I completed a 7 day water/coffee/electrolyte only fast.
Start date: 1.17.25 5:30pm
Weight: 171 lbs
Completed: 1.24.25 5:30pm
Weight: 160 lbs
I lost 11lbs of weight.
This was among the most unique and fascinating experiences of my life. It was a personal challenge, reminding me of the fitness and training limits I pushed in my 20s. Now, in my late 30s, I'm writing a memoir about the impact and role tennis has had in my life. I'm currently at the stage where I began training for the entry-level Pro Circuit in tennis. I recall the struggles, perseverance, and the absolute limits I learned to push my body through. After recalling several of those moment in my life, I thought to myself, "I used to push the boundaries of what was possible for me back then. Why not now?" Within a couple of days of this realization, I decided to undertake a 7-day fast.
Parameters were set, intent was made.
No food.
No caloric intake.
Challenge started.
It was solely my body and mind relying on their instinctual skills to endure 7 days without any caloric intake. My body succeeded.
Thanks to substantial family support, determination, and perseverance, the challenge was completed. I am deeply thankful for their support, patience, and kindness throughout this self-imposed challenge.
Here are the daily logs I made during the challenge:
Day 1
0-24 hours
Yesterday at 5:30pm I started on the longest fast I have attempted in my life, 7 days of fasting. I have spent the last couple of weeks writing about my journey with Tennis from youth to date. It's taking some time to remember, ask family and friends about details, and search for online records. However, it made me realize how hard I used to work on court and off court for training and to gain the success that I had. As I look back, my accomplishments in college/semi-pro tennis were not aligned with the trajectory in my tennis game from high school. Meaning, I wasn't meant to achieve to the level I did between 2012-15 based on the level of tennis I was capable of playing in 2011. As I look back and realize how much work, dedication, and effort went into the level I attained. I'm having a flood of memories come back now. Currently, I do not have the opportunity to train like I used to for tennis. However, I do have the potential to train my mind and body through incredible feats of resilience such as extended fasting. Today, I begin a 7-day fast.
Day 2
27/168 hours
16% complete
I'm feeling super motivated to keep going, 1 full day down! I did get a little lightheaded between 16-24 hrs, but it faded after the 24hr mark.
Day 2
48/168 hours
28.5% complete
Hunger has dissipated completely. I no longer feel the desire to eat. However, seeing food does remind me of the taste, texture, and enjoyment. The appetite to eat something is not there. Also no struggle with feeling lightheaded or any other physical symptoms. Sometimes a craving will come to bother me but it's quite mild. Ironically its very specific when it does.
I tend to want:
Cheese
Heavy Cream
Protein (Steak/Fish)
Avocado
Butter
Kimchi
Mentally I'm starting to feel really good. Energy level is increasing as the hours go by. I tread lightly when it comes to fitness and have not done anything beyond normal family interaction and coaching tennis in the last 48 hours. For inputs I've been having lemon juice with salt and water. I've had a little bit of coffee with stevia as well for taste.
Day 2.5
63/168 hours
37.5% complete
Energy is pretty consistent. Sometimes it dips and I feel a little lethargic but that has generally been in the mornings only. Mid-day and afternoons are usually a steady energy level. The previous extended fast I did for 5 days was with a good bit of coffee each day. I haven't had much coffee in the last 48 hours as I did in the first 24 hours of fasting. I will have a couple servings today with stevia and see how that feels. Overall I'm consuming far less coffee than I typically do day-to-day.
I question myself why I'm doing this from time to time. I set my mind to 7 days of fasting while knowing it would be a very challenging ask. However, I try to remind myself of a personal goal I set for myself a while back.
How life/physical/mental challenges are part of my growth foremost as a Muslim, Husband and Father. I also try to think about the times we live in.
Where food is abundant and the lifestyle we live, in the home, is of extreme ease:
1) Heating/AC on command in home.
2) Food is in the fridge/pantry.
3) Grocery stores just a few miles away.
4) Cars are as convenient for comfort as the home.
5) We don't have to go outside all day if we don't want to.
All these "luxuries" kind of make us a bit spoiled within our framework of being human. I'm not advocating for leaving such conveniences by any means. However, extended fasting makes your mind work in a different way. My thoughts, actions and methodical processes are all functioning on a scale very different than the typical fed version of myself.
Day 3.5
86/168 hours
51.1% complete
The mornings are the toughest as my body is moving a little slower than normal. Mood and energy levels have been consistent, but I find myself staying calmer and relaxed throughout the day. I feel this is my mind reacting to the fasted state and feeling that the energy should be reserved for required day to day tasks. No excess energy expenditure.
I've caught myself thinking about the finish line multiple times and what I'm going to be breaking my fast with (food and liquid). It'll be a bit difficult to manage as my time to break the fast is within working hours on Friday. My mental state has been fine. However, it is a bit of a challenge right now as yesterday and today there is no work to distract me. Temps are too cold to have outdoor tennis practice. Wednesday as well will be a light day of work. It's a bit easier to fast when they mind and body are kept busy. I did not consume coffee yesterday. My body is just asking for water, salt, lemon juice, and stevia. I had a pre-made electrolyte pack yesterday by Ath (Lytes), but that was it.
Day 4.5
111/168 hours
66% complete
My body is coasting at a baseline energy level throughout the day. If it needs to use more energy, I get a bit winded and fatigued momentarily. I am ⅔ of the way complete, and it's fascinating to me how the human body can react to such a circumstance.
I'm definitely not 100%, which makes complete sense, but I am able to get through a day and fulfill my responsibilities as a Husband and Father. Our bodies have a tremendous ability to adapt. Though we all know this, it's something different when you go through an extended period of not eating and feel it for yourself. It has truly doubled down on our lives of excess. We have so much opportunity for so many things. Food and clean water are a massive luxury for us to have. It's amazing how much we are able to consume, whenever we want, and in whatever quantity that pleases us. Barring the cost of the item, anything we could desire is just a short car ride away. I hope this leaves a lasting impact on me and my relationship with food and consuming nutrition.
Day 6.0
144/168 hours
85.7% complete
My body is still coasting with baseline energy. I was a little bit more dehydrated than prior days. I tried to hydrate more today with some salt water, coffee, and just plain H20. My mind is not really wanting to hydrate though. Water tastes delicious but I feel like I'm going into a bit of low-power mode. I was also very tight in the hips and lower back. I tried stretching but what worked even better was the massage gun. It helped a lot and made things much easier for the few hours that followed.
85% complete! Just a little more go, 24hours. I'm very much looking forward to completing this challenge. To be quite honest, after finishing day 5.0 yesterday it wasn't very fun the last 24 hours. Today took a lot of effort during the day time.
My wife is also not too happy with me as we haven't shared any meals together and I've been home quite a bit for the last few days. I told her I'd never do something like this again. It is a pretty significant disruption to the family dynamic (not so much our 3yr old child) as sharing meals as a family is a major part of our quality time together. I swallowed my pride, admitted it was selfish, and told her I'm almost finished. I'd hate to stop now and this would linger on my mind forever. I'm really looking forward to sleeping tonight and bringing myself that much closer to completing this.
Introducing eating and liquids will be a challenge as I know my stomach and gut will not handle it very well. I'm going to do my best to be extremely methodical about input nutrition at 5:30pm tomorrow. I know starting with some soup and some fats/protein will be best. I'll plan my meal out and share the details of timing, quantity, and portion.
As of this morning, 10lbs dropped. Some for sure is from dehydration but the majority is stored fat. I can tell from the mirror, most of the fat lost was around the ribs, lower back, and waist. Definitely some lost on the thighs as well.
Day 7.0
168/168 hours
100% complete
I have nothing to write! I want to eat and enjoy some food! It turns out I ate everything (almost) from my cravings earlier in the challenge.
I had Ribeye steak with onions and mushrooms. A nice chunk of grass-fed Raw cheese. Kimchi and a bit of 100% dark chocolate.
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