# Your experiences with fasting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721 "2016-06-29T16:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/1 "2016-06-29T16:44:39Z")
Anyone have some 1st/2nd hand experience with fasting or knowledge of some of the better research? What are some of the difficulties involved and how can they be alleviated? How does the length of the fast change its effects? What phenomena start to kick in around what times? If one wants to avoid running out of protein, vitamins and other nutrients to avoid physical degradation, what should one eat in a modified fast? Is it true that it’s mainly about changing the insulin levels and that in the first 3 days, metabolism doesn’t go down? Would fasting (or some modified version allowing for a few hundred calories) every week or two cause a significant reduction in metabolism? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/2 "2016-06-29T16:50:54Z")
I fast for 25 hours every year on Yom Kippur. I’m pretty sure my metabolism changes as a result, although perhaps not as much as it would on a longer fast. I’ve had three difficulties: 1. When I was younger, I used to get very hungry, and think about food a lot. 2. One year I allowed myself to get dehydrated. That was really miserable. But it sounds like you aren’t interested in abstaining from water, so you probably don’t care about the details. 3. When I was pregnant I was REALLY hungry and felt faint. I decided to eat a light lunch, despite the holiday. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/3 "2016-06-29T16:51:58Z")
Well, I’m on an [Intermittent Fasting](http://www.leangains.com) routine right now. It seems to be effective, in that I’m losing about 4-6 oz/day. Unclear how much of that is due to metabolic mumbo-jumbo, and how much is due to the fact that it’s really, really hard to eat 3 meals worth of calories in 2 meals. I work out very early (5 AM), and so have started taking BCAAs to reduce muscle catabolism. I’m working on getting ripped, which is a much more aggressive goal than most people have. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/4 "2016-06-29T17:07:36Z")
Is there a definition of how long one must go without food to count as “tasting”? I’ve been entirely without for of 1 or 2 days many times, without even really thinking about it. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Taco\_the\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@Taco\_the\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taco_the_cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/5 "2016-06-29T17:10:38Z")
I have done three water fasts for 8 days, 16 days, and 17 days. I would recommend reading Fasting and Eating for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and research the internet for other sources as well. There are a whole slew of difficulties so I recommend researching it for a month or two before fasting if your fast will last longer than three days, and if you are doing a water fast. The length of the fast does change its effects. There are too many for me to explain in a post. I researched fasting by reading the above book and the internet for two months, and there were still issues that were not mentioned. When you start reading about people (even Dr. Fuhrman) stating that fasting is so easy, DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT because it is different for everyone. Also, each fast is different even for the same person. I never found fasting to be easy. There are many “modified fasts” so I don’t know how to answer that question. Some people do a juice fast or the master cleanse. I am trying to understand what you mean by the question about insulin levels. After 2 days for a woman and 3 days for a man, the body goes into ketosis. On a water fast, your metabolism slows down. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/6 "2016-06-29T17:17:36Z")
What is a “water fast”? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/7 "2016-06-29T17:22:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Is there a definition of how long one must go without food to count as “tasting”? I’ve been entirely without for of 1 or 2 days many times, without even really thinking about it. Does that count? Once you end your fast, it counts as “tasting” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Taco\_the\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@Taco\_the\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taco_the_cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/8 "2016-06-29T17:32:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Once you end your fast, it counts as “tasting” 🙂 I wish that were true. During the fast, you will be tasting things alright, like the nasty taste of morning breath times 50. ---
**Author:** ![Taco\_the\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@Taco\_the\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taco_the_cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/9 "2016-06-29T17:52:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > What is a “water fast”? When you have nothing but water as opposed to a dry fast or absolute fast when you don’t even drink water. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/10 "2016-06-29T18:31:24Z")
Absolute fasts would tend to be self-limiting I imagine. I’m not sure why it’s necessary to differentiate the two when discussing a “nutritional” choice. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/11 "2016-06-29T18:45:58Z")
When I fast for Yom Kippur I find most years I miss the water more then the food. One year though, during my fast I ended up having some kind of strange feeling of lightheadedness and euphoria that I am sure was because I hadn’t eaten and it made me realize, this kind of thing happening to ancient peoples is why we have these fasting rituals in the first place. My main advice is when you end the fast, don’t pig out like you will want to. You will upset your stomach. Pace yourself with your eating. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/12 "2016-06-29T19:25:54Z")
I’ve had to go through some involuntary fasting a couple of times in my younger days. The most unpleasant part for me was on day two or three and getting the runs (or the shits). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/13 "2016-06-29T20:23:23Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Is there a definition of how long one must go without food to count as “tasting”? I’ve been entirely without for of 1 or 2 days many times, without even really thinking about it. Does that count? A friend of mine who has tried fasting would say yes, seeing as how her fasting amounted to “skip a meal or two.” I never got a clear answer from her why you can’t just cut the serving sizes instead; in any case, she’s not fasting any more and has moved back to paleomedivegetarian again, aka, eating whatever she wants to and calling it a diet. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/14 "2016-06-29T20:33:32Z")
Even though I am not in any way religious, I do fast every year on Yom Kippur, mainly just to show that I can and some sense of solidarity. When I was younger, I was hungry, hungry, hungry. Nowadays, it really doesn’t bother me (much). ---
**Author:** ![Taco\_the\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@Taco\_the\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taco_the_cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-experiences-with-fasting/758721/15 "2016-06-29T20:43:21Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > A friend of mine who has tried fasting would say yes, seeing as how her fasting amounted to “skip a meal or two.” I never got a clear answer from her why you can’t just cut the serving sizes instead; in any case, she’s not fasting any more and has moved back to paleomedivegetarian again, aka, eating whatever she wants to and calling it a diet. Skipping a meal or two is a version of intermittent fasting.