Day 2 (48 hours) into my water fast

This is what happened at the end of my second day

Fasting disclaimer

This information is for anecdotal purposes only. None of the information contained on this page is meant to serve as medical advice. I am simply sharing my own experience as I embark on an extended fast. Do you own research and consult your medical practitioner if you want to do a fast of your own.

Check out the details below.

My experience during the second day of my water fast

I stand proud at the end of day 2, 48 hours into my extended fast. Here are the results and other comments that I have to say so far:

How much weight can you lose on a 2 day or 48 hour water fast?

I weighed 73.5 kg (162 pounds) at the end of my last meal. I weigh 69.5 kg (153 pounds) at the 48 hour mark. This equated to a 4 kg (9 pounds) reduction in weight. I'd estimate that only 2 kg (4 pounds) of this is actual fat mass. I had a full belly at hour 0. I have also lost a lot of water weight as my blood pressure dropped.

Most people should expect to lose about a half a kilogram (or a pound) of fat mass per day of fasting (see my first day's report for my clinical reference to that number).

I am losing more weight than normal because I already exercise regularly and eat healthy. My metabolism is good enough that my body automatically burns calories at a faster rate. 

I don't need to fast to burn fat. I'm doing it to see if it will cure my allergies.

What you do outside of fasts is important.

The effects of a 2 day (48 hour) water fast on allergies and asthma

I felt noticeably better from yesterday (about the 24 hours mark) already. It is Tuesday night and I haven't taken an antihistamine since Sunday night (before the fast began).

I have not sneezed or produced excess mucus as a result of my allergies in these two days. It has been as if I don't have allergies at all. I blew my nose once in the last 24 hours.

I slept without any breathing issues at all last night. The fasting definitely has an immediate, preventative effect on my allergies. I would say that it works better than any antihistamine that I have tried.

I struggled to sleep due to the fasting last night but I breathed normally throughout the entire night. My chest did not close up at all and I breathed very easily right through the night until now (late into the following day). This is remarkably better than I would feel after using an antihistamine.

The long-term benefits of fasting increase dramatically with every extra day that you do. I don't have any allergy or asthmatic symptoms at all now, but I want fasting to cure it permanently - not stop it temporarily. 

The longer I go, the better my chances are at curing my allergies and asthma for good (see the documentary I linked to in my first day's journal for evidence of fasting's ability to cure allergies and asthma).

I will only know if the fast cured my allergies permanently when I start eating again. Stay tuned for that. I will update every day as I go on.

Fasting reduces allergies.

Low blood pressure during fasting

Your body lowers its blood pressure dramatically when you fast. It does this for a variety of reasons. Insulin, triggered by sugar from food, helps the body to hold onto salt and retain water. Without food, insulin drops and blood pressure plummets along with it. 

Secondly, your body uses a lot of water to flush out the by-products of ketosis - primarily at the beginning stages. It won't need to flush out the ketones as drastically as you go deeper into ketosis.

Last night (after 24 hours of fasting), I struggled to sleep well. My blood pressure was extremely low. I felt dizzy, light headed and ill. I could hear my heart beating loud in my chest. These are all classic signs of low blood pressure. The dehydration caused by water loss made me feel cold most of the time (dehydration can make you feel cold).

I contemplated ending the fast because I feared that I was pushing my body too far - I felt horrible and it kept me from sleeping well. I eventually decided to carry on seeing if my blood pressure goes back to normal - and it does!

I still feel light-headed, but not as much as I did last night/earlier this morning. I drank more water today to help my body flush out the ketogenic by-products without having to lose more water weight. I have been adding salt to my water to help my body retain more water.

I weighted 69.5 kg (153 pounds) this morning (36 hours into my fast), and I weigh exactly the same tonight (I weigh myself every 12 hours for this experiment). I have definitely lost fat between now and then. The fact that I haven't lost more body weight in 12 hours means that my blood pressure is slowly returning back to normal.

I feel better now than what I did about 16 hours ago. My experiment shows, so far, that blood pressure stabilizes after dropping during a fast.

It gets easier along your fast.

Low energy from fasting

I felt hungrier than anything during day 1 of fasting. My hunger is starting to stabilize. The temptation to eat, being around a family that eats regularly, is still quite strong.

Today, more than anything else, I feel weak and low on energy. My body feels like it is so much heavier when I get up and lift my arm, for example.

I am happy that my blood pressure is going back to normal because I would hate to feel weak and dizzy at the same time.

This is probably because of the fact that my sugar stores are running out and my body needs to learn to rely on fat exclusively. For all the weakness, I have the feeling that my energy will return to normal (or possibly better than normal) shortly.

It is normal to have an initial energy drop at the beginning of your water fast. It returns to normal at day 3 to 4.

Know your limits.

See the report on my first day (24 hours) of fasting.
See the results of my third day of fasting.
Check out my fourth day of fasting.
Here are the effects 24 hours after I end my water fast.

Stay Strong!

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Feeling Light-Headed After Squats and Deadlifts And How To Solve It

Some of us get light headed after doing squats. The good news is that you are not alone. This happens to more people than you think - so no need quit the gym before 'something bad happens'.

Firstly, don't give up. Squats are one of the best exercises around. Along with deadlifts, they increase testosterone and other muscle building hormones.

What is the cause and what can you do to make sure everything is OK? There are a variety of possible reasons why this could happen. See our list below to find what best suits you according to your personal situation.

Why power lifts can make you dizzy

1. Core pressure (The Valsalva maneuver)

You could be light-headed because of the pressure that is placed on your core when doing squats and dead lifts. Strengthening of the core is always essential for doing powerful lifts like the squat. Additionally, the way you breathe will have a massive impact on allowing your core to cope with the pressure placed on it during these lifts. The core is placed under a lot of pressure as it is the connection between your legs pushing against the floor and the bar you are pushing up.

DO NOT inhale during the concentric (standing up during the squat) part of the movement because this opens up the core and massively decreases its ability to cope with pressure. By exhaling whilst restricting the amount of air that exits through your mouth, you force your core to tighten. When the core is tightened, it can withstand more pressure when you lift the weight further away from the ground. Breathe in as normal when you go down and exhale whilst restricting the amount of air leaving your mouth to tighten your core when returning to a normal, standing position. Don't worry about focusing on your breathing throughout your entire set, just focus on tightening your core by exhaling forcefully when you straighten your legs during the squat or dead lift. It is recommended NOT to block airflow entirely with your mouth during the movement, as studies have shown that this will dramatically increase your blood pressure momentarily.

This helps most people with their light-headed feeling from squatting.

2. The bar is on your neck

If you do back squats with the bar resting on your shoulders, then there is also a big chance that the pressure between the bar and your neck could be restricting blood flow to your brain. This could explain why the light-headed feeling only comes once you have place the bar back on the rack and off your neck, allowing blood flow to eventually get to your head.

As a solution, you could replace back squats with front squats, which will be harder to master at first, but will be beneficial for other reasons, like the fact that front squats minimize lumbar spine flexion, and stabilize the core better.

Additionally, if you are going to do back squats then you should ease the pressure between your neck and the bar mid-set, either by lifting the bar off your neck with your hands if the weight is not too heavy or by racking the bar and spacing it from your neck for a few seconds to allow for some blood flow before finishing your set. I push up against the bar with my hands during my set. I don't lift it off my shoulders at all, but it decreases the weight placed on my shoulders.

3. Lack of oxygen

The light-headed feeling could also be from a lack of oxygen in your blood - for two reasons. Firstly, you could not be breathing enough during the lift thus allowing less oxygen to enter your system. Secondly, the massive stress placed on your whole body during the squat forces your muscles to burn up more oxygen at a faster rate to cope with the load. Since there are so many muscles being used at the same time during the squat, oxygen is used up a lot quicker throughout your body. You could feel light headed after the squat as oxygen levels return to normal.

Remember to breathe during your set and don't hold your breath. See Point 1 above to make sure that you are breathing properly during each rep.

If you think that temporary lack of oxygen is the problem, try doing some HIIT or skipping (link shows how skipping is great for bodybuilders) to increase your body's oxygen efficiency.

4. You are pushing too hard 

Don't push your squats through the dizziness. Many people pass out because they try to push through it. Others puke (we've all seen those videos online). The risk of sustaining serious injury if you pass out with the bar on top of you is very real. If you start feeling light-headed during your lift, make sure to place the bar back on the rack and sit on the ground so that you don't fall over and hurt yourself if you pass out. Most likely, you will start to return to normal after a few seconds. Rather safe than sorry! If this is the case, regular practice will ease your body into this high-intensity action.

5. Blood pressure

Both people with low high and low blood pressure have experienced light headed symptoms during squats. The best way to help with this is make sure you don't hold your breath during the movement and to make sure that you are always breathing properly - again.

6. The exercise intensity

The sheer intensity of the exercise could be placing your body under a level of pressure that it is not used to. This is because so many muscles are recruited to work under a very heavy load all at once. The light-headed feeling could be similar to the feeling you would get if you were an amateur runner who just ran a marathon. The difference is that the intensity is not brought onto the body over time, but all at once. If this is the case, take it easy. Reduce the weight or rest longer in between sets until your body gets used to the movement and the weight. If you keep at it, your body will adapt and be able to perform the workload without feeling so faint afterwards.

If the intensity is too high, use a lighter weight with higher reps to ease into the extreme pressure. High reps can also drastically increase muscle growth.

7. Blood circulation

During the squat, a large portion of the muscles in your body contract, forcing blood out of them, like squeezing a wet sponge and the water runs out. Once you finish squatting, the muscles relax, allowing lots of blood to run back into your muscles. Since a lot of blood runs back into the muscles (think of how large your leg muscles are), there is less blood momentarily available for your lungs and heart to send oxygen to your brain, causing the light-headed feeling your feel afterwards.

The countermeasure for this is to remain standing under the bar once you place it back on the rack. This way, your leg muscles don't relax fully like with sitting, so that your body gets a chance to return to normal instead of moving from one extreme to another (max intensity of squats to low intensity of siting down). Hold onto the bar above you once you have placed it on the rack so that if you pass out you have something to grab on and stop the fall.

Drinking more water during exercise can ease symptoms associated with blood circulation (and yes, it is actually possible to drink too much water).

Always make sure that you do squats properly. Try these causes and cures to see which one works best for you. Stay Strong!

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