Let me tell you something about water fasting
I’m not some kind of health guru. I’m just a guy named Dave who works too much, eats too much pizza, and has a bad habit of skipping the gym. But about three months ago, I decided to try water fasting for 10 days. Why? Because I saw some guy on Instagram do it, and I thought, “Hey, how hard can it be?”
Hard. It was really hard.
Day 1: The Honeymoon Phase
I started on a Sunday. I figured, “If I’m gonna do this, I might as well start when I don’t have to be productive.” My friend Marcus—let’s call him Marcus because that’s his name—told me I was crazy. “You’re gonna starve,” he said. “You’re gonna pass out.” I told him to mind his own business.
Day 1 wasn’t so bad. I drank a lot of water, which honestly, I should be doing anyway. I felt light. I felt clean. I felt like I was making a big, important committment to my health.
Day 3: The Wall
Then came Day 3. That’s when the hunger hit. Like, full-on, “I would sell my left kidney for a cheeseburger” hunger. I was at work, and my colleague named Dave—real creative, I know—brought in donuts. The smell? Torture. Pure torture.
“You okay, Dave?” he asked. “You look a little green.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just… focused on my health.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t push it. Smart man.
The Mental Game
Here’s the thing about water fasting: it’s not just physical. It’s mental. You spend alot of time thinking about food. Like, alot. And not just thinking—obsessing. Dreaming. Fantasizing.
I started reading artificial intelligence news updates to distract myself. No joke. I read about AI, quantum computing, you name it. Anything to keep my mind off the fact that I hadn’t eaten in 72 hours.
My friend Sarah—real name, not a placeholder—called me. “You sound like you’re in a bad place,” she said.
“I’m completley fine,” I snapped. “I just haven’t eaten in three days.”
She laughed. “You’re an idiot.”
She’s probably right.
The Physical Toll
By Day 5, I was feeling it. Physicallyy, I mean. I was tired all the time. My head hurt. My stomach growled like a bear waking up from hibernation. And don’t even get me started on the headaches. I felt like I had a hangover that lasted for 36 hours.
I looked in the mirror. I looked like crap. Pale. Tired. Like I’d seen a ghost. Or like I was the ghost.
The Breakthrough (Or Was It?)
Then, something weird happened. Around Day 7, I started feeling better. Not great, but better. The headaches faded. The hunger pangs were less frequent. I had more energy. I even went for a run. A short run, sure, but still. A run.
I felt… clear. Like my brain was working better. Like I could think straighter. It was kinda nice.
The End (Finally)
Day 10 rolled around, and I was ready. Ready to eat. Ready to never, ever do this again. I remember it was a Tuesday. I had planned to break my fast with something light—a smoothie, maybe some soup. But no. I walked into a diner, sat down, and ordered a massive cheeseburger with extra bacon. I devoured it. It was heavenly. It was disgusting. It was the best and worst meal of my life.
And you know what? I’d do it again. Maybe not for 10 days, but maybe for a day or two. It was a learning experience. A brutal, painful, eye-opening learning experience.
But hey, at least I can say I tried.
About the Author: Dave is a senior editor with 20+ years of experience in the magazine industry. He’s written for major publications, but his biggest achievement is surviving a 10-day water fast. He lives in Austin, Texas, where he spends his free time avoiding the gym and eating pizza.
