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RE: I Quit Eating for 28 Days [Water Fast] : Day 8 (Focus)
I would make sure that you are not doing very much exercise at all so that you are not breaking down your muscle. Make sure that you are drinking enough water.
Fasting for that long is not an ideal situation.
Well, believe it or not, though your statement is logical, the truth of the matter is quite the opposite. My friend, who fast for 18 days which he completed just last week, spent the entirety of the fast doing high-intensity exercise and reported significant muscle growth and strength gain. The reason for that is your body releases an excess amount of Human Growth Hormone when you are fasting and will not ony protect from muscle loss, but can even build muscle. I covered this in my blog of this fast on day 2.
All throughout humanity, human-beings have been made to survive extended periods of time without food. There are many scientifically studied cases of individuals going on extended periods of fasting, much longer than mine and not only survived, but were found to be in better health than when they began.
Nonethless, thank you for your concern and your generally good advice :)
how long was your friend working out for? Was it daily?
I agree that fasting can be very beneficial for health but everyone likely has their own threshold of how long it is safe to fast for. You most definitely don't want to get down to the point where your body is attacking your organs for energy or amino acids.
There are essential amino acids that your body needs that it can't make on its own.
Yes it was daily, before going to work full-time as a bartender!
That I absolutely agree with you. However I believe that on a fast there are many sources of which your body is pulling energy from, far more than just fat in the process of autogaphy to be converted into energy.
Also, the amount of energy actually required by the human body to survive, is I would say, surprisingly less than most would imagine. Given the fact that a portion of the food we consume is turned around and utilized to digest even more food, the truth of the matter is, during a fast, you utilize way less energy than usual.
Here is where I am confused.
One of the videos that is in one of your earlier posts on day 2 states that fasting increases the basal metabolic rate of the body but you are saying that it slows it down. Which one is it?
It also says that Leucine is increased in fasting which allows muscles to bulk but where is that Leucine coming from since it is classified as a essential amino acid meaning that mammals can't produce it. Is it the person's microbiome stepping up production in response to the lack of food? If so what are they using as fuel?
What are these other sources that you mention? If it is your internal organs you could quickly have a problem.