discipline–Fasting has tough to be disciplined. More importantly, I can do it even if it means going against something so primitive as eating or hunger.
What do you think about fasting? What has helps you keep fasting?