2018 Lenten Fasting

fasting
lent

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #121

Welcome Hal and Jeff!

And Lent has started and so has my first weekly fast!

Happy fasting to all


#122

Hey yā€™all, I restarted the fasting clock at 8:00 pm last night and am at 14 hours. I woke up full this morning after yesterdayā€™s muffin adventure. Still full. Having tea now. Iā€™m going to spend some time experimenting and researching further into that phosphorous question and see what I can find out. Happy Valentineā€™s Day and fast on, friends!


(Simon L Smith) #123

So, question.

How are you/we doing updates?

I weighed myself today for a starting reference.

I use to weigh in on Fridays (left over from old WW days) but will now weigh in on Sunday mornings.

What do you plan to included in your udates?


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #124

I wasnā€™t planning to do all of the tables and graphs like I did last year but I do still track my weight, BG, and ketones each morning. Being that I am fasting 84-96 hours each week I may talk about overall weight loss and a bit of analysis of my BG and ketone levels.

Mostly I will share how I am feeling both fasting and feasting. I will talk about different events and situations I find myself in and how I handle each of them so I and do some self reflection as well for others to maybe learn from my experience and give their point of view.

I believe we are all here to learn from one another so share what you find important to you, wins as well as losses, and we will all benefit!


#125

Started a 3 day fast today, technically last night. Will break at my daughterā€™s birthday dinner on Friday night.


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #126

Happy Valentineā€™s Day and welcome to Lent! We went to dinner last night and I had a 12oz NY strip and a couple glasses of red wine, a very nice treat before the fasting began. So I started my fast about 7:00PM and that puts me at the 18.5 hour mark now.

I am not feeling any hunger at all as I have been on a zero carb WOE for the last couple of months and that keeps me well satiated and away from the snacking problem I tend to have!

My weight has been pretty stable the last month including the 2 3-day fasts I did in the last 4 weeks. I lose a few pounds during the fast and it comes back gradually during the feast days. I am not worried right now as I am in the indoctrination period for zero carb and it is recommended to ā€˜eat meat, not too little, mostly fatā€™ and I like to eat!

My morning glucose typically tends to be in the 100-120 range most days but it drops significantly to 85-95 in the afternoon. This morning was 97, after 123 and 125 the previous 2 mornings, and I just took it again and it is still 97mg/dl.

My ketones are typically 0.3 to 0.7 mmol/l in the morning but after my 3-day fast in mid January they popped up for 4 or 5 days to as high as 3.1 mmol/l. The cool thing is my fast was Wednesday-Friday (Saturday morning actually) and my ketones were 0.6-0.7 during the fast and moved up to 1.7 on Saturday morning before eating. Then, for the next few days my ketones stayed over 1.0 mmol/l! Amazing!

I am really anxious to see how these values vary during these 7 weeks of 3-day fasts!


(Jo) #127

Doing a slightly different version as Iā€™m new to fasting and donā€™t want to over do it.

36ish hour fast Ash Wednesday

36ish hour fast every Friday during Lent (Thurs dinner last meal until Saturday breakfast)

Fasting night of Holy Thursday through breakfast Easter Sunday.

Iā€™m allowing cream in my Tea and broth as needed.

Very blessed to have found this WOE!!


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #128

Hey Jo, it sounds like you have a wonderful plan!

Happy fasting!


#129

Finishing tomorrow morning with 2 day / 3 night fast. I allow for some HWC in coffee and I use wheat-free soy sauce for salt supplement (second day only). This fast was the best one yet! I have completed 5 fasts, the longest being 7 days and then 2 and 3 day fasts. I have suffered through them but this time I am more clear, more energetic and less obsessed with recipes and food. Sure, I am still figuring out what I will be eating in the next few days but with less gusto. That is nice.

My goal is to do more fasts, every week perhaps so that I can focus on losing the last 1/3 of excess weight. Itā€™s going to be hard but that is my goal!

So Iā€™ll squeeze right in here during the Lenten Fast!

How often will depend on household obligations / happenings and what my body is telling me.


(migorstmarseille) #130

Well, I have some fasting training wheels for this second week. A head cold. Ugh. However, I have no hunger and I know fasting will be good for losing this cold a little faster. I ate a one pound patty of 80/20 with Swiss cheese and a serving of roasted Turmeric cauliflower.

Tonight, for Valentines Day, I made two ribeye steaks and some steamed green beans for my wife and son. Me? Water and Ketoaide.


(Victoria Mc Coy) #131

I decided to have Valentineā€™s Day dinner first and start right after. Since Iā€™m relatively new to EFs, Iā€™m shooting for 36-48 hrs this time, then planning to repeat Wed pm - Friday through Lent. Happy Valentineā€™s Day to all, and happy fasting! :heart:


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #132

Hey Victoria welcome to the group! We have a lot of experienced fasters here so donā€™t be shy to ask questions.


(Victoria Mc Coy) #133

Thanks, Ron. Appreciate the support!


(Damon Chance) #134

Iā€™m about 72 hrs in and have decided to fast from Sunday night through Friday evening each week. Breaking the fast with the Orthodox Lenten foods which will be basically vegan Keto on the weekends. I will allow myself some mct or coconut oil in my coffee throughout the week. I will probably break this one tomorrow as it was more of a warm_up. Iā€™m feeling a little weaker tonight. I think I totally missed some electrolytes at some point today so I will have to do better after this week.


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #135

It is 36 hours so far for my first week of fasting and I feel good. I had mostly water and black decaf coffee yesterday although I did have 2 oz of heavy in my late morning coffee, about 200 kCals. I did use salt in my water, about 1/4 tsp per 16 oz glass so it doesnā€™t taste salty. My favorite salt, with minerals is: Redmonds Real Salt.

My blood glucose dropped again this morning to 87 mg/dl as I would expect while fasting. I tested 3 times yesterday in the morning, noon, and 6 PM and it held steady at 97 mg/dl. I look at my BG readings showing the control I have over insulin since we want to keep insulin as low as possible to allow our body to heal and in a 3-day fast to create more Human Growth Hormone (HGH).

My morning ketones today were 0.4 mmol/l but the first reading in the morning is usually the lowest for the day. The 3 tests I did yesterday revealed: morning; 0.3 mmol/l, noon; 0.5, 6 PM; 1.6. Looking back to my previous fasts, 4 and 2 weeks ago, my morning ketones may not go up until Saturday or Sunday. I will continue to check 3 times today and tomorrow and will report my findings.
image

I said I wasnā€™t going to do tables but; I hope that doing a table my help some visualize what is happening with my blood glucose and ketones during the day while fasted. Without other data I cannot say this is average for everyone although we do know from other research that for ketones the lowest reading is usually first thing in the morning and the highest is late in the day.

I believe the reason ketones go up during the day is because the liver creates ketones based on your energy needs and the ketones (BHOB of beta-hydroxybutyrate) we measure are ā€˜excessā€™ as they have not been used. The increasing amounts shows the growing amount due to our exercise and activity. Many people have mentioned that measuring ketones after an intense workout results in very low numbers as the ketones have been burned to fuel the workout. A few hours later the ketone level rises significantly. I donā€™t do intense workouts, walking from my desk to the coffee pot and return, so I may not see this phenomena.


(Victoria Mc Coy) #136

I find the table helpful as I am just starting to track GKI. I may create one for myself!


(Victoria Mc Coy) #137

As a fairly new faster, Iā€™d love some advice on electrolyte balance during fasting. I have used Vitamin Water Zero and Smart Water, and Iā€™m stocked up on Fiji water too. Are these going to be sufficient for a 2-3 day fast, or do I need more. Looking at purchasing these,
Jigsaw Health - Electrolyte Supreme - Amazing Lemon-Lime Flavor - Broad Spectrum of Electrolytes + trace minerals - 60 Powder Packets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GF4TGIQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6UzHAbYZPMZHE

but they are pricey. I donā€™t mind if itā€™s a good support, but I m not sure. Any insights from the group would be appreciated.


#138

I am also at 36 + hrs. I thought I would allow myself BP coffee & bone broth, but so far I have done neither. Just water, bubbly water, coffee, tea.


(KCKO, KCFO) #139

You can make your own electrolyte drink, ketoaide . Everything you need is at your local grocery or pharmacy Hereā€™s a link to it:


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #140

Victoria,
I love the Jigsaw Health electolytes but I found the sweetner they use is a problem for me. It doesnā€™t change my glucose very much but it really impacts my cravings more so when I am not fasting. If I use sweeteners I find I want to snack a lot more than when I donā€™t use them. Iā€™ve had to give up the sugar-free Torani syrup in my coffee as well as the Jigsaw Health.

Your mileage vary!

Another option is to increase your sodium intake to 1.5-2.5 tsp (3000-5000mg NaCl) per day. Using a good sea salt will also contain other minerals that are important. Many people use ā€˜Lite Saltā€™ as well as it helps with cramping issues in the legs.