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I regularly fast for 20+ hours (calorie restriction, I do drink water because I am not an idiot) once or twice a week. You get very used to it. While its not s

I regularly fast for 20+ hours (calorie restriction, I do drink water because I am not an idiot) once or twice a week. You get very used to it. While its not something I look forward to, it's purely psychological. A few hours after I miss 'breakfast' my tummy rumbles two or three times and then my body doesn't care anymore. The max time I've fasted is forty hours and I have to say if you can get past the first fours hours, it's easy. I didn't really plan to fast that long, circumstances led to it. I actually found it hard to eat after it. I normally eat a very small 500-600 calorie meal after a fast but I couldn't finish it after the long fast. I think we underestimate how adaptable our body is and how intermittent fasting is actually the norm for most mammals.

mattmanser 10y ago
How is a 500-600 calorie meal 'very small'? Most normal dinners are 600-800 calories.
- tbihl 10y ago
  If you're used to 800, 500 is a pretty huge drop. My intake to maintain weight is about 2600kcal/day as a lightly-moderately active person. I normally do a breakfast of about 400-500 calories, and then 900-1000 for lunch and dinner. So if I weren't just waking up, 500-600 would be very small for me.
- collyw 10y ago
  Rat studies have shown that 30% of the normal calorie intake can have similar benefits to "proper" fasting.
- dazzawazza 10y ago
  Sorry, the small refers to the physical volume of the meal.
ashark 10y ago
I tried single day (don't eat anything in a single waking period, not strict 24-hours—over 24 hours, in fact) fasting a few times a couple years back. I don't usually eat breakfast anyway (rarely feel hungry in the morning), but ~1hr after I usually eat lunch I'd feel fairly bad, and by 3pm or so I'd feel quite weak and mentally sluggish. I still plan to try a 72 hour fast at some point, but I'm expecting it to be very unpleasant based on those experiences.

mattmanser 10y ago

How is a 500-600 calorie meal 'very small'? Most normal dinners are 600-800 calories.

tbihl 10y ago
If you're used to 800, 500 is a pretty huge drop. My intake to maintain weight is about 2600kcal/day as a lightly-moderately active person. I normally do a breakfast of about 400-500 calories, and then 900-1000 for lunch and dinner. So if I weren't just waking up, 500-600 would be very small for me.
collyw 10y ago
Rat studies have shown that 30% of the normal calorie intake can have similar benefits to "proper" fasting.
dazzawazza 10y ago
Sorry, the small refers to the physical volume of the meal.

ashark 10y ago

I tried single day (don't eat anything in a single waking period, not strict 24-hours—over 24 hours, in fact) fasting a few times a couple years back. I don't usually eat breakfast anyway (rarely feel hungry in the morning), but ~1hr after I usually eat lunch I'd feel fairly bad, and by 3pm or so I'd feel quite weak and mentally sluggish. I still plan to try a 72 hour fast at some point, but I'm expecting it to be very unpleasant based on those experiences.