Day 4 (96 hours) into my fast

These are the results of my fast so far - 4 days into it.

Fasting disclaimer

The information on this page is not intended as medical advice in any way. I simply share my own, personal experience with fasting for anecdotal reasons. If you want to fast for an extended period of time, I recommend that you check in with a medical practitioner before attempting to do so.

See the results below.

How much weight can you lose on 4 day water fast?

I weighed 69 kg (152 pounds) at the end of day 4. I weighed 68.5 kg (151 pounds) at the end of my third day of fasting. I weighed 73.5 kg (162 pounds) right at the beginning of my fast. This means that I went down from a 5 kg (11 pounds) loss to a 4.5 kg (10 pounds) loss.

I am glad about this because it means that my body has absorbed more water and my blood pressure is starting to rise after falling so low initially.

Most people lose an average of a pound of fat for every day of fasting. You can find the reference to that fact on the results page from my first day of fasting (linked below).

I am not fasting for weight loss. I am doing it in an attempt to heal my asthma and allergies. My symptoms have almost completely disappeared and I haven't taken an antihistamine since before I started my fast.

Fasting helps your body to heal.

Should you exercise before a fast?

I fasted for 36 hours and 44.5 hours before I felt like I couldn't continue anymore. I exercised like normal leading up to these two fasts. On this current fast, I didn't exercise for 5 days leading up to my fast and I've already fasted for more than double of my previous fasts.

I think that this is one of the many reasons why I was able to go on for so long without giving up. My theory is that exercise placed an energetic drain on the body, and that you will then enter into your fast with sub-optimal energy levels. This then decreases the amount of energetic strain that your body can take before it depletes its sugar stores and finally moves over to fat for energy.

Should you exercise during a fast?

I would definitely exercise during a shorter fast (24 hours or less). Our bodies are much stronger than we realize. If we started to deteriorate so shortly into a fast, the human race would not have been able to survive before the farming era.

Should you exercise during a prolonged fast (2 days or more)?

The documentary that I linked to on my first day's report shows fasting clinics that encourage their patients to exercise - and they fast for very long periods of time (up to 40 days at a time).

I haven't done any exercise so far. I am currently waiting until I feel strong enough (and have enough energy) to do so.

I chose to rest until I am ready.

Energy levels during a fast

My energy levels have been better than the first three days. They aren't at their normal levels yet (I need to motivate myself to write this blog post). I get winded easily and find myself needing to catch my breath often.

The weird part is that I get a little energized whenever I move around. I have energy similar to a caffeine buzz when I drive somewhere in the car or when I walk around for whatever reason. It is very possible that a little exercise would coax my body further into ketosis and therefore give me more energy. I might try this theory tomorrow and see what happens.

Fasting for better eyesight

I am actually fasting for my allergies and asthma, but I only noticed today that I haven't had any eye strain at all since the beginning of my fast (4 days ago). It seems that my eyes are stronger and can take more screen time during a fast.

This effect might be similar to the fact that fasting protects healthy cells from chemotherapy. Fasting most probably protects the cells in the eyes from damage in a similar way.

Does sleep return to normal during a fast?

I slept horribly the first night of fasting. I slept deep and fully on the second night. I didn't sleep so well on the third night. I supplemented with magnesium and I slept much better afterwards. This lady who documented her 54 day water fast with daily videos also had some nights where sleep was amazing and other nights where good sleep was hard to come by.

Similar to her notes, I find that I sleep better when my electrolyte levels are in the right balance.

It's okay to stress your body occasionally.

Emotional benefits of fasting

I have definitely felt more relaxed and at peace yesterday (day 3) and today (day 4). Previous mental stresses and anxieties have gone away. I have much less anger and frustration towards the people around me. At the same time, I am much less worried about what other people think about me.

This guy had the exact same emotional effect during his 21 day fast. He explains that he didn't worry about what people thought about him anymore. It was like a mental enlightenment that came to him. This feeling of less anxiety was so strong, in fact, that he unblocked a lot of people that he was worried were giving him nasty comments.

A few things happened today that would usually elicit a small sense of fear in me. I didn't feel emotional distressed at all.

There is this one person (different scenario) that gives me a dirty look whenever they see me. It used to really frustrate me and it used to give me real negative thoughts about them. In the last two days, though, it didn't bother me at all - literally not one bit. I actually smile at them now and want to greet them as warmly as possible.

I feel as if I've matured emotionally over the last two days. Small things don't bother me anymore. It is almost as if fasting has given me some mental clarity and a brand new perspective (and I'm only on day 4!).

Why does such a strong sense of calm and relaxation take over us during a fast? Dr. Mindy Pelz explains that certain brain chemicals are released during a fast that greatly benefits the mind.

1. Growth hormone can increase by up to 1300% from 12 hours into a fast
2. Ketones that heal the brain are created 13-15 hours into a fast
3. BDNF (brain fertilizer) and serotonin increase dramatically from 24 hours into a fast
4. Inflammation reduces throughout the body at 24 hours
5. GABA production (which initiates a sense of calm) goes up from the 36th to 48th hour
6. Neurons regenerate at this time as well
7. Dopamine receptor sites are re-calibrated from around the third day of fasting.

Fasting is good for your brain.

Check out my experience from my first day of fasting.

Learn about my second fasting day.

Read about my third day of fasting.

Here are the effects 24 hours after I end my water fast.

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5 Hormones Directly Involved with Strength Training

Many bio-mechanical and chemical changes occur in the body as a result of exercise. We are going to look at some of the hormones involved as a result of weight training.

1. Testosterone

Testosterone is released as a result of weight training; and regular weight training will increase the long-term production of testosterone levels. Don't worry ladies: weight training won't turn you into a man. In fact you already have testosterone running through your veins right now! The increased testosterone release will increase your strength, energy and focus levels and also your ability to burn fat. The higher the intensity and the more muscles involved with the specific exercise, the greater the testosterone-boosting effect will be. For example, squats and deadlifts will release more testosterone than bicep curls or calf raises.

2. Human growth hormone

Growth hormone (for short) is another hormone released during exercise that has a great host of benefits. This hormone helps to regulate sleep, increase the rate at which your body can recover (from exercise and illness) and even helps to burn fat. Just like testosterone above, more growth hormone is released with compound weight exercises (exercises that involve more than one muscle group). 

3. Increases insulin sensitivity

Your body stores energy in your muscles in the form of glycogen. When you do weight training, you use up the glycogen stores in your muscles. These glycogen stores are converted to sugars for the energy needed for muscles to constrict and release. After exercise, your body starts to replenish these glycogen stores by taking glycogen out of your bloodstream and re-storing them in your muscles. This action increases your insulin sensitivity and is one of the reasons why exercise combats diseases like diabetes.

4. Cortisol

Cortisol is one of your stress hormones. When you are stressed at work, for example, your body releases cortisol as a response. This hormone is supposed to prepare your body for the physical work that it needs to do to get out of what your body perceives as a dangerous situation. Exercise (both aerobic and anaerobic) provides great stress relief because of the way it works with cortisol. By doing something physical, your body feels like the stressful situation has now been avoided and cortisol levels can decrease. If you don't exercise, these cortisol levels can accumulate and wreak havoc in your body because your body is constantly preparing for some type of physical action because of the cortisol release but never ends up doing the physical activity needed to release the cortisol. Also, highly intense or a prolonged duration of exercise can stimulate the release of cortisol. This is not a good thing if your main goal is muscle growth, because cortisol is catabolic. When your body is in a catabolic state, it will break down muscle for short-term energy as a survival mechanism. In order to stay in an anabolic state (the state your body needs to be in to build muscle), don't exercise for too long and get muscle-building nutrients into your body as soon as you can. This assures the body that the perceived danger is over and that it can start rebuilding in preparation for the next challenge. Most people recommend keeping workout times at a maximum of 90 minutes, but I simply increase rest times in between sets to curb cortisol release.

5. Endorphins

Endorphins are known as the happy hormones. They are released as a bodily response to pain. This is what makes eating chilies or getting tattoos addictive: the endorphins released as a response to the pain can be addictive. Your body releases these hormones to soften your pain and help you stay on top of things. In survival, this would be important in making sure that you still have the will to fight or live after being in a physically challenging situation. Endorphin release can be addictive and the mental 'high' you get after working out is what many people look forward to, including me. I love the feeling that I am on top of the world and that I have really succeeded in getting further in life when walking out of the gym. This is also why some people struggle to take enough rest days. I have sometimes experienced withdrawal, or 'sad' feelings, when I am a few into a vacation, because my brain is not getting its regular endorphin fix that it so patiently looks forward to. This is also a great motivation for people just getting into exercise. I always tell people that if you stick with exercise long enough, you will actually start enjoying it and looking forward to it. First you hate exercise, then it's not that bad, then it's just something you do every day, then it becomes something you look forward to and finally it becomes something you don't want to live without. The secret is sticking it out until you get to the last stages. Endorphin release from exercise makes it a great method of addiction recovery. Studies have shown that exercise increased success rates in people fighting addiction, because they are mentally forced to focus on something else and the endorphin release gives them a sense of relief and a small piece of the 'high' they have been craving.

Looking at the relationship with hormones and exercise just gives us more reasons why exercise is so great for you. STAY STRONG!

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