Mumbai CEO spends his birthday fasting for 90 hours, shares what really happened

A Mumbai-based entrepreneur celebrated his birthday by signing up for a 90-hour fasting challenge as he went without food for almost four days to test how far he could push his limits.

Abhishek Agarwal, CEO of CreditVidya and Prefr, shared his experience in a LinkedIn post saying that he takes on a personal challenge every birthday. This year, he chose to test “hunger vs willpower” by fasting for four days.

In his post, Abhishek explained how the fast progressed over the four days. While the first day was “easy,” the second left him wondering why he had taken on the challenge in the first place. Another thing that he also missed ordering food from Zomato.

By the third day, he said there was “silence,” while the fourth was his birthday and brought “the clearest mind I’d had in months.”

Explaining his decision, Abhishek said he wanted to step away from the instant gratification that has become part of everyday life. He also wrote about 10-minute food deliveries and hours of scrolling as examples, saying he wanted to see what would happen if he pushed himself to fast for four days.

After completing 90 hours, Abhishek realised that people may be capable of tolerating more discomfort than they believe. He explained feeling “stronger, powerful and like a superhero” and said the experience made him question other limits he had placed on himself.

Abhishek also shared pictures of himself exercising during the fast. He opined that once a person proves their brain wrong about one limit, they begin questioning other limitations as well, adding that “nothing feels unachievable anymore.”

His post triggered reactions from people who discussed both the mindset behind the challenge and their own experiences with fasting. Pushing personal limits could teach people a lot about themselves, is what a user said, adding that it was, however, important to know the difference between discomfort that helps someone grow and what the body actually needs.

Another person said the experiment was interesting because people rarely put themselves in situations where they have to “sit with discomfort” anymore. Another shared that they had once fasted for eight days and experienced a sense of peace, mental clarity and spirituality apart from the hunger.- Ends