Comment by baldfat | Hacker News Reader

Comment by baldfat | Hacker News Reader

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The effects on mood and brain function is pretty much an established benefit. "... studies have built on decades-old research establishing a connection between caloric intake and brain function."

http://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer...

As someone that USE TO (Why is it you have more self-discipline in your 20s then your older years???) Fast about once a week for 24 hours (supper to supper). There are many positive benefits as a person when you go past 3 days also. There are plenty of studies out there about fasting and its benefits and risk. People who have never done more then 3 days nor have read scientific research seem to see this as a negative. The human body can go for more then 40 days without food so a few days actually has very little negative "malnutrition" issues.

The stomach takes about 3 days to shrink after that has finished you actually don't really feel hungry and surprisingly you would be shocked at the spike in energy and focus you get for the days 4-10. Longest I have ever done was 10 days but man food explodes with flavor. One of my favorite things is after coming back to food everything taste better and is more enjoyable.

I'd be curious to see how my body handles fasting, with some undiagnosed (ie, not visited doctor) issues with bloodsugar.

After growing up with massive sugar intake, and then ending up in my early 20s in a state where i would get bloodsugar shakes if i didn't eat balanced meals, i now live in a low-carb environment (just shy of keto) and am super super happy with it. High fats keep me so stable, i never have bloodsugar issues anymore.

I can easily skip a meal because i'm not dropping off a bloodsugar cliff where all i had to run off of were breads and sweets for breakfast, etc.

With that said, i'm still afraid of pushing my bloodsugar too far. If you have bloodsugar issues, are you just doomed from fasting?

Note that my issues were minor (imo), but again, undiagnosed. Things are better these days too, fwiw.

I used to faint on occasion and once was hospitalized because of it. They found that my blood sugar was very low (31) and kept measuring it even at night. It kept getting lower than the doctors liked and they made me eat bananas at 3am. However, they never found a explanation and eventually released me without any diagnosis or advise. So I always was concerned about my blood sugar.

About a year ago there was a similar article on here as this one. So I really wanted to fast, but had similar concerns as you have now. So I went out and got a cheap blood glucose measuring device as diabetics use. I measured my blood glucose over the course of a day and then tried intermittent fasting the following days. Everything was great. I felt weak and generally shitty in the late morning on the first day I did this, but that went away on its own by noon even before I ate at 1pm. Meanwhile my blood glucose was fine.

Maybe it will be different in your case, but why not find out? If you measure your blood glucose frequently and have good at hand in case it does get too low, what could go wrong.

Of course I'm not a doctor and you better talk to one than just trusting don't random guy on the internet.

I'm not sure it matters, but I had problems with what I thought were low bloodsugar, and later found out that it probably wasn't the case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiopathic_postprandial_syndro...). A lot of individuals have similar symptoms (feelings of weakness, shakiness, irritability that are cured by eating) but it isn't accompanied by lowered blood sugar.

I've been fasting for five consecutive days every other week for over a year now (and in various less severe combinations for the three years prior to that). I switched up to five days mainly as a result of reading Longo's work. (Valter Longo is the head of the group that produced this research)

I rarely get hungry now, and whilst I have in the past experienced the "food explodes with flavor" sensation you mention, I don't any more. If anything, the re-feeding is something of an anti-climax.

Did you notice any objective benefits to your body/mind since you started fasting? Or did you do it to lose weight?

How can you do this that often? I mean, I can do it once a month, or perhaps once every other week for 2 or 3 times but I lose so much weight that I never /had/ to do it more than that; In fact, one 5 day fast usually slims me down to my 'happy' weight anyway (Which is still about 90Kg, I'm quite muscular!).

And I agree with the other poster about the 'tastebud high' -- I'd hate to lose that, as it's perhaps half the kick of fasting!

Are you sure you haven't developed some sort of 'habit'? With all due respect of course, just curious...

My main concern when deciding to do this was not to lose weight. I haven't done so. Around 65kg, which I have been since I was in my 20s. I'm 48.

And your concern is noted graciously, but no, I'm pretty sure it's not a habit. It may of course be a waste of time. Time will tell.

What kind of drinks do you drink during that fasting period? I imagine I'd collapse after one day if I wouldn't drink soda or something high-sugar / high-coffeine.

Fasting means no calories.

No you wouldn't collapse, the body stores fat exactly for this reason. When you fast, eventually your body switches to fat burning mode.

When I was fasting for 24 hour periods (I really need to get back on that) I would drink black coffee and water.

I stopped drinking soda many years ago (apart from the odd coke at a party or something). Realised it was addictive. It just feels normal to always be drinking water now. I don't miss it.

Coffee, I turn my machine on in the morning and it's 50/50 if I remember to drink one during the day. I drink a fair amount of tea (PG Tips with milk, I'm English) though.

It's not uncommon for people fasting have a glass of juice or fruit. When he says flavor is more intense it means sugar as well. An orange tastes really sweet. When having heavily reduced calories your body reacts stronger as well. Hot tea is a big pick me up.

If you are a big coffee drinker then start during a weekend where you can get through coming off coffee. Headaches and a mind like molassis are a hard way to go through th work day.

As someone on low-carb and sometimes keto, sugar is so insanely sweet. I basically can't touch heavily processed carb foods as they just taste like raw syrup. Juices too, honestly. Pretty nuts.

Definitely. You wouldn't know it looking at me, but I spent a month eatin only vegetables. Not raw, but no sauces other than some olive oil. I ate a donut after and it was so sweet it felt acidic.

Im addicted to soda!!! When I fast I only drink water.

I often have a glass of fruit juice in the morning to get a bit of a kick. It also helps when you have a bit of 'metalic taste' in the mouth.

Otherwise it's coffee in the morning, I'm a developer after all, code isn't going to magic itself out of thin air, it needs coffee! :-)

> Fast about once a week for 24 hours (supper to supper).

One question: does that mean you take the supper before fasting, or the one after fasting, or none, or both?

I eat dinner around 5:30 PM and then I don't eat and only drink water till 5:30 PM the next day. This going to sleep hungry is for the birds. I realized that prior to midnight invention days started and ended at sunset so a full day fast was sundown to sundown.

That is 10 days with zero calories?

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