Been slowly reading this thread; I'm only up to page 6. Think I've been unintentionally doing a version of IF for years now - that is, not eating my first meal (except for a coffee or tea) many days until sometime in the later part of the afternoon. Rarely do I manage to get in three squares a day. It's usually two.

Yesterday I deliberately put off eating until 14:00. I know I *could* have extended it to 18:00, but I was genuinely hungry and my body was so happy after my ~400 cal meal. I didn't feel like eating again until 22:00, when I had a nice steak and roasted veggies. And that's usually the case - I eat my last meal only an hour or two before going to sleep, which seems to be frowned upon. But I don't want to eat earlier, when I'm not yet hungry. I think it's important for me to not eat when I'm not hungry.

Anyway, after my late lunch me and my body were soooo happy. I had so much energy; my mood was so good.

Thanks to Janet for the early postings in this thread to the Wayback Machine captures of Dr. Fung's IF program circa ?2013?. I read them all.

Dr. Fung did not permit bouillon as an acceptable beverage during one's fast. Why not? I understand that bone broth is superior to bouillon, just like grass fed and -finished beef is superior to meat from CAFO farmed animals -- but isn't it better to follow the protocol, having the occasional cup or two of bouillon, than not to do it at all because you don't feel like making bone broth? Like it's better to go LC and buy meat sourced from conventionally-raised animals than not to go LC because you can't afford the price of meat from pastured animals? ALL or NOTHING has sort of been a problem for me - perfectionism, you know.

I've got some really delicious concentrates (Savory Choice concentrates in beef, chicken and turkey flavors, and Edward & Sons Garden Veggie Cubes) also "Better than Bouillon" concentrates (which I keep in the fridge) which aren't as tasty as a beverage, but are handy for making soups; all have goodly amounts of sodium. I never have enough beef bones to make a proper beef stock, but I did recently source a butcher that consistently has beef bones from well raised animals, often fresh (just ask), but also frozen. But whenever I make bone broth (last time from chicken bones), it looks disgusting and unappetizing and pretty much ends up sitting in my fridge until I throw it out.

Anyway, I'm contemplating adding a 24 hour fast here and there - maybe once a fortnight? Haven't done a true fast in years. Then I followed the protocol of Dr Paavo Airola, who recommended (in addition to water) tisanes, vegetable broth (delicious and much faster to make) and diluted fruit and vegetable juices (I forget the ratio of juice to water), plus dry brush massage of the skin, and daily water enemas. That protocol was not difficult, but I kept sneaking in the occasional cracker or Cheeto, hahaha, wasn't very disciplined. I can't remember what my longest fast was, but I'm sure it wasn't more than a week.