Intermittent Fasting: 24-Hour Trial Fast in Review

Hard, but not unattainable.

The 24-Hour Trial Fast is complete. I started the fast at 206 lbs on Sunday night. Monday morning I weighed in at 198 lbs. That's a change of 8 pounds in 24 hours. Not to shabby. I had a good weight training session this afternoon and surprisingly my energy was great. I plan to continue to do one 24 hour fast per week, every Sunday.

Here are a few things that walked away with.

• The difference between mental hunger (snacking, grazing, eating for comfort) and body hunger.
• Patience, determination, and how to trick your self into thinking you are not really hungry.
• A few more reasons why wheat sucks (Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis).
• Reading helped keep my mind off of food.
• I learned that I think about food constantly.
• I was much, much more aware of food advertising.
• Eating is a privilege. I appreciate being able to eat when I please, not when food is available

And here is what Zach Strom had to say about the 24-Hour Trial Fast.

"I thought this was a great way to test yourself, to see if you had the mental strength and drive to complete something that sounds very easy but is extremely hard. The body itself is a very complex system and during the fast I lost between 6lbs, and it tested my mental strength more than anything has before. It really showed me and let me understand what the difference is between mental hunger and actual hunger."

I had some eggies at the end. Fantastic.

"For the majority of the day it was a mental hunger, and I would have cravings for food for about 20-30 minutes and then it would go away. I really struggled the most around 4 or 5pm because it was Sunday and I usually start making dinner after the Bronco game, and my body knows that too. By 8pm it just turned into a waiting game and it was as much fun as watching paint dry! I ran out of things to actually do, my favorite show (The Walking Dead) was already over for the night, the Sunday night football game sucked, and there was really nothing else on TV. I pushed through and just kept my mind on other things, and once 9pm hit I knew I was going to make it."

"At 9:45pm I started prepping my 4 egg omelet with feta cheese, a small amount of chopped potatoes, cheddar cheese, and nice tall glass of milk. Food never tasted so good!!! To reward myself I had 2 small York Peppermint Patties. DELICIOUSNESS!!"

"I can't wait to try this every Sunday."


Zach made a couple great points. It was tough, but not so hard that it was unattainable. I was much, much more aware of all the crappy foods that we see multiple times a day. I was also much more aware of my habit to eat when I had a craving (a want, not a need).

And here is a final review of the fast at 10 PM Sunday Night.
Hunger: 7/10
Mood: 7/10
Energy: 8/10
Willingness to try again: 10/10

Interested in trying a fast for yourself? Feel free to post a comment and I will get back to you.