Intermittent fasting, or fasting for 12 to 36 hours at regular intervals, is now famous. However, once you reach 36 hours, you leave intermittent fasting behind and join the domain of extended fasting.
Extended fasting, often periodic fasting, is a concept that has been introduced previously. Since time immemorial, humans have gone long periods without eating; during fasts, our forefathers burnt body fat to fuel their hunting and gathering.
According to a growing corpus of studies, longer fasts are now considered safe and beneficial for most people. (1) However, this does not imply that extended fasting is appropriate for everyone. Or that it is simple.
This article will teach you the fundamentals of extended fasting: how it works, why it’s good, and how to fast for an extended period. Continue reading.
How Extended Fasting Works
An extended fast is a period without eating that lasts more than 36 hours; water, electrolytes, and noncaloric drinks are permitted during this time. Consider prolonged fasting to be a more powerful variation of intermittent fasting. The consequences are similar but exacerbated by extended durations without meals.
Fasting has the most impact on your metabolism or how you consume energy. Fasting shifts your metabolism from sugar-burning (or fat-storing) mode to fat-burning mode.
Fat is stored in the body specifically for this purpose: to give energy when food is limited. You can feed yourself for an astonishingly long period with good body fat. In the 1970s, researchers fasted a severely obese man for 382 days. (2) He started the fast at 456 pounds and finished at 180 pounds with no significant side effects since his lengthy fast was fuelled by body fat.
Excess fat loss is only one of the many benefits of fasting. Let us now look at the top four reasons to fast:
Benefits of Extended Fasting
Why do people undertake prolonged fasting? Consider the following advantages:
Weight loss. Long durations of fasting, as you might expect, promote weight reduction. For example, one 2019 PLOS One research studied 1,422 individuals on an extended fasting regimen for a year. The subjects had dropped substantial weight at the end of the study. (1)
It’s important to note that most weight loss during the fast will be water weight, especially if you’re not fat-adapted. This implies that you will gain weight when you resume regular eating habits. However, when your metabolism adjusts to using fat for energy, you will lose more fat.
Lower blood sugar and insulin levels. Type 2 diabetes is distinguished by high blood sugar and insulin levels, a dangerous metabolic illness that affects approximately one in every ten Americans. (3) Fasting lowers blood sugar levels in all forms, but lengthier fasts move the needle further and quicker. Dr. Jason Fung, the bestselling author of The Complete Guide to Fasting, has effectively reversed type 2 diabetes in his Toronto clinic using both intermittent and prolonged fasting regimens.
Ketosis. Fasting, as previously said, reduces insulin levels. As a result, your liver begins to burn fat and produce ketones. Ketones serve several purposes, the most important of which is to feed the brain. Higher ketone levels were associated with more significant mental function in older individuals in one research. (4) This suggests fasting causes ketosis, improving cognitive performance.
Autophagy. Without nutrition (for example, during a fast), your cells initiate a recycling process known as autophagy. Consider autophagy an anti-aging cleaning mechanism: old, damaged cell parts enter, and new features emerge. Longer fasts, on average, trigger more autophagy than shorter fasts. Though we can’t accurately quantify autophagy in people (and you won’t feel it), autophagy undoubtedly assists your cells in remaining alive and healthy. So, fast for an extended period to boost cell recycling and refresh!
Now that you’ve learned about the benefits of fasting let’s look at the procedure.
Building Up To Extended Fasting
If you’re new to fasting, it’s advisable to do it slowly at first. Do not begin with a two-day fast. Instead, start with overnight fasts and work your way up to fasts of two or more days.
A 14 to 16-hour overnight fast has been demonstrated to reduce blood sugar, increase insulin function, and improve your wake/sleep cycle. (5) This fasting pattern often involves two meals each day—for example, one before 12 PM and one before 8 PM, or one at 9 AM and 5 PM. After a few weeks of overnight fasting, you can go to 18- to 24-hour intermittent fasting.
These shorter fasts assist your body in fat adaptation, making longer fasts (usually two days to nearly a month) considerably simpler.
Another way to gain access to body fat for fuel? Consume a ketogenic diet both before and after your fast. Keto, like fasting, lowers insulin levels, preparing your cells to burn fat rather than sugar.
Breaking Your Extended Fast
When you fast for several days, your stomach decreases. It’s critical to avoid overeating the first meal back to prevent indigestion. Instead, consider the little.
Make your first meal light, such as a protein drink or a few hundred calories of lean meat. Protein not only digests faster than fat, but it also inhibits muscle catabolism. (muscle loss). Wait approximately an hour after your mini-meal before eating healthy fats like olive, avocado, or coconut oil. These fats will assist you in staying in ketosis.
Finally, after a fast, eat iodine-rich foods (such as seaweed, shrimp, tuna, and eggs) to boost the creation of your thyroid hormones T3 and T4. (6) This is especially significant for women requiring additional fasting thyroid support.
Tips For Extended Fasting Success
If you intend to fast for more than 36 hours, follow these guidelines:
Take electrolytes. During a fast, insulin levels fall, resulting in more significant salt loss through urine. (7) Taking potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus during fasting can also help prevent refeeding syndrome, which occurs when vital minerals are lost. At the same time, your body rebuilds glycogen, protein, and fat after a fast. If you don’t want to take electrolytes, consume bone broth instead. It’s a high-electrolyte superfood. During extended fasts, drink a cup of bone broth twice a day. Although it contains some protein, it should not significantly interfere with your fasts.
Hydrate. Fasting has a diuretic impact, which means you lose fluids rapidly. Replace those fluids with noncaloric, unsweetened, nondairy alternatives such as coffee, tea, bone broth, and water.
Ride out the hunger. Hunger does not rise throughout the fast but rather ebbs and flows. On the second day of a long fast, most individuals become hungry. It becomes easy after that.
Track your fast. Make a fasting strategy, measure crucial indicators, and hold yourself responsible with an app like the LIFE Fasting Tracker.
Fast with others. This keeps you motivated. It’s entertaining to exchange data like fasting hours, ketone levels, and glucose ketone index (GKI) readings.
Monitor ketone and glucose levels. As you progress through the fast, your ketone levels should rise, and your glucose levels should decline. This indicates that your metabolism is correctly adjusting. Track your ketones, glucose, and GKI with an accurate at-home gadget like the Keto-Mojo meter. For further information on these measurements, see this page on glucose levels and this article on ketone levels.
Plan your first meal thoroughly. Your stomach will be unhappy if you do not correctly break your fast.
Is Extended Fasting For Everyone?
Most people can endure prolonged fasting without incident. Less than 1% of the 1,422 non-obese subjects in the fasting above trial experienced unfavorable effects. Nonetheless, these fasts were carried out under supervised clinical settings. Before making drastic dietary changes, always speak with your primary care practitioner.
In certain circumstances, especially for people with type 2 diabetes, monitoring is advised. Many people with diabetes take medicines, such as insulin and metformin, which can cause dangerously low blood sugar levels during a fast if not carefully managed.
The following people should avoid fasting for a lengthy period:
- Underweight people
- Children
- Anyone with an eating disorder
Finally, hunger is typical during a fast. However, you may suffer from hypoglycemia if you feel shaky, dizzy, or weak. (low blood sugar). That is a cue to break the fast.
If you’re thinking of fasting for a lengthy period, you’ll want to conduct your research. Your first task after finishing this article? Read Dr. Jason Fung’s The Complete Guide to Fasting.
The Bottom Line
You enter the domain of extended fasting when you fast for 36 hours or longer. Weight loss, decreased blood sugar, ketosis, and improved autophagy are all advantages of this approach.
Start with shorter fasts and work your way up to lengthier fasts to assist your body in adjusting to using body fat for energy. Break your fast with a modest protein-rich meal, then wait 60 minutes before eating a regular supper rich in healthy fats.
Taking electrolytes, drinking bone broth, and keeping a short journal will help you succeed throughout lengthier fasts. Finally, while extended fasting is generally healthy for most people, select groups (such as type 2 diabetics) should exercise caution and may require monitoring. Regardless, you should consult your primary care practitioner before making drastic dietary changes.
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