Many of you were following along on the videos I shared in my Instagram stories as I completed a 7-day water fast last week. That’s right, for 7 full days I had nothing but water, black coffee and some pink himalyan sea salt.
I got so many questions and I thought I’d take some time here on the blog and in the podcast to share answers to the most common questions, most especially: is extended fasting healthy?
The big picture point to remember is this: it’s the way you EAT that will drive your health and results, not the way you FAST. So while fasting might be a great option for you to detox or challenge yourself, it’s not the ONLY approach and it’s certainly not for EVERYONE. If you aren’t consistently eating well, work on that first. If you struggle with disordered eating patterns, DON’T FAST! You’ve got to use common sense, friends. If fasting represents an “all or nothing” mindset, know thyself. Don’t delve deeper into a pattern that doesn’t work for you.
Can we agree to be adult and responsible about the approaches we try? Crash dieting doesn’t work. Binge and restrict isn’t a pattern to reinforce. You use your head.
Focus on taking impeccable care of yourself. Okay?
There’s no option to listen to this blog because I cover all the important stuff in the video below and in episode 469 of the podcast. In this video preview and the complete podcast episode I cover:
- Does your body go into starvation mode when you fast?
- Is extended fasting healthy?
- Why 7 days? Can I go for more or less time?
- Does fasting damage your metabolism?
- Does bone broth or butter coffee break your fast?
- Why do you consume salt on your fast? What kind? How do you consume it? How much?
- How do you handle moments when you’re really hungry?
- How do you feel on an extended fast?
- Why should you fast?
- Who shouldn’t fast?
- Can you workout when fasting?
You can check out the video below but make sure you listen to episode 469 of the podcast for more details! If you have additional questions after the video & podcast, leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to do a follow up! I’ll be doing a follow up episode (episode 471) on some of the common misunderstandings that surround breaking down protein versus losing lean muscle mass (they aren’t the same thing).
For more resources on fasting, check out the following:
The Complete Guide To Fasting by Dr. Jason Fung & Jimmy Moore
Primal Potential Episode 307: Is Fasting Right For You?
Primal Potential Episode 310: Beyond Fasting: What 5 Days Without Food Taught Me About Eating
Hi Elisabeth!
I love your podcasts so much! I’m travelling throughout South America and while I’m sitting in busses or airplains I listen to you. It is so energetic. Thank you so much! My goal for this year is to be free of any addictions and one of my sub-goals is to be less hunger all the time and stop thinking about food all the time. I’ve started with intermitting fasting last january and I got finally a peaceful mind. Yeah, so happy! But I’m looking for some more information about this subject. So i listened to your lasts podcast but I was wondering If I missed another episode despite 300,307? I am looking for more information about intermitted fasting and what It does to your body, This in particullarly because I want to make It a Lifestyle and not such as extended fasting for a Short amount of time.
Looking out hearing from you!
Greets, a Dutch Girl
Karlijn
Hi Karlijn! Thanks so much for reaching out! Episode 037 talks specifically about intermittent fasting. Episode 474 talks about it as well. Those will be great ones to start with!