The fasting journal · matched to fast day 28
Day 28. Four Weeks Water Fast Complete and a Broth Plan
Day 28. Friday at the gazebo, the patriotic gnome on duty for a third day and a glass of water waiting for the cheers. John opened with the number he has been walking toward all week.
I lost 37.5 pounds in 28 days.
191.1 pounds. Down 1.5 from yesterday and down 37.5 from the 228.6 start. That is 16.4 percent of his starting body weight gone in a 28 days water fast. BMI reads 29.0, muscle percent holds at 37.2 and the calorie burn logged 1997 for the day. Four weeks ago he stepped on this same scale at 228.6 and today the display starts with a 19.
Four weeks to the day
This is not an almost milestone. He started on August 1 and today is August 28, which makes this a 4 weeks water fast measured to the day. The earlier markers each got their own entry. Two weeks landed at day 14 and three weeks came with the weekend joke. Four weeks is the first one that sounds like a different unit. A month of water. 62 days to go.
The weekly rhythm has settled too. Big early drops and after that a steady dance around a pound and a half a day. Fast weight loss headlines usually describe week one. A month in, the graph is quieter and still pointed down.
The queasy stomach and the plan
The health report was short. Feels good, feels fine, no issues. Except one. His stomach is still kind of queasy and he said plainly that he is not sure what that is about. It is the same complaint that showed up when his electrolyte drink upset his stomach on day 25, eased off and then drifted back this week.
What he did not do is shrug it off. He came to the camera with a plan.
Maybe this weekend he starts introducing a little bit of broth. Vegetable broth, from a recipe he came up with himself. If he does it, he said, he will let everyone know and keep the journal posted.
That is a real decision point for a strict water fast. Broth is not water, even the thin kind. It is also a tiny change, a few sips of salty vegetable liquid against 28 days of discipline. It is aimed at a specific problem rather than a craving. The man has a doctor and monthly bloodwork behind every adjustment. If the queasiness is his body asking for something gentler than an electrolyte packet on an empty stomach, a light broth is the measured answer.
Still deep in ketosis
The strip has not budged in weeks.
The pad reads at the dark end of the chart, the 16 mmol/L block. Four weeks with no meals means his body has been running on fat the whole way and a splash of vegetable broth would not change that engine. Ketosis is the reason hunger stopped shouting at him back in week one and the strip is the daily receipt.
A month of X marks
Then the sign off, pure Friday energy. You guys start the weekend and have fun with it. Glass raised. Cheers.
The August page is nearly full. Twenty eight squares crossed out, four clean rows of them, with just three days left before the calendar itself has to turn. Day 30 comes Sunday. The halfway line waits at day 45.
He said he would keep us posted on the broth. The journal will be here for it.
Quick answers
How much weight can you lose in 4 weeks of water fasting?
John's number after a 28 days water fast is 37.5 pounds, from 228.6 down to 191.1. That works out to 16.4 percent of his starting body weight in 4 weeks. His result is one man's data point, not a promise. He started heavy, he is 56 and he takes in almost nothing but water, electrolytes and Celtic salt. Published reviews of prolonged fasting report fast early losses that include a lot of water weight, with the pace slowing as the fast goes on. John's own graph shows the same shape. Big drops in week one followed by a steady grind of about a pound a day.
Can you drink vegetable broth on a water fast?
A strict water fast means water only, so adding broth technically changes what the fast is. John has been strict for 28 days and is fine saying the plan may bend. His stomach has stayed queasy and his answer is a small amount of vegetable broth from a recipe he built himself, possibly starting this weekend. A light broth adds sodium, potassium and a trickle of calories while staying far below anything that would end ketosis. His ketone strip still reads deep purple. He runs the whole fast under a doctor with monthly bloodwork, so a change like this gets professional eyes on it.
Is it normal for the stomach to feel queasy in week four of a fast?
Queasiness on an empty stomach is one of the most reported complaints in extended fasting and it can come and go in waves. John covered an early version of this when his electrolyte drink upset his stomach around day 25 and lightening the schedule helped. This week the queasy feeling came back without a clear cause and he admits he is not sure what is behind it. Nausea that persists is exactly the kind of symptom that belongs in front of a doctor and John has that covered with supervision and monthly bloodwork. His response is measured. Watch it, adjust slowly and change one thing at a time.
What milestone does day 28 mark in the 90 day fast?
Day 28 closes week four. It is 4 weeks water fast to the day since John started on August 1 and it puts him almost a third of the way through the 90 day plan with 62 days left. The milestone stack so far reads one week, two weeks, three weeks and now a full month of calendar squares crossed off. Every earlier milestone came with the same routine he used today. Morning weigh in, numbers on the board and a raised glass of water to close the video. The next big marker is day 30 and the one after that is the halfway line at day 45.