My 72 Hour Water Fast— The WHOLE LONG story!
So I finally did something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I completed a 72 hour water fast. Just water and electrolytes for 3 full days. My experience really surprised me, because I felt really great pretty much the entire time, including during the re-feeding process and the day after as well! There were a few little moments of low energy, but nothing that a little prayer couldn’t handle. My mind felt alert, clear, centered, and the whole experience was just pretty darn great! I’d like to share my experience.
Many of you know that I’ve championed switching over to the ketogenic metabolic state (as opposed to the glycolic state) for several years now. I’ve talked about ketosis a lot in my Instagram stories and even shared a few short courses about it in the past because I couldn’t contain my excitement for what I’d discovered and I just wanted to share so badly!
I 100% attribute the “success” of my fast to God, but I also contribute learning and practicing ketosis to Him as well. For me, it’s all connected.
There is a lot of good information out there about the metabolic state of ketosis for you to dive into should this topic interest you. I will say that in order to fully appreciate and understand MY fasting and re-feeding experience, it’s important to understand that I never left that metabolic state, even after re-feed and WHY. I’m going to try to explain it all to you in this share, because I think it’s the only intelligent way to fast. I said it.
My journey with ketosis and been such a learning experience. For me, strategically entering into the metabolic state of ketosis has helped balance my hormones, balance my moods and energy levels, helped my cognition, helped me with body recomposition, and it has allowed me to really shift the way that I approach my health— especially for the long-term and as I age.
I believe that ultimately God is in charge of everything, and that message was really driven home to me during this fast. I think of some “science” as a way to attempt to understand and explain the perfection and order that God has already designed. So in this share, I’ll be sharing science, with the caveat that ultimately we can say that this is that and that is this— but at the end of the day, we aren’t in control. That’s my opinion. Moving on.
Your energy system is either burning fat for fuel first, or it’s burning carbs first. Ketogenic vs glycolic. The body will always go for carbs first, unless you purposefully reduce or do not eat them (or in nature they were simply absent as they were with our ancestors, especially in the winter months). Many people in this climate of abundance and with a wide variety of food choices at their fingertips may never or almost never get into metabolic ketosis. This is SHOCKING once you shift over to ketosis and think about how so many people could be healing themselves for free at home, but just don’t know how or understand how.
Why does all of this really matter? Well. It matters A LOT, and it’s actually perhaps the BIGGEST deal when we think about chronic disease, obesity, infertility, dementia, and other carb-related/glucose-related/insulin-related states. Not to mention how more and more people are choosing to pay companies to inject themselves with profitable drugs that ketosis and fasting can do for free. Alas, some folks just choose the easy way out and don’t necessarily care about the consequences, side effects to their bodies, the effect these drugs have on society, the messages that shortcuts send to their children— it’s a multifaceted topic to be sure. Also I am not here to blame, or sit in my tower. This stuff is simply not taught. When I read the Bible, often times I think that there are codes in there to all of this. Fasting and religion is connected across cultures. It’s also a reality of living more intimately in the cyclical rhythm of nature and what food would be available to us in nature. Ultimately, it’s up to us to open our eyes and look at what is happening and has happened to the human body, our fertility landscape, our brains, and our quality of life in a world where humans regularly indulge in an abundance of carbohydrates, which contributes to all of the major diseases. Moreover, eating them regularly literally prevents your body from being able to self-clean itself, to eat it’s own damaged tissues, cells, growth, and to create new cells, tissues, and stem cells.
Ketosis and fasting is essentially sovereign healthcare.
Unless you take the time to learn, practice, and are actively trying to get into ketosis, most of us are never eating few enough carbs for long enough and never eating enough fat to GET INTO that state, and STAY there long enough to reap the benefits. If you are still with me and are interested, I want you to research “ketosis and autophagy” and “fasting and stem cells” and think about why those mechanisms may be something that you’d want to trigger as a human.
How do you know if you’ve depleted your glycogen reserves and have “made it” into ketosis? Most people have to reduce their net carbs to 20-50 grams per day and eat 80% of their calories from fat and 20% from protein AT FIRST. Once fat adapted, that changes. You have to test your blood to see if you are TRULY in ketosis. Urine strips work at first to test to see if your liver is producing ketones. Ketosis not a diet, despite all of the “keto diet” “low carb” recipes and food fads. Keto “foods” are marketed as “low carb, high fat” but if you aren’t paying attention to your overall daily carbohydrate intake, you can easily eat “keto” foods and still eat too many carbs, not be in ketosis, and be on a harmful high-fat, ultimately carb-burning diet. It does take a while to “get it”.
See, understanding the way that your body uses fuel is imperative. In a ketogenic state, your body needs to be running on ketones. To get your liver to produce them, it needed to learn how to choose fat for fuel instead of carbs. That means you need to eat mostly fat, some protein, very few carbs to teach it. It’s strange at first to eat so much fat, but once you become fat adapted, you start to find your rhythm with it and become smarter, and making food choices becomes much easier.
Now let’s get back to discussing my 72 hour water fast!
Once you have been in true metabolic ketosis for a while (which I have), you become “fat adapted”. Entering a fast from a fat adapted or ketogenic state is VASTLY different than going into a fast from a carb-burning state. Most of the advice and information about fasting out there is coming from the assumption that one is NOT in ketosis. However when you ARE, and when you re-feed and stay in ketosis, METABOLIC MAGIC HAPPENS. Metabolic magic has still happen during a fast for a carb burner, but it comes with a LOT of downsides.
When you hear about people going into a fast, they usually have not done all of the preliminary work of getting into ketosis. Think about those shows where people opt to be left on an island or in the woods to survive and feel like CRAP after a few days without food. They are going through what you hear about as the “keto flu” or something similar. This doesn’t happen when you ease into ketosis slowly and become fat adapted over time and are and used to running on ketones instead of glucose. Think of how in nature carb sources would slowly taper off as the season’s berry supply depleted. The abundant sun goes away. It’s all related. Light, food, metabolism.
If already fat-adapted, essentially you avoid a lot of the unfavorable side effects because your body has already learned how to and IS producing ketones and using your own fat for fuel. So if you don’t eat, your body is already good at “eating itself” if and when it has to. I’m talking about the excess fat that exists on your body and the crap cells that aren’t serving it.
Before you start playing with ketosis, you should make sure that you are not underweight. If you don’t have enough body fat and you aren’t eating enough actual fat to fuel you, your body will eat its muscle and bone next— which you DO NOT WANT. So learn first! Be smart. Okay moving on.
Weight loss was NOT a component of my desire to do a 72 water fast. At all. I do not even weigh myself. I go by how I feel, and look. I have been working out and building muscle over the past year very intentionally and have been very happy with my current physique. I was after the spiritual and metabolic benefits of fasting.
In a nutshell, I wanted to get to that 72 hour mark in order for my body to be able to create new stem cells — wherever they needed to be created. I wanted this so that my body could heal and repair itself NATURALLY. Without drugs, without expensive outsourced therapies. Just me, for free, allowing my human body to do what it is already capable of doing when helped to get there.
If you’re already comfortably living in a fat-adapted state—deep in nutritional ketosis from a steady, well-nourished ketogenic way of eating—your body is likely beautifully prepared for a longer fast.
This is where I started from.
That needed to be explained and understood.
My glycogen reserves were already lower, my fat-burning pathways were wide open, ketones flowed more readily, and that dreaded “keto flu” shift didn’t happen. Entering the fast felt effortless for me. The only thing I noticed was that I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t doing dishes or cooking or cleaning up, but I felt clear, sharp, focused, and alive. That is the typical experience of a healthy, fed, keto brain.
Science time. Below is the timeline I’ve gathered from human studies. Remember that every body is unique—your age, the amount of movement you get, your level of hydration, your psychological state, and your body’s mineral balance all factor into the experience—but for those of us who are fat-adapted, this sequence tends to feel easeful and supportive.
The gifts of the fast compounded beautifully for me. Oh, and anytime I felt like I was doubting any aspect of the fast, I prayed. Actually, I prayed before the fast, during, and after.
Here’s what happens during a fast, hour to hour. If this topic interests you, look up words that you don’t know/understand as you go:
Hours 0–12: Glycogen depletion and early shift to fat metabolism
Your liver glycogen stores drop quickly (faster if you’re keto-adapted). Insulin falls, glucagon rises, and lipolysis ramps up, releasing free fatty acids into the blood. Ketones (which you’re already producing in ketosis) start climbing steadily.
What you might notice:
• Insulin drops fast → better short-term sensitivity.
• Mild reduction in inflammation signals.
• Stable energy from ketones; hunger often stays low (thanks to existing ketosis suppressing appetite better than in carb-reliant people).
Most adapted folks feel pretty normal here—no big hunger spikes. Not the case for carb-burners.
Hours 12–24: Full transition to ketosis and fat burning
Glycogen is mostly gone. Your body relies heavily on fatty acids and ketones for fuel. Blood ketones (BHB/beta-hydroxybutyrate) often rise above 1–2 mmol/L.
Key changes:
• Increased fat oxidation starts tapping into stored body fat (not just water/glycogen weight).
• Brain shifts toward using ketones → steadier energy, fewer glucose swings.
• Autophagy begins ramping up (cellular cleanup/recycling of damaged parts—stronger in adapted individuals).
• Appetite usually drops further as ketones suppress ghrelin.
Many report clearer thinking, even energy, and sometimes “keto breath” as acetone builds.
Most of this is already true if you are in a ketogenic state prior to beginning the fast.
Hours 24–48: Deep ketosis and stronger cellular repair
Ketosis deepens (BHB commonly 3–6+ mmol/L). Growth hormone surges (up to 5x baseline in some studies) to help preserve muscle. Autophagy intensifies.
Key changes:
• Peak fat burning from stores.
• Enhanced autophagy clears cellular junk linked to aging and inflammation.
• Insulin sensitivity improves more.
• Systemic inflammation markers continue dropping.
• Possible BDNF/Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor increase (supports brain health and mood).
Hunger often vanishes; people describe sharp focus, calm energy, or a “fasting high.” Muscle is largely protected by the hormonal environment.
Hours 48–72: Maximal repair, immune effects, and stem cell activity
Ketosis stays deep, insulin bottoms out. Growth hormone and norepinephrine stay elevated.
Autophagy peaks. Lowered IGF-1/PKA (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 / Protein Kinase A) signaling promotes stem cell regeneration pathways.
Studies (mostly animal, some human) show white blood cell turnover—old immune cells get cleared, with new ones regenerating on refeed.
Key changes:
• Deep autophagy and cellular repair.
• Potential immune system “reset” via stem cell-based regeneration (seen in prolonged fasting research).
• Enhanced stem cell activity for tissues like gut lining and immune cells.
• Further insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility gains.
• Anti-aging signals via reduced mTOR(mechanistic Target of Rapamycin)/IGF-1 and increased AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase).
• Fat loss continues; muscle preservation holds strong.
Mental clarity can be excellent, energy even or elevated. Some feel light; others get mild fatigue if electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) dip—supplement if needed.
Overall benefits of a full 72-hour fast (stronger in fat-adapted people)
• Significant body fat loss (sparing muscle due to ketosis and growth hormone).
• Robust autophagy and cellular renewal (most pronounced 24–72 hours).
• Major improvements in insulin sensitivity and glucose control.
• Stable brain fuel via ketones
+ potential BDNF boost.
• Reduced inflammation.
• Immune and stem cell regeneration support (peaks late, full effects on refeed).
• Hormonal perks: high growth hormone for protection, norepinephrine for alertness.
Quick reality check: This isn’t medical advice. A 72-hour fast is advanced—monitor for dizziness, extreme weakness, or other red flags. Keep electrolytes balanced to avoid issues. Break it gently and slowly. Consider first if you have conditions, take drugs, have an eating disorder history, or are pregnant.
Now I know that many of you will be curious about what I felt and experienced physically and psychologically during my 72 hour fast, and what made it go as smoothly as it did.
First of all, I did this with God and prayer. I asked him to lead me through it. I felt his protection and he gave me the confidence that I was going to be okay. Reading the Bible, fasting is mentioned throughout. The Bible is actually full of codes, and even literal mentions of light, fasting, and prayer and how they bring focus, clarity, and much much more. So first and foremost, this was a spiritual undertaking. If I ever had a moment where I felt afraid or worried, I prayed.
Obviously being in ketosis for most of the winter set me up for a great success. Leading up to my fast, I was fully indulging in fat and actually felt like I was holding onto a bit of excess fat. This wasn’t a problem for me— I understood what I was doing. It gave me the confidence to know that my body would have something to eat for the three days that I was abstaining from food. Smart!
One major thing to note for me is that I work from home, do not have kids to chase around, I live in nature, I do not have cell reception, I can turn off my WiFi and be in a really intentional quiet space when and if I need to be. I DO have a fully grown intact male German Shepherd, but he is pretty much the extent of my dutiful distraction aside from my job.
I say all of that to say that when you are fasting, you wanna keep things SUPER CHILL because it’s a strain on your entire being— at least I think so. It was the third time I’ve fasted and the first time I’d ever done a full 3 days, so in an effort to be successful, I purposely didn’t work out or do anything stressful or strenuous. I only went on fairly easy walks and let my husband throw the ball to our dog and do the heavy lifting.
I had a few weird “symptoms” which I’ll talk about.
By and large however, my mind was clear and sharp the entire time, and I didn’t start thinking about wanting food until the end of the second day— but it wasn’t craving as much as “ohh that smells good.” I also just fantasized about what I would eat once I was eating again. It wasn’t a feeling that I wanted or NEEDED food NOW.
The first day was the easiest. I had been sleeping really really well prior to the fast, but the fasting did affect my sleep. The first night I felt like I slept the most soundly. A few weird dreams but nothing wild. Still woke up at my normal time— just before sunrise. I watched the sunrise and had a half a cup of plain black coffee mostly diluted with decaf (my usual). No cream, sigh.
On day two I felt great all day. I worked and made a huge batch of Antifungal Ointment and a small batch of Marshmallow World Tallow Face Cream. I made chicken dinner for Taj with the intention to make lots of broth for when I broke my fast and did a re-feed. It would turn out that I didn’t do that but I’ll explain that later.
I did loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen well. The house was all tidy and the dishes were all done. I laid out in the sun in my bikini on day one, but in the afternoon on day two I didn’t have a little slump in energy and laid outside with my wool robe and slippers on and just let my mind drift and my body rest like a wet noodle. I think had I been more distracted I may not have honored that energy slump— but I think that it was good that I did. I will also say that it was my experience that energy slumps were greatly improved by sunshine and drinking water with salt and minerals— but that is my experience all of the time. When you are not eating food however, that energy gift becomes unmistakable.
I went for a walk with my husband and our dog the evening of the second day and noticed that my hands and feet felt colder than usual. It was more difficult to warm them. This was new.
It’s completely normal for hands and feet (and sometimes the whole body) to feel noticeably colder around day 3 of a prolonged fast, especially in a water-only or deep fast. Physiologically here is what was happening:
1. Vasoconstriction and energy conservation
With insulin low and your body in deep ketosis/fat-burning mode, it prioritizes routing blood flow to vital organs (brain, heart, liver) over non-essential areas like skin and extremities. Reduced peripheral blood flow = less warmth delivered to hands and feet → they feel cold. This is your body’s smart way of conserving energy when fuel is limited.
2. Lower core body temperature and metabolic shifta
During extended fasting, core temperature often drops slightly (a mild form of adaptive thermogenesis). You’re burning fat efficiently via ketones, but the overall metabolic rate can adjust downward to preserve resources. Less heat production overall means extremities cool first (they’re farthest from the core).
3. Hormonal and circulatory changes
Elevated norepinephrine (from sympathetic activation) and low insulin contribute to vasoconstriction in peripheral vessels. Some people notice this more on days 2–4 as ketosis deepens and the body fully commits to fat as primary fuel.
4. Other contributing factors
• Dehydration or electrolyte imbalances (especially sodium/potassium/magnesium dips) can worsen circulation and cold sensation—common by day 3 if you’re not salting your water adequately.
• If you’re already lean or fat-adapted, you might feel it more because there’s less insulating fat, or your body is aggressively tapping stores.
• It’s not usually due to “slowed metabolism” in the bad way—it’s more about efficient energy partitioning.
I chose to sit by the fire awhile and also layered up. Nothing warms better than wool, so I donned my knitted woolen slippers that I made and my wool robe, and in the evening I soaked in an almost hot magnesium bath. I also applied my Magnesium Magic Tallow Butter to my entire body, used my Rose Sugar Face scrub, and anointed my face with oil.
My quality sleep on the second night sucked. I fell asleep at 9:30 but woke around 3:30 am and I could hear and feel my heartbeat, which made me a little nervous, so I prayed and got a lot of feedback and felt so much better afterward. Ultimately God reassured me that I was okay and safe and that he was in control and not to worry. We talked a lot, and I left feeling strong and relieved and just decided to get up. It was 4:45 am by then and I just started my day. My energy was definitely lower, so I snuggled on the couch and drank water with salt and electrolytes with extra magnesium. I researched the heartbeat thing and tested my resting heat rate which was about 70 beats per minute. Here’s what I found:
Increased heart rate or awareness
— Some experience a naturally elevated resting heart rate during fasting as the body conserves energy or compensates for lower blood volume. This can make normal heartbeats feel more noticeable (palpitations often describe the sensation rather than a dangerous arrhythmia).
What many people describe as “palpitations” is really just heightened awareness of your normal heartbeat, sometimes called cardiac awareness or pulse sensation.
Why This Happens on Day 3 of Fasting
Your body is in a major transition:
• Glycogen stores are mostly gone, so you’re shifting to fat-burning (ketosis).
• Blood volume can drop slightly due to water and sodium loss.
• The autonomic nervous system adjusts, and stress hormones (like adrenaline) can fluctuate as your body adapts.
• In a quieter state (less food noise in the digestive system, possibly more rest or introspection), everyday sensations become more noticeable. Your heart is still beating steadily, but you’re tuning into it more—like how you suddenly “hear” the fridge when everything else is silent.
From fasting communities (especially Reddit threads on fasting), tons of people report exactly this: “feeling my heartbeat pounding” or “hyper-aware of my pulse” during the adaptation phase, often without any irregular rhythm. It’s frequently benign and fades as you adapt (many say by day 4–5 things stabilize and they feel calmer overall).
Quick Checks to Differentiate
• Is your actual heart rate elevated? (Check resting pulse—normal range is roughly 60–100 bpm; fasting can push it higher temporarily, like 80–100+ at rest for some.)
• Are there skips, flips, racing episodes, or pounding that comes in waves?
• Any dizziness, chest pain, extreme fatigue, or shortness of breath?
If it’s mostly just noticing the steady thump-thump more than usual (especially when lying down, quiet, or relaxed), and your heart rate isn’t wildly high or irregular, it’s likely the awareness effect + adaptation stress.
What Helps Most People
• Hydrate well — Dehydration amplifies everything.
• Electrolytes — A bit of salt (sodium), and if possible, some magnesium/potassium (via supplements or salted water/broth if your fast allows). Many swear this calms the “pounding” sensation quickly.
• Relaxation — Deep breathing, gentle movement, or lying on your right side (some find it reduces the left-side thump feeling).
• Monitor casually — If you have a watch/phone app, track resting heart rate over a day or two to see trends.
Anyway, like I said, my resting heart rate was typical and it was just me being hyper aware of my heartbeat. Super weird though. It’s amazing how your mind can go from a worst case scenario when it’s not a big deal— it’s a pattern of mine that trusting in God has really helped me with.
The rest of the morning I took it super easy. My husband walked the dog, and I planned to do as little as possible. I felt pretty low energy and then I got a huge wind of energy around 2 pm. I took our dog for a walk in the sun, basked a bit, came home and made cabbage rolls from scratch, dealt with my chicken and my soup. Cleaned up the kitchen and laid in the sun for about an hour. It was 70 degrees and the sunny while the rest of the country was starting to experience crazy snow, super low temps, sleet and ice.
I prepared my broth for my re-feed just in case I didn’t feel like doing it later. I normally don’t eat after sunset, but the end of the third night of my fast would be an exception. I wanted to wake my digestive system up before the following day so that I’d have less work to do and could eat whole food sooner. I’d weighed the pros and cons of just continuing my fast until the next day, but I’d decided that I’d achieved what I wanted to, and my body felt ready.
Oh, one more weird fasting symptom showed up about the time my husband returned from work and just prior to the 72 hour mark. I was alone with my dog all day so I really hadn’t noticed, but my voice sounded really weird when I spoke! It was almost more soft and whispery, like it was hard to speak a bit? He noticed it right away and it kind of freaked me out because I NEVER have vocal issues. I totally heard it, too. So, I looked it up. Here’s what I found out:
Apparently it is quite normal (and fairly commonly reported) for your voice to sound different—often hoarser, deeper, more fatigued, or just “off”—by the end of day three in a 72-hour fast.
Several scientific studies have looked specifically at how fasting impacts the voice, mostly in the context of religious fasting like Ramadan (where both food and fluids are restricted for extended periods). Key findings include:
• Fasting leads to increased phonatory effort (you have to work harder to produce sound).
• Common symptoms are vocal fatigue (the most frequent complaint), hoarseness, harshness, or a deepening of the voice.
• These changes are often attributed to dehydration (systemic and local to the vocal folds/larynx), reduced saliva production, and possibly neuromuscular effects from energy conservation or electrolyte shifts.
Even in water fasting (where you drink water but no calories), many people experience dry mouth/throat, reduced mucus in the airways, and mild dehydration effects by days 2–3, especially if water/electrolyte intake isn’t optimized. This dries out the vocal cords (which need hydration to vibrate smoothly), leading to that altered sound or feeling of strain.
Anecdotally, in fasting communities quite a few people describe their voice getting hoarse or raspy deeper into extended fasts, sometimes enough to prompt them to break the fast early. Others note a lighter/softer voice during ketosis/intermittent fasting phases.
It’s usually temporary and resolves once you rehydrate and eat normally.
To help minimize it during the fast:
• Drink plenty of water (aim for consistent intake).
• Consider adding electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) if you’re not already, as imbalances can worsen dryness/fatigue.
• Avoid straining your voice (talk less if possible, or speak gently).
• Steam inhalation or sipping warm water can provide some relief for the throat/vocal area.
I swear I had been drinking a ton of water with electrolytes all day— so I don’t know why that happened.
I also thought about all of my “symptoms” from a spiritual place, and it was really humbling. My flesh is separate from my spirit. That became very apparent.
Alas. It was time to break my fast.
At 6 pm I slowly sipped a little warmed broth with collagen. Fat was skimmed up initially. The last time I fasted, I broke it after 1 1/2 days, and took the advice to drink broth and it totally gave me diarrhea. I REALLY wanted to avoid that as much as possible this time. I really didn’t want to be on the toilet all night.
Your digestive system shuts down and rests and repairs while in a fast, so all of the advice out there says that you want to coax it back very slowly. I heard a little bit of gurgling after drinking about a cup of broth very slowly. I could feel it in my stomach. I wanted to guzzle the whole cup that I poured myself but I restrained myself. All of the aromas from my cooking all day were really starting to get to me. It smelled so good in the house! I had also made the most perfect batch of carnivore donuts. I’ll share my recipe at the end of this piece.
My plan was to see how that broth sat with me, and then after about 2 hours eat some plain zucchini cooked well in the same broth. That was the advice of the others. That’s not what I did. First, let’s talk about poop!
The entire time that I was fasting my bowel movements were as follows:
Prior to fasting, they were totally normal and healthy.
Day one of my fast, lots of urination but only a “shart” in the evening. Bahaha. Sorry. That’s a funny word that I don’t often have occasion to use.
Day two it was about 3 sharts worth. Still laughing.
I never had any stomach pain or discomfort whatsoever. No bloating, no pain, no discomfort. This is my typical experience anyway when I am in ketosis.
On day three my digestive system was totally silent again. After I had some broth after breaking my fast around 6 pm, here’s what happened:
I started hearing my stomach gurgle. About 30 minutes later I went to the bathroom and it came out. A bit of diarrhea but really not a lot at all and not uncomfortable but I thought, “screw this”. “I don’t care what everyone else says, broth after fasting gives me friggin diarrhea! I’m gonna eat a stuffed cabbage roll slowly and see what happens.” So, I ate a cabbage roll and it was SOOOOOO GOOD. I waited about an hour. Nothing digestive was happening except the occasional gurgle.
I proceeded to eat THREE more cabbage rolls, 3 carnivore donuts, another cabbage roll, water, and probably another donut, and NOTHING happened! I felt great! I was fine! I prayed over my food each time I ate and asked God to protect me. I don’t care what the experts say— I was BACK! Haha!
I didn’t go to the bathroom at all again that night. In the morning when I woke up I had to poop while I was brewing our coffee. I woke up at my usual time, and also slept better. When I pooped, it was TOTALLY NORMAL! The only difference was that it was two rounds instead of 1, which isn’t normal, but it was awesome!
I ate cabbage rolls for breakfast after my decaf with cream, salt, and collagen. I tested and was still in ketosis— even though there was rice in the cabbage rolls!
After our morning walk, I actually pooped again! Normal again! I was soooooo back!
Next time I fast, I think I am going to skip the broth and just wake my body up with the Leilani Special: meat and rice stuffed cabbage rolls and carnivore donuts! Ha!
What did I drink for the entirety of the fast? I drank water with added LMNT grapefruit salt. I ran out of it on day 2 and switched to my own homemade electrolyte blend with magnesium, potassium, and salt. No evil citric acid. Then I started drinking lemon Ultima with extra salt added. I also added a bit of trace minerals. I drank about 4-7 quarts of water per day. Any time I felt a slump, I drank more and it helped. I don’t recommend those powders though as I’m quite sure that the citric acid in them is eating away my tooth enamel.
I also drank plain black mostly decaf coffee (a half cup) every morning of my fast. I took a magnesium malate pill on the am of my third day, and another in the afternoon. Aside from that, I drank no tea, no herbal teas, nothing with calories. The electrolyte powers were zero carb.
Would I do it all again?
Yes, absolutely— as needed. It also gave me the confidence to fast again, since I know what to expect. I am no longer intimidated. The conditions were actually perfect for this fast. I highly recommend being good at ketosis before a fast and also blocking out a good, chill, 5 days for both the fast and the recovery. You gotta ease back into eating and energy demands.
I will say that the day after the fast my shoulder joints ached a bit, but I felt amazing! Eating again was super enjoyable. My voice returned to normal and I felt like working out. I didn’t, but I will soon.
Let me know in the comments section if you have any questions for me.
Caveat: None of this is medical advice nor will my responses to your comments be. I’m just a regular person who completed a 72 hour water fast and am sharing my personal experience and research with you.
Much love!
Oh, and here is the Carnivore Donut Recipe! I’m obsessed!
Carnivore Donuts from Jordan Masuccio @carnivore_connoisseur (Modified by Leilani Diaz McKay @awomanofnature)
Whisk 4 eggs, 10 g collagen powder, 2 cups whole milk powder (or heavy cream powder for 0 carbs), 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp melted butter or olive oil (for moistness), a dash of salt, a tsp of vanilla extract, and a 1/4 tsp of Monkfruit powder in a bowl until relatively smooth. *To make a lemon version add 1 tsp lemon extract. *To make spiced version add 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp nutmeg.
A note on Monkfruit: Make sure it doesn’t contain erythritol. Also, you don’t NEED it, you can also use a little bit or none. Season to taste. It is extra sweet. Use honey or other sweeteners if you like but remember they may cause blood sugar spikes or affect insulin.
Preheat oven to 310 F
Using a pastry bag or a ziplock bag, squeeze the batter into GREASED (with olive oil is fine) silicone donut molds but don’t fill them up to the line. Only fill them up a little less than halfway because they rise. I fill up two donut molds with this amount of dough. (Makes 12 donuts).
Bake for 18 minutes. They won’t look done but they ARE. It’s okay if they are yellow and not “golden brown” as the bottoms tend to get more cooked than the tops, so just trust the 18 minutes time. The original recipe said to bake them for 15 minutes, but they aren’t ever done in 15 in my experience. I think it’s because I add oil to make them spongier and not dry. It may just be my oven? Test them yourself.
Take them out and let them cool in the silicone mold for 2 minutes before turning them upside down on a cooling rack. They will come right out. Let them cool COMPLETELY before attempting to frost them otherwise your frosting will melt all weird on them.
Prepare the frosting by mixing 1/2 a pack (or a whole one if you double the recipe) of cream cheese, 1 tbsp of olive oil (makes it creamier and easier to spread) the inside scrapings of a whole vanilla bean, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, a wee dash of salt and a 1/4 tsp Monkfruit powder. *For the lemon version you can add 1/2 tsp lemon extract * For the spiced version I like to add a dash of maple extract. You can also add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste if desired. Stir with a fork until smooth. Apply with a butter knife.
For best results use room temp cream cheese. I put mine in a bowl in the oven from the leftover heat that’s in the oven to soften it while the donuts are cooling.
I’ve also made peanut butter frosting and chocolate donuts using this recipe. Just add cocoa powder into the batter or frosting and just mix peanut butter into the frosting.
No sugar!!! No flour!!! BOOOM BABY! Friggin’ yum! Have fun!
