Fasting - all types (intermittent, long, dry, etc)

[mountainaire]

My new favorite: dry fasting.

I've done lots of prolonged water fasts with electrolytes in the past in the 7 day range. They are great. However they aren't always easy to do, and they take a while to really work.

So I tried a 3 day dry fast. Contrary to what you might think, dry fasting is easier. No food no water. It works faster, and you feel better during the fast.

The principle behind dry fasting is that all of the beneficial process one experiences during a fast are ramped up big time, due to your body breaking down fat/damaged cells in search of water. Fat and other damaged cells contain water, and your body will be nuking them after a few days of not eating or drinking. This increases detox, autophagy, improves body composition, restores insulin sensitivity, the list goes on.

I've had good experiences with prolonged water fasts in the past, but it's not always an option to set aside a whole week or 5 days to do one. With a dry fast, you can start Friday morning, and be done by Monday and will have received a huge benefit in that short time.

 

[Unending Powerhouse Match]

My new favorite: dry fasting.

I've done lots of prolonged water fasts with electrolytes in the past in the 7 day range. They are great. However they aren't always easy to do, and they take a while to really work.

So I tried a 3 day dry fast. Contrary to what you might think, dry fasting is easier. No food no water. It works faster, and you feel better during the fast.

The principle behind dry fasting is that all of the beneficial process one experiences during a fast are ramped up big time, due to your body breaking down fat cells in search of water. Fat cells contain water, and your body will be nuking them after a few days of not eating or drinking. This increases detox, and autophagy.

I've had good experiences with prolonged water fasts in the past, but it's not always an option to set aside a whole week or 5 days to do one. With a dry fast, you can start Friday morning, and be done by Monday and will have received a huge benefit.

Isn't dry fasting dangerous?

 

[mountainaire]

Isn't dry fasting dangerous?

I wouldn't say so. You don't get the electrolyte imbalance issues that you get on a water fast so you generally feel better.

Your body contains a lot of water, and it is very good at scavenging that water from fat and other bad cells during a short dry fast window. That's what makes it effective in a very short time.

On water fasts, I feel like you aren't even really fasting until 3 days in. That's been my personal experience. With dry, the processes get to work much sooner because it's not just energy needed, but also water.

 

[Vas Incrementum]

My new favorite: dry fasting.

I've done lots of prolonged water fasts with electrolytes in the past in the 7 day range. They are great. However they aren't always easy to do, and they take a while to really work.

So I tried a 3 day dry fast. Contrary to what you might think, dry fasting is easier. No food no water. It works faster, and you feel better during the fast.

The principle behind dry fasting is that all of the beneficial process one experiences during a fast are ramped up big time, due to your body breaking down fat/damaged cells in search of water. Fat and other damaged cells contain water, and your body will be nuking them after a few days of not eating or drinking. This increases detox, autophagy, improves body composition, restores insulin sensitivity, the list goes on.

I've had good experiences with prolonged water fasts in the past, but it's not always an option to set aside a whole week or 5 days to do one. With a dry fast, you can start Friday morning, and be done by Monday and will have received a huge benefit in that short time.

I need to try it. I've done many water fasts of 7, 10, 14 days, and more often than not, have problems with electrolyte imbalance. The common, and most worrying, symptom is heart arrhythmia. It goes when I take sufficient electrolyte tablets. But you're right, the last big fast I didn't really shed much of the excess belly fat I was hoping to lose. Although my fasts are primarily for spiritual benefits.

Reading your post I'm thinking that maybe a 3 day dry fast might be a good start to a long water fast. I'm hoping to do a 21 days fast early next year.

 

[stadtaffe]

My new favorite: dry fasting.

I've done lots of prolonged water fasts with electrolytes in the past in the 7 day range. They are great. However they aren't always easy to do, and they take a while to really work.

So I tried a 3 day dry fast. Contrary to what you might think, dry fasting is easier. No food no water. It works faster, and you feel better during the fast.

The principle behind dry fasting is that all of the beneficial process one experiences during a fast are ramped up big time, due to your body breaking down fat/damaged cells in search of water. Fat and other damaged cells contain water, and your body will be nuking them after a few days of not eating or drinking. This increases detox, autophagy, improves body composition, restores insulin sensitivity, the list goes on.

I've had good experiences with prolonged water fasts in the past, but it's not always an option to set aside a whole week or 5 days to do one. With a dry fast, you can start Friday morning, and be done by Monday and will have received a huge benefit in that short time.

You get me thinking.. Even Cole Robinson, the snake diet guy does this from time to time. I have never tried it and had only considered it if I need to make weight for some event as I cannot see how the weight loss or body reshaping effects could be permanent. I can imagine it would cause a much larger and more rapid drop in weight than the electrolyte fasting I do from time to time, but that is not a loss of fat, just that you have dehydrated yourself. So if you just like to see low numbers on the scale it could be useful.

On water fasts, I feel like you aren't even really fasting until 3 days in. That's been my personal experience. With dry, the processes get to work much sooner because it's not just energy needed, but also water.

Yes, it is annoying, I find from the ketostix with electrolyte fasting it takes at least 48 hours to see a result and only a mild result at that. The stronger ketosis only after 3 or 4 days. Exception is if I have done strenuous exercise on the day of starting the fast then it goes faster but I don't think that is so good because, while ketosis sets in faster, it sets in much more suddenly and the chances that I crack and go to the cupboard or the fridge are higher.

Isn't dry fasting dangerous?

I think if you're otherwise healthy a few days of it probably is not dangerous but suspect it is not good for you either. Just those organs, liver, kidneys - would not like it much to not have the fluid available to do what they are supposed to do when fat gets broken down. You would have a buildup of ketones more than with electrolyte or water fasting.

Still I may try it if someone can explain or post a link to an explanation of why it is a good idea. Would be interesting if there were a greater than the sum of its parts effect. I just think you'd drop the usual weight from fat loss plus then the water loss, but your body does not want to run dry and it would top itself up again very rapidly with water once you got back onto it.

 

[bubs]

I’ve tinkered with intermittent fasting for about 10 days (food constricting to 8 hrs a day) and got no noticeable benefits from that. I’ve done a 24 hr fast (only drinking water and black coffee) 2x in the last month and I think doing this once a month may be the route I go for a while. Perhaps try to increase by a few hrs each time, as I’ve read that longer you can fast, the more effective the body flushes out toxins and cellular repair. Not sure I want to do the dry fasting thing. Convince me it’s another step towards improving health over a water-only fast and I’ll consider it.

 

[Batman]

I've been trying fasting on and off for years. Did a 5 day fast once but wasn't a fan of that because I struggle to sleep without a full stomach, let alone fasted, so I doubt I'll do it again. So IM fasting, specifically OMAD, seems to work for me. I have an odd way of doing it, but I typically go to the gym between 5 and 7pm, and starting eating somewhere between 8pm and 10pm (I go to bed around 3am) and it works for me. I've been doing this very consistently for almost a year now. I even prefer working out fasted, typically having more energy and strength when I do so. Eating almost always crashes my energy and mood for hours, even if its just protein or healthy carbs like rice. I actually just hit a new deadlift PR of 385lbs and I was completely fasted.

 

[Australia Sucks]

I just completed a 5 day dry fast. It was tough. I have done extended water fasts many times before but I have only started experimenting with dry fasting in the past few weeks.

I built up to it by doing a 1 day then a 2 day then a 3 day dry fast over multiple weeks and just completed a 5 day one. The first 3 days were okay the 4th day was a slight challenge and the 5th day I was struggling.

I know there are people who regularly do 11 day dry fasts. I guess you just need more time to slowly work your way up to it.