I’ve not done a lot of fasting, by accident or by design. Food is always within easy reach in the suburbs of South Florida, so doing without was never really a necessity.
But now it is.
The scientific literature (largely the same as for dieting…) and the famous longevity researchers go on and on about how effective a weekly fast for 24 hours is for activating the process of the body that reacts to starvation by starting those regenerative processes that make your cells younger and more robust. Your body does not know it will get food tomorrow, so this beneficial survival mode kicks right in.
I’m assuming this is the hormetic effect we have talked about in previous articles, and it makes sense. Your body perceives damage (maybe potential damage) and takes extraordinary measures to keep you operating.
I will be doing a “wet” fasting, which just means I can drink water or other liquids with no calories (soda water or unsweetened tea). I’ll do this every Thursday (which may switch to Wednesday, depending on Trisha’s schedule).
As I look at my rather daunting project, I’m thinking this could be difficult to maintain. I’m sure I will complain in the articles when the time comes. Commenters on my Facebook posts so far have doomed me to failure because of it.
However, SOME people claim that you don’t get the full benefit of fasting unless it is for at least 3 days. I may put this in my schedule, but don’t count on me to actually do it. Only if everything else is going perfectly and I need a new challenge will I attempt a 3 day fast.
And that will be a question moving forward. I will need a sustainable program to maintain my biological age, and it could be that fasting is too much for that. I don’t especially want to lose one productive day per week, too uncomfortable to be productive or to relax and have fun. The alternatively-suggested 3 day fast once per quarter might only be trading time for more intense discomfort. Worth it? Fortunately, this project will give me some experience to make that decision.
And if you are ridiculously hardcore on losing weight then check out how Georges St. Pierre, the MMA fighter loses weight before a fight. 20-30 pounds in 5 DAYS! https://tim.blog/2013/05/06/how-to-cut-weight-ufc/
Some extra research:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-020-00013-3
https://blog.insidetracker.com/intermittent-fasting-impacts-longevity-summary-research
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/longer-daily-fasting-times-improve-health-and-longevity-mice
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