The hour-by-hour impact fasting for 36 hours can have on your body is seriously mind-boggling.
Although fasting isn't for everyone, and nor it should be, it has been claimed that it can give your body a 'full reset'.
When done safely with adequate hydration, it is claimed to provide various health benefits with each passing hour, according to Doctor Hiltz.
And that's why a fasting timeline can give you a little bit of an idea on what to expect if you decided to go without food for 36 hours.
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It, of course, isn't recommended for everyone, and you should certainly seek medical advice before going on a fast, but here's what happens if you do it for just 36 hours.
36-hour fasting timeline
Four hours into the fast
So, after four hours without eating, your insulin level typically drops and the body starts to burn stored sugar, a simulation video on YouTube channel Wellness Wise states.
This is considered to be the 'anabolic phase', a process where your body builds mainly muscle tissue.
Eight hours later
Your blood sugar levels will usually decrease and then your glycogen will be used for energy.
The 'catabolic phase', as it's known, will take the energy from the foods you've previously eaten.
12 hours later
After 12 hours, fat will start to burn off as insulin levels decrease again. This process is known as 'ketosis'.
16 hours later
16 hours later, a process called autophagy takes place. It's a cellular process where a cell breaks down and recycles its own components, like damaged proteins or organelles, to maintain energy and cellular health.
Doctor Hiltz reports that exercise and resistance training helps the autophagy process because if it gets disrupted, it can cause 'problems associated with abnormal cell growth'.
24 hours later
24 hours in is where you start to see major cellular repair, where inflammation reduces and insulin sensitivity improves.
Wellness Wise has provided a simulation of what a 36 hour fast can look like. Watch below:
30 hours later
At the 30 hour mark, this is when the growth hormone spikes, which helps to preserve muscle and promote fat loss.
36 hours later
Finally, maximum autophagy is reached at 36 hours, clearing dead cells, regenerating tissues, and boosting metabolism, providing a full body reset.
The problem with fasting
One issue with fasting is that there aren't loads of human-backed studies, given that most are done with animals.
“There [are] a lot of proposed benefits to [running on fats]. But a lot of the research hasn’t really [been borne out in] human beings. So we don’t see dramatic health benefits, certainly in the short term,” James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath, told The Guardian.