Easing Into Fasting

Most people don’t believe me when they tell them I fast for 24 hours three times per week.

Yet, I couldn’t see my life any other way.

Additionally, it’s been an indispensable part of my life and optimization protocol.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that, without fasting, I wouldn’t be where I am now:

✅ I wouldn’t be as lean as I am now

✅ I wouldn’t have the health markers I have now

✅ And I certainly wouldn’t have accomplished all of the milestones in business (I get my absolute best work done when I’m deep into a fast)

So, given how beneficial this has been for me (and how much I talk about this publicly), I’m consistently shocked to find out that many of you aren’t doing it.

Which to me is…strange 🤨

I mean, I can kinda understand the resistance to therapeutic testosterone.

I completely disagree and think you’re doing yourself a major disservice - but I understand where the resistance comes from (it is a significant life commitment, after all).

I can even understand the irrational fear many of you have around self-injecting peptides.

But fasting?

It’s so…simple.

You don’t eat 🍽️🤷‍♂️

And yet, many of you are skipping this fundamental step in your optimization journey.

Which leads me to believe one of two things:

☝️You’re simply lazy and don’t want to deal with a bit of temporary discomfort

✌️You’ve tried fasting before and FAILED

Now, I know the kind of audience I attract, so I’m willing to give most of you the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s the latter.

My guess as to what went wrong?

You probably tried to do too much too soon.

You tried to go from your standard “3 meals a day and a snack” right into a 36-hour fast.

There’s nothing inherently wrong (or unhealthy) about this…

But it can be pretty jarring.

And the entire experience can turn you away from fasting.

My suggestion here would be to take it slow.

If you’ve never fasted before, I’d recommend starting with a 16-8 fast.

Now, I should point out - this is not REAL fasting.

The benefits you accrue from fasting don’t even kick in until the 18-20 hour mark.

Still, a 16-8 “fast” is a great training wheel for getting used to going without food for most of the day.

Once you’ve done that for a few weeks, you can move on to a 24-hour fast (where the benefits REALL start to happen).

As you start this, you’ll notice that the final four hours are the toughest (predictably).

But stick with it long enough, and that homestretch hunger will gradually dissipate.

You’ll also come to LOVE the absolute explosion of creativity and mental horsepower you get in the final hours (you can thank the release of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor for that).

I recommend keeping yourself as busy as possible and staying as productive as possible during these hours.

Once you’ve mastered the 24-hour fast, you can do periodic 36-hour fasts if you’d like (which I LOVE for the fat-burning and extreme mental clarity).

That’s it!

Like everything else, it’s just a matter of gradually acclimatizing to it.

If you stick with this consistently, you can handle fasting and make it a part of your life in under a month.

Of course, if you need support along the way (or with any other aspect of your biohacking journey), the Fully Optimized Health Community is your go-to resource.

Best,

Hunter Williams