8 Fasting Mistakes that Could Be Killing Your Progress

If you're reading this, you probably have decided to incorporate fasting into your routine, or maybe you are already fasting and have faced some challenges. 

Whether you have personal experience with fasting, or have (or haven’t) heard about its struggles, it can be hard to stick to a new routine if you’re feeling irritable, tired and hungry all the time.

Some of the fasting benefits like mental clarity and improved energy we may feel sooner, while others like weight loss and autophagy occur later and depend on what type of fasting you are choosing (and how well you stick to it). 

So how can we make this transition easier? While the “pushing through” method works for some, here we will discuss common mistakes that make fasting harder and ways to avoid them.

1. Giving into the feelings of hunger

It is no secret that the biggest fear we get when we start fasting is being hungry all the time. Hunger is the most powerful human instinct for survival, and while this is a natural process, it’s important to understand that it’s just a feeling, and it’s alright to feel hungry from time to time. 

A “true” hunger comes on gradually and is different from a sudden feeling. When we’re truly hungry we feel it in our stomach and it’s not specific to a particular food. It comes in waves and it's not a constant sensation. 

That said, understand that hunger passes. Instead of giving into the feeling, shift your attention, go for a walk, have some unsweetened tea or coffee, or try drinking electrolyzed water. And make sure you are getting enough healthy proteins and fats with each meal, as they keep you satiated for longer.

And good news - once your body is conditioned to fasting, hunger will decrease, and for some - it will completely disappear.

2. Not eating enough during the eating window

Aka “calories in, calories out approach”. Many of us believe eating less will lead to greater weight loss, but there's a defined line where not consuming enough calories becomes an issue.

Typically, for a sustainable weight loss we should restrict around 15-20% calories of your daily required intake. Chronically undercutting too many calories will backfire, and can lead to a number of problems:

  • Not losing weight: Cutting down on too many calories may slow down metabolism, forcing the body to go into the preservation mode, holding on to every calorie you consume “just in case no food is coming later”. In fact, you may even gain weight when you just start eating a little more food.  

  • Not getting enough nutrients: If you're not eating enough during your eating window, you're not going to be getting enough nutrients. This can lead to fatigue, brain fog, and other health problems.

To avoid these problems, make sure you eat enough of the correct foods. Ideally, aim for 2 meals per day, and if necessary, a snack during your eating window. Make sure you add a variety of nutrient-rich foods in your diet. 

3. Overeating or eating too many wrong foods

“I’m fasting so that I can eat anything I want” - a very commonly used phrase amongst fasting beginners. Some of us may think that the calories we eat after fasting will make up for the calories we lose during fasting, and so they fast to justify the binging on unhealthy, calorie dense foods like pizza, pasta and sweets. 

Remember, you cannot fast your way out of a bad diet. Though the body experiences the most benefits in the fasted state, what we eat and how much we eat during the feeding window is equally as important as when we eat. Empty calories and junk food are temporarily satisfying but they don’t fuel the body. Instead, they leave the body feeling dissatisfied and craving more food.

Eating the right foods provide us with required energy and nutrients to thrive during the day. Incorporate a variety of healthy proteins and vegetables instead, and notice how hunger decreases, energy levels rise, and your body thrives.

4. Skipping hydration

This is a common mistake most people make regardless of what diet they follow, but is vitally important when we are fasting, as we burn through the glycogen storage - glucose that’s being stored in our muscles and liver. Each glycogen molecule is bound to water in a proportion 1:3 g. This means, for each gram of glycogen we lose 3 gr of water, leading to higher excretion of body minerals together with the water, exacerbating the problem even further.

Some signs you’re not getting enough hydration include:

To avoid these problems, make sure to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, and consider adding electrolytes or our Morning Boost to your water. You can also drink unsweetened tea, coffee, and unflavored sparkling water.

5. Starting too aggressively 

After reading promising information on fasting benefits, It may be tempting to go from 0 to 100, and jump right into a 24 hr fast every other day. However, this is an unsustainable approach that won’t yield any benefits and will only leave you frustrated. Fasting should be a daily practice that enhances your well-being, not an extreme challenge on occasions that are most convenient. 

Back up and start slowly. Let yourself and your body gently adapt to a new routine. Find your individual approach, and maybe start with a 12 hr fasting period first. Once you become accustomed, keep reducing the feeding window until you hit the fasting window you want.

Remember, fasting is not a quick fix, and patience is essential to see long-term benefits.

6. Completely skipping exercise

For some, it may feel intuitive to stop all movement at once, fearing it will deplete their energy. But in reality, movement, and exercise, can actually boost energy. Exercising may help improve the fast on both - physical and psychological levels. Movement or any type of activity, whether it's slow walk, a stretch, or heavy weight lifting, may help transition faster into a fat burning mode, which in turn boosts energy. It may help improve feelings of hunger and release of endorphins - a feel-good hormone. And most of all - preserve the precious muscle mass.

7. Exercising too much/Feeling stressed

If you are fasting frequently, experience chronic stress, do not sleep well, and eat too little… Doing a heavy workout while fasting might not be a good idea. 

It is true that stress from exercise and fasting is a “good” type of stress that makes us stronger. But if we don’t address other negative chronic stressors first, and add a heavy workout to the routine, our body will feel overworked, elevating cortisol levels even further and triggering adrenal fatigue.

Cortisol is problematic because it can prompt the body to break down muscle tissue instead of fat, can make us feel fatigued, contribute to hormonal imbalances and lead to severe hunger. 

Rather than thinking more exercise is always better, backtrack and see if you covered all the bases first. How’s your sleep? Do you eat enough food in between fasting windows? How are your stress levels at work? If you struggle with these on occasion, it shouldn’t be a problem. But if you struggle with these daily, try to address them first before adding a heavy session at the gym. 

8. Unhealthy expectations

Fasting provides us with the ability to truly thrive, but without the right mindset, we’re bound to fail. Having false expectations that fasting will quickly solve our health issues will only set us up for disappointment. It is important to understand that fasting is just one of the tools to be healthy, and it requires patience and discipline. 

Rather than searching for quick fixes, or being discouraged when progress is slower than expected, think of it as an exciting practice and be proud you’re taking a step forward to becoming a healthier you. Focus on the positive that will come out of it. Resilience, strength, a better body, internal feeling of accomplishment, mental clarity, and simply a better version of yourself.