This is how I prepared for my first 72-hour, water-only fast
I've been doing Intermittent fasting for over 1.5 years. However, during these fasts, I’ve allowed myself to have lattés, smoothies, or fruits among other things. Therefore, it hasn't been very challenging.
A few weeks ago, after many months of extensive traveling, I decided to settle down for a little bit to prioritize my health. I scheduled a couple of visits to the doctor who ran some blood tests on me. These tests showed that my glucose levels were a bit high and therefore I needed to do some adjustments. That's how I became interested in long fasts.
72 hours fasting on only water, herbal teas, sodium, and magnesium was very daunting to me.
After being inspired by my good friend Alejandro Duque aka "Keto Alejo", I decided to do a 72 hour fast instead of a 24 or 48 hour fast.
"If you want to achieve cleanse and complete reset, it is best 72 hours without coffee or lemon (since they can activate some enzymes)." -Keto Alejo
Tracking Resources
“If you can't measure it, you can't improve it”. Measuring is a very important part of this experience. It helped me stay motivated by seeing the progress and impact of the fasting backed up by real data. Below you’ll find some resources:
App: Zero fasting app and their blog probably have the best information I could find in one single place about fasting.
Scale: This scale is amazing! it gives you several readings that are very accurate.
Blood work: Get a Keto-Mojo with extra glucose and ketone test strips. Very easy to use, I always did several readings because of my personal fear of needles, but honestly it’s not bad at all. HERE is a 2 minutes video that I used on how to use this device.
Measurements: In this spreadsheet, I placed all my measurements from the scale and keto-mojo. It helped me track my progress. (See below)
72 Hours Fasting in 5 Steps
1/. Listen to this podcast and get informed
Dr. Peter Attia is one of the best experts on fasting and a fantastic human. His research is backed up with very good scientific data. His website has great information. Also, Tim Ferriss has interviewed him several times (script and audio).
2/. Get the 5 tracking resources from above
Download the Zero app, get the scale and keto-mojo on amazon, and create a copy of the spreadsheet.
3/. Stock up and get ready! Buy some Magnesium, Sodium and Herbal tea
Magnesium and Sodium are needed for 72 hours of water-only fasting. I used the following from
Sodium: Sodium drops
Magnesium: SlowMag and L-Threonate (this one is for slow release)
Herbal tea: Pukka is my favorite herbal tea. Also, it helps to be consistent with one brand/ flavor but it’s not a must.
4/. Pick a day of the week
I started fasting on a Wednesday at 8:30 pm and finished on a Saturday night. Next time, I will do it during the week (Tuesday night to Friday night) to be able to enjoy the weekend.
5/. Start Fasting
Track your progress: First thing, is measuring your weight, ketones, glucose levels, etc. I measured myself 2 times per day. The first one was one hour after waking up, and the second was before going to bed.
Get your daily Sodium: If you’re not exercising during the day, it's recommended to have 2000-3000 mg. If exercising, 3000-4000 mg.
Take between 9 and 13 caps from the lid of the dorps the days you don't exercise (7 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon) and between 14 and 18 when you work out. Add lots of water because it's salty!
Have some Magnesium: It's recommended to have between 400 and 600 mg.
Take 2 Neuro-Mags (143 mg each) early in the morning, and 2 SlowMags before going to bed (144 mg each). Make sure to have them after measuring your ketones and glucose levels.
Drink lots of Water: Cold water helped me a lot when I was hungry.
Also, make sure to mix it with the sodium drops.
Drink Herbal tea as much as you can: I love hot tea, and it helped me when I was hungry as well.
Workout: Highly recommended, it helped me feel better. I ran 1.5 miles daily on average, walked a lot, and did outdoor activities because it helps you a lot. The day I didn't exercise (the second one) coincidentally was the most difficult one.
BONUS! First meal after your long fasting
When you finish your 72 Hours fasting, make sure to take it easy with food.
At the end of my 72 hours, I had:
- One glass of water with lemon (lemon breaks your fast),
- One hour later a green juice
- 30 minutes later a salad with no protein (just avocado).
And trust me, my body was very happy!
That's it, simple and easy!
Some of the results from my 72 hours of fasting include:
My senses are sharper than ever
Losing almost 7 pounds in three days
I can breath better
I'm more focused
I'm more appreciative of what I have (food, home, life in general)
I plan to keep doing a 72 hour fast every quarter, next in mid-April (if you dare we can do it together). Having a fasting buddy makes things easier!
Special Thanks: to Alejandro Duque for his amazing and kind guidance during this experience. Gracias compadre!
Any other questions let me know, highly recommended!