Why do you fast?

I'm finishing a day-long fast, my first one in the last year or so.  I had forgotten some of the things I like about fasting:
*more time in the day
*can (doesn't always) bring mental clarity
*can (doesn't always) bring an energy boost

I have to be really careful fasting though, due to metabolic and blood sugar stuff.  

I used to fast purely for reasons of faith.  Then I tried fasting for the health benefits.  Then I forgot about it altogether for awhile.  I kind of fasted from fasting.  And I think that was healthy.

Today though, I woke up feeling in need of internal resources that I just don't have.  

Then I remembered how fasting can be like giving up something you "have but don't need" in opening yourself to receiving something you "need but don't have."  

Now, I'm finishing the day wondering what reasons other people fast.  I searched permies and found some fasting threads:
https://permies.com/t/178867/keto/kitchen/Intermittent-fasting
https://permies.com/t/101105/kitchen/Fasting-find-easier-eat-eat
https://permies.com/t/120016/keto/kitchen/Water-fasting-ketogenesis

But none of those really focused on reasons for fasting.  

So I started this thread.  

Why do you fast?

Edit to add: Jay suggests offering a definition of fasting - but I think I'll leave it more open ended.  Could be 12 hours between dinner and breakfast.  Could be intentionally skipping a meal.  Could be intermittent or long-haul.  Could be abstaining from something non-food (examples below).  It's not a one-size-fits-all thing, and I'm curious how other people engage the concept.  

You can fast from non-food bits, too.  For many reasons.

A lot of people these days go on technology fasts or social media fasts.  (yes please.)

I once fasted from jaywalking for a month.  I just felt like I was supposed to stop jaywalking, so I did.  Something about internally saying "yes, I think government regulations about when and where I should and shouldn't cross the street are foolish, uneffective, and misguided, but you know what - it's not all about me, and I'm gonna play by someone else's rules for a change." That month, I wound up coming into a new embrace and value for humility (a life-long pursuit, certainly), and was able to move past some issues where I was acting with debilitating independence. That transformation has had a lasting positive impact on my life.  

Plus, I met some interesting folks waiting for the "walk" sign to illuminate.

Thank you for starting this thread!

I guess I fast for health reasons.

It makes a lot of sense to me, and the way my mind sees it is, way in the past - not as long ago in the evolution of the species but long enough for individuals to have a hard time wrapping our heads around it - humans did not have food at their disposal 24 hours a day.

They ate a lot when food was available, and didn’t when the food was scarce. Our bodies were used to this. They might have even evolved to be at their best with this routine.

It seems digesting food is a very energy intensive process, and our bodies cannot allocate much time to healing when we constantly eat.

I find it hard though to fast in the summer months. All the food from the garden, and especially some of the things that are only available for a few short months.

And the work is harder in the summer and I feel I need some “compensation” for it.

I can very easily fast in the winter months.

I recommend some of Jason Fung’s books on fasting for diabetes, weight and other health issues he writes about. He makes some compelling arguments in favor of fasting.

Yes I fast for health  and faith.

I do many kinds of fasting from only water and tea to juice fasting.

I feel it gives the body a break from food and I do feel it heals you much better when you fast.

Now I wouldn't try to fast with out guidance because yes you can do it wrong and get very sick.
Fasting allows your body to get rid of the bad stuff. and some time when this happen it is a major detox.

Now I had some health issues and had to fast for long periods of time for my body to heal. I mainly did juice fasting and wow I had more energy then I knew
what to do with. That was mainly, fresh juices like orange juice , grape, apple, pear and so on. This also will give your body a bunch of nutrition. Any I wouldn't do it unless you have guidance.
I think Dr morse from rawfigs.com is great to get advice from. He has helped so many people get back there health.

Now in days no one know what we really should be eating.. Right..
I do however know what not to eat but we all eat it anyway.. am I right?
What ever the case to many sick people out there just trying to find the way to get well...
I hope everyone can find the right path and find your true healthy self..  God Bless

Hello, first time poster here. Love this site, thank you.
As much as I dont like fasting (because it's not comfortable), I do because of faith reasons. As far as food I've done a (1 meal, 24 hours, and 72 hours, haven't been able to complete a week yet).  I have done tech fasts before but don't need to anymore because I've done away with all tach but my phone, haven't had a TV in 5 years, gave away my XBox, no desk top, and so on.  One of the least common fasts I've done is a word fast.  I speak nothing. If I do need to comm, I use a note pad.  The tongue can bring life and death, and mine has been know to be used to much from time to time. The reward of a word fast for me, is I tend to think more about what and when to speak.  Thank you for letting me participate. God bless you

I'm glad you brough that up, Charlie.  I fasted from speech for just 48 hours in 2009.  It was a pretty profound experience. I had an existential epiphone (a story to be told another time) and I wound up giving away everything I own and spending 2 years on a nomadic journey of service and learning.  

I'm just now getting back into an intermittent fasting routine - basically just eat dinner early-ish and then don't eat breakfast until a few hours after I wake up. Shooting for 12-14 hour gap to start and then gradually expand to 16 hours.

I'm doing it for health reasons. My kids are finally in a stage where I can do yoga or pushups for 2-10 minutes without being completely interrupted, so I'm doing it! Pairing a tiny bit of fitness with fasting, meditations, and good eating decisions, also taking a break (or fast?) from alcohol for a while.

I want to be in good shape, mental and physical, for my current and future self.

12-14 hour fasts are really not hard for me. I haven't been a late night snacker for years. I expect the limiting factor in moving up to 16 hours will be my work schedule commitments

A long time ago I did sunrise to sundown fasts for about a week in solidarity with some friends who did it for faith reasons. I gotta say it was a lot harder for me to fast while awake and active than when including my sleep period in the fasting period.

I have word fasted.  I was married for a few years, long ago.  At one point my husband told me I shouldn’t talk (no one would get away with that with me nowadays!) because what I had to say was always so unacceptable (in his eyes).

Anyway, out of curiosity what it would be like, and what would happen if I said nothing, for a year I said nothing except if it was necessary and or totally superficial as in answering “how are you” or weather conditions.  It was an interesting year, I observed many things about various individuals, groups, power, dynamics of social dominance and social flow, lots of things.  When I wasn’t sharing my ideas and thoughts, my mouth was on holiday but my brain wasn’t.  And I guess some Permies know I am long term divorced.

Regarding food fasting, I have done that too.  And it’s similar to what I said about the word fast freeing me to spend my energies elsewhere.

As has been said, it is major physiological work to digest food. When our bodies are not digesting food, those energies become available for other functions (like repair). And the time spent planning preparing and consuming food is time that becomes available for other activities.

My experience has mostly been intermittent fasting and I have done that for health reasons. When we run out of ready nourishment, that would be the glycogen in our livers as well as wherever else we store it, then our bodies  go into a process called autophagy, (awe TOFF uh jee) which means digesting oneself.

The wonderful thing about autophagy is that our bodies are selective in what it digests first. Senescent cells precancerous cells, marginally healthy cells, cells that are taking up space and utilizing resources to maintain themselves but not contributing to the function of the organ of which they are a part…. those are the cells that are first to be digested, think of it as a self cleaning self rejuvenating process, and you won’t be far off.

I don’t think it has been established how long a fast is required to enter a state of autophagy.  Likely it varies between individuals.

My source on this information is from a podcast called “the drive”, hosted by Peter Attia MD.  

Do your own research in this, but it’s my understanding that a period of fasting prior to surgery promotes faster healing and quicker recovery.  Timing is probably crucial, and I can’t say what the intervals need to be.

As we all know, anybody can say anything on the internet, I have a lot of confidence in Attila’s ability to identify real from bogus, when it comes to his field of expertise, but it’s heavy duty scientific physiologic vocabulary.  It is current physiology research.  If I can find a couple links to the podcast, I will add them.

So, here’s a link of a specific episode, fasting, autophagy, and how that relates to new cancer treatment protocols.  It’s not the only episode that relates to fasting, but searching on my phone is challenging for me.

https://peterattiamd.com/eileenwhite/

I think it takes you to the Peter Attia . Com website where the there is an archive of all episodes.  There is a broad scope of topics all of them related to optimum health for present and future, prevention rather than pharmaceuticals.  

I don't. I find it incredibly damaging. But to each their own.

I fast, for many reasons.

During the warmer part of the year, I do intermittent fasting until dinner, one day a week.

I usually don't eat breakfast, so I often fast until noon.

Like others have said, there is so much to eat in the garden during the summer months.

I fast mainly for health.  I also like the faith reason that I want to feel empathy with most people in the world who don't get enough to eat.  It's easy to eat too much. That's not good for us.  I agree: Jason Fung is great.  More energy.  More time. If we have some restriction on eating, maybe we will eat less, and appreciate it more.  Gratitude for food is a blessing and it helps us be positive.

I do big fasts only in the winter, when it seems natural. It seems to help me get sick less often.  I do a two day water only fast, usually about December 1st.  I will do a five day fast, usually in January or February.  I start with two days of water only.  Then for the next 3 days, I follow the Valter Longo method of fasting mimicking diet.  I eat only a small varied side dish of vegetables, once a day for days 3, 4, and 5.   My third big winter fast is just another 2 day water only fast. It usually about coincides with Lent, so it's often in March.  

There is a lot of data about this type of fasting decreasing your likelihood of cancer and auto immune diseases.  It also helps with blood sugar/diabetes prevention and obesity prevention.  

It's a good discipline and it makes me feel better.  I feel healthier and when I try to steal second base in baseball, I don't get thrown out, even if I am already old.

John S
PDX OR

Great topic!

I've done intermittent fasting for weight loss for a couple of years.  I didn't lose weight.  

It was really easy for me to fast.  Too easy.

The reason I have gained extra weight is for the same reason I had bulimia as a teen:  unaddressed and recurring trauma.  For decades, I have been trying to keep a lid on what actually happened and the effects from all of it.   That extreme level of control makes fasting appealing in a very unhealthy way.

I don't fast intentionally any more.   I'm sure it would help my body's health, so it might be something that I want to come back to once I have stabilized my mental health.  In the meantime, I'm working on listening to my body's signals of hunger and fullness, trying to distinguish hunger from thirst, and hunger from emotions.  

I'm observing before I jump in with any changes, kinda like I'm doing with the land around our house. Awareness is the beginning of transformation.

It's always interesting to me what different people call fasting. I'm an Orthodox Christian and we follow the traditional way of fasting during times such as Lent, Advent, Weds and Fri, etc. Only fasting for that is basically eating vegan and eating less than normal. There are times of total fasting (not eating at all) - before taking communion, certain holy days like Good Friday - but mostly fasting is eating less, eating simply. I'm not always good at it, but I find it often makes me feel better, and helps me to concentrate on God as I'm not really thinking about what to eat - with limited choices it's easier to throw something simple together.

I started looking into fasting and IF in particular when I received a disturbing medical diagnosis last August.  I read everything by Jason Fung and learned that just 13 hours of daily fasting increases metabolic health and started by skipping breakfast and delaying my morning coffee.  I also looked at what I was eating (mostly in the simple carb and sugar area) and made changes there too.  By November, I didn't want coffee every morning so that reduced calories too.  In about six months, I shed 55 pounds and reclaimed my wardrobe (as I had gained 35+ pounds fairly recently).  

I continue to fast 13-16 hours daily and have completed one 72-hour fast (water and salt) which was enlightening.  I think it is probably time to do another long fast as I've been craving coffee more recently.

Twenty-four hours fasting takes approximately ninety-six hours mentally, and even fruitcake from Christmas 2012 looks edible.  

I have fasted often, mostly one to three days, and once for eleven days, whereas my bro. in law fasted for 41 days,  and my wife fasted for 40 days.

The health benefits--physically and mentally--increase each day as long as you don't go long enough to start starving (lots of youtube, etc., info of long fasts and the benefits).

A friend and I went into the desert and fasted without water and food for three days.  You could say it was a spiritual fast, or energy fast, and after three days he came out of the desert a polygamist, and I came out hungry.  I got the better deal because his wife and kids left him.

The forty day fast my wife did was to get rid of cancer.  The cancer went away for thirty-five years.  However, she did die of cancer in 2021, August.

Animals go without food (fast) when sick, and get well.  It works for the human animal too.  Best regards, gotta go, suddenly I'm hungry.  Tom

I have done various types of fasts in my life from giving up chocolate for Lent (that makes me laugh now) to a 10 day water fast (for health) and a lot of in between. I have been doing some form of intermittent fasting for several years now. About 2 months ago I finished a strict autoimmune protocol diet for health reasons (basically you eat protein and non-starchy veggies and fruit - no grain, nuts, seeds, starchy vegs (except sweet potato), dairy or sugar (except for small amounts of honey/molasses/coconut palm sugar). I learned a lot and while I have reintroduced nuts, seeds and a little dairy, I have discovered that grains just do not do good for me, even rice which surprised me. I already knew I needed to give up wheat.

I've liberated about 30 lbs with another 40-50 to go. With the protocol I followed, I found that I get the most health benefits - increased energy and mental clarity and fat liberation - at 20 hours fasting. If your body is readily able to flip to burning fat stores and not super dependent on simple carbs, fasting is a lot easier. Most of the time hunger goes away after 48 hours or so. I completed 90 hours a few weeks ago.

I turned 60 in January. I really want to be able to do all the things - raise my animals, garden, etc, etc. That is my primary reason for fasting now. During the AIP, I got rid of my heartburn and got off omeprazole. I also lost most of the inflammation in my body - my feet had begun hurting with even a little walking so that is a great blessing. In the 4 hour eating window, I eat either one big meal or one big one and a big snack. I do have issues with eating late at night (and not carrot sticks) when I am not exercising some discipline.

I third or fourth Jason Fung. Also Fast Feast Repeat has a lot of good info. I am reading through an older book called Eat Stop Eat when is way more informative than I was expecting.  I have found another helpful resource for anyone who still uses YouTube. Intermittent Fasting for Today's Aging Woman - Dy Ann Parham - where I got validation for the 20 hour fast being a good tool for many in my age/stage group. I currently feel better than I have in years for what I am profoundly grateful.

My major reason was to reduce my calories intake out of my feeder's sight...
I was overweighted (ideal 63kg, real 86kg) and I wanted to be healthier. But I have this problem that doesn't tell my body when I'm full, so anything that's on the dish I gulp it. And my wife knows how much food I can eat. Also, she's totally against dieting or fasting (well, maybe she might diet once and then, but surely not me!).
The only thing I was allowed to do at home was to reduce my sugar consumption (it rised eyebrows but it's tolerated). Still, bakery is offered daily, sometimes twice a day, plus a sweet desert at diner. I could take my tea without sugar but then I had chocolate cream croissant. I complained about it, but the answer was simply 'don't eat it if you don't want it'. Problem is that I couldn't help to eat it if it's on the table.

I tried to make our own bakery, with whole flour and olive oil, and while we may have been eating healthier, it didn't help overweighting.
I got some kefir grains, so now some of our sweet deserts are as sweet as we like it (usually less sugary than grocery yoghourt).
I also learned to make home made bread, in the hope of cutting only the slice I was going to eat and not forcing me to eat more bread than necessary (bread from the bakery turns into rock if not eaten before 12 hours, think of them as faked french baguettes). However, this bread is too good, so I think I'm eating more bread than ever :'D
I'm still keeping most of these healthier foods, but they aren't exactly helping with overweighting.

Thus, I decided to stop buying breakfast at the office, skipping this meal. This is the only meal I have control over it. Since then I lost almost 14 kg and with a little bit of exercise I came back to the threshold of being overweighted (72). I'm still taking bakery at tea time, back to the industrial bakery, but fasting helps me get it under control.

There's a lot of talk of how fasting can go wrong, but as long as I can hold my belly fats in my hand I don't think I will faint. I spend more than 8 hours sat in front of the computer, it's not like my blood sugar is going to dissapear.

I have fasted for many reasons; some were for hearing God better, others for health.  These days I am doing short fasts in conjunction with Infrared Sauna, as a cancer treatment.  Fasting is like exercise for the Will; I think everyone should do it from time to time.  Animals fast when they are sick or hurt, and take a lot of rest; and then one day they trot back out to the watering hole, skinnier but well.  Somehow people in our time have forgotten how important fasting can be for health and wellness, both spiritually/mentally and physically.  This was a good question, thanks for asking it.

Stacy Witscher wrote:I don't. I find it incredibly damaging. But to each their own.

I would say...it depends.
Apparently I've been fasting all my life and didn't know it LOL. Recently, I've found "it" has a name.
I eat one meal a day (supper) and might have a snack  in the middle of the night (rice, salad, slice of rye bread smeared with butter and garlic clove, waffle, or whatever I feel like).
I also don't sleep much. Sometimes not at all for 24 hours or more. I don't feel tired, I don't nap, and I don't suffer from insomnia.
Some people are just this way and are healthy.

I think that once in a while some "new trend" hits the world, and most people jump on the proverbial band wagon.
They starve themselves, force exercises, drink certain amount of water (THAT always gets me), or some other weird stuff.
Parents also force their "healthy convictions" onto their children instead actually getting to know their offspring's. And, that goes for pet owners too.
Some people will believe in anything even though it makes their body ache and feel miserable.
But, as you said "each to their own" :-)

I went to an anthroposophic MD years ago and she put me on a 21 day fast, which I kind of did, but cheated, too, w/ broths, etc. It was to cure a condition, which it did, but along w/ other things, so who knows what did what. I wouldn't do it again. I think overnight "fasts" are probably healthy for most people though. No food for 12 or so hours after dinner until breakfast next day. It's individual, though, the same things don't work for everyone.

The first time I ever fasted was as a fundraiser to benefit the hungry. I experimented with various types of intermittent fast and alternate day fasting as the evidence for their benefit increased.

It wasn't until last year that I made fasting a regular practice. Partly to stretch a meager harvest and lack of income. Partly in seeking radical improvements in my health.

As Liv and others have said, I don't fast in the summer when food is plentiful and there's work to be done. My body is using all of the fuel I can put into it. But in the fall and winter months, as food would naturally be more scarce, I do as our ancestors would have and go without. This year I am mostly doing one meal a day, or at least keeping my eating to a 4-6 hour window each day. On the weekends I go without food altogether and drink only water or tea. Usually herbal tea without caffeine. I will continue this until the spring planting starts in earnest.

Last year was more serious. Long covid, crazy inflammation, heavy metal poisoning, and the works. I started fasting 5 days a week and would spend the weekend refueling on whole foods, continuing to undo several years worth of malnutrition in conjunction with fasting. It was one of the most profound experiences I've ever had. It's amazing how my body adapted to it. My digestion slowed so that my body was still processing food consumed on the weekend come Wednesday or Thursday, trying to extract every little thing about it. My body started regulating electrolytes better. My mental clarity and energy were better (I would frequently go on long hikes in a fasted state). Hunger disappeared. My tastebuds adapted to cleaner, healthier foods. My stomach adapted to holding large quantities of low calorie-density foods like greens. There were so many clear signs that our bodies were built to go through long periods of scarcity and took it in stride. It was a reminder of how much more we are capable of.

It also gave me the opportunity and impetus to track my food intake. Since I was eating so infrequently, I wanted to make sure I was hitting my nutrient targets on the days that I was actually eating. My diet was clean and efficient. On the weekends I would consume 7 days worth of nutrition. It was actually a challenge to eat so much food in only one or two days, and I didn't always succeed.

Plus, our kitchen isn't heated, so I welcomed not having to spend much time in it during the winter season. And I had so much free time to work on other things, and especially to process traumas... the bubbling up of which some people say is caused by fasting, but could just as easily be because there's so much extra time to think when we're not putting so much time into preparing and eating food.

I continued this eating pattern for maybe 2 or 3 months. Lost about 50 pounds. Eliminated my inflammation and autoimmune symptoms. Got my body back. And when my body told me it was done, I started eating regular meals again.

I'm not religious and didn't come to fasting through religion, though I was aware that it was a practice in most popular religions. I wasn't even an especially spiritual person. But this experience did connect me with nature, the universe, and my mind and body in a way that might be described as spiritual. It made sense to me why fasting was included in all major religions. And it's a shame that most religious people don't actually go through with it.

This year, even though I'm not doing such an extreme version of fasting, I knew I wanted to continue because of how profound and health promoting it was. One meal a day still keeps me out of the cold kitchen enough and focused on other things, like writing. The longer weekend fasts provide deeper healing and concentration. And all in all, I'm happy that I can skip meals without feeling hungry or having wild blood sugar swings like I might have in the past.

I'm also just glad that fasting has repaired my relationship with food. I have come to appreciate simpler foods and their complex flavors, once the flavor-deadening effects of salt, sugar, and oil have been eliminated from my diet. If ever I start craving low quality foods, I know it's time to fast and reset my tastebuds.

And with all of the research around fasting and calorie restriction and their effect on longevity and healthspan, it seems like a no brainer to do at least some form of fasting. It feels like an essential part of permaculture. My grandmother died before her 60th birthday. I also suspected I would share her fate. I had spent my entire adult life living for 60, but with the research pointing us in the direction of longer and healthier lives, I'm now living as though I'll still be here at 160. Even if I'm not, I know what kind of world I'd want to live in at 160, and I'm taking steps to create it for myself and for others. Never would have done that when I thought I was destined to die young.

Great post, Matthew.   I have heard from many doctors and health professionals that fasting has helped many patients to overcome illnesses and conditions like that.

In addition, evolutionary biologists have come to realize that of all of the humanoid species that have existed (there have been many), only ours, with the ability to fast, has survived.  None of the others had the ability and none survived.

John S
PDX OR

People fast for diverse reasons - religious devotion, health benefits, mental clarity, habit resetting, self-discipline, spiritual connection, social change, mindful eating. Fasting creates space by pausing consumption, allowing reflection and renewal. It can promote physical healing, consciously transform habits, deepen focus, build willpower. The common thread is taking a break from excess in favor of simplicity. With intention, fasting helps detach from cravings, cleanse mind and body, gain self-mastery. The experience is unique to each faster.

But practiced carefully, fasting often provides illumination, restoration and new perspective. By temporarily giving up certain “wants”, we open up to receive deeper “needs.”

Fasting is part of my spiritual tradition, although I haven't always chosen to do it on the designated days. Over several decades I have chosen to fast for various reasons, generally having some kind of spiritual reason  Intermittent fasting is popular now, and I have a friend who has lost 125 pounds by intermittent fasting over the last year or so. She has inspired me to plug into more regular fasting. Normally I get up before dawn and make coffee, followed by hot water during the day. So I do that while fasting, too. No juices or broth, just early coffee followed by water until sunset. Yes. Usually I fast from before sunrise to sunset, which is also a traditional practice. Now I am incorporating the idea of intermittent fasting, too. Meaning, my first meal is later in the morning and my last meal is early in the evening, like 4 pm or so. Limiting my food intake to a "food window" of less than 8 hours is my version of intermittent fasting for now. Years ago I often started fasting at 3:00 pm and fasted until 3:00 pm the following day. That's a good way to experiment with fasting because you know in advance that you'll get to each both days.

Fasting, hmm well i do that occasionally but not by direct intention, sometimes i just plain old forget to eat... then i figure out that it's been dozen hours or so so i decide to keep it going till the next day. i do feel better afterwards, and i does help reset my brain to be focused/thankful for the things i do have rather than the things I long for.  but the most helpful fasting is the annual 2 weeks i take off from electronics. I try to do this around the Christmas holiday. For me it helps me disconnect from all the daily distractions and get back to folks that are truly important to me. John

I’d love to do it more. In the past I have fasted in the sense of only eating certain foods, i.e. foraged or from the garden. This is wonderful for digestion and for connecting with nature.

This winter I tried for one day until evening, and felt much clearer and calmer. Even in difficult situations, I could refrain from reacting. It’s difficult because my situation is stressful now, and on days when there’s little or no pleasure outside of food, it can be hard to resist.

As before I have a problem with restlessness and stress. Overeating makes it feel like I have too much energy but too little control, and then it ends up in stress, panic, and self-flagellation. So I haven’t fasted much, but will probably do more through the winter.

I find that the more I fast, the easier it is to do.

Also, especially during this time of year, it helps to fight off flus and colds.  When your stomach acid is strong, as during fasting, it kills extra cells that you don't need. This is especially true if you're fasting, when there is no food.  It eats damaged and unnecessary cells first, and as such, kills cells of diseases, decreasing your viral load and improving your health.  I already feel less congested after a few hours.  

John S
PDX OR