Many people struggle to lose weight and achieve their ideal appearance, but the truth is, it’s rarely easy or straightforward. In fact, weight loss requires time, patience, and persistence.

In order to reach their goal, people try different diets, use various shakes and pills, and go to even greater lengths — often at the expense of their health and overall well-being.

Most recently, intermittent fasting has been promoted as a healthy way of losing and maintaining weight, with a number of celebrities and athletes swearing by it.

In fact, intermittent fasting has been around for centuries before becoming a global trend.

This method doesn’t focus on the food you consume, but the timing of your meals.

If done correctly, intermittent fasting can help stabilize blood sugar and boost how your body responds to insulin.

However, it is not for everyone.

Recently, a popular YouTube channel shared a 55-second-long video that shows what happens with the body during a 36-hour-fast.

During the first four hours of not consuming any food, the body stars burning fat, which certainly leads to weight loss, but what happens next is rather shocking.

Just like with any restrictive diet, intermittent fasting can have side effects.

According to The Emily Program, some of the side effects — that don’t apply to everyone — are excessive hunger, headaches, dizziness, digestive issues, mood changes, bad breath, sleep disturbances, dehydration, excessive urination, and nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition among the rest.

The benefits, however, are impressive.

After eight hours of not consuming any food, the blood sugar levels drop. The body then starts using stored glycogen for energy.

After twelve hours, the body runs out of glucose and begins to break down fat stored in the liver, producing fatty acids known as ketones, a process known as “metabolic switching.” This is the reason why weight loss starts to take place.

Sixteen hours without food triggers the process of autophagy, your body’s process of reusing old and damaged cell parts.

According to the YouTube video, after twenty-four hours of fasting, the body goes in a full fat-burning mode. Inflammation is reduced and insulin sensitivity is improved.

Thirty hours into fasting is when the “deep cleaning” begins, and after thirty-six hours, the body reaches maximum autophagy during which body regenerates tissues and boosts your metabolism.