What does one do to pass the time when fasting for this long? I mean, its not as if I can go and hang out with people; A. because hanging out with people usually necessitates eating and drinking, and B. I am going to look pretty bad while im fasting. I already only weight about 140, i imagine fasting for four weeks will take me down to about 105-110 pounds. To those of you all who have fasted for long periods of time before, what did you do to keep from going crazy? So far I’m thinking about cleaning my room, watching lots of movies online, browsing forums online and maybe take up video games. Any other suggestions?
these are all good. i went to the local used book store and bought a bunch of stuff too. socializing isn’t so bad, if you can put up with both the food and the strange attention you’ll get (i did, makes for some similar conversation).
the main thing is not to let anything stop you. i lost 25ish lbs by the time the third week rolled around, but i could’ve gone on for longer. you won’t be worried at all about eating or pooping (heh), so your mind will have more time to think about other things.
fasting will upregulate expression of bdnf too (sprouting of new neurons), so maybe take up a foreign language? meditation would be a nice kicker too, tbh
ok, those are good suggestions, one more question pax; while you were fasting how did libido and everything hold up? Did you continue to get morning erections? When you did get erections were they normal size, or were they smaller? (I think esermon was talking about how this happened to him.) Was there anything else about libido, erections, etc that I should take note of?
Does anyone know what happened to livingdead? He fasted too and said he would write about it, but never did. That was like two months ago…
One more thing, when you fasted how was your cognition? I might actually take up your suggestion to learn a foreign language if my mental condition improves.
hmm. i did start getting more nocturnals, though as far as anything sexual goes, when you fast, your body upregulates sex hormone binding globulin, so essentially your hormones are going through a phase of dormancy. i wouldn’t expect any real improvements until you break the fast, WHICH IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE FAST ITSELF. take my word for it.
as soon as i broke my fast, all the improvements came, though when it came to my cognition, after the first week i felt a lot more clear-headed. of course, my brain was still running on fat and miscellaneous crap in my body…
i know this experience is a voyage through uncharted waters, but you can do it man, you’ll be so glad you did.
and let me reiterate my suggestion about meditation: try it!
Never fasted before, but it seems like the most # of semi or short term recoveries here have came from either water only fasts or juicing fasts.
Pick up some books. Pick up a few TV series (Walking Dead, Californication, Dexter, Spartacus, Breaking Bad, etc).
Don’t worry about losing weight, it should come back pretty quick once you start eating again. Good luck!
When I fasted for 4 days I kept thinking about how much better I would feel after it that kept me going.
If I knew for certain a 4 week fast would cure me completely of PFS I would do it in a heart beat.
You need to keep thinking about the prize at the end of it and that pain will be worth it.
TRy to keep social if possible. Mice kept in social isolation get their allopregnanolone reduced. If this happens in humans too then this might impair the effects of the fasting. Keeping social would probably increase the benefits of the fast, possibly boost it, and it might increase our resistance to stress and anxiogenic conditions.
Before starting your fast, I would read this book if I were you
amazon.com/Fasting-Eating-He … 031218719X
I just ended it, in two days, very interesting. Well what I learnt is sufficient to let me say that if I had to do a long fast, I would have to see a certified MD. As an example fasting is not recommended for people with “adrenal exhaustion” derived from uses of steroids. But many other things need to be considered. Also, the author states that fasting might not work if appropriate diet is not done prior and after the fast. I quite trust this MD, he’s an ex patient of Shelton he states. But he’s an MD and this makes quite some difference (to me at least) and it is apparent from the book, which cites many studies. Though not all claims he does are supported by scientific articles, many come from his expertise and that of alternative practitioners such as Shelton. The book says quite well how to conduct a fast (well it’s not that difficult) but gives many other informations about fasting related nutrition and precautions for fasting.
fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes … n=20130118
I know it is not the same thing, but it is just another “fasting” option to consider
Thanks for the replies guys. As of today, I am beginning my fast (although I haven’t actually eaten since yesterday evening); although I’m not yet confident that I will be able to carry it out. So for the moment I have just resolved to take it day by day. To be honest, the worst thing about fasting so far is not hunger, but rather the psychological comfort I derive from the act of eating. To me, eating everyday is something that helps structure my day, but now I don’t have that and to be honest it makes me feel a little bit crazy. At this rate, I think I would go insane if I stayed inside for the entire duration of the fast, some sort of actual, physical contact with the outside world will be extremely necessary. Aside from that, my only other problem is being cold from not eating. I have already gone approximately 20 hours without food so far…
yep.
you can do it. once your body consumes the glycogen stored in your liver, you’re over the “hump.” sure, i still thought about food after that, but the whole daily “wake-up-and-neither-eat-nor-shit-so-now-what-do-i-do-with-my-day?” thing will become easier to deal with. reacclimating to food is similar.
i thoroughly enjoyed not pooping for three weeks. it was amazing.
just remember: THE LONGER, THE BETTER.
I already suggested to document yourself prior to the fast. But ok, you started, I understand, please document now since you have the time 
accidentally killing yourself might not bring you benefits. IMO
@pax, info on your fast?
PS-anyways, have a nice fast and good luck!!!
4 weeks… (28 days) is a long time to go without food. Especially when you consider some people have died after 40ish days without food. Do what you will though…
I read there is a report of a guy (I think he was somewhat overweight) who died after 7 months 
Mmmm the above author states
“An obese patient died after seven months of fasting, which , rather than illustrating the dangers, illustrates the safety of a prolonged fast.”
and then he cites this case report
GROSS FRAGMENTATION OF CARDIAC MYOFIBRILS AFTER THERAPEUTIC STARVATION FOR OBESITY
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(69)92546-X/abstract
though, I do not have access to that article. It is possible who knows
This one’s ironic, it can’t be true come on
Features of a successful therapeutic fast of 382 days’ duration
Surviving over a year without food? Doesn’t even sound possible unless the guy was 1200 lbs.
i doubt that any of us will attempt to fast for so long, so…mehhhh, whatever. there are plenty of cases of fasting that’ve gone undocumented by western “science,” among other things. when popular science tells you that pfs has been imagined into the fringes of the healthsphere by kooks like us, you learn to take it with a grain of salt.
regardless, the holy benchmark is 40 days, and that’s well within possibility.
@tab: sorry, i’m under the weather (terrible with pfs) and otherwise beat from work, i could think of answers to more focused questions at the moment, but i’m not sure if i could coherently “dump” all of my fasting experience onto the forum right now. but i’ll start you off with a little, i guess.
after the first three days, physical hunger wasn’t much of an issue. afterwards, mental hunger persisted. frankly, i’m not even sure if i was ever physically hungry, though mental hunger was nearly constant. i lost a lot of weight the first week, maybe 10-12 pounds, though i was out and about a lot, generally pretty restless, actually. i slept better, deeper. somewhere around day 11, my thyroid got a swift kick in its ass; it was november (and especially cold without calories or body fat), but i could stand outside at night without shivering too much after that. morning wood was much more frequent, nearly every day. i could’ve kept going past 21 days, and i wish i had, though i flew to see my father’s side of the fam and the 22nd day was thxgiving and every year there is a huge family bash and we all get fat and drunk, etc etc. oh well. blah blah blah. breaking the fast is as important if not more important than the fast itself. i had better energy, circulation, headspace, everything was really better after breaking the fast. i will note that i ate way too much crap that day, and i paid for it all night long. i began pooping more per day, and the poops were better at that. alcohol tasted really foreign, though i could drink more of it than before the fast.
my mother’s nagging me. we have a history. i’m going to attend to her bitch ass right now.
namaste!
thanks. Did the benefits last?