The 72 Hour Sardine Fast Kicked My Ass
But it got big results
Have you ever heard about a crazy challenge and decided, “I’m gonna do that! It’ll be easy!” And then, after you started, you totally wanted to cancel the whole idea?
That was me last week.
The 72-hour sardine challenge kicked my ass. Not gonna lie. But I made it.
What is the 72-Hour Sardine Fast, and Why Would You Do It?
During the 72-Hour Sardine Fast, you eat only sardines for three days. You can eat as many sardines as you want, whenever you want. You can also have water, black coffee, or tea with nothing in it.
The sardines can be eaten from the can or pan-fried/ air-fried for added crispiness.
I heard about this challenge in an interview with Dr. Boz (Annette Bosworth, MD). From Dr. Boz: Kickstart Metabolism In 3 Days With Sardines, and her client who ate Sardines for 100 days?!
Yeah, you read that right. Some crazy lady voluntarily ate only sardines for 100 days. And she didn’t even die.
Ketones
This challenge gets your body to produce ketones and switch to fat-burning. Since sardines are carb-free, your body will naturally do what it has evolved to do: run on fat and convert protein to glucose if necessary.
As the liver produces ketones, blood sugar drops, the body burns fat, and inflammation levels drop.
There’s plenty of evidence that ketones are good for the brain and sharpen your thinking tools. Substacker
writes about this in From Brain to Mind.According to the Carolina Brain Center:
“Research indicates that ketones serve as a more efficient and cleaner fuel for the brain compared to glucose, leading to improved mental clarity, focus, and concentration. Moreover, ketones have shown potential in mitigating the cognitive decline associated with aging and certain neurodegenerative conditions, offering hope for individuals seeking to preserve their cognitive abilities.”
The Many Benefits of Sardines:
Flood your body with Omega-3’s! Sardines contain healthy fatty acids, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, calcium, and a pile of other micronutrients.
Protein in each can - up to 18 G
Anti-inflammatory
Boosts ketones and lower blood glucose
Increase insulin sensitivity
Carnivore and keto diet supportive. This will put you on track.
Save on dishes! Eat right out of the can like cavemen used to.
Guidelines for the 72 Hr. Challenge:
Only eat sardines. But the good news is you can eat as many as you want! Packed in oil or water.
Avoid sardines packed in seed oils like soybean oil and sunflower oil! Olive oil is okay.
Avoid sardines with sauces and flavorings that have added carbohydrates. The goal is low-carb.
Olive oil, salt, pepper, low-calorie hot sauce, and mustard are acceptable condiments.
As much water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea as you want.
No other food of any kind for 72 hours.
This short-duration challenge is simple because it eliminates all choices. It’s effective because it eliminates all choices. It’s monotonous because it eliminates all choices. But it’s only 3 days! How hard could it be?
Day 1
Weight: 171.7 lbs
Blood Glucose: 5.4 mmol/L
Ketones: Not measurable
Overall State: Nothing noticeable
How it went: I ate five cans of sardines, which didn’t bother my stomach at all. Just like the videos said, I was satisfied, stuffed, and so full that there was no way I was even slightly hungry. The thought of food was a real drag.
Day 2
Weight: 169.7 lbs
Blood Glucose: 4.2 mmol/L
Ketones: .5 mmol/L
Overall State: Plenty of energy, mind felt sharp. Happy to be alive.
How it Went: My stomach was unsure of itself. It was saying things like, “Am I a little nauseous? Should I induce vomiting? Nah. I’ll just clench the sphincters a little bit. That’ll show this clown not to give me any more sardines.”
Did I listen? No!
I ate a total of 4 cans of oily fish on day 2.
So stuffed. Not at all interested in any more food.
Day 3
Weight: 167.7 lbs
Blood Glucose: 3.9 mmol/L
Ketones: 1.5 mmol/L
Overall State: Mind clear as a bell, emotions very stable, super energetic.
How it Went: A very challenging day.
I made myself eat one can of sardines for breakfast. Then I toughed out the entire day, waiting for hour 72.
That wait was tougher than a woodpecker’s nose. All I could think about was giving up and throwing in the towel. I was uneasy and felt emptier than a politician’s promise.
When the end finally arrived, I forced down that last can of tiny little fish like a man on a mission. The mission was to eat something revolting and not throw up. Close the eyes and down the hatch.
On day three, I consumed two cans of sardines. I took the rest of the day off from eating because I felt like I earned a break.
Final weight after last can of fish: 166.2 lbs
Final Blood Glucose: 3.4 mmol/L
Ketones: 6.5 mmol/L
Valuable lessons from this experiment:
Sardines are very filling. If all you eat is sardines, you’ll feel REALLY full.
Sardines raise ketones. My levels were the highest I had ever achieved before, even after weeks of a pure keto diet.
This challenge can take the weight off fast. I dropped 4 pounds in 3 days. Yeah, I know, it’s “only water weight.” It’s also four pounds of pure inflammation.
Adding salt and mustard to sardines helps a little bit but not enough.
Air-frying sardines makes my sinuses sad and attracts cats within a 10-mile radius.
I didn’t like this challenge. I’d rather eat nothing for three days instead!
Have you ever done a fitness challenge, like 75 Hard? What were the results?
Did you hate it and pray for it to end, calling on the spirits of your ancestors to speed up time to put you out of your misery? Because I sure did.
Podcast Episodes from Time2Thrive
Thanks to
, , , and for joining me in these recordings!
Thanks for doing that, so I don't have to!
Great to hear you did it Tim. There are different foods you can use for the so called "monodied". As we discussed in our podcast there is also the possibility of steamed vegetables like Asparagus, courgette, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato etc. So maybe next time you write about another choose ;-)