Nick Viall kicked off the new year with an enhanced focus on his health and wellness.
“I haven’t eaten in 36 hours, so that’s fun,” the former Bachelor, 44, quipped during the Thursday, January 9, episode of his “The Viall Files” podcast. “I started a water fast. I’m not recommending it to anyone [and] this is not some sort of, ‘Do this with me.’”
According to Viall, the diet is “supposed to be really healthy” for individuals.
“It’s supposed to reduce your chance of cancer, it’s supposed to be good for inflammation, it’s supposed to reduce your chance of Alzheimer’s and things like that,” Viall claimed, noting he first heard of the diet fad from his mother. “It’s supposed to have a lot of health benefits to occasionally fast.”
The apparent “water fast” diet — where participants only drink water, bone broth or electrolytes — typically lasts for one week. Viall, however, said his “goal is four days.”
“I needed a cleanse and I’ve been eating way too much sugar lately these days,” he explained. “I think my diet is not where it could be or should be. It’s the new year, I was like, ‘F— it.’ If my mom can do it, why can’t I?”
Viall further stressed that his fast is only “temporary.”
“Do not take my recommendations,” he stated to podcast listeners. “I’m doing this for me. I don’t need feedback from any of you listening — good or bad.”
According to Healthline, water fasting can boost weight loss and reduce the chance of chronic conditions but is also associated with risks such as dehydration, orthostatic hypotension or worsening preexisting conditions. (It is not recommended to participate for longer than 72 hours.)
For Viall, the early hours of the fast were the most difficult.
“It was a tough first night — and I was fine,” he recalled. “I’m delightful right now. Last night sucked hard. … They said the first 24 hours are tough and I felt really weak and tired.”
Viall’s wife, Natalie Joy, chimed in to concur that he was very “hangry” that evening.
“I’m also suffering because he’s been nothing but a bitch this whole time to me,” she joked. “He’s the hangriest person I’ve ever been around. He’s so mad, he’s so angry and I’m like, ‘You can stop whenever you f—ing want!’ Last night in bed, I was like, ‘Do you want me to boil you some eggs? Because this is insane. You are being mean to me.’ It’s because you’re hungry and I understand.”
Joy added, “I would also be mean because I am mean when I’m hungry, but this is, like, intense hunger. You can’t complain when this was your doing.”