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I have been using the “intermittent fasting” method for health and weight management for four months now. Intermittent fasting, or IF, includes a variety of approaches to patterned eating. My typical schedule evolved from fasting for 16 hours a day to 17 – 18 hours a day. Depending on my social and family life, sometimes I change my fasting time to include longer 24-hour fasts. I have also used fasting as a health tool to help boost my immunity. My longest fast to date was 60 hours.

Due to my interest and passion for helping and supporting others in their health and wellness goals, I created and now administer a Facebook group for women called “What IF.” We help and encourage each other on our IF methods and approaches. A few weeks back I shared a great article by Benjamin Hardy called “The Number One Secret to Superhuman Willpower,” and it was all about fasting. Hardy spoke mainly about the spiritual aspects of going for long periods of time without eating, and he made a point about “getting a group of people together to fast…leads to miracles and radical breakthroughs.” He goes on to say “fast in whatever group you want – so long as the purpose for the fast is relevant to each member of the group.”

I was inspired by Hardy’s idea of fasting in a group and wanted to see if there were people online that would be interested in doing a virtual 24-hour group fast. I set up an “Event” on my Author Angela G. Gentile Facebook page and shared the link in various other groups and on my personal Facebook page. It was advertised 11 days ahead of the event.

The plan was to fast from a Wednesday evening after our supper meal, until the same time (24-hours later) on a Thursday evening. The start and stop times were going to be staggered, and it could be personalized to suit a person’s lifestyle. I chose to fast from 6:50 pm until 6:50 pm the next day. I answered questions as they came up and encouraged people to let me know when they started and ended their fast. I also made a “24-Hour Fast” chat group on Messenger.

The response was more encouraging than I expected! I ended up with “25 Went and 45 Interested.” The event was a huge success, and I decided to do a short survey on “Survey Monkey” afterward to see if I should do this again, and how I could improve on it.

I received 21 survey responses – from 19 women and two men. The responses were helpful, insightful and encouraging. See the highlights below.

1. How did you first hear about the “24-Hour Group-Fast” event?
What IF Facebook group (8), Angela G. Gentile’s personal Facebook page (7), Author Angela G. Gentile’s business Facebook page (1), Other (6) included Keto groups on Facebook

2. How many hours did you successfully fast for this 24-hour event?
Surprisingly a few went way past the 24-hour mark. It seemed to trigger something in some people. The longest fast was recorded as 61 hours! The shortest was 22. There were a few who did over 40 hours. 17 of us did between the 23.5-36 hour mark!

3. How did you feel DURING the fast?
Most people reported feeling “Fine,” “Good,” “Great!”. One person said “Amazing!!!! A new level of happy and wellbeing.” Another response was “Focused!” One person said “I felt really great! I had forgotten how fasting makes your sides feel clean, as I hadn’t done it for so long!”
For those who felt hungry, they said “I felt OK as long as I kept busy” and “Fine in the AM. Hungry around 17-20, but less hungry the last 4 hours.” One person said they were “only hungry when I had to prepare food for my daughter.”
Not everyone had a great experience though. One person said “I felt bad at first. I am out of practice. But at 20 hours I felt great.” One had a “slight headache and felt tired late in the day”; another reported my “head ached and felt jittery at the end.” One felt a “little light-headed later in the afternoon but got home from work, relaxed and felt better.”

4. How did you feel AFTER the fast?
Most people had something very positive to say about how they felt after the fast. Typical responses were: “Good,” “Great!” “Really Good!” “Excellent,” “Empowered!” “Energized” and “Energetic.” One person said, “Energized, hopeful and happy.” One person felt “Detoxed,” and another said their “bowel seemed to work better.” Two said they could have gone longer.” One person said they felt “Tired.” Another reported, “I felt my good choice after fasting wasn’t great and I felt icky after eating.” One enthusiastically stated, “I slept better than I had in a very long time! I felt so refreshed!”

5. How often would you like to do a fast?
“Once a week” received the most responses (9). “Once a month” (6), and “Once every two weeks “ (4). One person said they were “going to try to fast from Sunday night until Tuesday afternoon each week for the month of May.” One would like to do this “3-4 times a week.”

The “general” responses included lots of “Thank yous” and other kind words of appreciation for organizing the event. I enjoyed hosting this group fast and I even personally benefitted from it! I flexed my fasting muscle and willpower, and I felt in control. I enjoyed the group aspect of it and learned from others in the Messenger group and on the Facebook discussions and comments.

These final comments stand out for me and verify that deciding to run this fasting event was an excellent idea! Thank you to all who participated and took the time to answer the survey.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity! I believe fasting is good for you and it’s a lot easier when you have people doing it with you and cheering you on!”

“It helped me stay motivated knowing others were doing it too.”

“It was nice to complete as a group.”

NOTE: If you would like to be notified of the next 24-hour group fast, or if you would like more information on intermittent fasting for health and weight management, please let me know.

Angela G. Gentile

Angela G. Gentile  MSW, RSW is a clinical social worker and author. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband and has two adult children. For more information visit: www.AngelaGGentile.com.