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Comment by TimSchumann | Hacker News Reader

I mean, based on my extended fasting experience I'd say it's something that's worth exploring. I can't speak specifically to memory, but the mental clarity whenever I fast longer than a few days tends to be awesome.

A seven day fast is something I'd encourage everyone who's otherwise healthy to try at least once in their life.

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I tried fasting Tuesdays and Thursdays for a few weeks in college. A couple weeks after I stopped I had severe and sudden dizzy spells for months. I’m not willing to try again unless I go hand in hand with a doctor.

That sounds interesting. Do you have any tips or guides to get started, or is it more like “just stop eating”? I have never fasted for more than some hours before.

You should have some salts to keep well hydrated, also be healthy and don’t have any problems like diabetes, or with your kidneys. Anything over 36-48 hours would be better to check with a doctor first.

Anecdata:

The only times I've got dizzy when '24h water fasting' are when I've been eating normal/high amounts of carbs in my diet around the fasts.

I've been doing a few days/week of 24h water fasts again, but on a very-low-carb diet, and can report no dizziness whatsoever.

An additional benefit (also mentioned by others) is that I don't have any insatiable hunger pangs on the water fasts (which I did when I attempted them on a normal/high carb diet).

Obviously your mileage may vary (etc etc), but for me, it's all about removing carbs. It's the difference between water fasting being (honestly) easy .vs. A herculean feat that I couldn't manage.

I'd start with "just stop eating" and then solve for any issues that pop up for you because people have a lot of different reactions. For me, I do alternate day fasting... sometimes 2-3 days of fasting in a row. I had some common issues such as not being able to sleep and diarrhea while fasting. So instead of 0 calories, I eat a bowl of oatmeal (high fibre) on my "fasting days". Also, when weight training while fasted I'd feel so light-headed I'd have to stop. But I fixed that by drinking 1 bottle of Gatorade (some calories + hydration + electrolytes) before exercise. You'll just have to find what works for you. Other patterns are 5:2 (2 days of fasting) and one-meal-a-day. Sometimes after a break from fasting, I'd get too hungry the first day back on fasting so I'd ease into it with one-meal-a-day.

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