When do you know its time for a water fast?

I recently was asked the question “How often do you water fast”? As I sat and began to think about it I realized it’s almost impossible for me to answer that. Something that I strive to do on my Instagram is answer any question posed to me in the comments. I try to answer comments because they are public and multiple people can benefit from the answer rather than an inbox. I sat and pondered the last few years of my wellness journey and I’ve done them less the last few years and more years prior. Being an Expert fasting strategist it’s made me sit and think about why I fasted less in the last few years and more in the earlier years of my journey. I concluded, “I fast when I feel it’s time to begin one.” The next logical question is, when do you know it’s time for a water fast…?

Let’s quickly discuss what a water fast is and some of its basic benefits. Water fasting is a period of time from 16hrs to 72hrs where you decide to only consume water. This would be considered short-term fasting. 72+ Hours or 3 days or more would be considered long-term fasting. You do receive the same benefits during these time frames but it takes certain benefits much longer to work on short-term fasting than long-term. The main benefit of water fasting is the process of autophagy which means Self-Eat. It is a time in which the body begins the repair and rebuild process of the cells and it destroys old damaged cells, and proteins and recycles them to build new ones. These are the basics and vital to understanding what fasting can do for you and knowing when it’s time to begin some type of fasting regimen.

The first trigger that has me setting up a fast is my clothes. Do my clothes begin to get a little tighter? Do I feel like a shirt that I wore a few weeks ago fits a little tighter this week? did I just wash it? Have I been lifting weights? What has my physical activity level been that could cause this? If there is nothing that I can point to that tells me the tightness is “usual” I know it might be time to begin a water fast. In this scenario, I would start a quick 48-72-hour fast. This would allow me to drop some inflammation that may have occurred from a few days where maybe I didn’t eat the best. Maybe I slowly began to pick up some weight from having low activity levels. Either way, its time to begin! If after 3 days I don’t get the results I need I will then begin a 5-day fast after a quick 2-day refeed.

The 2nd Trigger that will cause me to begin a fast is when tracking my weight weekly I see any gains over 8-10lbs. Depending on your current diet your weight can fluctuate dramatically. If I am eating a raw diet for 3 weeks and then I begin to eat a lot of cooked foods with processed carbohydrates I will begin to retain water and this is a sign it is time for me to do a fast of about 5 days and check my diet for foods I know that I should have not eaten.

The 3rd Trigger is when I notice my watch gets a bit tighter on my wrist or I need to use an additional hole in my belt. The belt is a stagnant piece of clothing that does not change by washing it like regular clothes, so it is a very good piece we can use to measure ourselves or know when it’s time to fast.

The 4th Trigger that tells me it’s time to fast is if I begin to feel lazy or I have an issue concentrating or getting motivated. Instead of forcing myself to get up and move and push things, I begin a 5 day fast to give my body a chance to rest and detox. Sometimes we think that laziness or demotivation is mental and were just not focused. At times it could be something we ate, the body removing or battling a toxin and it needs to use excess energy for healing or digestion. Putting yourself in a position to give the body what it needs is important and this is a sign it’s time for me to fast. I also make sure to use some Root Zero-in during that time as well to help my gut produce more dopamine and serotonin and increase focus.

The 5th Trigger is when I have an event or travel approaching. The last thing I ever want to do again is get onto an airplane and ask for a seat belt extender. I travel standard 4-5x a year so I typically find myself doing a 3-5 day fast prior to some sort of travel, just to make the trip more comfortable for myself and those who potentially will be sitting next to me. I don’t want to be uncomfortable or make it awkward for others next to me by taking up extra space.

These are specific things that will cause me subconsciously to start fasting. These habits have been built over the years. I also consciously start fasting cycles when I have goals I want to accomplish. My focus this last year has been more on muscle production so I have not fasted as much as I usually do. But it is important to have a good schedule when fasting and muscle building so you can use the natural HGH explosion to your benefit! At the end of the day, there is never a Good or Bad time to begin fasting. Make sure you look at your week and see what you have coming up, and what can derail your progress and potentially cause you to fail. schedule ahead of time so that you know you will be fasting and can mentally prepare. I’d suggest at least 3 days of fasting a month just to maintain great health. This will do so much for you in the long run for maintenance. If you want to lose a large amount of weight. I’d focus on setting up 3 months where you can dedicate yourself to the process. Imagine if you began a fasting schedule on August 1st, before Halloween you can be down 100lbs and completely change the entire person you are… The question is do you really want to change or are you comfortable where you are now…