• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Poll: Do your symptoms improve when you fast for 1-2 days?

Do your symptoms improve when you fast for 1-2 days?

  • Yes

  • No


Results are only viewable after voting.

leokitten

Senior Member
Messages
1,542
Location
U.S.
I purposely picked 1-2 days as a sweet spot educated guess. Too little time fasting might not be enough time to see symptoms improve, too much time fasting might cause ME symptoms to get worse.
 

Thinktank

Senior Member
Messages
1,640
Location
Europe
I can't do a 2-day fast but intermittent fasting (8 hour feeding window) improves my brain fog and lactic acid feeling in my muscles. I can concentrate much better in the morning so i do the things i need to do before my first meal. After that i'm totally useless again.
I'm severely underweight and the intermittent fasting doesn't help that way but at least it helps my cognitive function for a part of the day.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
I admit that I haven't tried fasting for quite a few years, but when I did fast for five days, it just avoided the flare-ups I'd gotten from foods. The baseline symptoms remained, and the flare-ups returned as soon as I broke my fast.

So, no benefit...and it really wasn't a lot of fun.
 

Runner5

Senior Member
Messages
323
Location
PNW
If you like Youtube, check out Butter Bob Briggs. He's my favorite carnivore and low-carber of all time. He does I.F. and he's just a cool dude.

With my hormones fasting was insane - and terrible - never again. BUT... my husband tried intermittent fasting and he has stuck with it and lost 40lbs last year. He did it slightly more sane then me. He fasts until noon, has a Soylent and then comes home and has supper. One meal a day.

The fasting kinda helped at first because it spikes cortisol / adrenaline, but after that wore off I Felt like crap. Fatigued AND hungry.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I have not tested this in years, but I used to get worse for about a day of fasting, then stabilise for a bit, then improve for about a day, then it takes a while for that to decline. Its not a huge improvement though, but it is noticeable.
 

cigana

Senior Member
Messages
1,095
Location
UK
I always feel much better when I don't eat.
After about 24 hours, I become weaker, and end up feeling worse thereafter.
 

place

Be Strong!
Messages
341
Location
US
Fasting from breakfast to dinner can increase my spastic energy. Not my fav, energy because I can focus as well or sit. Still