What I learned during my 67 hour fast

I wasn’t hungry

Just joking, I was hungry. Hungry as fuck actually. Let me start from the beginning. It was Monday morning in Bangkok, Thailand. I only had 300 Baht left in my wallet. Should I save it and exchange the money? Or should I spend it right now? Ok, spend it right now. I wasn’t really hungry, after eating pad thai all weekend. But I saw a Subway (I used to work there). I just walked over, curious about what different Thai versions they had. It was exactly the same. I was kind of disappointed. I got the steak and cheese, regardless. I gave my remaining change to the cashier.

“Merry Christmas, bro.”

I ate the whole thing in under 40 bites. It was a footlong too. Then after finishing it, I thought about my goals and felt my stomach.

It was getting bigger by the day. I went to the restroom, took a huge shit. Came out, washed my hands (of course, with soap) and looked at myself in the mirror. I kinda talked to myself in my head. “Michael, you ate a fucking lot this trip, I’m proud of you. You should take it easy for a while in Hong Kong.”

I decided right there and then to do a 3 day fast. Because in the past I’ve done a few 24-hour fasts and 2 months ago I did a 48 hour fast and regularly I intermittent fast (16 hours, basically skip breakfast). Why not right, let’s go for 3 days. I ate on the plane, I can’t say no to free airplane food. So I broke my fast in like 2 hours. Start again, I told myself.

After arriving in Hong Kong, I had to meet my classmates for a group project. I quickly went to my dorm, changed, and headed to the library with my fake supreme backpack.

After finishing a semi-productive meeting, I went back to my dorm and I was hungry as fuck. I told myself, fuck it, eat once more, and start fresh tomorrow. Luckily I didn’t eat anything unhealthy. It was just the regular, choi sum and egg.

Tuesday morning, felt good, headed to nutrition class, learn something (I forgot). Then headed to the gym levels of strength still there, good workout. It was leg day too. Weighed myself, 168 pounds (not bad I thought, I was 175 pounds when I came to HK). Then had bible class, started presentations, half cringy half funny.

After that, I met with my Buddhism class to prepare our 15-minute presentation for the next day, which we haven’t started yet. I just put a lot of gifs on my slides to distract the class.

Wednesday, Buddhism presentation: impermanence. Group did a solid job, I thought (gifs did their job). No one really pays attention, I mean no one. I even caught my teacher falling asleep.

I went to the gym, upper body day. Felt ok. Hit a few reps shorts than the previous week ( I think it’s due to the fast or lack of sleep or both).

Then headed to gender class, the last lecture, presentations start next week. Then went again to the gym with my friend, Tam. We just did random exercises, supersets, still solid workout none the less.

But I knew I did not want to push it. I was already probably in fat burning mode, I didn’t want to push my body to more un-needed stress. I weighed myself after the workout. 165 pounds! That has been my goal weight ever since I came to Hong Kong. It’s been a slow process, but I think I actually gained muscle, not just lost fat. It’s been a swole cut. I felt proud of myself.

But I knew I was going to bounce back after I start eating again.

When I workout, I don’t listen to music, I usually listen to a podcast or an audiobook (the only time I listen to music is when I’m writing blogs or showering, that’s it).

I was re-listening to The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday (which is in my top 5 books of all-time {check out that blog}), and my favorite part of the book is in his chapter on perseverance. This is my favorite part of the whole book:

“When Antonio Pigafetta, the assistant to Magellan on his trip around the world, reflected on his boss’s greatest and most admirable skill, what do you think he said? It had nothing to do with sailing. The secret to his success, Pigafetta said, was Magellan’s ability to endure hunger better than the other men.”

I felt like fucking Magellan in the middle of my superset of back extensions and hamstring curls.

I just had to persevere a little more and I will make it.

Thursday came. The last day! I was so happy, I broke my previous record of 48 hours.

9 am real estate class. That class is my hardest class this semester. I do not know how to value a building. I do not know how to find the cost of making a building. I do not know buildings.

There are so many factors that go into just building a public restroom. It’s mind-boggling.

After getting my mind swirled on the value of a building, I headed to my bible class. We were in the computer lab this time.

I played bloons tower defense the whole period. It was so much fun. It brought me back to my high school days when we go to the computer lab and “do some work”. My classmates and I would just compete on who would get to the highest level by the end of the period (best game ever). I usually did the work at home on my own laptop. But I missed playing BTD. It brought me back to the days. I haven’t played it since high school, it was really reminiscing.

Then I went to a nearby wet market. Where they sell loads of vegetables, cheaper than the commercial supermarket stores. I bought loads of different vegetables in preparation to break my fast and for the following week’s inventory of vegetables.

After that, I went to my Psychology class. We had a presentation. We were first. I like going first. I feel like Neil Armstrong or Magellan or Jackie Robinson. We all know Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player, but the second brother could be someone from my hood, who lived on my street for all I know. Anyways we were first and we were great.

After class, my classmates invited me to eat dinner with them. Fuck I only have 5 more hours left, I thought. But I ultimately decided to cut it short.

72 hour fast can wait. Anyways I don’t think I could have survived my leg day that day (squats and deadlifts). I ate a relatively light meal and then got free food at the graduation area, it had carbs, but I justified it by hitting legs. I weighed myself after my leg workout.

Scale read: 166 pounds.

That was that. I completed a 67 hour fast.

I sometimes felt hungry, but not as bad as you would think or I thought. I mainly did it because I ate a lot in Thailand and I felt like I needed to “reset” my whole system.

I actually researched it, and prolonged fast (>24 hours) is actually being used to treat cancer cells.

After 24 hours your body goes into ketosis, where your body switches from glucose to ketones as its main source of energy. And ketones use fat (the thing you want gone) as the energy source instead of glucose.

Theory goes that cancer cells only can survive by consuming glucose. You can also achieve ketosis by adopting a ketogenic diet (hard af).

By adopting a ketogenic diet, you won’t have to fast, you can eat in a normal 24 hour period and remain in ketosis. You just have to eat minimal carbs, medium protein, and high fat (whole blog on this later).

But yeah, I felt great fasting for 67 hours, it had great effects on my body, but I think most of all on my mind.

Another reason I wanted to do this, aside from the health reasons was to try to relate to the kids who are more unfortunate than us. Who don’t eat for weeks and still live.

People in Africa, South America, third-world countries.

I forgot that we take food for granted.

There are 1 billion people starving to death right now. Someone dies from hunger every 2 seconds.

I wanted to get a sliver of that pain, by trying this.

And it gave me perspective, that we are lucky as fuck to regularly put something in our mouths (pause) every 3 hours.

We are so lucky.

And I forgot that food is not something to take for granted.

I often get asked why I eat a lot, even when I don’t feel like it. I think it was my upbringing. I just hate wasting food. I hate leaving my plate with food.

Who’s going to eat it? The rats? Fuck rats (another blog).

But I thank my parents who instilled in me to not waste food, because food is life as Gandhi said. Oh yeah just remembered Gandhi fasted (go Gandhi!).

But yeah living in the Philippines, seeing people struggle for every scrap. Then living in the U.S. and I see it too in Hong Kong, people just flick their hair and throw their food away.

What. The. Fuck.

I feel it’s so disrespectful to throw away food. Do you how many kids in Africa who will claw through the glass to get just one piece of Siu mai? It’s disrespectful. But hey it’s just my opinion.

I got sidetracked and ranted, but anyways that fast went well.

It’s a good tool to use once in a while. I actually read somewhere that Tim Ferris (google him please) does a 3 day fast every quarter just to reset his whole system and lower his chance of cancer, pretty cool.

Anyways I think that’s it. Just wanted to share my experience, hope you got something out of it!

“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry”

— Mark 4:2