Good morning, friends!
So, about two weeks ago I started to consider a full day fast. I subscribe to a type of fasting called intermittent fasting (at times in certain scenarios also called time-restricted eating) on a daily basis by only eating in a certain time window. I’ve found multiple benefits in this practice and have heard of greater benefits from participating in longer fasts.
If you’re interested in fasting be sure to download my free guide!
Here’s a timeline of my first 24-hour fast…
Throughout the day I made a point to document what I was doing, how I was feeling, and how I managed to get through the day.
August 19th
- 7:50 p.m. (Finished around 8:10 p.m.) – Last meal – Ground Turkey White Lasagna ~ 500 Cals and 2 Tbsp Crunchy Peanut butter ~ 200 Cals: A good amount of Calories to kick things off knowing I would have a full day without food.
- 8:10 p.m. Fast BEGINS!
- 8-11 p.m. 1 bottle of water
- 9:24 p.m. Resisted the urge to try boyfriends delicious looking dinner; OH THE TEMPTATION! Already setting in!
August 20th
- 8/8:30 a.m. – Woke up; not hungry well within my normal fast time of 14 hours
- 8:52 a.m. – Started on 32 oz of water
- 9:52 a.m. -Still drinking water; Starting to feel slightly hungry; Normally my fast ends about 10 a.m.
- 10:31 a.m. – Finished Water; Hunger slightly subsiding; More of a mental challenge
- 11:30 a.m. – Downed Second bottle of water, hunger lingers; Making coffee, I can’t be without caffeine
- 11:46 a.m. – Coffee 😀 😀
- 1 p.m. – Feeling good: 2nd cup of coffee done
- 2 p.m. – 3rd cup of coffee; starting to feel slightly weak (might be a caffeine rush); Working on a third water
- 3 p.m. – Looking forward to my burger later….Hunger might be getting the best of my brain
- 3:25 p.m. – Walk in the woods, feeling like my brain isn’t firing 100% and my legs are a little weak; I feel like I have bad breath, thats a sign of ketones present in the body (See my guide for more information on ketones); Sipping Water
- 4:40 p.m. – By the end of the walk was not necessarily fatigued but blah; just feeling bored and blah, not really a good way to describe it…
- 5:24 p.m. – Tired, hungry, not feeling so hot. Not the end of the world. Definitely still a mental game; Opting for green tea keeping myself occupied through the last few hours; Decided to head to my office and work on blog and social media stuff to pass the time
- 7:15 p.m. – Antsy, done working for the day so this last hour…. Matt asked me to mix up the burger and seasoning, helping make dinner might be torture
- 8:00 p.m. – Burgers aren’t on the grill yet…how am I supposed to eat at 8:10?! Getting a little hangry obviously.. (I apologize to Matt as at this point I was probably an unpleasant girlfriend.)
- 8:15 p.m. – I just decide to go lay on the couch until this thing is over
- 8:41 p.m. I eat and it is so damn good. Probably need to get better at controlling the end of the fast cause I had A LOT of calories (Burger with pineapple, bacon wrapped jalepeno poppers, and avocado all on top of greens. I must say I did wait an extra minute and took a picture of this delicious feast
- 9 p.m. – Had some wine… I mean, why not?!
August 21st
- Next morning, still full
- Definitely decided I won’t be binging after my next fast as my stomach just seemed heavy for hours
Benefits I Found from my 24-Hour Fast
Learning the difference between physical and psychological hunger
I have an issue with eating when I have nothing better to do… so this experience really made me realize that I don’t NEED to eat even when I think I should. It’s not that I should starve myself and only eat when I’m excruciatingly hungry, but more of a lesson in self control and will power.
I have an awesome boyfriend
I wish I could say I didn’t complain about being hungry or not eating right at 8:10, but I did. And my boyfriend, Matt, had to spend the whole day with me, dealing with my nonsense, and cooked me up an AMAZING dinner to end it all.
If I wouldn’t have binged after, I would have felt better
I wish I wouldn’t have eaten so much, but in the moment it was so good. So, been there, done that. I feel like I didn’t get the full benefits of the fast because I pretty much ate my full day’s worth of Calories in one meal… Next time I’ll do things a little differently. (Yes, there’s gonna be a next time 😉 )
I’m ready for more…
Yes, I know I know, it seems like I was about to freak out at the end of my fast, but that’s only because I knew the end was near. I think that I can extend my next fast to 36-40 hours. That sounds crazy, but its really not that bad, it’s just going to bed without dinner, and then waking up and eating breakfast. No big thing. I think I could totally do it! Waiting a month or two to try it though… be on the lookout for updates!
Want to learn how YOU can benefit from fasting?
Step out of your comfort zone!
I encourage you to give fasting a try. Reap the benefits of letting your body do it’s thing.
Speaking of stepping out of comfort zones….
In a couple weeks, I’m going on a podcast!
I’ll be appearing on the Don’t Make This Weird podcast on September 7th at 8 pm EST. Check out their Facebook Page and YouTube Channel for updates!
As always, let me know if you have any questions!
