A 24-hour fast is hugely benefit for your cardiovascular health, whether you’re into bodybuilding, seeking a healthy weight loss solution, or just trying to get the most out of yourself!
I’ve previously attempted and failed a 24-hour fast four times and finally succeeded on the fifth!
The video below describes some of the benefits, results and lessons you can expect to learn during a prolonged fasting period.
A Few 24-Hour Fast Benefits
Some of the major 24-hour fast benefits include improved metabolism, brain and heart function, weight loss, reduced inflammation, risk for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and it might even been linked to longer life
Most people consistently taking part in a 24-hour fast do it once per week. Others more experienced with fasting are scaling this to two days per week.
Also, there’s a growing community of people who are regularly eating only meal a day (OMAD). This is a more extreme form of intermittent fasting known as the 23:1 method.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who has a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Tennessee and is an expert in nutritional health, describes the benefits of time restricted eating on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6KClPkotxM&t=0s
Intermittent Fasting Benefits
“It has really profound effects on muscle mass without any other factors,” said Dr. Patrick. “…Without having to exercise or anything. That’s something that’s extremely interesting, but this time restricted eating is very important for health and metabolism.”
“It’s something I’ve been obsessed with since early summer,” she continued. “I’ve been doing it really fanatically, making sure I’m eating within no more than a 12-hour time period… If I eat within a nine-hour window and go for a run the next morning, my endurance is very noticeably improved.”
And according to Dr. Patrick, you can even cheat for two days a week and still receive these benefits.
Intermittent fasting (eating during a 8-12 hour window) is a great technique for anyone interested in gaining the benefits of fasting without taking it to the extreme.
However, one of the major psychological benefits to fasting 24-72 hours is the increase of confidence gained from being able to do this, especially when it’s something you may have failed at in the past.
My personal record is 45 hours at the time of this post – a long ways away from Jesus’ personal world record of 40 days and 40 nights.
In addition, the sense of accomplishment felt after sleeping through a hungry night is worth experiencing, especially after I’ve failing at it over and over again. That first meal after fasting tastes so ridiculously good!
A 24-Hour Fast Can Also Improve Bodybuilding Results
Fasting for 24 hours is directly correlated to increased athletic performance. Amateur and professional athletes are now commonly utilizing a 24-hour fast.
This is particularly true among weightlifters that are seeing noticeable results with a 24-hour fast for bodybuilding. For instance, it is proven to burn fat and stimulates muscle growth.
This may be surprising to those thinking they need to eat 3-6 meals per day in order to make GAINZ!
Three Tips: Fasting For Beginners
To beginners out there looking to try a 24 hr fast for the first time, consider these three pointers:
- Make sure you drink water during your fast. People can go a long time without food but only 2-7 days without water. Don’t dehydrate yourself.
- If 24 hours seems like a lot, try a 12-16 hour intermittent fast, as you’ll get all the benefits I talked about earlier from incorporating that into your life.
- Keep busy, don’t dwell on how hungry you are like I did the first four times.
Anyone interested in sharing their fasting experiences, please leave a comment below!
Also, have a look at some of my other recent content on this website geared toward personal development and taking big steps forward. Our last post involved how to use morning affirmations to radically improve the way you think.
We hope you this can convince you to incorporate fasting into your life and you help new heights!