60 Day Water Fast

fasting
extendedfast

(Tim) #1

So, in a bout of cosmic serendipity, today is the day that I listened to both the episode about abandoning facebook for the forums and Ron Coleman’s 46 day fast.

I found this very to be very odd as I wanted to join the community, but absolutely loathe facebook, and today was the 46th day of my fast. I only discovered 2 Keto Dudes a couple weeks back through the /r/fasting subreddit after the whole Fasting Talk implosion. If you want to stalk me a bit you can check me out on Reddit under the same username.

Anyway, I’ll update this post with more information as I slowly convert my massive textfile into something resembling legible data. I’m sorry to say I don’t have much in the way of blood tests. This whole fast was really an impromptu thing that grew out of a fight with my girlfriend after a couple of beers.

She wanted one crappy frozen cardboard pizza and I wanted two. She said a bunch of harsh but true things about my weight and general health, we settled on one pizza. She ate a quarter, I ate three quarters. That was my last meal 47 days ago.

  • Days 0 through 30 were Water and Salt only.
  • Days 31 through 36 I supplemented - Multivitamin, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin D.
  • Days 37 to 46 were Water and Salt only.

If it’s not on the list above, I didn’t put it into my body. No zero calorie drinks, and the only thing I have had other than regular old water, is carbonated water.

I have incredibly detailed notes on the first 30 days, less so on days 30 to present (I stopped tracking bowel movements, urine and sleep patterns as strictly but still tracked all supplements, weight and bodyfat percentages).

My Nova Max Plus blood glucose and ketone monitor showed up in the mail on day 44 so I plan to be tracking that semi-regularly. The ketone strips are insanely expensive.

I’ll expand on this post as I get ready for my retrospective. Here to share what I’ve learned and answer any questions.

Great to meet everyone!

Here’s the first ketone reading I took on the new meter.


(Nick) #2

Wow, that is very cool! Welcome to the forum.

How have you been feeling in general? Has it been difficult to keep going for so long?

Also, you mentioned your last meal was a pizza. Is this fast your first experience of being in ketosis, and do you expect to switch to a low-carb diet when you finish your fast?


(Tim) #3

First week and a half was rough. As was days 25 through 30 before I did the first dose of supplements. Other than that it’s been smooth sailing. Mentally I feel about 125%. Physically I’m probably between 85% and 95% energy wise.

Not really. At this point my girlfriend says I’ve converted myself into a being that runs on pure spite. The more people say I can’t do it the easier it gets.

No, I’ve done two 7 day fasts before. I’ve done variations on keto, mostly Paleo, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in ketosis while consuming calories. Just not low enough on the carbs.

Girlfriend and I are going to try and go full keto together. We’re not going to be super strict when we’re out, but the one thing we ARE going strict on is no gluten. Which helps a lot in terms of dietary choices IMO.


(Tim W) #4

Great job so far, really impressive! Your “path” to fasting/ketosis has been non-traditional for sure but, to each his own!

As far as not eating “strict” keto, I don’t recommend doing it half-assed.

My wife and I tried that and found that we spent more time out of ketosis than in and we get the best overall benefits from nutritional ketosis, it gives us the mental clarity/stamina you’re feeling but also the energy to work-out (I’m addicted to running) and do our “usual life” with ease.

We enjoy fasting but find that it only gives us 1/2 the picture, the mental side, while the physical side suffers, as you’ve seen in your process.

Good luck to you, I wish you the best.

Tim


#5

Awesome - looking forward to all your data and thoughts!


(Doug) #6

Good stuff, Tim! Wow. I guess the old saying about ‘not doing anything worthwhile by half-measures’ applies here.


(Bacon for the Win) #7

@JorgePasada, interesting info. I don’t know how folks do such long fasts, but am following this thread with interest. I only hope to some day be able to do decent IF. KCKO


(Tim) #8

Blood glucose and Ketone numbers from today.

Not sure why the glucose is so high. Mabye because I had a weird sleep schedule today? This was like an hour and a half after waking up from a nap.

[details=Click for Glucose Numbers]

[/details]

Really annoying when I try and get a picture of the ketone reading. The meter thinks I’m going into ketoacidocis, which is impossible if you have a functioning pancreas, so it sits there flashing like a warning every half second and I have to take a huge photo burst to get the actual number in the picture.


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #9

Well well Tim, when you messaged me about being a fellow Minnesotan etc, you said nothing about fasting! Fasting is a regular part of my routine! See the Zornfasts. I do water fasts, with only water and plain black tea and black coffee. No sweeteners. My longest fast was 10 days, and it was epic as hell. Currently I fast for approximately 3 to 3.5 days, once a month.


High keto levels problem
#10

I was under the impression Ketoacidocis was aroun 10 mmol/L, but 7+ might be closer than anyone I’ve personally heard from getting (maybe someone got 8 once for a short time). Granted, it’s not like I’m someone who has any reason to regularly hear such numbers from people, and a lot of people don’t even measure so precisely.

Actually, last I heard it was also simply uncertain what happens that high up (whether there’s any benefit to going that high, or whether it’s worse than, say, 3-5 range, etc).

That said… are you sure you do have a fully functioning pancreas?


(James storie) #11

Keto acidosis is a combination of extremely high blood glucose and extremely high blood ketones at the same time. This only happens with type 1 diabetics. I believe his ketone level is fine and representative of the extreme fast he is doing. The slightly elevated blood glucose could be from the breakdown of triglycerides or some sort of dawn phenomenon. But, I’m not a doctor, so my advice is worth what you pay for it! :smile:


(Tim) #12

Given that I’m on zero medications and my blood glucose was 66 the other day, reasonably certain.

A good friend from secondary school is a Type 1 Diabetic who’s actually been writing code in the healthcare industry related to continuous glucose monitoring. We’ve had protracted discussions about this stuff, 99% certain I’m not doing anything dangerous.


(Tim) #13

Also pretty sure that’s the case.


(Tim) #14

Figured I’d let the thread speak for itself. The closest thing I have to a ‘before’ picture was actually taken at the REI in Bloomington when I was home visiting family this summer. Didn’t really think I’d be fasting long enough to need a set of before and after pictures.

Well I guess I’ve been unintentionally joining you then. :slight_smile:

I’m going a bit more extreme with the water/salt thing. Not sure if I’ll do it again when I’m done with this one or not. I do plan to switch to a more sustainable fasting schedule while I’m done though.

Also, not sure if I’m breaking netiquette by ‘bumping’ this thread 3 times in succession like this. Just trying to maintain continuity of replies. Someone feel free to chastise me if I am.


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #15

You’re fine :slight_smile:


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #16

No.

Type 2 diabetics can and do get ketoacidosis.
( Those that make almost no insulin of their own.)


(Tim) #17

Ah, correct. Should have been more specific. What I was getting at is if you have a healthy, functioning pancreas, you’re not in danger of going into ketoacidocis.


(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #18

Absolutely. Yes.


(Tim) #19

Ok well, I’m a wee bit upset right now. Because here’s today’s numbers.

[details=Click for Glucose Numbers]

[/details]

How worthless of a measurement is that!?!? Give me a number, I’m an adult, I can handle it! :slight_smile:


#20

I wonder if that means you’ve gone past the maximum the device is capable of measuring.