Water fasting has many benefits that can be summed up as longer lifespan and increased health. In this post I’m not trying to convince you to water fast. I’m assuming you’ve already done your research and want to take advantage of this unique tool to live longer and live better.
I’ve been water fasting years. I posted my experience with a thirteen day water fast here. Through trial and error I’ve come up with 5 tips to make your water fast easier, more productive and longer. I’m writing this on day nine of a great water fast. Enjoy!
Fasting Hacks
Feeling Low Energy: Exercise – You’ll find people recommending exercising during a water fast. I’ve found kettlebells to have the greatest impact on energy and alertness. I believe the intensity and motion create a unique ramping of the system. It’s amazing that if I feel fatigued. I swing kettlebells and feel energized. Today in my fasted state, I did my regular kettlebell routine. I needed more breaks and cut sets in half. One big advantage is that I had greater awareness of my body. I could feel my muscles more clearly. This helped me get more precision in my movements. For example I noticed that I wasn’t dipping enough during my swing. That was easy enough to fix.
Hydration, Dry Mouth : Try Salt Water – Seven days into one of my early water fast I went to a dental appointment. I asked the dentist what to do about my dry mouth. When I told them I was water fasting, I was transformed into the office circle celebrity. Everybody gawked but had no good advice.
Since then I’ve found that salting my water with Himalyan Salt makes me much thirstier. I drink and retain a lot more water. I feel better and my throat stays moist. He’re one caveat. Since salt causes water retention use less or no salt before bed. If find yourself needing to run to the restroom a few times during the night stop the salt water at 3pm.
Got Cramps : Try Potassium Chloride – I’m still working on reducing cramps both on the carnivore diet and while fasting. While most recommend magnesium, I’ve found that potassium seems to help as while.
Go Carnivore Before Fasting – Tim Ferris recommends eating a low carb meal before fasting. It is probably even more helpful to be in keto as this will speed up the upramp to fasting level ketosis. Let’s take this even farther. Go carnivore for a few days before you fast.
People on the carnivore diet have noticed that they eat meals less frequently. They also note that they can skip a meal much more easily. Since the carnivore diet contains zero carbs, it makes sense that it would generate a higher level ketosis as well reduce the carb generated cravings found in a stardard low carb or keto diet.
If you’re eating high fat carnivore it makes the beginning of the fast much easier. You have less cravings and you also wont feel hungry for a while. If the start of a fast is the most difficult, why not make it as easy as possible.
Break The Fast in Carnivore – I’ve broken my fast with many foods. Some have caused me intense pain. I’ve tried fruits, I’ve tried vegetables. I’ve broken fasts on pizza with fried onion toppings. I’ve broken fasts with carvel cakes (and pizza). The food tastes delicious, but in the case of pizza the stomach pain kicks in a few hours later.
An additional problem is that the intense food cravings continue for a few days after the fast. Try this hack:
By far the most effective way to break a fast is with high fat ground beef (80/20 or high). I’ve found that I feel on fire. It is as though I’m still fasting except that I feel an energy surge that continues all day. Imagine experiencing all of the mental, emotional and physical benefits of fasting plus being completely turned on. That’s what breaking a fast on ground beef feels like.
I’ve found that unless I have a very specific plan I break the fast on the most high carb food possible. Sugar, sweets, pizza… In order to break it on ground beef I need to commit in advance. Committing to family also helps.
Another big plus is that this will help you to fast longer. If you plan to break your fast on a Ben and Jerry’s you will be craving it for the last few days of the fast. Just imagining that ice cream will make you salivate during the day and dream about it by night. On the other hand, if you commit to ground beef, your cravings will be much lower. It’s day nine of my fast. I’ve strongly committed to ground beef, I haven’t had any cravings for junk food.
Don’t Break Your Fast at Night – I’ve found that typically I will break a fast at night. I get this urge to eat. I feel my body needs the nourishment now. I’ve woken up at 1am and said, “it’s time to break the fast right now”. But here’s the interesting thing. When I hold off until the next day, the urge to eat is much reduced.
Last night (day 9 of the water fast), I had difficulty sleeping as often happens during a water fast. Even supplement tip below didn’t help. I was tossing and turning, convinced that my body needed the nutrition now. I told my wife that I thought I needed to break the fast. I took some ground beef out of the freezer to defrost for the morning.
This morning I woke up feeling fresh and light and only very light cravings for food. I’m not sure why, but the night is definitely the hardest part of fasting.
If you commit not to break the fast at night, you will fast through the night. Another tip that comes I believe from Jason Fung is that when you feel the urge to eat, wait. Say if I still feel the need to eat in two hours I’ll eat then. Ussually the urge to eat will disappear.
Be Around Food : Only In Low Stress Environments – The hardest time for me is mealtime with my family. Since I usually take care of meals, I’ve got to be present during mealtime, feeding the kids and dealing with the overall commotion. I’ve found it very difficult to start a fast under these circumstances (it gets easier however a few days into the fast).
But I’ve found that it’s not just the food that makes me want to eat. It’s the food plus the mealtime stress. Kids can be intense and demanding. That plus the smell of food is what makes fasting with kids so difficult.
I’ve found that I can prepare food in a quiet kitchen without cravings. I’ve also found that when family is around and meal responsibility is not entirely on my shoulders, it’s a lot easier to fast.
Use Fasting as an Elimination Diet – With an elimination diet, you eliminate foods that then reintroduce them and see if you get a bad reaction. Fasting is the ultimate elimination diet. Try breaking your fast with different foods and see your bodies reaction. Make sure not to mix foods. This way you can see which food causes which reaction.
Here is something I discovered recently. I had been adding trace minerals 40,000 volts electrolyte mix to my drink. In theory its just Utah Sea Salt plus magnesium and potassium. I tried it while fasting and got heartburn consistently.
Second Day Might Be The Hardest but It Gets Easier on Day 5 – Jason Fung and others describe how the second day is the most difficult day of the fast. They are right, but it gets easier as you continue. At a certain point you stop craving food. I’ve found that day five or six is another fasting milestone. It get’s easier from there.
Lithium – When fasting you need less sleep. You also don’t need time to eat. I took advantage of this when I was doing a big three day move with my brother. I started fasting a few days before and was able to sleep less and work non-stop for days (sprinkling in little catnaps).
But what if you could fast and also sleep more. I’ve tried this and it improves the quality of my fast. The York Times and Tim Ferris both recommend low dose lithium to improve mood.. Tim recommends a 5mg. I’ve found that if I up the dose to 25 or 45mg, then I sleep a lot longer. I also feel very rested the next day.
Daniel Levitin says that many mental problems experienced by the elderly are due to lack of sleep. The elderly need the same amount of sleep as the rest of us, but they are not able to get a full nights sleep. This results in forgetfulness and mental fatigue. I wonder if the same is true when fasting. What if you could seriously benefit from increased sleep, but you’re to amped up so you can’t get more than five or six hours. Lithium can give you more sleep plus a mood boost. (Note – I don’t take lithium regularly. For example I only started on day 5 of this fast.)
Take the Time to Get Used to Fasting – Your first fast will be different than anything you’ve ever experienced. Give your body a few fasts to get used to it.
I found that that when I started fasting, I had difficulty driving since my perception and reaction times were different. I had a similar experience after my first few times in the sensory deprivation tank. I also felt different socially as my mind was running a different pace then usual. I feel amped up, more relaxed and more “get to the point”. After you fast a few times, you’ll find your groove and with the added confidence and “being present” generated by fasting. You’ll find yourself connecting better than ever before.
These tips can help you take your fasting to the next level. Good luck!
Rafael Ender
