Stages the body goes through when we fast

This topic contains 6 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Finallyhere 10 months ago.

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Superlambanana

8:29 am
8 Sep 20
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I’m sure theres an answer to this somewhere already, but can anyone remind me of the stages the body goes through as we fast? Something like: Liver uses up glycogin, then ketosis, then fat burning? How long does each stage take? Is there any recent thinking on this?

Ive been fasting all my life in some way. As a child I was never interested in breakfast and then as a young adult, when I had more control over what I could eat/ not eat i would often have just one meal a day. The rise of 5:2 gave me confidence that I wouldn’t in fact drop dead if I only ate when I was hungry. So from 2013 I had at least one day a week without food, although I’ve never been very disciplined about what liquids I have, so I have coffee with milk and sugar, diluting orange, even the odd can of diet coke.

I stopped regularly fasting a couple of years ago after a bereavement and have put on weight during the pandemic, so yesterday I didn’t eat anything for the first day in at least a year. It went ok and seemed easy enough.

This morning i woke up and felt a bit weak, shaky, sweating a bit. Low blood sugar?

Seems odd that I am a stone heavier than usual (so should have plenty of reserves!), and yet when i fasted before I wouldn’t feel any different the next morning- I’ve only previously experienced this feeling after a long fast (3/4 days) and assumed it was ‘true hunger’ so ate something.

I ate a banana earlier so feel fine now. But I’d like to read up on some of the latest science. Years ago when i last tried to read about it there was a lot of guff online, but fasting has been pretty mainstream since 2013 now.

There must be some recent articles/ books which explain how and why our body reacts? I’ve always had a notion that the gallbladder gets a bit confused when we eat after a fast. Also, has anyone done any more research on the mental health benefits and any long term negative side effects?

Thanks in advance all!

Neilithicman

4:59 am
9 Sep 20
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It really depends on many factors: How much stored glycogen your body has, how much exercise you’re doing, how many calories you’re consuming on your fast day, how much carbohydrates and sugars you’re eating on non fast days, etc. It can take a up to 3 or 4 days to move into ketosis.

dykask

6:27 am
12 Sep 20
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Here is a good starting point: https://lifeapps.io/fasting/the-5-stages-of-intermittent-fasting/#:~:text=The%205%20Stages%20of%20Intermittent%20Fasting%20with%20the%20LIFE%20Fasting,is%20in%20%E2%80%9Cgrowth%E2%80%9D%20mode.

Superlambanana

9:18 am
14 Sep 20
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Thanks folks. I fasted again last week on Wednesday and woke up on Thursday feeling perfectly fine. So the Tuesday morning weakness might just have been a blip. I ate normally over the weekend and will fast again today so lets see how I feel in the morning. Could be the booze etc at the weekend having an impact of course!

Superlambanana

3:23 pm
14 Sep 20
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Thanks @dykask for the link. That was just what i was looking for. I’ve downloaded their app – is anyone else using it?

Anonymous

6:01 am
28 Jun 23
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Ive been fasting all my life in some way. As a child I was never interested in breakfast and then as a young adult, when I had more control over what I could eat/ not eat i would often have just one meal a day. The rise of 5:2 gave me confidence that I wouldn’t in fact drop dead if I only ate when I was hungry. So from 2013 I had at least one day a week without food, although I’ve never been very disciplined about what liquids I have, so I have coffee with milk and sugar, diluting orange, even the odd can of diet coke.

neikom729

4:33 pm
3 Nov 23
Permalink

Eight to nine hours fasting is good .Using dried figs in diet helps to fasten metabolism.

Finallyhere

11:48 am
15 Jan 24
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I think it depends on person.

Recently I did few 21-24 hours fasts, just to try it. I didn’t eat anything between 18-19h till next day 15-18h.

The one thing I noticed is that I get significantly cold after cca 18-20h of fasting, but it does not last long. As soon as I start walking for example, my hands and feet gets warm and I feel good.

My guess is that after 18 hours I probably experience slight metabolism slowdown, since most of my stored sugar is almost gone, and body is still not ready to go for fats stores but rather wait a little bit for food to maybe come. I cannot be 100% sure, but this is what I think.