Library
The biology of fasting, written to be read.
Each article is tied to a phase you'll pass through during a long fast. Sources are cited in-line. No filler, no pop-ups, no "5 weird tricks".
Phase · Fed
-
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting — what the research actually shows
A claim-by-claim review of intermittent fasting's purported benefits, with the strength of evidence rated honestly. Strong, mixed, and overclaimed — all called out.
Evidence · 11 min
-
How fasting drives weight loss — and why the scale lies week to week
What intermittent fasting actually does to body weight, what the trials show against the marketing, and how to read your own scale when it is lying to you. The honest companion to our in-app weight tracker.
Outcomes · 9 min
Phase · Early fasting
-
The ghrelin wave, and how to ride it
Behavior · 4 min
-
Intermittent fasting schedules — 12:12 through 72 hours, explained
Every common intermittent fasting schedule — 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, OMAD — plus 24-, 36-, 48-, and 72-hour extended fasts. Which biological phases each one reaches, and how to pick one.
Protocol · 10 min
-
What is intermittent fasting? A 6-phase guide to the biology
A definition of intermittent fasting, the six biological phases a fast passes through, the protocols that get you there, and what the research actually supports — and does not.
Overview · 12 min
-
How to start intermittent fasting — a 4-week gentle ramp
Most people who quit intermittent fasting in week one didn't fail at fasting — they failed at the ramp. The honest 4-week onboarding from 12:12 to 16:8 that actually sticks.
How-to · 9 min
Phase · Lipolysis
-
What breaks a fast — a decision tree
Protocol · 6 min
-
Electrolytes — the quiet variable
Why insulin's drop changes how your kidneys handle salt, what mineral loss feels like, and how to keep the back-end of your fast as steady as the front.
Practice · 5 min
-
What can you drink while fasting — a drink-by-drink guide
Coffee, tea, diet soda, milk, bone broth, alcohol, kombucha — every common drink with a direct yes / no / grey-area answer and the biology in a sentence. The practical companion to our decision-tree article on what breaks a fast.
Practice · 7 min
-
Intermittent fasting, keto, and calories — can you combine them?
Three eating strategies that overlap in confusing ways. How they actually interact, when stacking helps, and when it gets you nothing extra.
Diet · 10 min
Phase · Autophagy
-
Autophagy, explained gently
Cellular · 5 min
-
The complete electrolyte handbook for fasting
Every electrolyte that matters during a fast — by name, with the mechanism, the dose, the supplement form, and an honest comparison of the commercial powders. The reference companion to the story-shaped electrolytes article.
Reference · 12 min
-
How to break a long fast
The first meal after twenty-four hours matters more than people think. What your gut and pancreas have been doing while you weren't eating, and what they need from you on the way back.
Refeed · 6 min
A note on sources
These articles are written for an educated lay reader. Where a claim rests on a specific study, the study is named. Where the literature is thin or contested, the article says so. The goal is calibration, not certainty.