Compensatory eating after a 36-hour fast

[jessica]

This morning, after I finished my first 36-hour fast, I fell into the refrigerator and struggled to come back up for air. Big 700 calorie breakfast, then 1000 calories at lunch. I wanted to avoid eating after that, but dang if I wasn’t still hungry! Well, edgy and light-headed and I couldn’t take that any more. I caved and ate another 300 calories at dinner. And even now, I’m drinking water and staying out of the kitchen, but I really want to go back in there!

I averaged about 1700 calories over the last four days. I don’t want to be eating more than 1700 right after the fast. Kinda defeats the purpose, right? I ate a balance of protein, carbs and fats. Drank plenty of water, coffee, took vitamins. Took a nap.

Don’t quite know how to manage things after the 36 hour fast. Any tips?

[helen]

I ease into eating again, start with something small then build up to a larger meal. I typically won’t eat breakfast the day after a fast, so my 36 hr fasts are actually longer. I will eat around lunch time and have a piece of fruit, or some toast. Then have a regular sized dinner.

[ruth]

Jessica, maybe you just found out that you rushed into longer fasts too quickly? Try several 18-24h fasts instead one or two 36h fasts and see if it’s easier to deal with smaller portions then. Did you feel out of control? Maybe try and plan ahead then.

I was the evil one who talked about food and posted food porn in the fasting thread, simply because I would plan ahead what exactly I would eat after a fast, no matter if 18, 24 or 48 hours. I stuck to recipes like to a magic ritual. The first meal is usually easier to control than the one after the bingey big meal you didn’t really want to eat. After that, once you got started, it’s harder to avoid eating.

Also, remember it’s all about creating a deficit. Even if you planned a bigger deficit than you actually reached, a deficit is still a deficit. And eating 2000 calories in two days makes it 1000 cals a day, which is a big leap forward still. That’s an impressive deficit there. Just shrug it off and keep going. Try and see every day and every week as either forward, neutral or backwards.

So this way even if you eat at maintenance you will still at least not move in the wrong direction. Make this a priority, then pat yourself on the back for every extra step in the right direction you take. And that was a HUGE step. Don’t focus too much on the couple’o things you ate more than you planned.

[laura]

I haven’t done a fast that long yet so take my thoughts with a grain a salt.

I was going to say that you have still come out of all this on top, plus you are now aware that that’s how you may react. Knowing is powerful, I think, so that you can do something about it next time, or at least be better prepared.

When I do my 24 hr fasts I know exactly what I’m going to have for dinner. And because I’m new to this I make that meal something that I really enjoy. Not something laden with calories, but something that makes me wait for that one awesome meal. So maybe plan ahead your breakfast and your lunch. And if you are still starving after lunch (wait an hr at least to know for sure) then have a yummy planned small snack.

Power in the planning.

Congrats on doing such a long fast. I haven’t ventured that far yet. You know you can do them now, you can only improve on them from here!!

[carol]

Maybe you should stick to shorter fasts. I can power through the hunger sure, but it’s extremely distracting for me and I find other areas of my life suffer. For months I was consumed with how to “make” myself power though the 24-36 or more hour fasts without compensatory eating and it just led to an ugly fasting-binging-fasting cycle. I didn’t want to model that for my kids.

Daily 18 hour fasts with a 6-8 hour eating window work for me. It’s my sweet spot. But I felt like a failure and a loser because I couldn’t “force myself” to fast longer like the other gals. Felt like a failure even though it was working well for me. I’ve finally let that go. By having a smaller eating window, I need to plan a lot less (two big meals, an optional snack, and dessert), don’t get the bingy urge, and get to eat satisfying portions.

It’s not what everyone else does but who cares if it’s working right?

[sandra]

I hardly ever use the 36 hour fast, since if I have breakfast, then I feel hungry for lunch and supper, too. That might be fine if I had more calories to work with, but it can get me up to my RMR quickly.

I usually go for a 24 hour, or a 40 hour, 48 hour, etc. I usually end a fast at luch or even better at supper. This way I only have a few hours to deal with compensatory hunger before bedtime. This way 1200 (or less) calories is more than enough for supper about 6 pm and a snack. These struggles with fasting a a real teaching time for me. It shows me how I think about food, how I react to hunger, etc. It really has gotten easier over time to control my responses. I know someday when I am lower in bodyfat I may have a much harder time with fasting…that seems to be what happens for most. At that point I will need to change up my methods.

I sympathize with your struggles. I think you will find the ways and tricks that help you as an individual. Congrats on making it through the fast!

[sharon]

I’ve done quite a few 2 day fasts and since i’m not a breakfast person I may just have coffee with cream to break the fast. I try to extend the no eating thing into the afternoon if possible. I actually don’t feel hungry at the end of a 36 hr fast.

You may want to experiment with other time frames and when you start and stop your fasts. It’s not generally a good idea to dig into a huge meal at the end of a fast but I do sympathize with your situation. Sometimes at the end of my fasts I can feel the call to eat more. No body said this stuff wasn’t a struggle. If you’ve not done a longer fast before and this is your first one congratulations on making it.

[lindaG]

I think that long fasts are not something that can be maintained in the long period of time. I personally followed eat stop eat for the last 6 months and I love it! I posted my eat stop eat experience and weight loss results on this page.

[Valerie]

Hello all,

Is it okay to do a 36 hour fast occasionally? I was thinking of doing it once a month as an extra to 24 hours fast for Eat Stop Eat?

[Eva]

Is it okay to do a 36 hour fast occasionally? I was thinking of doing it once a month as an extra to 24 hours fast for Eat Stop Eat?

Sure you can fast for 36 hours periodically, if it’s not difficult for you. Some people even fast for 72 hours, especcially if they have a lot of fat to lose. Here’s a general guide for Fasting Duration and Fasting Frequency – http://eatstopeat.us/reverse-taper-intermittent-fasting/

Also, read this article – http://www.eatstopeat.org/venus-factor-ideal-body-measurements-for-women/

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Eva.

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