The fasting journal · matched to fast day 24
Day 24. Advice for Your 3 Day Water Fast
Day 24. Monday. Shot the update at the office between paperwork and the whole video belonged to the people in my DMs.
195.9
The scale said 195.9 this morning. Started at 228.6, so that is 32.7 pounds gone in 24 days, 14.3 percent of my starting weight. Another 1.1 pounds since yesterday. BMI is down to 29.7 now, second day on the right side of the obesity line and still moving.
How do I feel? I feel good. I feel alright. I am at work today. Had to get some paperwork done, so I figured I would just shoot it here while I am doing that.
To everyone in my DMs
I just wanted to reach out to my DMs and let them know I am listening to you. I am following you guys.
A lot of you have started a three day water fast. Some of you are on five or ten days. Some have come off. And some of you are struggling. Cravings. I get it. Been there.
It takes practice. That is the part nobody tells you. I want you to hang in there. If you started it and you fell off, just try again. Wait some time. Get back on it. And when you are ready, try it again. That is what I did. Trial and error until you get really good at it.
The part I got wrong for years
I sort of know all about fasting and what my body will do and what it will not. And here is the honest part. I depended on it the wrong way.
When I got overweight, when it got too much, I would go back to fasting. Lose 10, 20 pounds. And then go right back to eating the way I was eating before. And that is not the way to do it. The scale went down and came back up, over and over, for years.
So when people ask what the hard part of this fast is, it is not this part. Not the hunger, not day 24. The hard part for me is going to be when I stop fasting and I start eating again. Staying on track with good healthy foods. Keeping my weight at a pace where it needs to be. That is the test that actually decides how this whole thing ends and it is why there is a doctor and a refeed plan attached to this fast and not just a start date.
Day 24 done
Twenty four down, sixty six to go. Filmed at work, answered the DMs, kept the streak.
So that being said, I am going to let you guys go. Have a nice day. Drink plenty of water. Bye.
Quick answers
Is a 3 day water fast a good way to start fasting?
It is the length many of John's followers picked for their first attempt and his reaction was encouragement, not gatekeeping. A 3 day fast is a much smaller commitment than what he is doing but the first days are the hardest part of any fast, with the cravings and the hunger waves hitting before the body settles in. His one repeated caution applies at every length. He runs his 90 day fast under doctor supervision with monthly bloodwork and anyone with a medical condition or on medication should talk to a doctor before fasting at all.
What should you do if you fail a water fast?
John's answer from day 24 is simple. Try again. His words were, if you started it and you fall off, just try again, wait some time, get back on it and when you are ready, try it again. That is what he did for years. Fasting takes practice and he got good at it through trial and error. A failed fast is not a verdict, it is a rep. Some of the people in his DMs are struggling with cravings and his response was, I get it, been there, hang in there.
Why do people regain weight after water fasting?
John told on himself on this one. For years he used fasting as a reset button. He would get overweight, fast off 10 or 20 pounds then go back to eating the way he ate before and the weight came back. His words were, that is not the way to do it. Weight regain after a fast usually comes from returning to the same eating pattern that built the weight in the first place. That is why he says the hard part of his own 90 day fast is not the fasting. It is what happens after.
What is the hardest part of a long water fast?
By John's own account on day 24, it is the ending. Not the hunger, not the cravings, not the 24 days without food so far. The hard part, in his words, is going to be when he stops fasting and starts eating again, staying on track with good healthy foods and keeping his weight at the pace where it needs to be. The refeed period after a long fast is also the most medically sensitive phase, which is exactly why his fast runs with a doctor watching and why the plan for eating again matters as much as the fast itself.