Well…I made it.
Day 4 is here. Or as I prefer to call it, The Day After. Not like the old 80s nuclear-war nightmare movie, but dramatic enough in its own way.
I made it 85.5 hours without food, which is the longest fast I have done so far, and I am not gonna lie…I was pretty damn proud of myself.
This was also the strictest I have been during a fast. In a past fast, I stayed in the “under 25 calories still counts” camp and had things like a FitAid before a workout. Looking back, I do not think that helped me much. Between the stevia, natural flavors that are anything but natural, and all the extra junk, I think I was muddying the waters.
This time, I kept it much simpler.
Fresh-squeezed lemon water. Salt. Tea. Coffee. And a whole lot of reminding myself that not every trip to the kitchen was a matter of life and death.
If you have not read the earlier posts in this series yet, you may want to go back and catch Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 because the full experience makes a lot more sense when you see how it unfolded in real time.
Why I Did a 3-Day Fast
I decided to do this fast because I felt like my body was getting a little out of control.
Maybe it was my evening snacking habit quietly turning into a nightly event. Maybe it was hormones staging a full-blown coup. Honestly, it was probably both.
All I knew was I needed a reset.
I needed to refocus, reevaluate, and get back in tune with my body. Because once you get off track, getting back on can feel harder than it should. And lately, I just felt off. Bloated. Puffy. Uncomfortable. Like my midsection had suddenly decided it was preparing for a seasonal role as Santa.
And if you are a midlife woman, you probably understand exactly what I mean.
My 3-Day Fast Results
The day before I started the fast, I decided to measure my waist.
I did not weigh myself because I really do not care that much about the number on the scale. Measurements tell me more. And do not even get me started on BMI.
When I measured again on Day 4, I had lost 2 inches off my waist.
I was ecstatic.
Was I shocked? Not really. I expected some of the bloating to go down, but it was still satisfying to have proof. I also noticed less puffiness in my ankles, hands, and under my eyes when I woke up in the morning.
That alone felt like a win.
So yes, physically, I do think this fast helped reduce bloat and helped me reset.
What Was Hard During the Fast
This was not some magical glowing wellness-girl experience where I floated through 3 days with angel music and zero discomfort.
I had a few headaches. A few lightheaded moments. Some cravings. A couple times where I felt a little off and needed salt and water.
And yes, there were also a few digestive surprises along the way.
Let’s just say my body seemed very committed to “cleaning house,” even when I thought there could not possibly be much left to clean. Glamorous? No. Normal enough during a fast? Apparently yes.
But the hardest part was not actually the physical side.
The hardest part was the mental side.
Not eating was one thing.
Not wanting to eat was another.
That was the real challenge.
The Biggest Lesson: A Lot of Hunger Is Habit
This fast made one thing very clear:
A lot of what I think is hunger…is not actually hunger.
It is habit.
It is boredom.
It is routine.
It is stress.
It is me wandering into the kitchen because my brain thinks the answer to every life problem might be in the pantry.
During this fast, I cannot tell you how many times I walked into the kitchen and then turned right back around because I realized I was not actually hungry. I was just used to doing that.
Work problem? Better go look for a snack.
Feeling restless? Maybe grab an orange.
Need to think? Apparently my mouth also wants a hobby.
Once food was off the table, I had to actually sit with that.
And that was eye-opening.
A Weird Benefit: I Felt More Motivated
One thing that surprised me was how motivated I felt during this fast.
Not every second. I am not saying I turned into some fasting superhero. But overall, I felt sharper, more productive, and more likely to do things instead of just thinking about them.
I worked on my website. I wrote more. I watched less TV. I spent more time doing things that moved my life forward instead of just sitting there watching everybody else live theirs.
Not me sitting around watching the tell-lie-vision of somebody else’s dream while mine sat in the corner collecting dust.
I even signed up for a Mud Run.
Yes…me.
If you know me, you know I hate running. I mean hate it. I once chose 100 burpees over running a mile in CrossFit. Nobody likes burpees. That should tell you everything.
So no, this fast did not magically turn me into a runner.
Let’s not get carried away.
But it did make me feel more willing to do hard things without overthinking myself out of them first.
And strangely enough…I am still motivated to do it.
Breaking the Fast: What I Planned vs. What I Actually Did
Now let’s talk about Day 4, because breaking a fast matters too.
I had a plan. I wrote it down. I thought it through. I fully intended to execute it like a calm, disciplined adult woman.
And then…I still had a few learning moments.
Not failures. Not disasters. Just real-life lessons.
What I should have done first
I probably should have started with kombucha as a probiotic.
What I actually did
I started with apple cider vinegar in water.
Not terrible. Not wrong. Just different.
The reason I skipped the kombucha was because I saw sugar on the label and immediately thought, Nope. Not doing that.
But that was me overthinking it. A little sugar there was not the problem I made it out to be, and I was mixing up probiotic and prebiotic benefits in my head.
Lesson learned.
After that, I had half an avocado, which tasted like absolute heaven. Salt, pepper, Everything Bagel seasoning…honestly, I felt like I was fully back among the living.
About 30 minutes later, I had two boiled eggs with the other half of the avocado.
So far, so good.
Then I made my next misstep.
Lesson number one: Do not get cocky with the protein shake
About an hour later, I decided I should “bank” some protein for the day before running errands, so I made a protein shake with two scoops.
That was too much.
Way too much.
I got super full, and not in a good way. More in a “well that was dumb” kind of way.
It passed after about an hour, but next time I would absolutely stick to one scoop.
That was a good reminder that just because your brain is ready to eat normally again does not mean your stomach is ready to host a full event.
Lesson number two: Trail mix is not popcorn
Later that evening, I had a pretty decent dinner overall. Hamburger, some Italian pasta, frozen fire-roasted veggies, and a little cheese sauce. Not perfect, but not terrible either.
The bigger issue came after dinner.
I sampled a little extra pasta I did not need, and then I snacked on trail mix and mini oranges.
Now, the problem was not that trail mix is “bad.”
The problem was that I ate it with the same casual little grab-grab-grab energy I might use with chips, crackers, or popcorn. But trail mix is much more calorie-dense in a much smaller portion. You cannot keep popping it in your mouth like it is airy snack food and expect it to land the same way.
Those healthy little handfuls add up fast.
So even though it was a better choice than junk food on paper, it was still more than I needed, especially that late in the evening.
That was a good reminder that “healthy” does not automatically mean “mindless snacking approved.”
What I’d Do Differently Next Time
This fast taught me a few things I want to carry forward:
I do better when I eat earlier in the day and stop eating earlier at night.
For a while now, I have sort of drifted into accidental intermittent fasting by pushing my first meal later. But the downside is that it pushes my later meals too close to bedtime.
So my next goal is to:
eat earlier and be done eating by 6:30 p.m.
I also know next time I want to:
- keep the fast as clean and simple as possible
- break the fast more gently
- avoid overdoing it with protein right away
- be smarter with evening snacks, even the healthy ones
Because yes, this was a success.
But success does not mean perfect.
Was This 3-Day Fast Worth It?
For me?
Yes.
This 3-day fast helped me reduce bloat, feel more in tune with my body, notice patterns in my eating habits, and get honest about how much of eating is mental rather than physical.
It also reminded me that I can do hard things.
Not perfectly.
Not gracefully every second.
But I can do them.
And honestly, that matters.
I came out of this understanding myself a little better, both mentally and physically.
So yes, I consider this fasting experience a success.
And yes…I plan to do another one in June. Which, hilariously, lines up with the Mud Run I signed up for.
So either that was clarity…or a brief fasting-fueled lapse in judgment.
Time will tell.
What to Read Next
If you missed the rest of the series, go catch up here:
My Fast-Day 1 — getting started and realizing this was going to be more mental than physical
My Fast-Day 2 — cravings, clarity, and the habit-breaking reality
My Fast-Day 3 — finishing strong, planning my refeed, and proving to myself I could do it
Because the full story is part fasting experiment, part midlife reality check, and part me trying not to make snacks my emotional support system.
Disclaimer
If you are thinking about trying fasting, start slower than I did. You can begin by pushing breakfast back a little, ending dinner earlier, or simply creating longer stretches without food in a way that feels manageable for you.
And before making changes to your diet or activity routine, check with your medical practitioner.