HOW TO EXTEND YOUR FASTING WINDOW WITHOUT FEELING HUNGRY.
“I keep breaking my fast early, If only I could go 2-3 hours longer, I get so hungry towards the end of my fast I then end up eating anything I can get my hands on.” If any of these statements resonate with you this post should offer a possible solution.
FAST LONGER
If you keep breaking your fast early and wish to fast longer, fat is your best friend. What I mean by fat in this context is 1-2 Tablespoons of pure butter, ghee, coconut oil, or raw cacao butter, even full fat cream mixed in your hot beverage.
If you don’t want to mix it in beverages you can just eat a tablespoon or two of coconut cream or dairy full fat cream.
This will take the edge of hunger and the best part is that it will not raise your insulin so that you will stay in a fast mimicking state. In other words, you will still carry on burning fat despite ingesting some calories.
For example: You want to do a 24 or a 36 hour fast but after 20 hours you feel ravenous, instead of ending your fast, try 1-2 tabelspoons of fat and carry on waiting longer before you have your fist meal. You might even exceed your fasting goal.
Likewise with daily fasting, if you feel uncomfortable with hunger, say after 14-15 hours but your goal is 18-20 hours, instead of giving up early, have a tabelspoon of cream and carry on.
AVOID UNCONTROLLABLE EATING
If you tend to binge after your fast because you’re so ravenous, definitely try fat before you break your fast. This will provide some satiety and you can think calmly about your next meal. Try doing this for a week and observe how you feel, then cut it out if you feel you’re gaining control. Bingeing in itself can be a result of various issues, and if it becomes part of your eating pattern you definitely should not be fasting.
Additionally, you can drink broth (bone or vegetable) to help you fast longer. Some people do a full on broth fast and drink only broth and water for 48 or 72 hours.
If you’re fasting for autophagy it is best to avoid this or any kind of protein.
FIBER
Another option you can try, if you don’t like the idea of fat, is fiber.
Chia seeds or flax seeds would be good options.
Fiber won’t be digested but will fill up your stomach. Make overnight chia pudding, keep it in the fridge and when you get ravenous instead of reaching for a snack bar or any other food, have some of the chia pudding then carry on waiting extra hours for you first meal.
WHAT ABOUT CALORIES?
“What if I’m trying to lose weight, how is eating fat going to help me?”
Fat is not what makes us fat. In fact, I would go as far as saying it is all the low fat high sugar products that contribute immensely to our struggle with weight. Fat provides satiation whilst maintaining low insulin. This is key to fasting. Insulin is the fat storing hormone, you cannot burn fat in the presence of insulin. Anything other than fat will trigger its release. This is why we go for pure fat.
In terms of calories, a tabelspoon of butter is around 120 kcal comparable to a medium banana. If you grab a banana to satisfy your hunger, you immediately switch from fasted to fed state, you can no longer maintain ketosis or burn fat, you are now back to burning sugar. Fat on the other hand keeps you in a fasted state, you maintain ketosis, you are still in the fat burning zone as no sugar has entered your blood stream.
Learning these strategies makes you an experienced faster.
All these 3 tips; fat, fiber and bone broth are mentioned and recommended by Dr Fung in his ‘The Complete Guide to Fasting’ book.
Hope you find it helpful xox
