One of the big questions I had as I approached my 7 day fast was, "I wonder what it will feel like?" I have done many short 24-46 hour fasts, so I had some idea of what the first day or two would be like...
I am lucky in that I get a sort "buzz" from fasting. A feeling of well-being. If you have ever taken Phentermine, you might be familiar with this feeling. It is almost like euphoria. I don't think everyone experiences this, or at least not at first. The first few days of a fast can be difficult. During that time, your body is using up its glucose stores. It knows that you aren't putting more food in, and so it sends you hunger signals. The feeling of well-being I get is the result of chemicals that the brain releases to deal with the stress that I am putting my body under. There is a good short post on one of my favorite science blogs that talks about what happens to our brains when we fast.
If you have not been following a low carbohydrate diet--fasting can be pretty miserable those first few days. Since I follow a low carb Paleo diet (Primal really, since I do consume dairy), it really hasn't been that hard for me. Yes there are moments of hunger. But hunger really isn't a constant growling pain in my stomach. It comes and goes. I start my day off with Keto coffee, and I drink lots of water and tea the rest of the day. When I feel the stirrings of hunger, I sip on a cup of bone broth. If I feel ravenous, I know it will stop in a few moments. In a few days, maybe today or tomorrow, I will get to the place where my body starts burning primarily fat for fuel, and the hunger pangs will stop, because my body will realize that I have ample stores of fat, and it can use that fuel instead.
I took a few days off from work, because in the past when I have fasted for more than one day, I have felt a little nauseated from time to time. I don't like the idea of dealing with that while at work--just because it could be totally solved by sleeping through it. I find that it is really easy to nap through a couple of days if I can manage that, and if I am feeling "icky". Part of the nausea might be lack of salt, so I made sure to put a heaping tablespoon of it in my bone broth. It is also important to drink enough water, and other liquids which I have great access to at home. At work, I am subjected to cravings far more than at home because there is the smell of food and the smell of coffee from the Starbucks on site, so I decided that this time I would just skip all that...
So far, other than occasional expected moments of hunger, I feel great! I have had a hard time falling asleep at night, but fortunately with not having to worry about work, I can sleep when I am actually tired so that is working out well. Even if I was going to work, I seem to be very awake and alert in the morning anyway. I got up at 3:15 to get lunch together for my husband, and could have gotten up then if I had wanted to--I was certainly alert, and didn't feel sleep deprived even though I didn't go to sleep until around midnight the night before...
I have had a slight headache off and on for the past couple of days, but so far today I feel pretty good. Up until now, my longest fast has been 68 hours. As of today I have fasted 76 hours so far, I plan to fast until dinner on Friday, just because it will be easier--no packing of food, etc. That means I have 100 (ish) hours to go. By tomorrow at this time, I will be more than halfway to my 176 hour goal!
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