How to End the Fast

When you end your fast, it’s important to allow your body to return to the normal process of digesting food. The digestive system has reduced enzyme production and affects the lining of the stomach, so eating too much or digesting certain foods too quickly can cause some health problems like nausea, stomach pain, or diarrhea. By returning to normal foods slowly and methodically, you can safely end your fast without upsetting your digestive system.

Table of Contents

End the fast (day one)

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Plan based on how long you have fasted. You need to know for sure about the time frame for ending the fast. Usually, how long it takes to stop fasting depends on how long you’ve been fasting. Don’t skip the first step in the process of eating again if you don’t want to get sick and ruin all your efforts.

For a long fast (more than 7 days), you need to allow 4 days to end the fast. The first two days will be limited to the very basics before you start adding other foods.
Set aside 1-3 days to end a shorter fast (about 1 week). The first day will only have juice and maybe a little more gravy. Depending on how your body feels, you can quickly move on to the remaining steps for the next 2 days.
With a 1-day fast, take a day to get back to your original state. Your body is not under a lot of stress, but that doesn’t mean you can immediately eat your favorite foods.

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Make a menu. Making a specific menu during the time it takes for your body to get used to normal foods is one way to help you stay on schedule and not eat things you shouldn’t. Here is an example menu (to end a 4-day fast):

Day 1: Drink 2 cups (240 ml cups) of fruit/vegetable juice (carrots, greens, bananas, apples) diluted with water at a ratio of 50/50, 4 hours apart.
Second day: Drink more diluted vegetable/fruit juice, bone broth and ½ cup of fruit (pear and watermelon) every 2 hours.
Third day: 1 cup of yogurt and juice for breakfast; ½ cup of watermelon juice and vegetable juice for a snack; lunch consists of vegetable soup and juice; snack with ½ cup apple; dinner consists of vegetables with yogurt as a sauce, plus fruit juice.
Fourth day: A hard-boiled egg for breakfast; snack with juice, yogurt and berries; some beans and cooked vegetables for lunch; an apple and some nuts as a snack; dinner consisted of a thick vegetable soup and juice.

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On day one, focus mainly on drinking fruit or vegetable juices. When you start eating again, especially if you’ve been fasting for a long time, you need to warm up by rehydrating your body. To do this, you should only drink diluted fruit/vegetable juice for the first day or two.

To end your fast, drink 1 cup (240 ml) of diluted fruit or vegetable juice. Avoid those with a lot of sugar and additives. After all, you have to get those things out of your body.
4 hours later, drink another glass of 240 ml of diluted fruit or vegetable juice.

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Supplement fruit/vegetable juices with bone or vegetable broth. Depending on your body condition, you can start adding bone broth or vegetables to your diet after 4 hours.

Try making chicken broth or beef broth if you’re adventurous and can’t help but nibble on a few pieces of meat while it’s cooking.
You need to give your body enough time to gradually get used to the foods to avoid being overloaded. If you eat a lot of food at once, it will be difficult for your body to process and digest new foods, including meat broth.

End the fast (second day)

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Start introducing fresh fruit into your diet, especially after a short fast. If you’ve been fasting for two weeks or longer, it’s probably best to continue your diet with fruit/vegetable juices and gravy. If not, now is the time to switch to fresh fruit. That’s because many fruits contain a lot of water and are easy to digest, and are high in nutrients and energy. The body needs food that is easy to digest and helps the digestive system work without too much effort.

You need to start with small amounts of fruit at the end of day 1 and day 2.
Some of the most suitable fruits include: melons (especially watermelons), grapes, apples and pears. These fruits are gentle on the body.

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During this time, you should avoid citrus fruits like lemons or oranges and fibrous fruits like pineapple. High-fiber fruit is hard to digest, and high-acid fruit can be uncomfortable.

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Add yogurt. It is very important that you eat yogurt during the time you start eating again after the fast. Yogurt will help restore the amount of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract and the enzymes lost during fasting. These probiotics then aid in the digestion of the food.

Add yogurt on the second day, or when you start eating fruit. You need to have these enzymes in the digestive system as soon as possible without overloading the body.
Make sure to use unsweetened yogurt, as sugar (processed sugar, not fruit sugar) will make you feel more uncomfortable.

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Listen to your body during this time. Your body will let you know if you’re moving too fast. Some symptoms are normal, such as feeling extremely hungry or lightheaded from not eating for a while. Some other signs that you’re doing the process wrong. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If you’re constipated, have an upset stomach, or feel nauseous (or vomiting), you need to go back to drinking diluted fruit juices and gravy.
You will have one bowel movement after drinking the first few cups of juice. If not, you may need to switch to fruit.
You also need to pay attention to the foods you include in your diet, as food allergies can occur. Pay attention to how the food feels to your body: nausea, drowsiness, itchy mouth or tongue, stuffy nose.

End the fast (third or fourth day)

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Combine vegetables. Start with leafy greens like lettuce and spinach. Eat raw vegetables and use yogurt as a sauce. Continue to eat fruit and drink juice as your body regulates the digestive system.

After lettuce and spinach, move on to other vegetables. You can eat raw vegetables and cooked vegetables. You can even make vegetable soup (but don’t eat store-bought soup, because it contains sugar, salt, and other unhealthy things).
Sprouts are also very good, because they contain many minerals and antioxidants that your body needs and are easy to digest.

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Add some grains and beans. You need to cook these foods thoroughly and serve them with vegetables and fruits. You’ll start to feel better as you continue to reintroduce a variety of foods into your diet. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Try eating nuts and eggs as you get more used to eating (day four for a long fast, day two for a 1-day fast, and day three for a moderate fast). Hard-boiled eggs or scrambled eggs are the easiest to eat. Hard-boiled eggs are harder to digest.

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Make sure your body is working properly before you return to your normal diet. If your body has no problems (such as cramps, nausea, etc.) when handling vegetables and fruits, you can start eating foods that are more difficult to digest. But if your body is still in trouble at this point, you should continue to eat the foods that cause the least trouble so far. You need to stick to foods that you already know are good for your body.

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Eat small portions. Start with meals about 2 hours apart in the beginning (after you finish drinking diluted juice 4 hours apart). You’ll move on to larger meals as your body adapts to a wider variety of foods.

Finally, the optimal daily meal schedule will include 3 main meals and 2 snacks. By this point, your body should be back to normal, and hopefully you’ll feel better after the cleanse.

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Chew food thoroughly. The process of chewing helps to break down food so that it is easier for the body to digest. So, eat slowly and help your body prepare for digestion. Try to chew each piece of food at least 20 times before chewing the next one. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Troubleshoot common problems

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Know that diarrhea and excretion often occur after restarting solid foods. On the first day, you only drink watermelon juice, and on the second you get used to grapes and pears again. Then, you get diarrhea right after eating just a few grapes and pears, and these solid foods are eliminated from the body. Is there something wrong?

Fasting people experience this quite often after going back to solid foods. During fasting, the digestive system rests and is inactive. The enzymes in the gut are not used to working. Then suddenly they have to receive food and have to process it in a short time. Trouble happens is also understandable.
The solution to this problem is to stick with the plan. Usually the problem is not with the food, but simply because you are asking your body to do something completely unprepared. Stick to a diet of mainly fruit and vegetable juices with added gravy, occasionally getting used to a little solid food that is easy to digest. Your body will adapt in a day or two.

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Know that bloating and constipation are relatively common. Don’t panic if you don’t have a bowel movement after getting used to solid foods again. Your situation is not uncommon, and you did nothing wrong. Here’s what you need to do:

Dissolve one teaspoon of Metamucil (or another fiber supplement) and one teaspoon of aloe vera juice in 240 ml of water and drink before each meal. Fiber supplements and aloe are both mild laxatives that aid in excretion.
Avoid foods and drinks that cause constipation or make it worse. Nuts, kale, and coffee are also good foods, but they also make constipation worse. You should continue to eat easily digestible fruits like prunes and root vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash.

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Know that eating too many foods, especially when you return to solid foods, can cause digestive problems. The principle of the process of ending fasting is simplicity. Find a suitable juice and drink it for a day, and the next day find a simple and effective fruit to eat only that fruit for a day. A lot of fasting people think their digestive system is stronger than it really is, so they provide what they think it needs – a variety of foods – when what they really need is simple food. Keep things simple, and you will be rewarded.

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Be careful with oily foods for the first week after eating again. Even foods that contain beneficial oils like avocados and nuts can cause digestive problems for the stomach before abstaining from solid foods. In the early stages, you should eat fruits and vegetables that do not contain a lot of oil; Listen slowly to how your body reacts to oily foods like avocados when you’re ready to get used to them again.

Advice

Maintain healthy eating habits. Remember that fasting is a cleansing process for the body. Don’t immediately fill yourself up with harmful foods and processed meals. Start a healthy lifestyle from the fast.
Keep yourself busy during the end of the fast. Find a way to distract yourself so you don’t have to worry about hunger. You can find some fun movies, hang out with friends, or learn to crochet.
Maintain enough water for the body. Continue drinking plenty of water and fresh fruit juices while you start eating again. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Warning

Know that you will feel very hungry at the end of your fast, but you will have to be disciplined, especially when your stomach and digestive system restart.
Do not binge eat during the termination of the fast. It can be very easy to be tempted with all the foods you crave during your fast. However, this is very harmful to the digestive system and intestines.

Steps