I Just completed a 90 hour fast and I can’t wait to do it again!

If you are curious about extended fasting or simply open to ways to improve your overall health and wellbeing, this is for you!

As a 42 year old mom of two elementary school aged kids, I am always open to ways that will improve my overall health and well-being. Prior to becoming pregnant with my second child I started intermittent fasting which I really enjoyed yet I never really thought about doing an extended fast, or maybe I never thought I actually could do it!

Recently I have felt a renewed focus on my own health. Virgo is in my 6th House in my natal chart so that makes total sense! I came across a video on YouTube by D. Eric Berg outlining the benefits of a 5 Day Fast and I was intrigued. You know when you just feel the nudge to pursue something, that’s how I felt - and you must ALWAYS pursue those nudges.

**Quick disclaimer, there is A LOT of information online about fasting. Why you should do it, why you shouldn’t do it, etc. Please be sure to do your own research, follow what feels right to you and ask a medical professional. I am not a doctor and I am simply sharing my own experience.**

If you want to understand the great benefits of fasting you can watch Dr. Berg’s video here. 

I was not doing this fast to lose weight or even as a detox, I was genuinely just curious of how it would make me feel. Even though I already eat pretty healthy and I am relatively active, I still struggle with my energy some days and I wanted to see if this would have a positive effect on that. Additionally, at almost 43 I am more acutely away of aging and I simply want to explore ways that I can feel as good as possible for as long as possible! 

I was able to entice my husband to do the fast with me. We were traveling for Labor Day weekend so we started as soon as we were back. Here is how it went! 

Starting the Fast

I had originally planned to start the fast Tuesday morning after our travels. However, upon waking up Tuesday morning I realized that I had eaten dinner on our way home Monday around 5:30PM and hadn’t eaten anything since so I was delighted to use that as my start time. That meant I was already 12 hours into the fast! 

Day 1

I knew I could have a cup of black coffee in the morning but I wanted to try to avoid it. Instead I simply started my day with water. Throughout the day I drank LOTS of water and had some herbal, naturally decaffeinated, tea. I had peppermint tea, a tumeric tea and a lavender and chamomile tea in the evening. 

I had a terrible headache much of the day. I assumed this was from not having the coffee as I typically drink a couple of cups in the morning. I was also incredibly tired! Again, maybe the coffee and also the fact that we had been traveling. It will be interesting to compare the next time I do a fast and I will add updates to my experience for your reference as well. 

Towards the afternoon I definitely started getting hungry. I never felt like I was starving and I made sure to just keep drinking as much water as possible. It is interesting to notice how much of this process is mental. We become so routined about when we eat and our body knows that. It was if I just “wanted” to eat because it was dinner even though I wasn’t famished if that makes sense. So as long as I could kinda notice that and keep going without “giving in” to eating, I was fine.

This happened to be the evening before the first day of school so I was thrilled to have an incentive to get everyone, and myself, into bed early! 

Day 2 

I woke up hungrier on day 2 than on day 1. I decided that I was going to have a cup of coffee this morning and that really seemed to help. I did put a tiny splash of cashew milk in my coffee. This is what I always drink in my coffee and I buy the Elmhurst brand which is literally cashews and water. Again, do your own research but I believe you could get away with a splash of half and half. Definitely do not use any artificial creamers or added sweeteners. That will defeat the entire purpose of the fast! 

I mentioned early that I was not doing this fast for weight loss but I was curious. When I weighed myself first thing in the morning I had lost two pounds. I felt lighter and could tell that I was carrying less water weight. I looked “trimmer” for lack of a better word but I did notice a difference. Next time I will have to take pictures. 

Throughout the day I drank a lot of water and added a few cups of green tea. The green tea coupled with the coffee first thing in the morning seemed to make me feel a little better than day 1 and the green tea just made for something more exciting to drink. 

By the evening I still wasn’t necessarily starving. I think I was kinda getting past that but then my body was just trying to tell me it was hungry in other ways. By this time I unfortunately started to feel a little nauseous. I read that this is quite normal and can be a sign of dehydration. I was a little busier today and probably wasn’t drinking quite enough water. So be sure to just keep drinking that water all day long!

Before bed I had a cup of chamomile lavender tea which is always just a nice way to wind down from the day. I noticed how easy it is to mindlessly grab a snack at this time of day. And maybe for you that is a habit you would like to break especially if that snack isn’t the healthiest option. Fasting forces you to slow down and get mindful! It forces you to stop mindlessly grabbing for snacks. This can quickly reset mindset challenges that people often face when trying to form healthier habits especially when it comes to food.

Day 3

Another two pounds down on the scale and really noticing how light my body felt. 

I had another cup of coffee with the cashew milk however about an hour later I was really feeling a bit nauseous and even slightly weak I would say. Maybe the caffeine on an empty stomach this many days was too much? I took it very easy today. I even had to lay down for a bit this morning. This made me a bit nervous and I decided that 5 days was maybe too long for me to fast and that this would be my last day of fasting. 

After feeling uneasy this morning I thought that I needed a little more in my system. Dr. Berg had mentioned beef bone broth if you needed it so I decided I would make myself a nice hot cup. This was a GAME CHANGER! I instantly started to feel better. I continued to drink plenty of water and have green tea as well throughout the day. 

This evening I wasn’t feeling the nausea and I actually started to feel light and energized. The fast finally started to feel easier!

I decided for dinner that I would have another cup of the beef bone broth followed by chamomile lavender tea before bed. 

Day 4

I woke up feeling my best yet. Lighter, energized, less brain fog, ready to start the day. 

Two pounds down again on the scale! Even though this wasn’t my reason for starting this it is still quite shocking to see and is some additional motivation to help keep you going, especially if that IS your goal.

Started the day with coffee but skipped the beef bone broth as I knew I would be breaking the fast around lunch time. 

I really felt good on this last day. I even contemplated going the additional day as I had originally intended but I think because I had already resigned myself to breaking fast this day I was mentally ready to do so even though my body felt physically able to keep going. I was definitely looking forward to eating but I was not really hungry at all the way that I had been on days one and two.

Breaking the Fast

After starting the fast Monday evening at 6, I broke the fast Friday afternoon at 12 o’clock. This totalled 90 hours which is just shy of 4 days. 

You want to ease into what foods you consume. I broke fast with a hardboiled egg, sauerkraut, raspberries and kombucha. All of these foods are easy on your system and the sauerkraut and kombucha are great for gut health. 

For dinner I made a simple veggie soup with zucchini, carrots, celery, peppers and potatoes in beef bone broth. 

Saturday I continued to slowly introduce foods back into my diet. Sticking with eggs, berries, avocado, sauerkraut, etc. 

By Sunday I started to eat more normally but still nothing too crazy or harsh on my stomach. Avoid processed foods, fried foods, etc. 

Overall Benefits Experienced:

My body simply felt better. I know that seems like a generic response but it is hard to put it exactly into words. And while some people experience major healing through fasting, I do not have a medical condition that I could have monitored during this process. 

I felt lighter, more energized, less brain fog. My body felt less stiff and “creaky” due to the lack of inflammation in my body. 

I lost a total of 8 pounds in just under 4 days which is incredible though I am not expecting all of that to “stay off”. 

I even thought that my skin looked better. Where I have some redness on my cheeks appeared less “rosy”.

I mentioned this above but it is worth mentioning again that fasting forces you to be more mindful and intentional. So many of us eat for various reasons other than being hungry. Fasting not only helps break these habits but it also brings awareness to why we do this in the first place and that alone can provide so much healing.

Fasting Again? 

I will absolutely fast again and I actually look forward to it. I genuinely felt great after this fast. My plan is to fast for about 3-5 days every six weeks. Now that I know some tips I think the second time around will be much smoother. 

This is what I will do for my next fast: 

Start fast after dinner (same as this time)

Daily for duration of fast: 

1 cup organic coffee in morning

Plenty of water, herbal tea, green tea, etc. throughout the day. 

2 cups Organic beef bone broth for dinner

Herbal tea before bed

Break fast by slowly introducing foods back into the diet as mentioned above.

Additional Tips

If you are curious about fasting, or making any other healthy changes in your life for that matter, please understand that so much of your “success” is directly tied to your mindset. Go into this process with an open and curious mind. Trust your initial desire to want to take action in this way and then show up for yourself BY TAKING ACTION. That alone is an incredibly powerful practice that will completely change your life. 

What do you think? Are you ready to give fasting a try? 

I hope you found this helpful and I would love to hear from you. Again, please continue to do your own research and trust what feels right for you.