Anyone ever fast for 33 or 38 hours?

[Silver Pie]

Some people include herbal teas (no sweetener, no milk, nothing but plants steeped in water) when they do a water fast. Personally, I don't believe that's "cheating".

[BeNotDeceived]

Yes I have. You really get no spiritual benefit if you don’t fast for at least 24 hours. I implement water after 26-28 hours because I get these electrical shocks from dehydration. The longer I fast the answer gets more and more solid with absolutely no doubt in my mind what I should do at that moment.

30 hours were up when dinner was served, and the mind of the lord was spoken.

[TheDuke]

Interesting, In the past I have tried fasting. I have spent many hours in prayer, sometimes almost full time for several days on time or almost all day for a week. But, I just don't feel closer to the Lord by fasting. Perhaps it is my body's needs or something. I applaud all those who find more connection with the Lord this way. I guess it just isn't my way and I'm likely missing out. BTW not sure how being hungry or thirsty or weak helps, for me it is getting comfortable in every way possible so I don't get distracted and can focus or get inner peace.

[gruden2.0]

Sincere question for all those who have replied that they did extended fasting while "seeking the Lord".

Did you find the experience you were looking for?

My long fasts were actually for health, not necessarily spiritual-focused, although there can be overlap and benefits to both. I will say that after a period of time, I believe it's roughly 10 days of water fasting, the body can actually start regenerating. On that 24-day fast I didn't get the result I was hoping for, but got another result that was equally as good and very unexpected. The body has its own priorities I guess.

On a related point, after fasting roughly 16 or so hours, the growth hormone levels skyrocket. Also, after 3 days of fasting the body will literally destroy its reactive immune system (white blood cells, lymphocytes, etc.) and rebuild from scratch, giving you a fresh, rebuilt immune system ready to take on whatever is coming your way.

[ransomme]

There was a British guy who fasted for 380 days back in the 1970's I believe.
He was very large and did it to lose weight.
He succeeded in shedding a couple of hundred pounds.
However, he did drink water and tea/coffee to keep hydrated, and took vitamins.

My brother-in-law fasted for 40 days a few years ago, although he took in fluids.

Best to approach all of these long term methods with caution.

One danger is that if someone is extremely obese and takes a long term fast, and their body becomes weaker, and that includes the heart and lungs which would not have the energy they need to work to pump blood and oxygen through that body mass. So unintentional consequences there.

It can also weaken your immune system.

When it gets to those levels it can resemble anorexia. I have known a few anorexics and they've told me you can get a buzz from not eating. The problem is that it diminishes your other functions if you are not careful.

That's not how the body works.
Your body has the same energy demands whether you eat or not. Your body will use either food or your own body (mostly fat) to meet those energy demands. What source it uses depends on what hormones you are producing depending on what and when you eat. Once your body changes metabolic modes from carb mode to fat mode you don't have to worry about being tied, or weak. In fact when in fat burning mode you will be more alert and full of energy. It's a survival mode to help keep someone alert and moving to find the next meal.

And your body is meant to be metabolically flexible, and works better switching on and off the feast and famine modes.

Also your brain works better on ketones than glucose.

[gruden2.0]

There was a British guy who fasted for 380 days back in the 1970's I believe.
He was very large and did it to lose weight.
He succeeded in shedding a couple of hundred pounds.
However, he did drink water and tea/coffee to keep hydrated, and took vitamins.

My brother-in-law fasted for 40 days a few years ago, although he took in fluids.

Best to approach all of these long term methods with caution.

One danger is that if someone is extremely obese and takes a long term fast, and their body becomes weaker, and that includes the heart and lungs which would not have the energy they need to work to pump blood and oxygen through that body mass. So unintentional consequences there.

It can also weaken your immune system.

When it gets to those levels it can resemble anorexia. I have known a few anorexics and they've told me you can get a buzz from not eating. The problem is that it diminishes your other functions if you are not careful.

That's not how the body works.
Your body has the same energy demands whether you eat or not. Your body will use either food or your own body (mostly fat) to meet those energy demands. What source it uses depends on what hormones you are producing depending on what and when you eat. Once your body changes metabolic modes from carb mode to fat mode you don't have to worry about being tied, or weak. In fact when in fat burning mode you will be more alert and full of energy. It's a survival mode to help keep someone alert and moving to find the next meal.

And your body is meant to be metabolically flexible, and works better switching on and off the feast and famine modes.

Also your brain works better on ketones than glucose.

Yes, those points among others are made to scare people away from fasting. I remember talking to a co-worker about it and he said that fasting puts stress on organs, and I told him it was the exact opposite. We put stress on our organs by eating too much, and taking a break gives them a needed rest.

One important distinction is calorie restrictive eating vs. fasting - not the same thing. Also, anorexia is based on a distorted body image, which has nothing to do with fasting. Fasting is healthy, the other two are not.

On a long term fast, it's very true one's general energy levels can fluctuate. I've had moments where I literally felt as light as air, and others where I just wanted remain lying down (generally physical exertion should be avoided for long fasts, but for short ones isn't a big deal). But the core systems, like heart and lungs etc., are always prioritized. Your body has reserves, generally the fat (which we tend to have plenty of) that it dips into to power the critical systems. As I mentioned, electrolytes are the thing to watch out for, particularly since our western diets don't provide a tremendous amount of nutrients so our stores of important nutrients are low. If we ate diets rich in nutrients then electrolytes would be no concern at all, our bodies would have plenty on standby to last several weeks.

As for immune system, I've never gotten sick on a fast. In fact, fasting is good for healing many diseases and illnesses. I mentioned in an earlier post how a 3-day fast will completely rebuild your reactive immune system from scratch, getting rid of tired, useless immune cells and replacing them with new, active ones. Additionally, researchers found that patients about to embark on chemotherapy do MUCH better after fasting a couple days first, and the reason is that the body's cells go into protective mode - this is essentially the innate immune system kicking into high gear. Healthy cells (the ones we're trying to keep) raise their defenses to toxins and invaders. The innate immune system isn't discussed much, but is really the first line of defense. During a fast the body sorts out which cells are healthy and which ones are damaged/worn-out and gets rid of them, a process call apoptosis. Apoptosis has been found to be a key feature in longevity.

If you're sick, for many people fasting is a good option. It's eating all the crap we eat and our environment that makes us sick.