I end my water fast at 103 hours (4 days and 7 hours)

Here are the results of my 4 day water fast.

4 Day water fast disclaimer

This article is not meant to encourage you to start fasting. It is not meant as medical or health advice in any way, shape or form. I simply share my own experience with fasting in order to report on the effects that it has on my own body. This article is purely meant for anecdotal evidence. Do your research and consult a health professional if you want to consider fasting for yourself.

See the results below.

Why did you end your fast at 103 hours?

You will notice that I did not give a particular amount of time that I was planning to fast for. I wanted to see how my body felt and fast for as long as I felt comfortable. I had the sense that it was time to end my fast at 103 hours, so I did.

That was over 24 hours ago. I wanted to wait before writing this final entry about my fasting journey so that I could write more extensively about the physical effects of the fast.

Re-feeding plan after a long fast

You should follow a good re-feeding plan after a longer fast. Some people say that you only need to implement a re-feeding plan after 5 or more days of fasting, while others say that it should be from 3 days onward. I did not follow this protocol.

I simply ate a relatively small meal with bread, stew, muesli, a banana and an apple. I ate like normal (as if I hadn't been fasting) after I slept.

I had no digestive issues at all. It seems that I would personally need to go for a longer type of fast before I need a re-feeding plan, but everybody is different. It is good to remember that this is my third longer-than-24-hour fast.

You can learn to tell what your body needs.

How much weight did you lose after fasting?

I was at a 4.5 kg (10 pound) loss after the end of my fourth day (on the 96th hour). More than 24 hours after my fast (and with plenty of food and hydration), I am still 4 kg (9 pounds) lighter than I was when I started. I weighed 73.5 kg (162 pounds) at the beginning. Now I weigh 69.5 kg (153 pounds).

Weight loss wasn't my goal, but the reduction in fat is not unwelcome.

Muscle strength after long water fast

I did my first workout today since I started my four day water fast. I did not lose any strength. It looks like I didn't lose any muscle at all according to how I look in the mirror.

It seems that the 1300% increase in human growth hormone (referenced in the report of my fourth day of fasting) must have preserved my muscle mass.

It makes sense that the body will try to preserve muscle mass in challenging times like when there is no food available. If we withered away as soon as we couldn't find food, we would have died out as a species a long time ago. That is exactly what fat is there for.

Our bodies do well on the edge.

Hunger and appetite during long water fast

My hunger wasn't that bad throughout my water fast. Most people think that hunger gets worse after each day, but hunger actually gets less and less after each day of fasting.

Did your allergy or asthma symptoms improve after 4 days of water fasting?

Unfortunately I did not lose my allergies or my asthmatic symptoms. I had close to zero asthmatic and allergic reactions during my entire fast. My tight chest returned within 24 hours of the end of my fast. I am actually writing this post right now because my tight chest woke me up in the middle of the night.

I linked to a documentary about how fasting has cured many people with asthma and allergies. I think that I would need to fast for a longer period of time to see permanent results. I could have fasted for longer, but I felt like my body was telling me to stop. I will probably attempt a longer fast sometime in the future.

There are no quick fixes.

Benefits of water wasting

I did notice some positive changes during my four day water fast. Here are some of them:

1. I lost 4 kilograms (9 pounds) of fat
2. My skin looks clearer
3. I have a hard-to-explain, more positive outlook on life
4. I feel motivated to change a lot more about myself
5. I have more energy than I did before the fast
6. My muscles look a little more toned than they did before the fast
7. My teeth are whiter

Read about my first day of water fasting.
Learn about my second day without any food.
Check out my third day of water fasting.
This is my experience right after the fourth day of fasting.

Support our website and buy this awesome Sweatshirt.