Part 1: It's January and I'm Getting Started

Everyone has an idea of what an extended water fast is, though most would probably agree it’s the practice of consuming only water for anywhere between three to seven days or more. But there are outliers like Angus Barbieri, who completed a 382-day fast. According to Barbieri, he no longer felt any connection to food. Then there are people like me. My first extended water fast lasted 26 days, and now I can go without eating for a week without thinking twice. But my reasons go beyond curiosity. Heart disease runs in my family. After seeing father pass, and now my cousin and aunt suffering through its devastating effects, I decided it was time to take action—not only in support of them but for myself as well. Perhaps something in this will resonate with someone else. So here I am, starting a new water fast as January unfolds.

I’m not here to drown you in medical jargon or debates. I’ve got strong opinions on this, and if you’re someone who depends on a doctor’s word for everything, this probably isn’t for you. Extended water fasting is a personal experience, and every journey is unique. If you choose to try it, your own experience might leave you with a radically different view of the medical industry. But there is one expert I do trust, Dr. Jason Fung, a Canadian physician whose books on diabetest¹, obesity² and fasting³ are essential reading for anyone considering this. His work alone can offer more insight than any textbook.

When I started growing dreadlocks years ago, people stared. They assumed I didn’t bathe, that I was dirty, perhaps even a drug user. Their looks said everything, and their questions about who I bought from made their assumptions clear. I was an outcast until my locks grew long enough to be considered beautiful and desirable. That process taught me a lot about how quickly people form judgments. Fasting is no different. People will assume you’re doing it for religious reasons or, worse, they won’t ask at all and simply make up their minds. Family will constantly ask if you're joining them for dinner, if they should set a plate for you. At every turn, there will be people who make this harder for you. But the trick is learning to outlast their judgments. You’ll need to find strength even in the minute-by-minute moments. But if you keep your resolve, you will outlast them.

The real test, however, is whether you can outlast yourself. About nine to twelve hours after you begin your fast, your body starts burning through the glucose stored in your liver. That’s when the cravings kick in. At first, you won’t feel hungry, you’ll feel something more like hawngry. For me, this sensation came in waves, each lasting about two hours. By day three, your body begins to adjust, preparing to use a different fuel: the fat stored in your body. It breaks down fat into triglycerides and ketones, which fuel both your brain and muscles. How long this transition takes depends on the person. For me, it was around day eleven before I felt truly hunger-free.

Along the way, I learned some surprising lessons. On day eleven, I realized I needed electrolytes—potassium, magnesium, and sodium. It wasn’t something anyone had explicitly told me, though I had nurse friends who suggested I pay attention to these. It was only when I figured out why that the lightbulb went off. I added liquid electrolytes to my water, and just like that, the hunger pains vanished. That’s when I realized something crucial: hunger wasn’t just about food. It was about missing specific nutrients. Your body, when running on fat stores, will tell you what it needs. It could be salt, but you won’t know which one until you’ve gone through the experience yourself. This is why you can’t approach fasting from a theoretical standpoint, it has to be lived to be understood. Just like Barbieri, fasting will eventually reshape your relationship with food, but it’s not something you can fully grasp until you’ve experienced it firsthand.

Cutting out sugar and processed foods can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels. In my case, I wasn’t diabetic, but I tracked my glucose to get a better sense of what was happening. I saw my blood sugar drop to the 40s, a level doctors typically associate with life-threatening risk. But Dr. Fung pointed out that these numbers are based on people eating glucose-heavy diets. No one has studied the blood sugar levels of people on extended water fasts. Expect a drop. In fact, you might find that your body is reversing symptoms of diabetes along the way, even without realizing it.

As your body expels the water you consume, your trips to the bathroom will increase. But after a few days, something deeper begins to happen. If you’ve never gone without a bowel movement for a week, don’t worry. It’s not constipation. What’s happening is that your intestines are finally clearing out what’s been lodged there for months, or even years. It’s not like your usual experience, trust me. You’ll feel it. In my case, I had a surge of energy when it started, as though my body was getting a reset, a clean-out. It felt like the water was moving through me faster than ever before.

By day three, your body enters a state known as autophagy, a process where it begins to break down and recycle damaged cells, using them for fuel. This is why people who undergo extended water fasts tend to lose weight without the sagging skin that often comes with exercise-based weight loss. It’s essentially a deep cleanse for your body, a total reset, inside and out.

Extended water fasting isn’t for the faint of heart, but the rewards are undeniable. Your body will go through dramatic changes, but so will you. The beliefs you once held about how your body works will be tested, and in many cases, disproven. Fasting may change your relationships with people who center their lives around food. Saying no will be difficult. But take it from Dr. Fung: “You’d better get some younger friends,” because, truth be told, the people you know today might not be around as long as you expect.

If change is something you're after this year, I invite you to join me. I intend to spend a lot of time on this extended water fast.