Congratulations, you just completed your first 3-day dry fast! But before you dial 1800-PIZZAHUT, consider how you break your fast, makes your fast—and pizza is diarrhea on a slice.
How to break a 3-day dry fast? Break your fast with a probiotic like kefir or sauerkraut juice to stimulate stomach enzymes; alternatively, break with water mixed with probiotics, apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice, coconut water, or baking soda.
Dry fasting for more than 24 hours comes with a different list of recommendations. You’re a professional now, and your body needs the big boys. These liquids and solids are highly recommended.
How to break a 3-day dry fast
A 3-day dry fast is when your house has burned down to its bones and only the strongest structures survived: the pillars, walls, your best linen; breaking the fast is when the help arrives: the builders, painters, plumbers, interior designers—not Bob the Pizza Guy.
Of course, you want Bob the Pizza Guy. But what you need is Bob the Builder.
Breaking a dry fast is more crucial than the dry fast. With so many challenging biological changes in such a short time frame, your body is desperate for the tools to restore itself and must be treated gently.
It’s vital to plan ahead of time on how you will break your fast: the principal activity in your dry fasting days will be binging on food porn and online menus—arm yourself against self-sabotage!
To break the 3-day dry fast, first, decide on your liquid of choice. Some fasting experts, such as Dr. Mindly Pelz, suggest drinking probiotics such as sauerkraut juice; after the dry fast has removed the harmful bacteria from your system, you have a unique opportunity to stock up on gut-friendly bacteria.
Both Dr. Luke Coutinho(author of the Dry Fasting Miracle) and Dr, Mindy Pelz, recommend kefir, a probiotic made from dairy, to grow a healthy gut microbiome while supplying protein, so you should milk the opportunity!
However, the Russian fasting expert Dr. Sergey Filonov suggests water mixed with a sachet of probiotic bacteria, preferably lactobactrin or bifidium, or a brand called LINEX, to promote stomach enzymes and gut microflora. He likes kefir too, but only after this initial drink.
Coconut water appears to have a following, similar to blood plasma in its constitution, and a natural way to rehydrate quickly. However, be careful of having too much coconut water; it contains high glucose levels and can rapidly spike blood sugar after a dry fast, which is essential if you’re concerned about weight gain. Best to have a tablespoon diluted in water. If weight gain is a concern, keep your blood sugar low.
Water mixed with apple cider vinegar has been my go-to option for many of my 3-day dry fasts and has served me well. Recently, I’ve added aloe vera juice as my break fast choice. Another popular choice is water mixed with baking soda, the reason is that it helps to detoxify the kidneys as they have been working really hard to cleanse your body during the dry fast.
Liquids to break your fast:
- Water with added probiotics – lactobacterin, bifidium, or LINEX
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut juice
- Water with apple cider vinegar
- Water with baking soda
- Coconut water diluted in water
- Pure Aloe vera juice (2-3 tablespoons in water)
- Kombucha (watch for high sugar content, though.)
- Water with lemon juice
Once you have decided on your breakfast drink, you start by sipping it slowly. Drink 1 glass of the liquid, swish it around your mouth, thoroughly coating it before swallowing.
Remember, go slowly. Only 1 glass (250 ml) should be ingested in 15 minutes, sip by sip. Over the next two hours, you can sip a glass of water every 15 minutes, still sipping slowly. After 2-4 hours, drink as usual, and you can eat if you choose to.
What to Eat to Break A 3-Day Dry Fast?
The first meal to break a 3-day dry fast should be a snack-sized portion of easily digestible, simple food like low-carb fruit, nuts, and vegetables. Avoid salt intake or foods high in carbs. Also, avoid animal meat in your first meal – it’s too heavy on the digestive system.
You want to feed your body only the primo stuff, the highest, purest nourishment you can give yourself. Your body is cleaner and healthier, with newly birthed cells and tissues, yet at the same time depleted of its reserves, so it will benefit most from fresh, unprocessed foods—organic if possible.
That first meal should be easy on the stomach, such as raw, cooked, dried fruit and vegetables, vegetable or bone broths, yogurts, nuts, and eggs. Many also choose bone or fish broths high in good fats, protein, collagen, and plenty of vitamins and nutrients.
Dr. Sergey Filonov suggests protein-rich foods like fish broth and kefir, as animal protein is a building material to synthesize new cells. Probiotic and fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi are also excellent choices to give your stomach all the enzymic assistance it can get.
Foods to Break a 3-Day Dry Fast:
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- Dried fruit – figs, prunes, apricots, raisins (if not concerned on weight gain)
- Eggs
- Salad with olive oil dressing
- Yogurt with fruit
- Miso soup
- Bone broth
- Fish broth
- Vegetable soup
Dr. Sergey recommends eating protein at your first meal. I usually have a small low-sodium miso soup with bits of seaweed and tofu to break my 3-day dry fast and eggs with half an avocado a few hours later.
When I say small, I mean tiny. Portion size is essential. Think one handful. And less than 500 calories in the first meal. Your digestion has been to diet camp, so binge eating your first meal can cause bloating, cramp, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or even fainting. Take it from me, I’ve had deathly stomach cramps from stuffing my face after a 3-day fast. Not good.
Stay clear of stomach irritants—like spicy food and coffee or anything that has caused discomfort in the past. Some people react badly to FODMAPS food; play safe if you think you might be sensitive. The protective lining of the stomach wall is diminished after the fast, so it’s extra irritable. Remember, your gastrointestinal system needs all the help it can get right now; go easy.
While we are on gas, you might want to hold the salt. Your system is susceptible to sodium after a 3-day dry fast and prone to water retention—eat processed foods and take-outs, and you will bloat like a toad.
You also want to chew your food slowly. Take. Your. Time. Savor. Simply chewing your food activates digestive enzymes in the mouth, so half the work is done even before it heads downstream.
How to eat after breaking a 3-day dry fast
Refeeding after a dry fast is essential as your body is still sensitive and eager to get nutrition for its starved cells. After the first meal, you can have a series of small meals, spacing them out at 2-4 hour intervals.
On the second day, you can eat about half your usual calorific intake. By the third day, you should be able to eat your average calorific amounts, but still, watch that you’re eating foods that are good for you. Have the most easily digestible foods first, then you can move up in complexity and flavor. After the 4th day or so, you can have more salt in your meals.
When exiting the fast, the rule of thumb is to refeed for twice ( but the minimum is 1 – 1.5 times) the duration of the fast. So for a 3-day dry fast, you should refeed for about 3-6 days, so think fresh vegetables and fruit for a week.
Probiotics are great too, and you can start eating more meat and fish if you prefer. Just remember, with your rejuvenated body, all the food you eat should be of the highest quality.
Tip: Heed your intuition. Your instincts are heightened after a fast, so it’s worth paying attention when the body says no. If something on your plate looks weird, or smells funny, or tastes ever so slightly off, even if you really want it, your gut (literally) is telling you not to go there—so back away from that pizza!
Although a 3-day dry fast is incredibly beneficial, sometimes shorter dry fasts are more manageable! And these shorter intermittent dry fasts can still give you spectacular results, including rapid weight loss and age reversal. I dry fast daily as a lifestyle and look and feel a decade younger. If this is ringing your bells, check out my new video course, 25 Again! The Dry Fasting Lifestyle For A Younger, Slimmer You. See you there!
***Disclaimer: I am not a doctor/ physician, and although I have a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science, I cannot and do not hold myself to be a medical professional (“Medical Provider”). This article does not contain medical /health advice. The medical/ health information here is for general and educational purposes only. It is my opinion, based on my research and personal experience, and not a substitute for professional advice by your health care provider. Please consult with a professional before acting on the information here, and do not disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical attention because of anything you read in this article. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.***
References
- Dunning, August. The Phoenix Protocol Dry Fasting for Rapid Healing and Radical Life Extension: Functional Immortality. August Dunning , 2020.
- Coutinho, Luke. Dry Fasting Miracle. EBURY PR, 2020.
- Filonov, Sergey. 20 Questions & Answers About Dry Fasting . Translated by Vera Giovanna Bani , Siberika , 2019.
- https://drmindypelz.com/the-benefits-of-dry-fasting
