Week 13

In today’s log, we cross the 96-hour mark of an ongoing 144-hour fast, pairing hard biomarker data and intense physical exertion with an examination of Christian asceticism. We look back at the fasting practices of St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226) and St. Clare of Assisi (1194–1253). While modern fasting often chases autophagy, fat loss, or cognitive enhancement, Francis and Clare approached voluntary abstention as a pathway to self-denial, humility, and spiritual reliance. Yet, both recognized the danger of unchecked asceticism. Francis broke rules to protect struggling brothers, and Clare later warned Agnes of Prague that the human body requires prudence and discretion.

Welcome back to Day 86 of the One Year Fast (Week 13). I’m Alfie Hammersham. Today marks Day 5 of my 6-day extended fasting session—the final stretch of this protocol. In today’s video, we tackle one of the biggest questions in modern fasting and longevity science: Will an autophagy analyzer or reader ever be available for everyday use?

Today marks the official completion of my 6-day extended fasting session, bridging across Weeks 12 and 13. In this video, I break down the final scale results—logging a 13-pound drop over the 6 days—and detail my careful re-feeding strategy alongside an exciting milestone coming later this week. Weight Loss: Stepping on the scale to see a cumulative drop of 13 lbs.

Last night, I seriously considered walking away from the One Year Fast. I was confronted by an uncomfortable question: Does documenting voluntary fasting trivialize the tragedy of involuntary hunger? Fasting exists entirely in a "safe zone"—at any moment, I can open the fridge and replenish. In contrast, millions around the world live in a tragic "danger zone," where extreme hunger has no immediate remedy. Without addressing this, the project risks looking self-indulgent, performative, and disconnected from the reality of global food insecurity.

As someone exploring metabolic timing, feeding windows, and physiological optimization, the intersection of solar time, biological time, and artificial social time is impossible to ignore. Our bodies evolved an internal master clock—the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)—governed by natural sunlight, not parliamentary mandates or government decrees. When society abruptly shifts social time by one hour, what actually happens to our health?

The Hard Data: A 15% VO2 Max Drop Honesty and transparency are central to this journey. In June, my baseline medical-grade test put my VO2 Max at 49.1 ml/kg/min. Today, the retest came back at 41.4 ml/kg/min—a drop of roughly 15%. Training Modalities & Sledge Pulls: Did the shift in training stimuli and high-volume sledge work impact top-end aerobic capacity vs. strength endurance?

The Wearable Decision: Returning Hume Health Band, Buying Garmin Venu After giving the Hume Health Band 2.0 a thorough run alongside my other tools, I’ve decided to think about returning it and invest in the Garmin Smartwatch Venu.