Yes if you keep quitting before day three or four you are wasting your time pretty much . Although you can try intermittent fasting like EAT STOP EAT they have website. I usually do this after my longer continous fasts.It seems to help maintain and maybe lose a bit.
First 7 to 10 days won't drop 10 pounds. It will but here is the deal.
You lose lots of water weight first three of four days. So you get a 10 pound loss maybe even sometimes bit more .It varies from person to person.I usually lose about 10 to 12 pounds. So you think great, You quit. Then you quickly gain back within a couple days most all of that.. So you say fasting don't work. It works but out of the 10
pounds say 8
pounds is water and 2 or so is fat.
So now to lose 20
pounds of fat you have drop to 30 pounds total weight . This would likely take about 30 days. 40 days might lose 30 pounds fat.
It varies also if you are doing pure water or juice fasting. I mix it up a bit sometimes. Water is fasting juice can be easier.
Ketosis is exactly what happens .For three days or so your body burn up glycogen or glucogen or whatever. You are hungry as you are burning it up. Then around day 3 or 4 you switch over to fat burning, ketosis sets in and your hunger hits zero pretty quickly. Physical hunger. You can have some cravings but they are pychological. Fasting is simple if you make it to day 4 or so.
People that can't make it should go to juice fastings then can transition to water after week or rotate ,water day,juice day ,whatever. Wife did 28 days first juice fast.Much easier than water.
Your stomach will restart pretty quickly and hunger will return when you start taking in any solid food. NO SOLID FOOD ALLOWED ON FASTING! near end last few days I sometimes sample a bit or two. But really try not to. And I don't clean off my tongue. So if do taste food most of it will taste horrible so won't want to eat it and after longer fasts you get bad stomach aches and stuff if you try to eat too much too soon.
Read my old posts on here lots of tips and ideas. Also don't drink too much water about 4 glasses day is lots. Too much and you wash out potassium and sodium and will have problems more fainting, weakness. You will also get weak as your body switches over to fat burning. But your energy will come back after that but not to level of eating food. Juice fasting gives more energy and less chance of fainting ,super low blood pressure. Juice has some sodium and potassium in it depending on what type of juice. I don't juice my own just buy store juice usually 100% but sometimes buy clamato to replenish my sodium . My blood pressure can get too low on fast sometimes.
So thats it. You could lose 20 pounds with about a 30 day fast on mostly water. You could show 30 down on scale but regain 10 or so from salt and carbs on refeed. To keep it off you have to exercise. As said I do 5x week aerobic type treadmill or recumbent and 3 x week weights full body workout 45 minutes 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps about 8 exercises or so. I do them on bowflex usually.
You could split the fasts to lose 30 rather than pushing to do it in one fast. Do a 30 and then maybe a 20 day should do it. After all I lost around 50 with 40 day and 20 day fast. First was 31 water, 3 juice, 2 water, 4 juice. Second was mostly water then juice last few days here and there.
Its not that hard to lose it ,its harder to keep it off. You have to change your ways of eating and exercise or it could come back. But that 10 or so water comes back every time unless you eat raw or something and take in no salt but still if you take in carbs you will gain water.
But if you need to drop 10 pounds fast for some event then right before the event do three or four days of water fasting. You will gain most of it back right after but you will be thinner for it.
So now go out there and try for 20 days mostly water fasting. And stay away from food for first three days. Keep busy and just don't eat anything even a tiny bite. Drink water have some green tea or even coffee or diet drinks. have some diet jello . But no solid food and only zero calorie sweetner in the coffee or tea. I like green tea myself.
Just do it no excuses then come back and tell me on day 4 how you don't feel any hunger! The miracle of fasting!