This year, I have started fasting for extended periods, specifically 3 days at a time. Initially, the idea of a 3 day fast was frightening, but with all the longevity benefits that I had read about, I figured it would be cowardly not to at least give it a shot. What I discovered was immense, but one takeout was getting used to the feeling of ‘hunger’.

What type of 3 day fast do I run?

I completed what is known as a 3 day water fast, meaning I only consumed water, black coffee and tea for 72 straight hours.

Why did I fast?

When reading from multiple authors, Tim Ferris, Nassim Taleb to name a few, I kept hearing about the benefits of fasting, specifically the positive impacts from a physical and mental health perspective over the long term. However, like all of these type of things, you never know what you’re getting into until you do it, so that’s what I did.

How did it feel to fast?

Perhaps the biggest takeout from the whole experience, is the perception on the feeling of hunger. I hit that initial hunger prang around 18 hours in, this is when it really dawned on me that I was going to feel this (or worse) for the next two and a half days. We all know the feeling, it sucks.

However, what I found was that once you pass that first phase of hunger, it never seems to get any worse. Sure, it still remains, you’re still physical uncomfortable, but it’s never really that bad, and you just get used to it.

Some potential (totally unscientific) takeouts from fasting:

• Hunger appears to be a signal of your eating routine, rather than an indication that your body requires nutrition

• The feeling of hunger is a threshold, and once hit, never gets much worse.

• I’ll never allow myself to be ‘hangry’ again, it’s a mental state that you can control if you recognise it.

How often do I fast for 3 days?

I’ve continued this approach for the last six months, having fasted on four occasions during that period. Moving forwards, I see myself doing it once a quarter, as the interrupted sleep from hunger tends to hit me fairly hard by the end of the three days.

If you got something out of this, want to cancel me for unscientific observations or want to share your own fasting story with me, sign up below to the monthly newsletter or click here to send me a message.