Check The Calendar And Choose Wisely
Youll want to choose a 7-day stretch without any unusual stressors, especially if this is your first prolonged fast and youre unsure how youll feel. Make sure there are no important work presentations, dinner parties, or 5Ks on the horizon. Women might also want to skip the week leading up to their period too if they tend to notice more cravings during this time.
Plan Some Light Exercise
As long as youre staying hydrated and keeping your electrolytes in balance, there is no harm in getting a little physical activity. See how you feel and let your body decide what youre up to. Taking a walk, stretching, or light yoga in the evenings can be a good way to unwind and burn a little bit of that extra energy you might be feeling before bedtime.
What Are The Risks Of Water Fasting
Research published in the journal BMC Complementary Medicine Therapies showed that the most common adverse events from water fasting include:
- Quality of life problems like fatigue
- Heart problems like high blood pressure
- Musculoskeletal problems like arthritis
- Gastrointestinal problems like colitis, gastritis, and constipation
- Endocrine problems like thyroid trouble or diabetes
- Neurological problems like headache, neuropathy, and dizziness
- Urologic and renal problems
- Psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety
- Pulmonological problems like inflammation, labored breathing, and infection
Two people in the studies analyzed required hospitalization, one with severe dehydration and another with dangerously low sodium levels.
In a recent study of middle-aged men from Poland who did an eight-day water fast, patients lost weight and perceived a reduction in stress, but their bodies experienced some negative consequences including dehydration, low sodium levels, low blood sugar levels, and an increase in uric acid in their blood.
The study authors concluded: Therefore, for the safety of middle-aged people subjected to eight-day water fast, it is recommended to discontinue such intervention, as it is a drastic form of fasting that already begins to generate unfavorable symptoms for a healthy person.”
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Dont Kill My Vibe Fasting And Its Affect On Emotional State
Its well known that psychosomatic manifestations of mental illnesses such as depression can lead to states of fatigue. I have this theory that our states of emotions are intrinsically tied to our energy levels.
In Hawkins book Letting Go, he writes about something that we have all intuitively experienced. Negative emotions are in the state of what he classifies as a lower frequency for the most part, being around negativity leaves us feeling drained.
Also, depressive states as well as states of anxiety and uncertainty have a quality of intensity to them that something like contentedness or serenity doesnt.
This is why Im guessing that there was absolutely no room for my headspace to harbour any complex thoughts of negativity. Its an absolute energy drain. As stated earlier, for the most part, my mood was consistently determined with an undertone of resiliency. On top of that, most of my day felt quite serene.
Im curious to know how regularly fasting can alter the neural networks of our brain for the better. Research done on fasting and mood disordershave shown a correlation to boosts in vigilance and feeling of well-being.
The Dangers Of Fasting
When fasting, there are some potential concerns and risks you should be aware of.
Hypotension: Fasting can cause a drop in blood pressure, which is known as orthostatic hypotension. This is why its really important to drink plenty of mineral water and supplements during a 7 day fast.
Lower heart rate: Fasting has been shown to lower heart rate, which means that if you have a pre-existing heart condition or are at risk of cardiac issues, then fasting is probably not for you.
Its important to restrict your fast to 7 days. More than this can put you at risk. The body takes time to adequately react and adjust to fasting so its best to start with shorter fasts and increase time afterward if necessary.
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Side Effects Of Water Fasting
Day Water Fast Benefits
There are more than a handful of benefits to doing a 7-day water fast other than weight loss.
This study alone found fasting was effective for losing weight, lowering blood pressure and reducing oxidative stress.
The fasting process has been found to promote autophagy. This is your bodys process of killing off dangerous cancerous cells in the body.
Studies have also found fasting helps to regenerate stem cells. As the years go by your body becomes less and less efficient and stem cell regeneration.
Since you wont have any food coming in you can expect for your insulin sensitivity to improve. This is great to help reduce your risk of diabetes which in itself can cause weight gain.
Youll lower the inflammation in your body while fasting for 7 days. This, in turn, will help your body repair and heal as well as fighting the aging process.
Studies have found fasting helps to lower the risk of heart disease too. If you have any symptoms or wish to better prevent heart disease then its a good idea to consider fasting.
You can also expect gut health problems to improve as well. This will give your gut time to heal and recover since it wont have any food to process for a while.
The health of your skin will also improve with stem cell regeneration and less inflammation. If you have any skin conditions or wish to improve its appearance then fasting can help.
Heart disease is the biggest killer in the world today. Fasting has been found to lower the risk of heart disease.
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What Does A 10 Day Water Fast Feel Like
Hunger comes in waves. There are varying degrees of hunger and as one might expect, hunger and time does not have a linear relationship. You dont get hungrier as time passes by. In fact, on the 4th day of my fast, my feelings of hunger were overshadowed by my abundance of energy!
Some mornings were more difficult than others to get out of bed. Every night after the second night was difficult for me to fall asleep no matter how exhausted I was. There was always a gnawing hunger that was humming in the background with bouts of more intense hunger creeping around the corner.
Those bouts of hunger pangs werent debilitating except for one night when I was roughly 190 hours into my water fast I think that night I glimpsed what starvation might feel like: the feeling of hunger wasnt just my stomach growling and feeling weak. There was this hollowness in the pit of my stomach that seemed to draw all of my bodys energy. It truly was difficult for me to do anything except to just lay there. That level of hunger was so intense, I wasnt able to think about anything else.
Aside from hunger, my feelings of wakefulness and overall energy would also fluctuate. Interestingly enough, my mood remained quite consistent: determined with an undertone of resiliency. More on my mood later.
Mindset For Accomplishing A 10 Day Fast
Life isnt a race. Its more important to move at your own pace. Fasting for 10 days really made me appreciate this mentally and physically.
When I had reached hour 72 of my 240 hour water fast, there was something incredible that I had to acknowledge to myself. Every second that passes by from here on out would be new territory. In a sense I was constantly breaking my own personal best. Just like starting something new in life, any progress is a victory.
Small victories taken by itself doesnt amount to very much, but it keeps the momentum going. As with any challenge in life, it is the momentum of the progress you make that keeps you moving closer towards your goals.
David Goggins uses a really great example in his book Cant Hurt Me. He speaks of the necessity of small sparks or small accomplishments to fuel the big ones. A rocket ship does not fire without a small spark. Likewise, a blazing forest fire is started from kindling.
If I were to have done a count down, I dont think I would have been able to make 240 hours without any food. Can you imagine looking at the clock every time to check on your progress?
Oh look! theres 210 hours left theres 197 hours 35 minutes and 20 seconds left theres 196 hours 22 minutes and 37 seconds left.
That would have driven me absolutely mad.
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Fast Metabolism And Metabolic Flexibility
What is metabolic flexibility? Well, your body needs to use fat as its main fuel source. If its too reliant on carbs, youll store the excess as fat. This leads to weight gain and makes it difficult for your body to burn fat.
Metabolic flexibility refers to how well your body switches between using carbs and fats for fuel. Its an important part of weight loss and overall health.
You can increase your metabolic flexibility by fasting because it makes your body more efficient at using fat as the main fuel source instead of carbs. This gives you more energy and can result in faster weight loss.
Building metabolic flexibility through the 7 day fast is a great way to transition to keto. With reduced cravings and better fat burning, youll be ready to rebuild a smarter diet.
Challenges Associated With A 7
You dont need us to tell you that fasting for seven days in a row is hard. It requires extreme commitment, self-control, and restraint. Even if you possess super-human willpower and have some experience with prolonged fasting, you could encounter many potential challenges throughout your 7-day fast. Here are a few to look out for:
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Why A Longer Fast
Three to seven days of fasting sounds extreme, but when you weigh in all the benefits above, it becomes worthwhile. We here at Ujido chose to do a longer five-day fast partly for a larger, prolonged effect on our weight and health, but also partly for the ratio of good days to bad days.
The first couple days of a water fast arent great. Youre hungry, moody, focused on food, and spacy. Once ketosis kicks in, you get a boost of energy, your mind clears, and you can even exercise. Those fat stores are no joke. A five or seven-day fast results in more time in ketosis versus time suffering through the transition.
Hunger Broke My Brain And Left It In A State Of Hedonistic Desire
The amount of time watching food related videos between day 6-8 probably amounted to a quarter of my waking hours.
I was able to accomplish a few productive things during the day. Send some emails out, update people supporting my campaign for homelessness, do my taxes. Fairly basic stuff. But for the most part, if I wasnt laying around listening to podcasts or music, I was watching food related content on YouTube. Thank you Binging With Babish and Village Cooking Channel.
Oh yeah, I also made a list of all of the foods I wanted to eat when I finished my fast it was a long list. Im not even sure how to put this into words, because it was such a transient feeling, but it was powerful. The best way I can describe it is, for an instant I craved every single food I had in my entire life, all at once.
In all seriousness though, I do believe that the way I chose to spend my time watching food related content has to do with some sort of primal instinct. When we see food, often times it means we are about to eat. The irony: my brain wanted to eat, my body didnt actually feel like eating. Refeeding syndrome is a thing, and Ill get into that later.
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Day Water Fasting Dangers
Now that you know the amazing benefits that come from a 7-day water fast you should also know about the dangers.
If you dont have any health issues then for the majority of people doing a 7-day water fast will be completely fine. Other than periods of hunger you should actually end up better off after the fast than you were before it.
But if you have any medical issues then its a wise and recommended idea to first talk to your doctor. Or if you have or have had an eating disorder in the past then this might not be the best for you.
Some common medical reasons for not doing a 7-day water fast include hypoglycemia, taking medications, recent surgeries, and if you are pregnant/nursing.
And try to use your common sense and monitor yourself during your fast. If you feel anything is off during the 7 days while fasting then itll be a wise idea to stop.
If none of this sounds like you then youll be good to go!
One: Maintain A Regular Exercise Schedule
Its important to keep up with your exercise even during a 7 day fast. Fasting can make it a little more difficult to lose weight, and youre going to need the extra push from exercising to see results.
Start your workout slowly if youve been sedentary or have never exercised before. You may not feel up to your usual exercise routine, but its important that you dont skip out.
Make sure the first few times are lower intensity workouts to get your muscles used to the new routine. Once your body gets in the swing of things, ramp up how hard you work out!
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Fasting While Working & Working Out While Fasting
When Brendon and I did our water fast we aimed to fast for 72 hours. Consuming nothing but water, tea and black coffee for three days. We had our last meal on Monday evening and then we didnt eat again until Thursday evening. During this time we also:
- Worked three full days
- Went to the gym three times
- Walked up the Rapaki Track at Otautahis Port Hills
- Attended a Bikram Yoga session at Flow Hot Yoga Christchurch
- Ran around Hagley Park, Otautahis largest park
All while not eating. This is not exactly necessary, but we wanted to highlight the fact that we do not always need to eat to operate. Our body stores energy for us to use in these times, however, we never have access to this stored energy because we keep topping up our fuel tank with food.
As a matter of fact, one of the most surprising outcomes of the fast is how much more focused you are, and how much work you can get done when youre not having to prepare and consume a meal three times a day. Your body is the most complicated and intelligent machine that we have ever discovered. Youre not going to fall over and die if you dont eat for 12 hours – Im not sure how we would have made it this far otherwise. Especially when we have so much energy stored around our body.
My favourite part its so simple! Just drink water and dont eat I dare ya!!
Cons Of Water Fasting
While there may be some health advantages of fasting with water, there are also significant risks and drawbacks.
To achieve many, if not all, of the purported health benefits of a water fast, there are often safer, healthier approaches. For example, you might try reducing your sodium or alcohol intake as part of a healthy diet instead.
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What Is Water Fasting Exactly
There may be no easier diet to define than water fasting, for this approach involves exactly what it says. Water fasting is complete absence of all substances, except pure water, in an environment of complete rest, says Alan Goldhamer, doctor of chiropractic and founder of the TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, who runs medically supervised water fasts that last anywhere from 5 to 40 days . The idea behind being at complete rest , Dr. Goldhamer says, is your body wont need as many calories.
Water Fasting For 7 Days Results
Can You Drink Water While Fasting?
If you are preparing to do a quick, among the primary questions that develop is: Can you consume water while fasting? Well, the answer to this question depends on your objectives. Many individuals are puzzled and ask yourself if it is truly possible to stay hydrated while fasting. There are a number of essential points to keep in mind to stay healthy throughout a fast. Here are some guidelines: Water Fasting For 7 Days Results
Avoid sweetening agenbets}
If you get on a fast and are tempted to add sugar to your water, you must recognize that sugar can interrupt your fast. Some sugar elevate insulin degrees, while others can disrupt your rapid. Learn which sweeteners benefit your quick and which ones should be avoided. If youre following a strict fast and staying clear of sugar, here are a couple of means to make it much easier. Water Fasting For 7 Days Results
One way to prevent these sugar while fasting is to steer clear of from all-natural sugar. Some studies show that sweetening agents in fact boost insulin levels, and also can lead to weight gain. Sweetening agents like sucralose are often added to container fruit, condiments, and also syrup. Scientists have compared insulin responses when insulin-sensitive patients drank water or sucrose with those who drank sugar-free or low-calorie soft drink.
Stay clear of beverages with high calorie content
Prevent workout during a fast
Stay clear of alcohol consumption milk
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