Caution: I am not advising you to follow suit, fasting for this period of time. However, should you choose to, there is value to be had from sharing my experience - as someone who’s been fasting for over 8 years, published a book about fasting, and has a lot of experience with prolonged fasting. If you have high blood pressure or any other health issue that warrants caution when fasting or consuming sodium: Consult your GP.

<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> 4 times a year I like to fast for 36 hours or more. Usually a lot more.

My goal here is not weight loss, and if you’re looking to do an extended fast I don’t believe it should be your goal either.

My goals were strictly health-related: Digestive health, metabolic health, cleansing/detoxification, shedding dead weight (a process called cellular autophagy, which is the death and recycling of weaker cells and proteins in your body), and more - as well as a period of mental clarity and presence (if you’re into meditation or yin yoga, you should try it 50 hours into a fast - it’s pretty magical).

So… how do I go about it.

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Note: Drink distilled water/sparkling water when you are thirsty throughout but don’t over drink (~2 litres) — if you are struggling with hunger consume a tall glass of water

Step 1: Don’t heavily plan.

Personally I find that excessive pre-planning and build up to a long fast makes it 10x harder. You go to sleep at night knowing you’re not going to eat for a few days, and you wake up more hungry than you would be otherwise because you fall victim to psychological warfare.

Plan on a rough period of time where you want to start your fast, then strike when the moment is most fitting. Ideally, you want to be 16-20 hours into your fast before you mentally consider the fact that you won’t be eating for a few days.

Step 2: Have your final meal(s) resemble the ketogenic diet: High fat, moderate protein, low/no carbohydrates (Taper off carbs)

In this way, your body will more rapidly enter a state of ketosis (when carbohydrates run out) as you taper off carbs before the fast begins.

An example of Steps 1 & 2: Consume a low-carb high-fat dinner before fasting until 2 pm the next day. Now the fast really begins.

Step 3: Go for a long low-intensity walk and resistance train within the first 24 hours

This will help you burn remaining carbohydrates to facilitate entering a state of ketosis—at which point you will function better as you will have converted towards fat for energy (which is stored abundantly in the body).