I struggled with being overweight almost my entire life and I never really liked the way I looked yk, it was kind of weird. Chubby, crooked teeth, bad haircut, dark eye circles… And because of that, I used to get heavily bullied at school. Other guys stole my lunch money, and my food and pushed me around… it was not very pleasurable. Getting bullied destroyed my confidence and gave me anxiety so therefore I preferred to stay inside, just playing video games and eating chocolate which of course made my weight problem even worse.
One day I had enough. One day I had so much pain built up inside of me that I had to make a change. And I did. I started to work out every single day in my room, I slowly improved my diet and failed countless times but in the end, I made it. I was so proud of myself and even better, I finally felt confident and went outside again, I was able to attract a beautiful girlfriend and build a good amount of muscle.
But there is still one problem. I´m skinny-fat or well as I like to call it, muscular fat. I have a decent amount of muscle mass around my arms, shoulders, and back but somehow I still have love handles that give me hips like a girl (yes they are sexy but not for a guy lol).
So I had to solve another problem and what did I do? I did something stupid. An 86-hour water fast.
And I had to follow 2 rules.
- I can only drink water with salt (by the way yes, I cheated and drank tee)
- I can't eat anything (obviously)
I completed the challenge. It was hard. I craved food. I wanted to give up. But I didn't and I completed all 86 hours.
The major benefit I experienced was my improved focus. Because I didn't eat anything my blood sugar levels were quite low ( sugar and carbs spike blood sugar levels leading to brain fog)
I was able to sit down for 12 hours a day and work on my business and I felt amazing while doing so. Usually, I lose my focus after a couple of hours and then I get frustrated because I wanna work more but this time, it did not happen. it felt easy, it felt fun and I got closer to my goals. Probably the thing we all want the most, right?
Another big benefit I noticed was that I lost weight (I know this is a big surprise). But no seriously I lost 1,7kg which was mostly fat and is a pretty good amount in just 4 days. When I used to cut and work every day I lost around 0.5 kg per week, by the way, so big difference.
And finally, it improved my discipline. At the start of the challenge, I was motivated and wanted to succeed but after roughly 1 day the resistance kicked in “Marlon just eat one bite, it’s not that bad, just stop this is stupid” and so on but I resisted the urges and proudly completed the challenge. I knew that I just had to overcome the resistance and then I was able to do it, just like with anything in life.
Was it worth it?
Definitely yes, I only experienced positive changes in my body and behavior besides the urges to quit but like I said they made me more disciplined.
I will add fasting to my monthly routine and do 2 86 hour fasts every 2 weeks. I also switched to only eating one meal a day in the evening which sounds crazy but this way I can work all day long and eat after I have completed “hunting” like we used to in tribal times.
I recommend you try it out yourself to expand your horizon and experience it yourself but of course only if you can practice it safely. And if you plan on taking on the 86-hour water fast, make sure you drink enough and very importantly, take enough electrolytes in.