Fasting Done WRONG

There are a lot of people out there who are DEEPLY misinformed about the topic of fasting.

Look, I’m just old enough to remember when the fasting “craze” first broke out.

But even though fasting has become so popular, most people are doing it WRONG.

I’d argue that not only are they doing it wrong, but a lot of them don’t even know what fasting is.

And yes, that includes the people I talk to and the men and women in the Fully Optimized Health Community.

So, what I want to do today is clear the air a little bit.

I want to talk about the four most common fasting mistakes - what they are, why people do them…

And why they’re keeping YOU from making progress with your optimization goals.

❌ Fasting For 16 Hours Per Day

Look, I get it…

When you’re first getting started, making the shift to eating this way can be tough.

That’s why a lot of people go for the “beginner-friendly” 16/8 (16 hours of fasting followed by an 8-hour feeding window) fast which gained popularity in recent years.

But here’s the problem…

16/8 fasting is NOT fasting!

For your body to get into a state of ketosis and start producing catecholamines, most people need to fast for a MINIMUM of 18 hours.

Because it’s during that 18-24 hour window (and beyond) that the REAL magic of fasting.

Sure, 16 hours a day might be nice training wheels…

But if you want to get the full benefits of fasting, you must learn to push beyond that.

❌ Consuming Calories During A Fast

This one always makes me lol a little bit (especially when I see nonsense like “fasting bars” 😂)

You’d think this would be pretty self-explanatory…

But apparently, I need to explain it because I STILL see people making this basic mistake.

So here it is as succinctly as I can put it:

ZERO calories are to be consumed on a fast.

PERIOD.

Water, black coffee, and black tea are fine.

Caloric sweeteners and milk are NOT.

Calories WILL break your fast..

👉 If you’re struggling with hunger and cravings during this period, then I strongly suggest picking up some Calocurb for a natural GLP-1 boost (this is the single most effective tool I’ve ever used to squash hunger during a fast).

❌ Training Fasted

This email was spurred by a question Jay Campbell and I got during our most recent AMA in the Fully Optimized Health Community…

Because one of the guys in there was making one of the most common mistakes I see - attempting to train in a fasted state.

Don’t do it.

If you’re training with sufficient intensity like my coaching clients do, not only will you not have the energy available to get through it, but you’ll be setting yourself up for an injury.

Fasted cardio is ok though (and highly encouraged).

❌ Consuming All Your Calories In The Evening

For most people running a 20-24 hour fast, that means breaking their fast towards the evening.

And there’s nothing wrong with that per se, but…

Eating at night (especially in large quantities) is EXTREMELY detrimental to your health.

It ruins your sleep, disrupts your circadian rhythm, and sets you up for a disordered eating pattern.

Not good.

So, make sure you break your fast sometime before the sun goes down, and resist the temptation to eat a huge meal (or do a longer fast and save your first meal for the next morning).

There you go!

Avoid these four things, and you’ll be light years ahead of all of the quote-unquote “fasters” out there 😉

Best,

Hunter Williams