28 Day Fast for a 50 Year Old Newbie

[Douglas_Reinhart]

Have you used keto or ph strips or blood keto monitoring?

[OldDoug]

Did a little research on alkaline ionized water but it seems like that could be a fad. What do you think, Doug?

I think it’s total marketing BS. Our stomachs are very acidic, averaging a pH of around 2.5. If we’re short on acid, it can contribute to problems with bacteria all through our digestive system. I think calling it a “fad” is being excessively nice.

[Douglas_Reinhart]

That makes sense.Thanks for the informative response.

[mjwilly]

Titus, I have the blood pressure numbers elsewhere but never added them to this list. I would have to find them. I remember (this being about a year ago now) that the blood pressure normalized and is still very good, though I never had very high numbers to begin with.

[mjwilly]

Douglas, good job on your progress! I thought I would jump in to offer some thoughts. You mentioned overeating during your 8-hour window. What are you eating is the question I would ask. High fat, moderate protein (more if you are working out hard), and 50 grams or less of carbs… no sugar… no refined flour… you get the picture. You mentioned also the water fast and having a slight headache. My first water fast (the one I outlined in this post) had me initially very weak. I didn’t realize that I needed to add salt to my intake. So, now when I water fast I drink about a gallon of water a day and throughout the day (NOT in my water … ugg, hate the taste of that) I will take a total of 2 tsps of pink Himalayan salt. This keeps my electrolytes happy and my energy level is great. Finally, about your comment on when you get into ketosis. The urine testers are fine for those new to water fasting/keto eating. However, as the body begins to get better at processing fat as the main fuel, you won’t have as much spill-over of ketones into the urine. The body will be using those ketones more effectively. Newbies often get discouraged when their ketone levels go high … then down and stay there. I prefer the blood tester. Any reading over .5 millimolars when I am eating is good for me. Water fasting raising it, for me at least, within a few days to ever increasing levels.

[YoAdrienne]

How did the rest of it go?

[Whatever1]

I am new to this forum. I came across your post when researching. Gratitude for your post and the existence of this forum.
I have successfully water fasted the longest 5.5 days.
I have finished many 24 and 72 hour fasts.
Now, I must find strength psychologically to go all the way. I don’t know what is stopping me. I felt the positive results just from 5.5 dys. My bladder healed and frequent urination stopped.
That was 1.6 yrs ago. Today, I am 4 months away from turning 50 years old.
I have read just about everything I could find about water fasting and YouTube videos.
I read online about 8 months ago that water fasting is really bad for women I menopause.
Well, I’m having hot flashes. So I took a good hard look at my lifestyle and have concluded coffee, wine, and high sugar intake, sedentary lifestyle is not helping me. I need to be proactive now before a disease happens to my biological machine. I’m reaching out on this forum that my body is in Dis ease.
I feel old inside, it is very hard to even walk a mile.
So, does anyone know if Its Ok for me too fast.
I am on no medications for nothing.
I have quit alcohol and coffee now. Sugar is killing me. So today is

Day 1 160 pounds
5ft 2 in height.
49.8 yrs old.
I want to live a healthy life.

[mjwilly]

Whatever1, my wife eats Keto as well as I do and does still experience hot-flashes now and then. We are still working on figuring it out … but they seem more frequent as the carb count goes up. I am not saying that eating zero carbs will mean zero hot-flashes …

Your doing 24 and 72 hours fasts is the start to better living… good for you! I am 51 (almost 52) and feel great. My blood tests come back within good ranges and my doctor was impressed. So, Whatever1, you can certainly improve your health as it relates to your diet. Keep it up!

Mike

[Whatever1]

Thank you Mike.
I have just learned by keeping track of my dietary habits.
For sure, if I drink any alcohol, it’s much worse hot flashes.
Coffee also .
Now I just have my 3 HF a day, wake up, middle of the night, and when I first lay down.
I know water fast won’t cure menopause symptoms.
Im just wondering if other women 49 + age, have turned their health around with water fast 10 + days. Internitting fasting has not done anything but put 30 pounds on me. I’m told I need to eat frequently. I’m so use to eating one large meal and that’s it. yes, I eat a healthy. Real but then I break down and eat something with sugar in it. So it’s like a warrior diet , unfortunately I include something with sugar.

[davemha]

Morton’s, though, has a sweetener - dextrose if I recall. I bought some without realizing that. I won’t use it.

[Rajseth]

Morton’s, though, has a sweetener - dextrose if I recall.

Well, I’ll be damned - Dextrose it is. I just read the label. Good thing all I use is Sea Salt. Single ingredient

[mjwilly]

I should give a bit more “history” to my initial post of January 2018. Here it is, September 16, 2019. A few weeks ago I had to get blood-work done since my 20year term life insurance policy was about to end and they wanted to charge me over $200 for the same policy I was paying $25 for! So, I started searching for a less-expensive plan with a different company. They asked me a ton of questions and I gave my weight, height, and what I knew about my overall health. Before my water fast of 2018, my blood markers were terrible!! My lipid panel was red all over (red signifying bad numbers.) To get a better rate it’s a good idea to get blood-work done if you think your overall health (as determined by the blood-work) will prove good.

So, the nurse came to my place of employment and drew blood. Well, I just got my numbers from the new life insurance company. Everything is green! My triglycerides are 1/4 what they were over a year ago. My LDL is down, my HDL is up. My blood pressure is perfect (it was up before.) My cholesterol (that my doctor once put me on a statin to lower) is now great (though I really don’t care about my overall cholesterol any more as I understand more about what it is actually showing as I am on a Keto diet.)

When I spoke with an insurance company rep, he actually said that my numbers were so good for my age (52yo) that the company was willing to extend my new 20 year term plan an additional 5-10 more years!

So … the moral of the story? Good eating —> Good health —> lower costs!

[FishChris]

These extended fasts seem crazy to me. I do a 26-30 fast every weekend, and about 5 weeks ago, I turned that into a 50 hrs fast. On that second day, I was beyond worthless ! I was more distressed than I was on my 3rd and 4th days of Keto (Keto flu) I felt weak, headache, kind of naseus, just flat out terrible. Not sure how, or if things would have changed had I really pushed it for 3 or more days, but I was definitely miserable.

[mjwilly]

FishChris, I would suggest adding about 2 tsp of pink Himalayan salt to your diet eat day of fasting. If the electrolytes are good, you will feel much more energy.

[FishChris]

Hmmmm. If I ever attempt a multi day fast again, I will pay more attention to salt.

[Peter]

From my experience, day 1 and 2 are the worst, then 3 onward get more comfortable. Plenty of water, some salt, and carbonated water if you need a change. Don’t forget hot water, it’s like a very weak tea.

[KDJ]

Hi Mike, thank you for your posts, very helpful indeed.

I’m on day 8 of a 21 day fast and my experience is very similar to yours. I’ve been feeling dizzy the last couple of days, and you mentioned how much salt & potassium are needed. I just googled a few sites on RDAs for electrolytes and it’s clear I’m severely deficient.

I found a product called “Fasting Salts” by Nutri-Align which contains a mix of Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium in the right ratios so I’m going to give that a try.

Like you, I’m losing about 1lb per day, and tracking the following health metrics daily: blood glucose, blood ketones, weight, muscle mass, blood pressure, resting heart rate and waist circumference.

Just to say for anyone contemplating and extended fast: the first 2-3 days are extremely tough as your body first depletes your blood glucose, and then glycogen stored in your muscle. In that phase you’ll feel crap, lose little weight and produce few ketones. Then suddenly, like a switch being flipped, the hunger disappears, energy ramps up and your ketones skyrocket.

For this reason I think it is easier to do fewer longer fasts than frequent 2-3 day fasts, and there’s good evidence that the most valuable health benefits from fasting are attained during the high ketone phase.

Good luck everyone

[KDJ]