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RE: What Happens When You Stop Eating
@cristi: It would be interesting to see a post on essential nutrients. For example, if you made a cocktail that contains essential fatty acids, vitamins, and other micro nutrients - while having almost no caloric value.
I think this would allow for safer, and longer-lasting fasting periods.
Also, a quick question. I almost always hit a 'wall' about 36 hours in. Its not hunger per se, its more like an extreme lack of energy. I don't eat sugar/simple carbs, so my baseline glycogen levels should be a bit lower. I think whats happening is, I'm running out of glucose 36 hours in, and my body isn't used to ketosis.
Any ideas, recommendations?
I would assume your assumption may be correct.
You could try experimenting with nutritional ketosis to habituate your body to increased fatty acid and ketone oxidation. That would imply reducing carbohydrates (gradually, over the course of a couple of days) until you measure ketosis (either in urine or in blood). Spending some time in ketosis will make transition to extended fasting easier.
But 36 hours is pretty good! For health/maintenance purposes I think that's a good target. You don't have to be extreme. 36 hours once or twice a month should be sufficient to let your body increases the upregulation of the processes I mentioned above
I think such endeavors would fail: see the attempt made with Soylent.
It's easier to fast than to calorically restrict. We derive tremendous pleasure from eating. It's normal. It's a rewarding behavior to encourage our survival. Having a meal-mimicking concocting would not serve it's purpose.
Plus, when nutrients come from outside (when we eat), processes like autophagy (cell repair - renewal - cell self-eating basically) are reduced compared to fasting...
Safer, I don't know. If you purpose for safety, have a multivitamin when you fast and let your body do its thing... :)