Drink Plenty Of Liquids When Fasting
Next, make sure you are drinking a lot of water during your fast.
First, this will help with flushing your system, but also, by drinking a lot of water and other liquids, you can feel more full.
Drinking water is very important for general health, but even more important when you arent eating and trying to stay sane.
Other liquids you can have are black coffee and unsweetened tea.
Coffee contains proteins which suppress your appetite, and this can help with hunger pains. One thing to note though is coffee leads to elevated cortisol levels, which makes it harder to burn fat.
Green tea is another drink that you can utilize when fasting. Green tea has some caffeine, helps suppress your appetite, and in addition, drinking green tea does elevate cortisol levels.
In general, whatever you decide to drink, just make sure it doesnt have any calories, and also that you are staying hydrated throughout the day.
What Breaks A Fast Foods Drinks And Supplements
Fasting is becoming a popular lifestyle choice.
Fasts dont last forever, though, and between fasting periods you will add foods back into your routine thus breaking your fast.
Its important to do this carefully, and certain foods are better than others.
Additionally, some foods, beverages, and even supplements can unintentionally break your fast, while others dont have much impact.
This article covers which foods, beverages, and supplements are less likely to affect fasting periods and which are best when youre ready to break a fast.
What Is Refeeding Syndrome
Refeeding syndrome refers to medical complications that occur after an extended fast or period of malnourishment. These complications are driven mostly by the depletion of electrolytes.
Heres how it works. After the fast, the body needs to rebuild. It needs to synthesize body fat, glycogen, and muscle tissue. These activities require electrolytes like phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, and potassium.
In the case of refeeding syndrome, these electrolytes have been overly-depleted by extended fasting or prolonged starvation. This causes the body to break down muscle and other important tissues to meet basic needs.
Post-fast disturbances in electrolytes like sodium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium can also cause weakness, fatigue, cramps, tremors, irregular heartbeat, and swelling of the extremities. In severe cases, these disturbances can cause brain damage, seizures, and death.
Fortunately, refeeding syndrome is quite rare in healthy people. The groups at higher risk include:
- Those with anorexia nervosa
- Those on diuretics
- Anyone undergoing long periods of malnourishment
Extended water-only fasts also increase the risk of refeeding syndrome. This is a big reason why consuming electrolytesthrough bone broth, electrolyte water, or supplementationis essential during a fast.
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What Kind Of Foods To Introduce
I recommend that your first choice be something very bland. Bone Broth is what I would turn to. Eat maybe a small bowl twice or so on the first day of refeeding. The next day, introduce a salad.
Of course, what foods you introduce will depend on how you feel. If you eat that bone broth on the first day of refeeding, maybe you will find that it feels great, no stomach issues, so you will venture a little further. Just go by how you feel.
After fasting, it can be easy to just pig out and eat anything and everything around. Dont do it! You will regret it, I promise. If you try it once, I doubt you will do it again after the next fast!
About Bob
Bob Martin is an American expat who lived in the Philippines from 2000 until 2019. Bob ins now back in the USA. Bob is an Internet Entrepreneur. Doing that kind of work is pretty sedentary, but Bob is making a big effort to be more active and moving toward better health!
How To Minimize Side Effects
Several common fasting side effects can be prevented with proper strategies.
Fasting for extended periods can lead to dehydration if you dont drink enough fluids and consume electrolytes.
Sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium are essential electrolytes that can be quickly depleted if youre abstaining from food. Therefore, its best to supplement with these nutrients if youre fasting for longer than 24 hours 90152-5/fulltext” rel=”nofollow”> 25).
Here are a few methods to prevent complications during your fast :
Summary
Its necessary to drink plenty of fluids during a 48-hour fast to stay hydrated. Keeping your mind busy can also stop you from obsessing over hunger.
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Berries And Other Fruit
You can absolutely enjoy some terrific fruit as you come off of your extended fasting experience. Fruit in moderation is easy on the digestive system and is full of enzymes, prebiotics and polyphenols to help support the developing microbiome.
I wouldnt recommend consuming a huge load of fruit as the fructose sugar can overwhelm the liver. My favorite fruits to use would include granny smith apples and organic blueberries, raspberries, cranberries or blackberries. These are the lowest in sugar and the richest in antioxidant compounds.
Other great fruits that are rich in nutrients include kiwi, papaya, pineapple and cherries. These are high in sugar so be sure to keep your consumption to roughly 1/2 cup per meal and no more in the refeed phase.
How To Break An Intermittent Fast The Healthy Way
From the desk of Robb Wolf
Hey Robb, how should I break my fast?
I get some form of this question a lot from folks in The Healthy Rebellion community. My answer depends on a few factors, but mostly on the length of the fast.
If were talking about intermittent fasting , I just tell people to eat normally. A 12, 16, or even 24-hour fast doesnt require a specific re-feeding strategy.
This doesnt mean food quality doesnt matter while intermittent fasting. You should still eat nutrient-dense whole foods during feeding windows.
But you dont need a game plan to break a short fast. You can wing it.
With longer fasts, however, you want to ease back into eating. Your digestive system goes cold during an extended fast. If you dont handle it with kid gloves, it will protest.
I should stop here to mention that I generally recommend people get medical supervision for fasts over 36 hours. . This is especially necessary for type 2 diabetics who need guidance with blood sugar meds.
Another caveatIm not convinced that extended fasting is healthy for everyone. It has interesting therapeutic properties, but it can be a stressful and draining experience. Im in the minority on this. While folks make much noise about mTOR, IGF-1 and similar growth factors, I think we will look back and realize that somehow we applied the fix for chronic overeating to healthy, reasonable eating.
Caveats aside, I wrote this article as a resource on how to break a fast. I hope you find it useful.
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Will I Do It Again And Would I Recommend A 24 Hour Fast
Getting through a full 24 hours without eating was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
I really thought Id be famished by the end and tempted to break the fast and start refeeding early.
But I found that a 24 hour fast is really not that different from other forms of intermittent fasting.
Hunger comes and goes in waves. You may be starving one minute, but if you hydrate and focus on something else it will fade.
I learned that hunger is SO much more psychologically driven than anything else.
Eating is fun. It triggers the pleasure centers of your brain. It can be social. It breaks up the day and can be a reward for a job well done.
But does your body really need to eat every time you feel hungry? Probably not. Most of us will never even come close to the point of needing food to prevent starvation.
I can definitely see myself doing this again to flush my system and shed a little, tiny bit of fat at once, but I cant see myself doing it super frequently.
Eating is truly one of lifes great pleasures, and while I enjoy intermittent fasting, I dont want to feel like Im depriving myself on a regular basis.
But Id recommend anyone whos interested in fasting give an extended, 24-hour fast a try because:
Use Sleep To Your Advantage
Something which is overlooked when fasting is its a lot easier to kill time if you are sleeping.
If you eat at 5 PM the night before, go to bed at 11 PM, and wake up at 7 AM, you only have 10 hours of fasting left before hitting the 24 hour mark.
If you can, adding in a 30 minute to 1 hour nap will cut another hour off the clock.
Eating earlier and going to bed earlier can make this even easier finishing dinner at 4 PM, and going to bed at 10 AM can lead to a short fast during the second day!
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Focus On Nutritious Food
When fasting, we obviously have extended periods of time without any nutrients going into the body. This can lead to great benefits like metabolic health benefits, gut rest, fat loss, weight loss, autophagy, disease risk reduction, lifespan expansion,
Regardless of your main reason for fasting, those benefits cannot be achieved if nutrition on the other hand is ignored. Fasting doesnt make eating junk food suddenly okay, for example. So you want to make sure you eat rich-nutrient foods during your eating window, as much as possible. In order to prevent any nutrient imbalance or deficiency in the long term.
Ending A Longer Fast: A Quiet Gut Revs Up Again
Longer-term fasts are different. Resuming eating after a longer fast takes more planning and care.
As we start to incorporate fasting into our routines, our bodies physiologically take a bit of time to adjust to the new regimen, especially if we used to eat constantly. As chronic eaters, our bodies are constantly spending metabolic energy producing digestive enzymes to process the food were consuming. This changes when we first start fasting. The digestive enzymes are not needed or produced.1
Read Also: How Many Days To Do Intermittent Fasting
Related: Can You Do A 24 Hour Fast Every Day How About Once A Week
You can do a 24-hour fast every day, and a lot of people do!
Thatd be pretty similar to the style of eating known as OMAD, or One Meal a Day.
A lot of dieticians and health experts dont advise sticking with an OMAD diet over a long period of time. Conservationists, however, tout the benefits of eating only once a day for resource consumption and environmentalism.
You could easily do a 24-hour fast once a week. And, in fact, this might be a great idea to stay lean while youre bulking or just occasionally flush the system out.
Try it once to see if you can tolerate it, and if you have any health concerns, DEFINITELY talk to a doctor first.
Are You At Risk Of Refeeding Syndrome
Currently, most of us are over-nourished rather than under-nourished. But that doesnt mean you shouldnt exercise caution. Certain groups of individuals are at a higher risk for developing refeeding syndrome than others:
- Your body mass index is less than 18.5.
- Youve experience unexplained weight loss in the last six months totalling a loss greater than 10% of your body weight.
- You have fasted consuming nothing but water for five or more days.
- Your blood work shows you have lower than normal levels of phosphorus, potassium, calcium or magnesium levels.
- You are an alcoholic or have a history of alcoholism.
- You have anorexia nervosa.
- Are taking insulin, diuretics, antacids or undergoing chemotherapy.
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I Just Finished A 3 Day Water Fast It Was Brutal
Yesterday, I finished a 3 day water fast .
After reading about other peoples experiences, I expected it to be easy.
To be honest, fasting for 3 days was brutal. I experienced nausea and an increased heart rate. It was concerning.
Ultimately, I ended up experiencing significant fasting benefits from my 3 day fast. But there was one thing I wish I did differently.
Before I share my personal experience and what I got wrong , Ill explain what a 3 day water fast is, how to prepare for it, and the benefits of a 72 hour fast.
To skip the science and further information on a 3 day fast, click here.
Be Hydrated With Fluids And Electrolytes
We just covered a rare fasting complication called refeeding syndrome. Thats a severe electrolyte disturbance. Milder electrolyte disturbances, however, are MUCH more common in the fasting population.
During a fast, you lose more electrolytes like sodium and potassium through urine. And your dietary intake is nonexistent. Its a formula for electrolyte imbalances that can tank your energy.
Research has also found that supplementing with sodium mitigates the weight rebound following a fast. Good to know.
So before and after you refeed, get your fluids and electrolytes handled. This might mean sipping LMNT Recharge, drinking bone broth, or supplementing ad hoc.
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Ways To Use This Information For Better Health
Foods To Avoid When Breaking A Fast
There are foods which can be too tough on your digestive system and it is better to avoid them until your body gets used to this dietary pattern and understands that it is not a stress, but a new lifestyle. Below you can see a list of foods that are NOT a good choice for breaking your fast.
- Nuts and seeds
- Raw cruciferous vegetables
- Alcohol
- Red meat
- Foods which are problematic for you personally
This doesnt mean that you shouldnt eat these foods at all. After a 6-hour window, your body should be used to the fact that the fast is complete, and you can safely eat all the listed above foods. In addition its important to avoid junk food, as they are packed with fats, salt and sugar.
Read Also: What To Do When Your Fasting
If Youre New To Intermittent Fasting You May Be Wondering What The Best Thing To Eat To Break Your Fast Is
So, if youre looking to find out the best things to eat after a long fast, then youve landed on the right page.
This article is going to take a detailed look at the basics of Intermittent Fasting.
Were also going to bring you some comments from experts when it comes to the best types of food to eat after a 24-hour fast.
So, with the introductions out of the way, lets now start taking a closer look at Intermittent Fasting.
Editor’s note: The content on this website is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. Our articles and the products featured in them are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. Always speak with a certified medical professional before making any changes to your lifestyle, diet, exercise routine, and/or taking any supplements.
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Apple Cider Vinegar Diluted In Water
Multitudes of people around the world cannot stop raving over the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, and rightfully so. One of the reasons why this type of vinegar is so loved by many is that it can be a great choice when breaking a fast. Just add one to two tablespoons of the vinegar in water and drink the mixture. The apple cider vinegar in the water will help stimulate the digestive tract .
Furthermore, some believe that it will also make you feel fuller once you begin eating again, and that it will improve the digestion of your first meal.
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Foods You Can Eat While Fasting
Some experts say as long as you keep your carbohydrate intake below 50 grams per day during a fast, you can maintain ketosis .
Below are some foods and beverages you can consume while fasting.
- Water. Plain or carbonated water contains no calories and will keep you hydrated during a fast.
- Coffee and tea. These should mostly be consumed without added sugar, milk, or cream. However, some people find that adding small amounts of milk or fat can curb hunger.
- Diluted apple cider vinegar. Some people find that drinking 12 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed into water can help them stay hydrated and prevent cravings during a fast.
- Healthy fats. Some people drink coffee containing MCT oil, ghee, coconut oil, or butter during their fast. Oil breaks a fast, but it wont break ketosis and can tide you over between meals.
- Bone broth. This rich source of nutrients can help replenish electrolytes lost during long periods of only drinking water.
Remember that foods and drinks containing any calories like bone broth and the healthy fats listed above will technically break your fast.
However, small amounts of these low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein foods wont throw your body out of ketosis .
SUMMARY
Some people choose to consume small amounts of certain foods and beverages while fasting, such as bone broth or healthy fats. Others consume calorie-free beverages.
