THREE days is a long time to go without food.

But this was an extreme measure Jono Lance took during his arduous road to recovery from injury.

Lance was ruled out for 16 weeks after sustaining a partial stress fracture to his back last October.

It was a frustrating time for the Australian fly-half who “wasn’t able to do anything for two-and-a-half months”.

Conscious that he would put on weight and keen to find ways to boost his recuperation, Lance decided not to eat and only drink water for 72 hours.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to have many health benefits, including decreasing blood sugar levels, weight loss and preserving muscle tissue.

The 29-year-old said he felt mentally refreshed and had lost “two kilos” after the 72-hour fast but admitted he would never do it again.

“As I wasn’t able to do anything for two-and-a-half months I didn’t want to keep eating as much as I usually do,” Lance said.

“I started doing intermittent fasting but while chatting to Chris Pennell, who has tried a lot of things with his diet, he asked me whether I had done a ‘big fast’.

“The conversation happened on the Monday and as I started training the following Monday that weekend was the perfect time for me to do it.

“Seventy-two hours later I hadn’t had any food and just had water. I actually felt really good for it but I probably won’t do it again. I realised that I really liked food!

“I lost two kilos but I actually put it back on very quickly.

“It was a challenging experience but I enjoyed doing it.

“I wouldn’t say it helped in terms of the back rehab but it helped mentally.

“Once I put the weight back on I was ready to crack into training again.”

Lance returned to action in March when he came off the bench in Warriors’ defeat at Newcastle Falcons only to be troubled by issues with his oblique muscles for the rest of the campaign.

But the Australian said he used his time off wisely as he began to consider life after rugby.

“A 28-year-old with a stress fracture is not too common so in those two-and-a-half months where I couldn’t do anything my mindset changed a lot,” Lance said.

“I was thinking maybe I won’t get back to where I was or that could be it for me.

“It was only natural for me to start thinking about the next step and in a weird way I got a little bit excited about the possibilities of what could happen after rugby.

“But in saying that once I got back training and the body started feeling good again the mojo came back pretty quickly.

“How I felt this pre-season and how I have been able to work very well with Johan (Pretorius), our strength and conditioning coach, has put me in a position for them to be confident in me getting through the training and doing what I need to do.

“But they are also challenging me to do a bit more as my body is the best it has felt in probably two years which is why I am very excited about what is going to happen.

“I’m also really looking forward to this year with Warriors.”