20 day fung fast/16 day water fast report and video
Above is a video of a 20 day Fung fast /16 day water fast I did in late October/early November of 2016. It was the second 20 day fast I did. The previous being about six months before.
It took a couple tries to get started. I usually try to eat a high protein meal of something yummy before I start a fast. Usually a steak.
What also helped was heading to my parents house in a small town about 60 miles away to get some before and after pictures taken. Since I made the effort it created a small investment in continuing the fast that I think made it easier to get rolling.
It’s now early January. I did some small fasts in December but nothing overly large. This repeats the experience of the previous 20 day in that it’s hard to restart. Unfortunately, my Grandmother passed away on New Years day and I’ve been traveling so that also puts off the fasting, since I don’t like to fast while traveling. However, I did plan for this and I’m still noticing some improvement after the 20 day.
Lab tests didn’t improve significantly over the 20 day. However, I changed labs so not a lot ended up being comparable. Insulin was 11 uU/ml with a 4.2 to 27.9 range versus a 7.5 after the last 20 day fast but the reference range was 2.6 to 24.9 so I’m really thinking of it within the margin of error. Several years ago while on a fairly extreme low carb diet it was 40+ so in any case there’s a vast improvement.
Uric acid got up to 11.5 versus 13 on the last 20 day with a 4-8.5 reference range. Uric Acid increases over fasts and can cause gout or other problems so I think this is one more indication that for me 20 days is the maximum good idea for fast length.
Before and afters aren’t dramatic, but I can see measurable progress with the 20 day fast. My personal view is that fasting needs to become a habit and it’s not going to be a one shot deal. Unfortunately it will take time.
Here are the before and afters if you are interested. The side view was the best improvement I thought.
20 day water fast before and after
Comments
Andi Passaro
Thank you for sharing. I fast from 7PM – 12PM everyday but lately I just feel so full and I only eat 1 solid meal a day. I think it’s time to up my fasting. Thanks for the motivation!
John
Awesome.. I do IF 16:8 and occasional 24 hour fast.. did you progress to longer fast ?
How did you do it ?
David Sandy
I started with longer really. I did an 18 hour and then a 2.5 day and went longer and longer. It takes awhile once you do a longer a shorter one gets much easier. At least in my case. I think you need to power through them. If they are too tough then try eating low carb days or before.
John
Thanks for sharing. I am sure everyone appreciates your video d and story. Its amazing. I am concerned with Uric Acid levels when fasting. any issues with that ?
David Sandy
It got on the high end after 20 days for me. It will naturally go higher when you fast. It goes down afterwards though. I’m sure it varies for everyone. If you have problem with gout and such check with a doctor.
John
Yes i have talked to my doctor..fasting causes me to have Gout attacks. Extremely painful. I take supplements and Apple Cidar Viinegar that help counter them but occasional fasting triggers attacks.
I was wondering if you ever had gout issues of any kind ? If not, be careful.
Its not pleasant.
David Sandy
John,
That’s rough. My uric acid got a bit high before I started fasting and came down after I started the fasting regimen when not fasting. However, longer fasts would raise it.
I can see where that would prevent you from fasting. I think there are medical conditions where people won’t be able to fast. It’s a great modality and saved my life but I can think of Type 1 diabetes and propensity to gout now off the top of my head.
I wish it was better accepted then instead of “oh don’t fast things might go wrong” they could really think out what actually makes it unsafe and impractical.
John
Thanks for sharing yor thoughts David.
Its appreciiated..
ED From Ohio
Wow
Amazing Results. Congratulations on your success!
How is it going?
David Sandy
Ed, thanks for the comment.
It’s kind of slow. I gained back some last year. Started food logging and back at low and seem to be going lower. Encouraging though because I’m probably fasting only about 15% of days and nothing over 7 days though I’m hoping to get a long one in starting soon.
Really honing in on problem areas. Most of the weight gains seemed to coincide with gout attacks that I finally got diagnosed and treated so hopefully I won’t have to deal with those anymore.