Hi there Starving,
"but then.. day 3 hits...everything changes.. it's not just a little bit of hunger in your stomach.. it's so INTENSE your whole body feels it and you crave food so much that it almost makes you cry."
Does this sound to anybody else like true hunger? Do you feel hunger in your throat the way you feel thirst? I've never felt as hungry as this in any of my fasts, just a pesky kind of hunger that comes and goes. I saw a youtube video of a girl that broke her fast on day 23 saying when her hunger came it was so ferocious that she wanted to eat her mattress :). (this is that video and this information is all within the first 2 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf7LIt0QwWo
Your described level of intensity sounds a lot like hers. I have read that it is rare but that this genuine hunger can sometimes come after just a few short days, perhaps because a mineral is deficient? I'd like to see what chrisb1 thinks about this. On the other hand, (and this is quite a bit more likely), you are likely still preliminary to the subsiding feeling of hunger that accompanies ketosis and just need to make it through a bit longer to experience this relief.
The 2 consecutive 40 day fast lady (aaroncohen) seems to have reached this point on day 13 of the 2nd fast (day 54)... and continued to fast for 6 more days at which point her videos ceased (about 3 days ago i believe). Her videos for each day from 54 to 60 she describes having extreme hunger. her day 16 (day 57) video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRG3dZo4vJc&feature=related
"for a whole month I did alternate day fasting, fast 1 day, eat the next.. I lost 10 lbs during that month.
but then afterwoods become depressed again and went on a daily binging spree."
it would be great to get to the root of this issue and get to the point where you can emerge without binging. I don't know if this would work for you, but what if you limited yourself to only fruits and vegetables post fast for a certain number of days and let any binging be on these foods?
"A pathetic reason for me wanting to do it is because I know not many people can do it.. and if i could do it.. it would feel AMAZING."
Haha, i think that's just human nature. If anybody says they don't feel that at least just a little bit, i think they'd be lying ;).
"Maybe I will start with alternate day fasting for a few weeks and then attempt full on fasting?"
Just a hunch, but you might do well to juice fast for a few days before water fasting. It is a big step towards a
Water Fast and has a way of preparing you to "fast better".
"I didn't drink very much water during my fast attempt, maybe that contributed....i dont know.."
In the early volatile days of my fasts, if i need to drink 2 gallons of water per day to get me through the hard part, i will. There are several tools we can use to help us through the challenges along the way and using water as a replacement for food as cravings arise is one.
"The way I see it, these are my options;
a) attempt fast, yet again and risk failure
b) do alternate day fasting instead and get much SLOWER results"
a) Just a thought, you might want to fast with no set number of days in mind as a goal. With no goal, there can be no failure. It eliminates the pressure and the potential for guilt. Would be great to get into a peaceful frame of mind, embracing the journey, surrendering to the process, and enjoying every minute of it.