What to Expect on a Fast

“Fasting is doing nothing for a period of time - with a definite purpose.”

Varied and unusual symptoms can occur at any time during the fast and after breaking the fast. These are of a transient nature and indicate the body going through internal corrections. Often past dormant symptoms, pains, or inflammation associated with an old, chronic condition will resurface during the fast or when breaking it. These are also transient. Symptoms are not a bad thing on a fast. Most typically they leave within 24 hours and are followed by an improvement in well-being.

More common symptoms that may develop during a fast include:

• Headache

• Low back ache

• Fatigue

• Light headedness

• Bowel inactivity

• Diarrhea

• Skin outbreaks

• Halitosis

• Mental fog

• Irritability

Yellowstone Peaks will assess symptoms as they occur and apply a form of soft-tissue orthopedics or hydrotherapy or other ameliorative therapies if too uncomfortable.

Another common pattern with fasting is energy swings. The first day or two may have normal energy. But as it progresses in to the third to fifth day, it may drop. Then on the sixth to eighth day it may go up. This is a paradox of fasting: improving energy without food. This is a result of the body internally consuming old metabolic debris, through a process called autophagy or self-consumption. The process of utilizing fat as a fuel source during the fast then becomes more efficient.

When breaking the fast energy levels may dip for a day or two, as the body reacclimates to normal metabolism. See the section on breaking the fast and eating patterns following the fast.

After a fast, the opposite result of the above-listed symptoms are experienced to a greater or lesser degree:

• Clear head

• More flexible joints

• Higher energy

• Normal bowel activity

• Clearer skin

• Clean breath

• Mental clarity, improved memory.