Water-Only Fasts/ Extended Water Fasts/ Prolonged Water Fasts/ Long Fasts – call it what you may – they all refer to the age-old concept of fasting dating back to ancient times.
If you’re here you probably want to know the benefits, limitations, risks, real-life experiences, and/ or the way to go about extended water fasting.
This article will answer all this & more for you, acting as The Ultimate Prolonged Water-Only Fasting Guide. I will also share my experiences with 10-day & 21-day water fasts, and then invite you to something exciting! So hold tight, we’re diving in!
How Do I (Should I?) Start An Extended Water Fast?
As long as you keep in mind the contraindications for long/ extended/ prolonged water fasts, have clarity on why you’re engaging with fasting, & have the right support to guide you along, I believe fasting is one of the less risky approaches to healing in comparison to intrusive, chemical-based systems, specifically for non-aggressive health issues. Physical, mental, & spiritual benefits of fasting have been known to mankind since time immemorial, & now there’s growing research-based evidence for it. I have personal evidence from my long fasts of 10 days, and 21 days, respectively. However, there are some instances where fasting may not be the right option for you. Like with anything else, do thorough research, understand the stages, benefits, & risks of fasting, and make a conscious choice.
What Is A Fast?
The act of fasting, in many ways, is a natural process. When we are sick, we don’t feel like eating. The sign of us getting better is feeling hungry again after a spell of not feeling hungry! It’s as if the mechanisms in our body already know the benefits of fasting!
This act of fasting is not limited to humankind. Other animals are also known to abstain from food (and at times, water too) when unwell. Cats, when badly injured/ sick, will go into hiding for days without food & water.
What distinguishes humans from other animals is the “concept” (v/s the “act”) of fasting. As a concept, fasting has religious & spiritual roots. Most religions & spiritual traditions have some form of fasting.
In simple terms, fasting is nothing but voluntary abstinence from “something” (for the purpose of our conversation here – food) for a given period. For ex., 9 days of Navratri in Hinduism, month-long Ramadan fasting in Islam, and 40 days of Lent in Christianity.
Based on just these four paragraphs above, one can see that fasting appears to have both, physical & spiritual benefits.
What Is An Extended/ Prolonged/ Long Water Fast?
A water fast is where you completely abstain from food and only drink water for the entire fasting period.
People seem divided in their opinions of what period classifies as extended/ prolonged/ long water fast. Many websites state that anything beyond 24 hours is a long fast. The co-founder of Sehatvan, where I did my first water fast of 10 days, would say that 10-day water fast is the shortest long fast!
While any kind, and number of days, of fasting will be beneficial to most people, water fasting beyond 7 days has benefits that shorter fasts may not be able to provide for reasons we’ll explore in the stages of fasting.
Similarly, there are also different thoughts about whether it’s okay to consume 0, or minimal-calorie drinks other than water, for ex., green tea, black coffee, lemon water, herb-flavored water, etc. Some say yes to all 0 – minimal calorie drinks, while others say a hard no!
What Happens In An Extended Water Fast? | Stages of Fasting
The main benefit of extended water fast is going into a stable state of autophagy – a process where the body gets rid of all old and damaged cells. While individual experiences will vary, an extended water fast can be broadly divided into five stages:
Stage 1. Days 1 – 2
This is the stage that makes most people think that they can never fast because this is the stage of major hunger pangs! Our modern-day lifestyle provides us with non-stop access to food, so our bodies are habituated to getting food multiple times a day.
When it doesn’t get food, it goes into power-saving mode, and the basal metabolic rate (BMR) begins to slow down to conserve energy. Beginners are likely to experience a reduction in energy levels, feeling drained and possibly irritated with a mild headache.
Dr. Vipin Gupta, the co-founder of Sehatvan, said to me on day 1 of my 10-day water fast, “It’s all a mind game.” Those who see this stage as a mind game then experience the return of their lost energy!
For me, in my 10-day fast, I hardly had time to feel hungry as I was physically engaged in community work. However, in my 21 days, I decided to not engage in much physical activity. While minimal physical exertion had its own benefits, I did feel the hunger pangs on day 2.
Stage 2. Days 3 – 7
It varies based on the individual’s makeup, but somewhere toward the end of stage one & beginning of stage two, ketosis kicks in. When you eat food your body breaks down sugars and starches from it, & converts them into glucose which is the primary source of energy for the body.
However, when you fast and/ or go into ketosis, glucose becomes limited. This results in your body turning to stored body fats for the energy it requires. As the body gets into ketosis, the hunger pangs go down, and the drained feeling begins to fade away.
In the second half of this stage one usually experiences, to varying degrees, a “healing crisis”(1). Dr. Tallis Barker, a Fasting Coach, explains:
A healing crisis consists of symptoms of an (old) illness returning or temporarily intensifying during the fast itself. This can be a little worrying, especially if you don’t understand what’s happening to you at the time.
Nevertheless, it is perfectly normal. Think of it like this: fasting calls the illness forth from where it is otherwise locked physically into the depths of your body and/or emotionally into your subconscious.
In calling it forth, you may temporarily experience the symptoms of the illness more acutely, but it is precisely through shaking it loose that you are then able to permanently expel the illness and truly heal.
– “The 7-10 day water fast”. Dr. Tallis Barker, D.Phil., holistic consultant. Waterfasting.org: Articles and Coaching for water fasts
In both my fasts, I experienced similar healing crises between days 4 – 7. My heart rate would stay higher than normal, I felt nauseous, puked bile, and needed to use an enema kit to ensure proper bowel movement.
Stage 3. Days 8 – 15
Your body now begins to adjust to its newly adapted functioning of using stored fats as energy. With toxins getting out of the system, it begins to get back to (better than) normal state as it enters a healing mode where your digestive system rests & the body can use all of its energy to repair & renew itself!
This is the stage where many experience a “fasting high” once the body fully adjusts to fasting – a lot of mental clarity, elevated mood, & increased energy levels.
In my 10-day fast, I think because of the amount of physical work I did (Sehatvan’s philosophy is to stay engaged physically), I had limited energy. However, during the 21-day I took ample physical rest, & found myself to be bubbling with energy, especially post day 10!
Stage 4. Days 16 and Beyond
Now your body begins to find its equilibrium. While there aren’t any major shifts from stage three, the longer one stays in stage four, the more time and opportunity the body has to cleanse and renew itself.
Not many have ventured thus far, and probably for good reason. If it’s your first time fasting, and you’re in this stage, you should seriously consider doing it under experienced guidance.
For me, while I did my 21-day at home, I had an experienced naturopath for a friend who supported me throughout the 21 days. Again, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of not doing it all by yourself, especially if it’s your first time.
In terms of my experience in this fourth stage, it seemed like my body had reached a state of equilibrium – it was not just managing itself without food, but also seemed full of energy!
Stage 5. Re-feeding
Ganesh, my naturopath friend, shared with me his mentor’s wise words, “Any idiot can pull off a fast, but only a good naturopath knows how to break it without stressing the body.”
Depending on how long you fast, you must ensure you re-feed accordingly. The longer the fast, the longer the re-feeding stage. Generally speaking, it might be safe to follow the 3:1 ratio = Number of Fasting Days: Number of Re-feeding Days. So for my 21-day fast, I followed a 7-day re-feeding period.
There are divided views on what to break your fast with. Some swear by fruit juice, and others claim vegetable broth. I tried fruit juice – my body didn’t feel good with it. When I offered it some vegetable broth followed by steamed vegetables – my body rejoiced!
Weight, Body Image, Overeating, Binge Eating, Emotional Eating, Endless Dieting, Digestion, Mood, Fatigue, Immunity: Sometimes, Good Nutrition Just Isn’t Enough.
If you’re at all intrigued, please tune in to this informative webinar with Marc David, Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.
You can register for FREE here.
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Benefits Of Extended Water Fasting
Extended Water Fasting has multiple benefits in multiple aspects – in this section, we’ll divide these benefits into three categories – physical, mental, and spiritual.
Physical Benefits
Weight Loss
Okay, this one, quite frankly, while I’ve put under benefits, is basically more of a side-effect. Yes, there have been studies on long fasting and obesity, and yes, people lose weight. However, an extended water-only fast is not a sustainable weight-loss system.
Of course, it benefits your body when you lose the extra fat. But, in my opinion, your motivation for an extended water-only fast has to be beyond weight loss.
Longevity
As your body devours the old & damaged cells during autophagy, your body is literally renewed. It slows down all growth operations to refocus energy on repairing and rejuvenating. According to fasting.com, “Autophagy has been shown to repair DNA and increase the length of telomeres, which is associated with a longer lifespan.”
A Spring In Your Step
Your body feels light. I mean, yes, you lose the extra fat, but also, I think because of how autophagy renews the body, there’s this physical sense of lightness, and energy, as if there’s a spring in every step!
Resolving Physical Illnesses
Buchinger Clinic in Germany, Tanglewood Wellness Center in Costa Rica, TrueNorth Health Center in California, are some of the few medically-supervised spaces that lead extended water-only fasting, & have seen significant health results with patients’ diseases getting resolved.
This is especially true for autoimmune & lifestyle diseases. There is also some nascent research showing that periodic Fasting Mimicking Diet(2) cycles are effective in improving the levels of an array of metabolic markers/ risk factors associated with poor health and aging and with multiple age-related diseases.
In my own experience with my 21 days, I “reversed” my type 2 diabetes for which I was on oral medication for almost a decade!
Heightened Senses
My sense of smell & taste went up by quite a notch! During the fast I could suddenly smell smells I had never registered before, both in me & others! My mother takes a decent number of medicines – I could smell the smell of medicines from her body!
Post the fast, my tastebuds were extremely sensitive, taking the process of eating food to another level – I could taste, and appreciate, every single vegetable without any condiments, not even salt! A study conducted by Myers R, et al., in 2017 – 2018(3), shows similar results.
Mental Benefits
Pause & Clarity
One of the impacts of an extended fast is that you, consciously or subconsciously, become aware of your energy consumption, and try to make efficient use of it. This enables even the mind to calm down, to pause, to be. Just like the muddy water, once settled, becomes clear, so does your mind once the chatter stops.
Relationship With Food
You realize, probably for the first time (if it’s your first time), the amount of food you consume that you don’t really need, and how much of your eating is governed by your emotions & societal norms!
You may realize that until now you never questioned things around food because it seemed like the “normal” thing to do! This is a perspective shift that you can’t be taught, you need to experience it.
Increased Mental Energy
As the mind calms down and becomes clear, it has much more energy to think efficiently. This is also known as the “fasting high” where your focus increases significantly.
Shifting Rigid Perspectives
The act of fasting is a humbling one. It makes you question everything you’ve believed to be true – how many meals to eat, how long the body can survive without food, where the body gets its energy from, the other energy sources that no one talks about – the sun, the earth, the air!
As you question the very basics you took for granted all your life, something within loosens up, & the rigidity that we all have to varying degrees, loosens up a little.
Resolving Psychological Illnesses
There isn’t enough on the internet on this – there used to be a video on YouTube called The Science of Fasting. Someone keeps removing it. From the comments I read it seems those who won’t benefit from people not eating anything might be the ones removing it!
However, if you think about it, many forms of psychological suffering (not all), are in some way or another other a rigid way of seeing things. The person suffering is usually unaware that they have this rigid dysfunctional perception due to which they continue to suffer.
In my understanding & experience, resolving these rigidities leads to easing psychological issues.
Spiritual Benefits
Seneca, an Ancient Roman philosopher, once said, “By overloading the body with food you strangle the soul and render it less active.”
Unpleasantness Is Not Bad
As you go through the ups & downs of an extended fast, you begin to build an understanding that not all unpleasantness – difficult emotions & sensations – are bad. And so for life, not all unwanted situations are bad – what might they be bringing for you, how might they be nourishing you?
A Deepened Resolve
Your being able to fast for an extended period brings out in you this deep realization that I’m more than anything that can ever happen to me! This deep-felt understanding helps you in maintaining otherwise easily dropped resolutions.
Absence & Abundance
As your body shifts within, you begin to notice the ebbs and flows of energy & rest, clarity & pause, absence & abundance. And as you look deeper, & further beyond you, you see that it’s how nature is – always in ebbs & flows of absence & abundance.
Impermanence
If you’re interested in an extended water-only fast, you’ve probably reflected on life a little more than your average person. And if you have done so, you couldn’t have escaped the impermanent nature of it all. When you fast for an extended period, the lesson on impermanence becomes real as you can see it within you.
The Risks Of Extended Water Fasting
It appears that most healthy people can do medically supervised extended water fasts, of up to approximately 13.6 days(4) on average, with little health risks. However, an extended water fast may not be for you, if you:
Are Underweight (BMI Under 18.5)
An extended fast needs body fat because without sufficient fat your body won’t be able to sustain being in autophagy, & will perish sooner than later.
Are Pregnant Or Breastfeeding
You don’t want to restrict the energy supply to a baby – babies are in the peak developmental phase of their lives and need continual energy for their bodies to continue developing well.
Are Under 18 Years Of Age
For similar reasons as above, if you aren’t a fully developed human yet, don’t attempt an extended fast. During an extended water fast the body stops all functions of growth to focus on repair. If your body is still developing, pausing its growth can have significant negative consequences.
Have/ Had An Eating Disorder
I’m split on this one. All the articles I’ve seen state that if you’ve had/ have an eating disorder – bulimia, anorexia, binge eating – an extended fast will worsen it. My personal experience begs to differ.
Yes, in the beginning, it brings up the eating issue at a higher intensity. But I believe it’s a healing crisis – only when we dwell deeper into it can we then allow it to loosen, & eventually dissolve. My journey with food & body image is ongoing. My 21-day enabled me to see it, acknowledge it, & work on it.
Have Type 1 Diabetes
I had type 2 diabetes, but type 1 is a different game altogether! Fasting, when on medication, increases the risk for hypoglycemia & raises sensitivity to insulin. However, without medication (which is how I did my 10 days & 21 days), in my experience, the body finds its rhythm.
In type 1 though, since your body doesn’t produce insulin at all, it is more complicated to stop medication.
Have Gastrointestinal Disorders
Having a gastrointestinal issue like gastritis or ulcers can complicate fasting too since the absence of food tends to aggravate these problems. In such a case, I would recommend first working with the issue at hand (there are natural ways to do it), and then considering an extended water fast.
Remember: Apart from all else, listen to your body. Your body is wise, & understands its limits. It communicates with you all the time. Listen to it. Don’t push it. Stop when it doesn’t feel right to keep going.
An extended water-only fast may not be for everyone at every stage of life.
Note: Capitalism & Fasting
This part of the article is just me sharing a little bit of my disappointment in humans. Despite significant health benefits – both physical & mental – organizations struggle to get funding for extended fasts. Why? Well, you know it, the heading of this paragraph screams it – it doesn’t fare well for our capitalist economy!
There’s nothing significantly financially profitable to sell from the results of such experiments! Now, I may not like capitalism, but I’m well aware that I’m a part of it. I also engage in it, & for now, I don’t know an effective large-scale alternative to it. However, I do know, that it can be made more human & kind!
There’s this beautiful documentary, which used to be available on YouTube for free, called The Science of Fasting. It analyzed the growing interest in fasting as a treatment for cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases.
This documentary is mostly shot in Goryaschinsk Spring Sanatorium in southern Siberia, showing how decades of secret clinical studies conducted by Soviet and post-Soviet doctors have led to new applications for fasting and caloric restriction.
It further shows case studies of liver damage reversal and arthritis mitigation at Germany’s Buchinger Clinic, as well as the findings of an innovative gerontologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
The documentary is usually available in Odyssey for free – the reason I say usually is because it seems like someone keeps removing it (the comments say it’s the “big pharma”), and then some others (like us, maybe?) keep uploading it.
It’s also available on Amazon Prime in a few selected regions (it’s not available in the US – surprise surprise!).
How To Start An Extended Water Fast
Well, there’s no specific scientific methodology on how to do the actual fast. It’s pretty simple – don’t eat any food whatsoever! What you’d want to think about though is the preparation – logistics & planning for all possible known hurdles.
Time & Place
Decide on a date when you’d want to start, and a place where you’ll do it. The time and place should be conducive to your fast such that you feel at mental & physical ease, and are supported throughout. Ideally, the place should be in natural greenery, and there should be minimal mental work.
Medical/ Procedural Guidance
It is one thing to read an article (or even 20 articles) about something, and a whole different ball game to bring it into practice. Imagine if just by reading swimming articles you were to become a swimmer! If you are a swimmer, you’ll know it would be pretty hard!
When undertaking an extended water fast, it is highly recommended by all sources I know, that you have someone experienced guiding you through it. Whether it’s a Water Fasting Coach or a medical professional who understands & is pro extended water fasting, doesn’t matter as long as you have someone experienced who’ll have your back!
Making Choices
Some people choose to do it pretty hardcore – no enema, no flavored water – only plain water & to let the body do its work. Others go more gentle – lemon-honey water, fresh coconut water, enema kit – supporting the body in all possible ways.
Both these groups have their own philosophies. At the end of the day, in my opinion, your experience should trump others’ beliefs. Depending on the choices you make, you should make arrangements accordingly.
Warming Up
Ideally, you want to start easing your body into the extended fast 1 – 3 days before by reducing your food intake, shifting your diet to vegetables and/ or fruits, drinking more liquids than solid food, etc.
Setting Clear Intentions
Why are you engaging in an extended water fast? What are you hoping to achieve/ resolve/ explore/ understand? What is your Big Why behind this “not-so-easy” process?
Having answers to such questions will help you stay on the path when the going gets tough, & will also make the experience more meaningful for you.
During The Fast
Know that food is just one source of fuel for the body. Keep yourself hydrated. Take in the sun, every day if you can. Breathe fresh air (this is why it’s helpful to be in natural greenery). Connect with the earth – walk bare feet (if weather permits) on the ground, or just walk being fully aware of the earth under your feet.
Shit, literal shit – poop, becomes very real in an extended water fast! Intestines serve as a dumping ground(5) for our bodies. During such a cleansing process the waste stuck in the interiors of the intestines starts making its way out. If you choose to not use an enema kit, you’re likely to struggle with more than just constipation.
Your breath will most likely smell – maybe fruity, maybe a bit foul – depending on what’s happening inside. This is very natural, & can occur for various reasons – could be the bacteria build up in the mouth as saliva production reduces due to not eating food, could be ketones at work, could be some other processes taking place in your body semi-unique to you.
Usually, it’s a mix of all the above reasons. Our body discards unwanted entities through all available holes in the form of gases, liquids, & semi-solids – all of which are accompanied by some odor. Be grateful for it, & maybe, work on building your tolerance!
Rest. Your body is doing a lot of work. Your job is to support it by giving it a lot of rest in the form of sleeping, taking it easy, avoiding strenuous physical tasks, minimizing screen time, & just being present for its needs.
Remember it’s not a competition you need to win. Listen to your body. At times the body is not ready for such a thing. If it’s not ready, it’s not ready. It’s not good or bad. It’s just a fact of the moment. Take it as input, & work on it accordingly.
My Experiences With Extended Water Fasting
I would be deceiving you if I didn’t share with you that neither fasting nor re-feeding was easy. It’s not easy – and you should know it’s not easy so that you can stay on when you hit those “not-so-easy” moments.
I experienced my energy go up & down, at times, several times every day. Every single day of fasting will probably be different. While you may not feel hungry after the first few days once autophagy is in full throttle, you may still want to eat just because food is such a social & emotional thing!
At the same time, I also experienced a lot of energy, and clarity, and lightness, especially towards the second half of my fast. I started going for long walks, & at times I’d do short high-intensity workouts too!
For me, one of the challenges, especially in the last week of my 21-days, was that my mind had started counting the number of days left because I felt I “wanted” to eat – I’m a foodie, I love food, and so yeah, I just missed the sensations of eating!
While not easy, it is doable, & is more than worth it! It gave me the opportunity to begin understanding my body’s true needs and to start distinguishing my needs from my ephemeral wants and desires.
For me, the 21-day was life-changing in how I saw my body, myself, the systems we live in, & the world at large. It brought in subtle, yet strong, shifts within me. Post the 21 days (and Refeeding) I jotted down 21 Insights in case you’re curious to know more about my experience.
Others Who Have Walked The Path!
Many others have walked this path before you and me since time immemorial, and many still do. While not everyone documents their journeys online, if you were to search online for long water-only fast experiences, you will find them!
For Scott Ragsdale, “Endurance, physical/mental challenges help keep me driven and at the same force me to focus.” He fasted 4 times over 2017 – 35, 20, 22, and 14 days over the year – fasting every 3 months! One of his goals was to achieve 40-day and 40-night water fast. He met his goal in 2018.
Spaces like Buchinger Clinic in Germany, Tanglewood Wellness Center in Costa Rica, and TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, have led thousands of people through extended water fasts.
Loren Lockman, founder, and director of the Tanglewood Wellness Center, began studying the relationship between nutrition & health in 1977. Loren has led more than 2000 people through water fasts of 1 to 9 weeks, since 1997.
An article in The Atlantic written by Olga Khazan looks at a couple of people who fasted for an extended period. It states, “The longest known fast was in 1971 when a 27-year-old man survived on water and supplements for 382 days and shrank from 456 to 180 pounds.”
It also shares some shocking, and scary, instances of fatality:
In 1981, Irish republican prisoners refused food for more than two months before dying, but in 2010, a Florida woman on a water-only religious fast died within just 26 days. (The precise length of her fast wasn’t clear. When her family members broke down her door, she was already gone.)
“One Month Without Food. Long-term fasting is hard. Is it also dangerous?” By Olga Khazan, The Atlantic
However, upon close evaluation one may find that it’s highly likely for the first group mentioned above – Irish republican prisoners – to be experiencing various other forms of stressors at the time of being imprisoned.
For both the cases quoted by Olga Khazan – the prisoners & the Florida woman – there isn’t any data mentioned on what their physical & mental health condition was before they started fasting.
Further, a one-year observational study(6) of 1422 subjects in a fasting program consisting of fasting periods of between 4 and 21 days, published in 2019, found:
The results showed that this type of fasting from 4 to 21 days is safe and well tolerated. Furthermore, it led to enhancement of emotional and physical well-being and improvement of relevant cardiovascular risk factors and subjective health complaints.
Wilhelmi de Toledo F, et al., “Safety, health improvement and well-being during a 4 to 21-day fasting period in an observational study including 1422 subjects”.
Should You Start An Extended Water Fast?
If you’ve read this whole article, you have your answer to this – whether you know the answer at this moment doesn’t matter. Your answer will eventually find you.
What I can say factually is that if you’re not in one of the contraindication categories mentioned in the article above, and if you’re willing to prepare & plan for your fast keeping in mind all the points mentioned in the article above, you can do it.
Ideally, in my opinion, your reason to engage in an extended water-only fast should be more than weight loss because, as mentioned above in the article, there are other more sustainable ways for that.
I want to re-emphasize that there are multiple research studies to show that supervised extended water fasts are not just safe but also mentally & physically beneficial.
Here’s the thing though – if you’re wondering whether you should do it, you already have your reason(s). You need to check in with yourself if your reason(s) is strong enough to enable you to go against your survival instinct. Because, in many ways, extended water fast is voluntary starvation!
Water Fasting Book Recommendations
I wish I knew there were so many books on fasting – both long water fasts, & my specific kind of intermittent fasting, Fast Five – before I did my long fasts!
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be! But you dear reader, if you want to deepen your understanding of fasting, or are just generally curious about fasting, might want to take a look at the following books:
1. Fast Like a Girl: It’s “A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones” Literally, in the name itself it says everything!
The author of Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy Pelz, is a renowned holistic health expert. She’s also a leading voice in educating women about their bodies. The book includes a 30-Day fasting reset based on the power of your cycle—even if you no longer have one!
2. The Fast-5 Diet and the Fast-5 Lifestyle: This is what I follow – Fast Five!
In this book, Bert Herring, MD, integrates intermittent fasting into a daily routine that helps reduce intake if you have excess fat and maintain a healthy weight if you don’t, without making it socially awkward!
The Fast-5 rule is simple – eat within five consecutive hours – one of the most easily sustained choices for getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.
3. Dr. Sebi Bible: 16-in-1: This book brings you ancient natural remedies for a disease-free life from Dr. Sebi, a popular self-taught herbalist.
It contains information on alkaline diets, fasting diets, female health, approved herbs, curing diabetes, autoimmune solutions, meal plans, and much more. This will be a great book to start opening up your mind’s eye to all that exists beyond what the capitalist economy would have us believe!
Note: I personally believe reading books like these, which teach us alternative ways of being, is a great resource for us to start thinking beyond what we’ve been told to be true. However, at the end of the day, I trust my own experience the most.
So give these books (or some other such books?) a try. And then observe yourself as you try out some of what you read. See how it goes. Then take a call on what works for you!
An Invitation
I did my 10-day water-only fast in 2019, and my 21-day in 2020. I’m now ready for my 3rd extended water-only fast.
This time I’m not setting any specific timeline. I want to listen purely to my body and follow its wisdom.
My Intentions: a deep physical cleanse, cultivating determination, fine-tuning my intuition, and letting go.
My Preparation: minimum physical work, regular mental work which for me is mostly holding spaces for others, regular enemas, herbs & other induced water depending on what my body needs. I start on Jan 1st, 2023, and I’m reducing and shifting my food intake over the next couple of days.
The Invitation to you, dear reader, is to join me if you like in my journey as I journal each day! You can choose to follow along with my daily experiences HERE, or you can choose to give it a try alongside me.
(Edited: The intuitive fasting experiment has ended. You can read the day-to-day journal in the link above.)
Note: Your choice, your discretion. I’m not doling out any medical advice here! Each individual & their journey is different. I have an experimentative temperament, maybe you don’t, and that’s okay. Choose consciously, and implement wisely.
As always, I would love to hear from you, reach out to me in the comments below with any thoughts &/ questions.
References
(1) Barker T. “The 7-10 day water fast”: What is a healing crisis? | Waterfasting.org: Articles and Coaching for water fasts.
(2) Wei M, Brandhorst S, Shelehchi M, Mirzaei H, et al., “Fasting-mimicking diet and markers/risk factors for aging, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease”. Sci Transl Med. 2017 Feb 15; 9(377): eaai8700. [PMC Free Article]
(3) Myers T R, Saul B, Karlsen M, et al. (May 03, 2022) “Potential Effects of Prolonged Water-Only Fasting Followed by a Whole-Plant-Food Diet on Salty and Sweet Taste Sensitivity and Perceived Intensity, Food Liking, and Dietary Intake”. Cureus 14(5): e24689. doi:10.7759/cureus.24689 [Free Article]
(4) Goldhamer A, Douglas J, Lisle D, et al., “Medically Supervised Water-Only Fasting in the Treatment of Borderline Hypertension”. JMPT 2002; 8,5: 643 [PDF Link]
(5) “How often should I take enema?” | Satvic Moment
(6) Wilhelmi de Toledo F, Grundler F, Bergouignan A, et al., “Safety, health improvement and well-being during a 4 to 21-day fasting period in an observational study including 1422 subjects”. PLoS One. 2019; 14(1): e0209353. [PMC Free Article]
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