The fasting journal · matched to fast day 30
Day 30. Broth Day and a Third of the Way There
Day 30. Sunday at the gazebo, the patriotic gnome on duty and a glass of water raised for the cheers. John opened with the line the whole month was building toward.
We are like a third of the way there.
190.2 pounds. Down another 0.9 from yesterday’s freeze and 38.4 pounds below the 228.6 he started at on August 1. Just missed it, he said. He meant the 180s, which now sit one decent morning away. The day 29 stall he blamed on restarting his electrolytes broke downward exactly the way he predicted. BMI is at 28.8, muscle is holding at 37.3 percent and the day burned 1991 calories.
Broth day
He called it two days ago and he kept his word. On day 28 he laid out the plan to bring a small homemade broth into the fast after four straight weeks of water only. Today was the day. I already started putting some vegetables together, he said in the video. Everything is there, another 20 minutes and I am ready to eat.
The counter told the story better than any recipe card. Fresh parsley and garlic on the cutting board. Celery, carrots, mushrooms, onion, ginger and a green pepper piled on a platter next to the stove.
Everything went into a big steaming pot to simmer while he filmed the day’s update. The finished bowl came out a deep golden green, strained clear, with a single slice of avocado on a small plate beside it and the usual glass of water standing by.
Thirty days is a long time between tastes. A light broth like this adds sodium, potassium and warmth with only a trickle of calories, which is why he chose it over anything solid. His ketone strip this morning still read at the deep end of the chart, so the engine underneath has not changed.
Blood day
The other first was sharper. Today is blood day, he said. He bought a kit that pulls a small sample from the arm at home, gets mailed to a lab and comes back with a whole bunch of readings. His words. And the right instinct. A month into a water fast the interesting numbers are not on the scale. They are in the blood, things like electrolytes, kidney values and blood sugar. The kit slots between the monthly bloodwork his doctor already runs, another set of eyes on a fast that has been supervised from day 1.
Sixty to go
How do I feel? I feel good. I feel great. That is the whole health report from the man himself and the calendar backs him up.
Thirty X marks fill the August page top to bottom. One month done, two to go, 60 days remaining. The 180s are waiting one morning away and the first broth in 30 days is waiting on the stove. He let everyone go the way he always does. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and cheers.
Quick answers
What is the first thing you should eat after 30 days of water fasting?
John's answer was a light homemade vegetable broth and that choice was not random. After a long stretch without food the digestive system needs something gentle and liquid first. His broth came from celery, carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic and ginger simmered in water, which delivers sodium, potassium and flavor with only a trickle of calories. He planned it openly two days earlier, kept the portion small and stayed in deep ketosis. He is not ending his fast, just bending it slightly. The decision sits under doctor supervision with monthly bloodwork.
Can you take a blood test at home during a long fast?
Yes and John did exactly that on day 30. He bought a kit that collects a small blood sample from the arm at home and gets mailed to a lab, which then returns a wide panel of readings. For someone a month into a water fast those numbers matter far more than curiosity. Markers like electrolytes, kidney values and blood sugar show how the body is actually handling the fast underneath the scale number. The home kit adds a layer between his monthly supervised bloodwork rather than replacing it. His doctor still reads the results.
How much weight do you lose in the first 30 days of a water fast?
John lost 38.4 pounds in his first 30 days, going from 228.6 to 190.2. That averages just under 1.3 pounds a day, with big drops early that slowed as the weeks passed. His result is one man's number, not a promise. Starting weight, muscle mass, activity and water shifts all change the pace and some of the early loss is always water rather than fat. He runs the entire fast under doctor supervision with monthly bloodwork, which is the piece that makes a number like this a data point instead of a dare.
What vegetables go in a broth for fasting?
John built his from what was on his counter. Celery, carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, green pepper and a pile of fresh parsley, all cut by hand and simmered in a big pot for about 20 minutes. Vegetables like these give the broth sodium, potassium and aroma while the strained liquid keeps calories very low. There is no single right recipe. The goal is a light savory liquid rather than a meal, something that comforts the stomach without waking digestion all the way up. He drank it as a small bowl, not a bottomless pot.