Water Fasting benefits and guide for beginners

Water fasting isn’t about deprivation—it’s about gently stepping back so your body can step up and do what it was designed to do: heal.

I’m Joanna Monardo, a certified Fast Like a Girl coach trained under Dr. Mindy Pelz, and I support women in perimenopause and beyond to heal their hormones, reset their metabolism, and reclaim their energy through the power of fasting.

When we pause from constantly digesting and processing food, we create space for deep repair—physically, mentally, and even emotionally. During a water fast, your body switches into a powerful healing mode, clearing out damaged cells, balancing hormones, calming inflammation, and restoring energy from the inside out. It’s a sacred reset, not just for your health, but for your entire being.

Water fasts have existed in history, for centuries, many religions fast as a way to become more spiritually connected to their God, and our ancestors lived in a feast/famine cycle and did not suffer from the chronic diseases we do today. Due to our modern world, we have become completely dependent on convenience. This means we have moved away from the lifestyle our ancestors once had. We live in a society where we outsource our healing methods - pills, doctors, specialists, powders and supplements. We need to bring the power back to ourselves. Our incredibly wise body holds all the answers we need.

Just to be clear, water fasting is not for everyone, especially if you are pregnant, postpartum or a lactating mother. If you have a history of eating disorders or if you are a Diabetic (this would need to be under the supervision of your GP, Naturopath or a certified Fasting Coach, to monitor your glucose levels). 

In this article, I’ll guide you through:

1. The powerful benefits of doing a water fast. 
2. What you can and can’t have during a water fast.
3. How to safely prepare your body for the fast.
4. How and when to break your fast with care.
5. Why it is particularly important for the midlife woman to adopt fasting into her lifestyle.

The benefits of a water fast.

The main reason you would want to do any fast, is to allow your body time to heal and recover from food. The second reason is to allow your body to become insulin sensitive (more about this as we dive into midlife). By giving your body a minimum of 13 hours between food means that your body can start to repair itself. During this time, your body will go in search for glucose to use as energy. If there is no food coming in, this means it can tap into the glycogen stores it has placed all around your body (often in those places that you love to hate - belly, back, arms etc) and it starts to use up those fat stores as its main source of energy. However, soon as you begin to eat again, it stops using those stores and returns to burning the glucose you begin to consume.

Therefore the longer you can abstain from food, the more time your body has to use up what it has in its fat stores. Now there are so many benefits that come along with this. Let me explain…

At 17 hours into a water fast your body recognises that glucose has gone down and so has any nutrients coming in. Your body then goes into a state called Autophagy, which simply means all parts of the cells start to clean themselves up. The body pushes out what no longer serves it within that cell. If there is a virus or bacteria in that cell, the intelligence within that cell will kill it off. This means if you have been fighting some infection or have been on any medications, your body will recognise this and clear out those damaged cells. Keep in mind, that these cells are the ones that could have developed into chronic diseases or worse, and your other cells become better versions of themselves! Therefore, you have just cured yourself of the chronic disease you didn’t even know you were about to get! No pill or treatment can do this. You have the power!

Of course as you go into longer fasts the healing benefits become even greater. Not only does autophagy increase and glycogen stores empty - reducing inflammation in the body, you will also notice a shift in the mind as your body has started to produce ketones! The by-product of long fasts is this wonderful little ketone that signals to the brain to switch off your hunger hormone. It occurs so that if you were still a primal being, you would have the motivation and clarity of mind to go out and find your next kill and not have any hunger pains. As time goes on, you stay in a state of ketosis where your body will continue to use the ketones for energy and burn fat. This is the point in a water fast where you will find you are clearly focused and the brain fog has lifted! This is also a great time to learn new things and take in more information. I find personally, that when I am in a 72 hour water fast, that Day 2 allows me to sit at my computer and write courses, content and read material with so much clarity.

At 24 hours and beyond in a water fast, your body will also start to make intestinal stem cells - YES! People pay tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell injections BUT your body will naturally make this when you are in a longer fast! If you are suffering from pain or a chronic injury, a longer water fast will help create those stem cells that will go to the site that is damaged and begin to repair it. Dr Mindy Pelz talks about having a sporting injury and using a 3 day water fast to repair her ankle joint. She said that the inflammation and pain had reduced so significantly in the three days that she decided to fast a little longer to see if it would heal completely - of course…it did!

I guess you would like to know what pulls you out of the fasted state? That would be anything that raises your blood sugar!

What you can and can't have during a water fast?

Traditionally a water fast consists of: 

• purified/filtered water
• black or herbal teas
• black coffee
• sparkling water. 
• Minerals - sodium, potassium and magnesium (in the form of electrolytes if you wish BUT make sure it doesn’t spike your blood sugar.)
• Celtic Salt

This means NO artificial sweeteners (Stevia, Equal etc), no milk, no gum, no drinks other than those stated. Some people will often say to me, “but I only have a drop of milk with my tea/coffee”, if you want to fast correctly it is a hard NO. 

There are some fasted snacks that you can play around with IF you are in a longer fast and would like some “training wheels” to help you go that extra length. These are what we call - “fat bombs”. They include:

• A tsp of avocado
• A Tsp MCT oil
• A Keto Cup
• Tsp flaxseed oil/olive oil

The fat bombs will allow you to fast for longer and not pull you out of ketosis or autophagy. If you spike your blood sugar you will be thrown out of these states and your fast will come to an abrupt end. No more than 50 calories from fat, if you're trying to stay in autophagy-supportive territory. If you need to take medications with food, they can be taken with your fat bomb. 

Preparing for a water fast.

By allowing your body to be fuelled with high protein and good fat, this will mean that you will enter the fasted state with ease as there is little glucose to worry about and your insulin levels are low. Meaning…your body can go straight into the glycogen stores and begin to empty them.

If you have never fasted before, go easy on yourself, do not jump into a 24 hour fast. Maybe even a 16 hour fast could be too long. You need to ease into this. If you would normally eat breakfast at 7am, see if you can push it back an hour and gradually increase it as you become more confident with the fasting window. I always recommend talking out a plan of action with your Fasting Coach or holistic therapist. Water fasting is not a one-size fits all approach.

Keep in mind, one of the aims of water fasting is to become insulin sensitive, the best way to continue to remain insulin sensitive is to keep your blood sugar low when you move back into your eating window. How do you do this???

Breaking your water fast.

When you go back into food you need to continue to feed those good microbes so they can continue to grow in a healthy manner. You can do this by eating Prebiotic, Probiotic and Polyphenol foods. These foods include, fermented veggies, berries, organic biodynamic yoghurt, fermented cheese to help support your gut microbiome. Then add at least 30g of protein to your first meal, some good fat and some fibre. 

If your fast is longer than 24 hours I would recommend starting with a bone broth as a slow introduction back to food which will begin to stimulate muscle growth, and then in half hour increments add your veggies/salad then protein. You may find after longer fasts you can’t eat as much and that’s ok. 

Fasting and the midlife woman.

If you haven’t gathered by now, water fasting has so many benefits for the woman approaching her midlife. The brain fog can lift and remain lifted if we are insulin sensitive and stay in long periods of fasting. Our body is supported and nourished with the right foods during the eating window (good fat, protein and fibre), allowing us to use up glucose efficiently as well as enter into fasts with ease. It is important for any woman entering her perimenopausal years and beyond to remain insulin sensitive. Our bodies at this stage of life will naturally become insulin resistant due to the low levels of Estrogen. To support ourselves at this stage, if we follow a fasting lifestyle we can maintain low insulin levels and move into menopause with ease and grace. The aim of the game midlife is to become insulin sensitive and continue to build muscle.

Water fasting isn’t a trend—it’s a return to a rhythm our bodies have known for generations. It’s about giving your body the gift of rest, allowing it to detox, repair, and come back stronger. In a world that constantly tells women to do more, eat less, try harder, and fix themselves from the outside in, fasting flips the script. It reminds you that you are already equipped with incredible healing power—sometimes you just need to step back and let it rise.

Whether you're dipping your toes into fasting or you're ready to explore deeper fasts like the 3-day water fast, remember: this is about honouring your body, not punishing it. Go gently. Get support. Listen in.

And most importantly—trust your body. It knows what to do.