My first 5-day (120-hour) fast!

Last week I was on vacation and didn't fast at all. Or, to be accurate, I managed to work in a few shorter fasts, 16-20 hours, but nothing major, and now I feel heavy and slow. To cap it off, today I (deliberately) took a tumble off the keto wagon, and am now feeling in strong need of a cleanse. So: time for a good, long fast! So far I haven't gone longer than about 74 hours, so this is a good step up, but I have some company in one of my fasting support groups who are also doing a Monday-Friday fast this week, so here goes!

The kind of fasting I do is called water fasting. A water fast allows for water (obviously!), sparkling water (as long as it has no added sweeteners of any sort), coffee (preferably black, but up to 1 tbsp of cream is allowed) and tea, particularly green tea, which contains a natural appetite suppressant. Bone broth is also allowed. I don't have a slow cooker and usually am not around for the 12-24 hours that it takes to cook otherwise, so I sometimes also use a powdered bouillon that has no added sugars (yes, even these normally have added sugars!!) and clocks in at 10 calories per packet, but to a maximum of one per day. This also has the added benefit of being rather high in salt, which is important when fasting.

Things to expect when fasting for a longer period of time like this:

• Hunger pangs. These will peak around the 20-30 hour stretch, particularly tomorrow (Monday) evening. After that, they'll come and go in waves, but never as strongly as that first evening. What to do about them: have another cup of tea and get busy doing something to distract yourself from it. How to prevent them: you can't. Just suck it up; you're not dying. :P
• Mild headaches. These are normal when fasting, but shouldn't be severe. What to do about them: take some ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol). How to prevent them: take up to 1 tsp of pink Himalayan salt per day of extended fasting to keep up your electrolytes. I also take a magnesium supplement, which helps (magnesium citrate, or a blend of magnesiums). And stay hydrated! 
• Mild dizziness. This is also normal when fasting, but it will be mild and unless you're a tight-rope walker or heavy machine operator, shouldn't affect anything else in your day-to-day life. No, you're not going to faint at work. What to do about it/how to prevent it: just keep hydrated. Have another cup of tea! 
• Unusual mental clarity. This is one of the perks! 
• Unusual levels of energy. Yes, really! Take advantage of this and start a new project or something! 
• A huge bump in human growth hormone (HGH). Take advantage of this and work out - you'll burn far more calories than working out in a normal/fed state! 
• Autophagy. This is not something that you'll feel, but it's a detoxification process that involves your body breaking down old, partially-used amino acids (protein) that's collected in your cells and blocks the growth of new organelles (think: mitochondria, etc). It's an important process and starts about 48 hours into a fast and is REALLY good for you! This is partly why you want to keep well-hydrated during a fast, to flush out those toxins. Some people notice it in an increased need for antiperspirant/deoderant, or so I've heard from fellow fasters. If you notice this side-effect, it just means that your body is doing a particularly good job of detoxing! 

Coming off a long fast, tread carefully with your eating! A good way to break a fast of this length is with a cup of mint tea and an avocado (healthy fat!), then wait about half an hour, see how it goes over, then eat a light, low-carb meal. The thought everyone has is that they'll go overboard and eat like crazy, but you may be surprised to find that your appetite is not huge after an extended fast - that's one of the bonuses!

I started my fasting timer at 4:42pm today (Sunday). Planning to break this one around the same time this Friday. Wish me luck!