My Journey with 36-hour fasting

Exploration of fasting for improved health, sleep, and weight loss targeting belly fat.

Diliny M. De Alwis

31 Jul 2023 — 5 min read

Health

My Journey with 36-hour Fasting

Exploration of fasting for improved health, sleep, and weight loss targeting belly fat. Updated January 8, 2024.

For non-medium readers, here is my friend link.

I’m a mom of 3 with no time and no patience. Despite having a superhuman gift for getting things done, I continue to fail to shed the pounds. This article is a living document covering my fasting journey for weight loss and mindset.

Status to Date

Starting weight — 210 lbs | Goal — 180 lbs | Diff — 30 lbs
Plateau at 197 lbs (lowest at 193 lbs)
Waist 43–44" (down from 47") as of January 2024

Started this journey mid April, 2023. Last updated 8 January 2024. Due to length, I’ve moved the Fasting Log to a separate medium article.

Fasting Log

Status, Non-scale victories, Observations and Experience

Constraints

Constraints help bring success.

No caloric counting.
Be mindful of what I eat. No food restrictions.
No requirement (guilt) to work out or meditate.
Sense of control.
It must be a non-continuous format (= flexible).

Methods for my Fast

Download the Zero app to learn more about fasting.

In the beginning, I attempted 24 hours (OMAD) diet. I could see the danger in overeating at dinner and with after-dinner snacks. In the long run, I start eating heavier foods. I needed to turn the dial up for a more effective (extreme) impact.

I settled on the ‘monk’s fast.’ Fast at approximately 2-week intervals coinciding with the full moon and no moon days of the month (Luna Solaria app for moon phases). A monk’s fast can be eating one meal a day or skipping meals for the day. I chose to fast for 36 hours.

Thought Process | My WHY.

Stop having weight-related ‘injuries’ and pains that keep me from spending time with my family.
Reduce my insulin sensitivity, lower cholesterol, and improve my sleep and eating habits.
Reduce or maintain my weight.
Improve mental clarity and focus.
End struggle with weight for the last 20 years. End cycle of diets, stress, anxiety.

Overcoming Limited Beliefs

I feared that I would not be able to sleep if I skipped dinner after a full day of not eating. If it becomes unbearable, I give myself permission to eat.
Will this put me in danger of an eating disorder? I will not start any fast if I feel like I’m doing it for the wrong reasons. (See Dangers of Fasting below)
Do I need to carve time and be away from family when I’m fasting? I started with my partner, then my parents, and later my kids. “Mom’s not eating on Monday; don’t offer her food,” I disclosed my whys.
What if I plateau? I have a body that has been fantastic at storing energy— now is the time for me to spend my stored energy. My body will do what is right for me. (See Fasting Resources below)

Key Performance Indicators for Fasting

Weight: Weight fluctuates, especially in women. The menstrual cycle can easily have my weight up and down within 5 lbs of my setpoint. In addition, Dr. Jason Fung advises that women may lose 0.5lb at the early stages of fasting and pick up momentum over time with repeated fasts as the body becomes more metabolically flexible.
Waist circumference: Bloat one day and slim the next. I am looking for an overall drop in waist size that sustains over a long period. Starting measurement 46–47 inches. Initial goal: 40 inches.
General appearance, positive mental state, skin, and feedback.
Sense of hunger and eating habits.

I acknowledge that this is a long-term study. I may not see results for six months to a year, maybe longer.

What needs to happen while Fasting

The obvious answer is that you don’t eat.
Drink lots of fluids. You can live without food, you can not live without water.
Importance of electrolyte solutions. LMNT supplement or a soup cube. If you skip this step, headaches, fatigue, and body aches ensue. Fasting becomes easy once this step is mastered.
Keep occupied. Go for walks, and increase productivity to distract from the habit of eating regular meals.

I started to clear and organize household clutter with some of the ‘time’ that freed up. This contributes to a cumulative relief of stress.

Outcomes of Fasting

Personal time and improved boundary setting as a mother with a busy family life.
Mental clarity. Energy. The feeling of being in control.
Improved mood. Mindful action.
Low appetite. I still eat everything but found myself eating smaller meals with a higher vegetable intake over meat. Sugar cravings were drastically reduced to the point where I no longer eat the whole chocolate bar in one sitting.

Dangers in Fasting

Fanatism — this method is neither better nor worse than any other method of weight loss; it’s the method that responds to me after attempting MANY other weight loss methods. It’s easy, practical, cheap. Does not cost time nor $$ but requires will-power and the ability to self-regulate.
Anorexia — you can be overweight and (pre)anorexic. This mindset is ruled by the greed for thinness and the vilification of food. If I catch myself fasting for the wrong reasons, I pull the plug on the fast. Return to eating regular meals. Go back to my WHY.

Prior experience with diets, fasting, and weight loss

In November 2019, I published On the Edge of Obesity, an essay on my experience with my weight. I’m a mom of three, work or on the go full time, and have so far tried the following with varying results:

Wheat-free diet / Kickboxing — lost ~20 lbs between my first and 2nd child. Looked and felt my best. But I had more time on my hands back then. The weight came back following the birth of my 2nd and recovery from an injury.
The ketogenic diet (Poon diet) — lost ~20 lbs before conceiving my third child. Diet was traumatizingly unsustainable. I did not return to the diet but managed to maintain a perfect weight throughout pregnancy but it all came back postpartum.
Mediterranean diet and hitting the gym hard, increasing endurance and strength. The weight came back and plateaued.
OMAD and 12–16 hour fasting — lost ~20 lbs. Hit a plateau, and the weight gradually returned.
Coached caloric restriction diet — lost ~20 lbs. Hit a plateau, and the weight gradually returned despite continued caloric restriction.
Weight Training, HIIT, Kickboxing, Yoga: While I get stronger, no weight loss.

Stay hydrated! Photo by Luke Oslizlo on Unsplash

Additional resources

A review of a study confirming heavy workouts tank your Resting Metabolic Rate when you’re overweight (independent of age and gender). What does this mean? The hours and months I spent in the gym and not losing weight made sense for the first time.
Youtube Video: What I’ve Learned (WIL) — I didn’t eat food for 7 days. This is what happened to my body.
YouTube Video: Physionic — Best way to Water Fast
YouTube DOAC interview with Mindy Pelz — Fast Like a Girl
YouTube Rangan Chattergee interview with Mindy Pelz — On Fasting, Menopause, Women’s Health

For detailed results of my journey, check out my Fasting Log: