The Wellness Upgrade on Elevate Springfield: Elevating Through the Power of a 3 Day Fast

Summary

In this episode of the Wellness Upgrade on Elevate Springfield, Robert Ferriell shares his personal experience with a three-day fast, exploring the science behind fasting, its benefits, and potential risks. He discusses the physiological changes that occur during fasting, including autophagy and insulin sensitivity, and provides a day-by-day account of his fasting journey. Ferriell emphasizes the importance of preparation and breaking the fast correctly, while also highlighting the mental and physical benefits of fasting as a tool for health and wellness.

Takeaways

• Fasting shifts the body from burning glucose to fat.
• Autophagy is a key benefit of longer fasts.
• Insulin sensitivity improves with fasting.
• Day one of fasting is often the hardest mentally.
• Day two brings improved focus and energy stabilization.
• Day three is when mental clarity peaks for many.
• Fasting can help reset unhealthy eating habits.
• Preparation is crucial for a successful fast.
• Breaking the fast should be done with care.
• Fasting teaches resilience and adaptability to hunger.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we'll dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together, we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield time to 10x time to level up. Hey, you are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast coming to you from the Big Doe construction studio in beautiful downtown Springfield. Robert Farrell here, certified 10x coach, speaker, and mentor, here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through, and together we're gonna Elevate Springfield. Say, if you're not elevating your health and wellness, you're not gonna be able to elevate in all other areas. This is the baseline. You know I'm passionate about it, and you know that's why I brought this segment to elevate Springfield. We want to thank our friends over at Shudokan Karate Club here in Springfield. Sensei Dennis and his team over 50 years in the Springfield area, traditional karate teaching self-discipline, confidence, community, traditional, powerful, real. That's Shudokan Karate Club here in Springfield. Check them out. Shudokan karate springfield.com. We're gonna get right to our guest after the break.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

When I first walked into Shudokan Karate Club, I was just looking for a way to get stronger. But what I found was so much more. Here we train in traditional karate, the real stuff. Passed down through generations. Every punch, every kata has purpose. I've learned self-discipline, confidence, and how to protect myself. Not just in class, but in real life. It's not about being aggressive, it's about being prepared. This is more than a club, it's a way of life. Join us at JudoCon. Traditional, powerful, real.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

And we are back for another edition of the Wellness Upgrade. A solo episode today. Gonna go over something that I just did last week, but hey, no guest, just me and my health and wellness journey today. Y'all hope we can get something out of what I just did last week and some of the science behind it. So we're gonna dive in today to something that's really been practiced for thousands of years, but now is being popularized again through modern biohacking and performance science. And that is fasting, specifically the three-day fast. You've probably heard a lot of folks talking about the three-day fast now. If you uh listen to any other health and wellness podcasts. So if you've ever wondered, hey, what's a three-day fast like, or what happens when you don't eat for three whole days? What happens to your body? Is it safe or beneficial? Then this episode is for you. I'm gonna dive into the science behind it a little bit, but also give you my firsthand experience from just last week. I listened to a lot of Dave Asprey. Uh, if you haven't heard of him, I guess he could be considered the father of biohacking. He's kind of coined that term biohacking, and he's written a couple of books about fasting, and he talks about that on his podcast, both intermittent fasting and a full 72-hour fast. So let's dig in a little bit. Why does fasting matter? You know, it's not just about not eating, it's really about it's about changing your body's operating system. See, most people live in a constantly fed state. So breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks, dinner, maybe even late night snacks after that. That means your body is almost always burning glucose. But when you fast, especially beyond 24 hours, your body starts to shift gears. You move from burning sugar from that sugar burning mode to more of a fat-burning mode. And Dave Asprey typically frames this as a metabolic upgrade. You're training your body to become more flexible, more efficient, and less dependent on constant fuel. And that's really where the three-day fast comes in. So why three days? Why a full 72 hours? Because that's really where things get interesting, and that's where a lot of the research is really starting to back up some of what people have thought before, but now we have some research to back that up. You know, short fasts, like intermittent fasting, is great, but a three-day fast pushes your body into deeper biological processes like ketosis. So by a little over 24 hours, your glycogen stores are completely depleted and your body starts producing ketones, a very clean burning fuel for your brain. And at this point, many people report mental clarity, reduced brain fog, stable energy. And when I was at that 24-hour mark, like I said, I just did this a little over a week ago as I'm recording this podcast. When I was a little over the 24-hour mark, I started getting some of that too, feeling that mental clarity, some reduced brain fog, stable energy. Now, after that, that changed a little bit, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. But another one of those biological processes that your body starts going into is autophagy. And this is a big one. This is the main reason why the three-day fast is so impactful for you because autophagy is your body's cellular cleanup system. It breaks down damaged cells and recycles them. It's like taking out the trash at a cellular level. Research suggests autophagy ramps up significantly during longer fasts, especially once you pass the 48-hour mark, once you're past two full days. The other big process is an insulin reset. Constant eating keeps insulin elevated. Fasting helps bring it down, improving insulin sensitivity, which is crucial for energy regulation, fat loss, and long-term metabolic health. So a second ago, I said biohacker, that Dave Asprey was kind of the father of the biohacking movement. So let's talk a little bit about the biohacking perspective of this. So Asprey's approach to fasting isn't about suffering, it's about control and optimization. He often emphasizes avoiding unnecessary stress, supporting your body during the fast, using tools to make fasting easier and more effective. You know, these this can include staying hydrated, maintaining electrolytes, managing stress levels, not overdoing exercise. And I did all these on my three-day fast too. So I typically train weights, do my resistant training in the morning, and it's a pretty heavy routine. But during that three-day fast, I scaled that way back because that's what you're supposed to do during that three-day fast. So the idea really is simple from a bio from a biohacking perspective. You're not starving yourself, you're upgrading your biology. So what happens each day? Let's go ahead and break it down what a typical three-day fast feels like, and I'll tell you if that's what I felt as well. All right, so day one, we call it the transition. This is usually the hardest mentally for people. Your body is still expecting food. You might feel hunger waves, irritability, habit cravings. You know, these are those cravings that are not true hunger, it's more of a habit. This is where most people struggle. But really, it's temporary. During this time, hunger comes in waves. It doesn't just keep increasing. So what you need to do during this time is stay hydrated and ride it out. Make sure you're still getting all your minerals. Stay hydrated, but ride it out. Day two starts the shift. This is where things start to change. Your body is now burning fat more efficiently, like we talked about earlier. You have already depleted your glycogen stores, so you're burning fat more efficiently. Now you're producing those ketones, and your energy is starting to stabilize. So a lot of people report less hunger, improved focus, and a surprising sense of calm. Now, for me, at the very end of day one, at the beginning of day two, I felt all of that. You know, they call this the biohacker's sweet spot, right? So I felt all of that on the beginning of the second day. Now, one interesting thing for me, and not everybody experiences this, but later on in the second day, like toward the end of the second day, I did start feeling some brain fog. I felt a decrease in focus and not so much a sense of calm. I was not necessarily hungry. I didn't feel really hungry, but I just felt a little slower than normal. My mind wasn't working as quickly as it typically does, I felt like. So I really just felt like I was just a little bit off, not completely mentally clear like I was at the first part of day two. Then day three, this is the deep state. By day three, you're fully in it. So this is after that 48 hours. This is where autophagy is more active. It's in its most active state. Your ketones are elevated. Mental clarity peaks for many people. So for me, it did start coming back after, you know, at the start of that third day, I started feeling some of that again. Some people describe this as clean energy, quiet focus, or some even say kind of a mild euphoria. But this is also where you need to be the most mindful. It's not about pushing harder, it's about listening to your body. So making sure that you are staying hydrated and keeping those electrolytes pushed in there. I had done some intermittent fasting before, not too often. I've never never tried a three-day fast until this last time. And quite frankly, I really enjoyed it. So I'm going to do it every, you know, three to six months or so. You're not supposed to do it every month or every week. That's not good for your body. But I did find that it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The only time that it was a little bit difficult for me personally was what I mentioned just a couple of minutes ago when I was talking about that reduced mental clarity. I just felt like I wasn't quite as quick as I normally am. So if I needed to do something that was especially mentally taxing, or maybe I'm giving a presentation in front of a thousand people, that might not be the best time to be in that particular state. But overall it was a great experience and I would do it again. I didn't do it necessarily for, you know, to lose weight or anything, even though during that three days I did. I did it more for the cellular clean out, the autophagy. I wanted to do that. And I guess the losing a little bit of weight was a side benefit to that. So let's talk a little bit about some of those benefits of a three-day fast. So physical benefits, fat burning, you are going to lose some weight. Improved insulin sensitivity. We talked that talked about that a little bit. Reduced inflammation and then that cellular repair process, all great physical benefits of a three-day fast. Mental benefits, and I would say that these are not hit and miss, but depending on where you're at in it, sharper focus, reduced brain fog, increased discipline. I think I came out of it with all three of those, but there were times in it, like I mentioned, that they were not all there. And then some behavioral benefits. You know, if you have any food addictions, any food habits that you're trying to break, this is a good way to do it. It's a good way to reset hunger cues. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of us have those hunger habits. Your body's not really hungry, but you have this habit of eating at a certain time or have this habit of snacking, right? And this also gives you control over your cravings. You realize that you really don't need that food right when you start to feel hungry, once you push past it. You see, Dave Asprey often says that fasting can help you be in charge of your biology instead of reacting to it. So let's talk a little bit about the risks. Um, three-day fast isn't really for everyone. There are certain times when you shouldn't be attempting this. If you have certain medical conditions or if you are already underweight, of course, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, you shouldn't be doing this. And if you have any other history of eating disorders or anything like that, probably not a great thing for you to do. And even for healthy individuals, it's important to approach this carefully. So some of the common challenges you might have when you're going through it, headaches. This could be from low electrolytes, fatigue, right? I felt that a little bit, especially during the time when I'd had reduced mental clarity. I felt a little fatigued there too. Sleep disruptions. I would say one of the nights that I was on it, I really did not sleep well at all. And my sleep score on my aura ring definitely showed that and corroborated that. The other days were fine, but there was one that was really bad. And then dizziness, if you're standing too quickly or moving around, this is why preparation for it matters. If you're considering a three-day fast, preparation is key. You need to clean up your diet a little bit first. Going straight from a complete junk food diet to a 72-hour fast is not going to be good for you. So instead, as you're leading up to your three-day fast, eat whole foods, reduce sugar, increase healthy fats. And really, what Dave talks about is you should really start weaning off your carbohydrates in the days leading up to it as well. This is going to help your body transition more smoothly. The same as when you're in the fast, you want to keep hydrated and keep your electrolytes up, you know, sodium, potassium, magnesium. You're going to lose all that through your fast. So you need to make sure you have all those up front and then also are replenishing them during the fast. And then reduce stress. Fasting itself is a stressor on your body. So don't stack with it those intense workouts, sleep deprivation, high emotional stress. Keep things simple during this time. And because fasting is a stressor, a three-day fast like this, Dave recommends either at the most once a quarter. Anything more than that is putting unneeded stress on your body. So after those three days, an important thing is breaking the fast. This part can often be overlooked by people. They'll finish their three days and then they just go and start binging at a junk food restaurant or something, right? But breaking the fast is very important. After 72 hours of no food, your body is sensitive. Don't jump straight into a huge meal. Instead, start small. Focus on easy to digest foods. A lot of people use bone broth as a good way to break a fast. So have some bone broth and then maybe have your meal an hour or two later. So light protein, healthy fats, bone broth, all ways to help avoid digestive discomfort and keep those fasting benefits intact. So key takeaway for a three-day fast. It's not something you do every week, it's a tool, a way to reset, a way to reconnect with your body, a way to improve metabolic flexibility, a way to build mental discipline. Dave's philosophy isn't about extremes, it's about strategic interventions that make your body perform better over time. As I mentioned, I had never done one before, and I didn't really think I ever needed to, and I didn't feel like it was something I wanted to do ever, but I wanted to do it for the autophagy aspects of it. And quite frankly, I thought my I thought I would be hungrier and feel weaker during the time than I actually ended up being. So fasting that long can sound intimidating, but if it's done correctly, it's not about deprivation, it's about adaptation. It teaches your body you don't need constant input, you can access stored energy, and you're more resilient than you think. And maybe most importantly, for those that have had uh eating habits that include just constant snacking, it teaches your mind that hunger isn't an emergency. You can push through and become adaptable to that. So if you have any questions, hey, give me a shout on social. I'd be happy to share my more of my experience. But I would recommend it if it's something you want to do. Again, no more than once a quarter, like like Dave recommends. But uh, it was a great experience for me, and I'll do it here again this summer. Hope that helps. We'll be back after the break. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Roofing, your local roofing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities, from quick dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial, they are your trusted pros. Call them today at 217-993-2748 or visit their website to book your free quote and inspection. Don't wait, a little leak now could lead to major damage later. Trust the local experts, protect your home, and get peace of mind with Acosta Angeli Roofing. Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody. Appreciate you making us a part of your day. Hope you're enjoying these quick hits of actionable strategies here on the wellness upgrade on Elevate Springfield. Thank you again to Shudokan Karate Club. A take what you learn today. You bring the discipline and follow through it together. That's right, y'all. We're gonna Elevate Springfield. Be great. Looking for expert tree care with hometown integrity, look no further than Sangamon Tree Service. They're your trusted local pros, delivering quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and fair, honest pricing. Every time. 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