I had a new experience recently. I did something that I’ve never done before, and it ended up being quite enlightening. Before I dive into that, nothing in this post is medical advice. If you decide to try something like this, talk to your medical provider first. This is only to share my experience.
So, here it goes.
Last week I did my first 72 hour fast. 72 hours (three full days) without food. No calories, no sugar, no carbs. For 72 hours I drank water, black coffee, and zero sugar, zero calorie electrolyte mixes. I wasn’t required to do this fast. I decided to do it on my own and for a few different reasons, none of which matter to this post. The reason I’m sharing the experience is to give some insight for a potential survival scenario.
One quick point to make, a 72 hour fast does not start upon finishing a meal. It actually begins after you have finished digesting the last meal you ate. That could be about four hours. So in reality, a 72 hour fast is a 76 hour process.
During the whole process, I couldn’t help but think of one thing, over and over. “This is a great experience for a potential survival situation.” I came up with all sorts of scenarios where I may have to go without food for an extended period of time. Many people are not aware that the food that is seemingly always available, is in short supply. Grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. don’t have large stockrooms in the back that are full of food. What is on the shelves, is what is in the store. Stores receive deliveries on a near daily basis to keep supply available. While it is many people’s plan to run to the store and grab last minute items in an emergency, within about three days, those items are gone. There may be a few things left here and there but for the most part everything will be gone in less than a week if the supply line breaks down. Remember toilet paper back during the times of Covid? With that in mind, think of what you have in your house and what few items you could grab in that last-ditch effort to restock in an emergency. You may have several days, or even a couple of weeks of food. You may not be out of food immediately. But, what about after that food is gone? You might get hungry while searching for more. Whether natural disaster, EMP, or whatever form the SHTF scenario comes, this is a very real possibility. At some point the food will be gone. How would you fell going without food for 72 hours? I can tell you.
Yes, you’ll be hungry. But you won’t be starving. The first 24 hours of the fast I got hungry. It wasn’t excruciating. It was just hunger. I read, and was told, that the 25 to 48 hours mark is where it would be the worst. It honestly wasn’t that bad. I was just hungry. It was no worse than the first 24 hours, just more constant. Whenever I got hungry, I would drink a bottle of water, maybe have an electrolyte drink and I was good for a couple of hours. I drank coffee throughout the day, and the flavor helped to “trick” my mind for a little while. The last 24 hours (49 to 72 hours period) was the easiest. From my understanding, this is the period where your body transitions from feeding off stored carbs and sugar and switches over to stored fat. The biggest “feeling” I noticed was the anticipation, and yes excitement, of getting to eat soon. It became a countdown to the big moment of getting to eat. Those were the hours that seemed to pass the slowest. All in all, it was not some terrible, excruciating experience.
I enjoyed the experience from an “academic” mindset. I was able to experience what three days of not eating would feel like in a controlled setting that allowed me to focus on what I felt and how my body responded. I went for brisk walks that were no more than 10-15 minutes for the first two days that allowed me to see how I felt with some exertion and no food. The most important prepping lesson that I learned during the process was this, going without food for three days did not hinder my ability to perform any of the tasks required. I went to work, I got some exercise, and I was not hindered. I did NOT experience any form of debilitation. I only experienced a little hunger. I learned quite a bit about myself and just about any scenario where I may have to go without food. Something else I know about myself, when I am busy I don’t get hungry nearly as soon and I don’t realize my hunger until I stop whatever I’m doing.
My assumption would be that in a survival scenario, with as much as I would need to tend to, I would be able to go three days without food with ease, probably much longer, and still be able to operate. My educated assumption would be that I could go for several days without ANY food before the effects would need to be addressed. This is great to know. I regret to say, in my current “situation” I do not have the stored food in place that I believe every prepper should have. I am working toward remedying that, but as it stands, it’s not there. There are several things I would need to get, fairly soon, in an emergency situation to have any sort of balanced diet. However, knowing that I can go days without food helps me know that I can go every day with a greatly reduced caloric intake and still function quite well. Any food stores that I have can be stretched to last for a longer period. So, while I need to bolster my supplies, I can also make those supplies last longer than originally expected. I can also educate my family on what to expect with any change to food on-hand.
Call me crazy, but I like to experience something (almost anything I can foresee happening) before I am forced into the experience. Whether academic or practical, knowledge is power. Personally, I intend to experience any part of prepping/survivalism possible while I choose to do so. Whether it be going camping (which I have done plenty), learning navigation, fasting, hunting, gardening, etc., these are all things that may be needed in a survival situation. Why not do it in a controlled environment where I can slow down and learn as much as possible during the process to make things easier if I have to do so long term?
What areas of prepping/surviving can you try, or even incorporate into daily life, now before it becomes a necessity?
Don’t just prepare. Prepare to thrive.
