60 Day Water Fast

fasting
extendedfast
(Tim) #82

Thanks Doug! All is going smoothly so far.

Actually surprised at how many calories I’ve packed away today. The new flurry of activity and variety food has added to my life has actually increased my journaling detail.

(Laura L Wrzeski) #83

I was using OMAD/keto and lost the first 40 of 80 lbs from March to June…And got impatient. Read everything Jason Fung (The Obesity Code) ever wrote and a lot more research besides. Now am on a 30-40 day fast. First 4-5 days were sometimes brutal but now the fast is easier (less hunger/cravings) than the OMAD/Keto. Plus I lose approx. a pound a day. Seriously. More energy…I am supplementing vitamins and electrolytes. “Autophagy” is taking away to loose skin…can hardly believe it.

It is true; fasting is metabolically VERY different than restricting food. At least for me.

Dreading going off the fast because I have to visit family in mid-Aug. and the temptations will definitely be there. Haven’t seen them since March when I weighed 196 and by Aug. 15 I’ll probably weigh around 125-130…I’m going to get a LOT of negative feedback.

#84

Laura, this is great!

I think most folks on here would agree that fasting is totally different from caloric restriction but somehow that one study seems to be at the heart of things when we all try to figure out whether to supplement with fat for a fast. I need to stop commenting on it until I actually read it, though.

So incredibly cool about loose skin and autophagy for you - well done!

For the family visit, just keep coming back to the forum to complain/get encouragement and we’ll keep you on track :wink: But seriously, you might be fine re: temptations at that point. People often find their cravings very different after a fast.

(Tim) #85

I had the exact same experience. No loose skin problems either.

(Laura L Wrzeski) #86

Any thoughts about ending a VERY LONG (30-40 days) fast? I’m really worried about binging. For me (older, shorter, female) even binging on totally keto foods causes weight gain. I’ve NEVER learned to control my portions. Fasting is certainly taking off the weight- fast- but I am so intimidated by what happens when, inevitably, I’m going to have to eat…Yikes.

(Laura L Wrzeski) #87

Oh, I do so need the support…Might not be within wi-fi reach for awhile. Meeting up with sister and Dad to go view the Eclipse in Wyoming. We’ll be camping in a remote area. I might just have to white-knuckle it…And I’ll be with people who do a LOT of recreational eating…a LOT OF EATING, period…Dad fusses about his type-II and won’t listen to one thing about the new findings in how to treat Type II with keto and IF or fasting. Just spouts his “three balanced meals a day” religion that has gotten him into the shape he’s in…But he’s 84 and can do whatever he wants I suppose…LOL!

(Tim) #88

What’s your normal caloric intake look like on non fasting days?

What would a ‘binging’ caloric intake look like?

I wouldn’t worry about ending the fast, I felt like I could have gone another 30 days.

(Laura L Wrzeski) #89

I try to keep to OMAD and avoid all carbs except those you can’t avoid in salad veg, avocado, cucumber and zucchini. Calories stay at a max of 1,000. I know it sounds horribly strict but I am only 5’1, 55 y/o, female, menopausal and have had to fight my tendency to gain weight like crazy my whole life.

A binge would be 2000-3000 calories worth of the same almost zero-carb food…All the right choices but WAY too much.

Unfortunately (or sort of fortunately I guess) I get addicted to the norepinephrine “high” and when I do eat I experience a mood crash I’ve come to call the “Horror”. The “Horror” seems to take all my ability to control portion size away. It’s infuriating.

(Tim) #90

This is far far too low. Caloric restriction should NOT be paired with fasting.

You should be eating this much normally after breaking a fast. By artifically restricting your caloric intake to 1000 you’re driving your Base Metabolic Rate down towards that 1000 calories.

If you give your body a ‘budget’ of 2500 to 3000 calories your base metabolic rate will adjust to that new budget.

The reason you put on weight easily is you’ve taught your body to store anything in excess of 1000 calories as fat.

When you fast, fast. When you feast, feast!!

I broke a 60 day fast today. I’m shooting for 3500 to 4000 calories a day for the next week. You need to stop artificially restricting your calories. It’ll take a couple of fast/feast cycles, but your body will adjust. You might gain some weight, but that’s going to be the price of fixing your metabolism.

(Laura L Wrzeski) #91

Fascinating. Seriously. I know the calories are really very low but I supplement like crazy to compensate for any micronutrients I’m missing…And the fact is that when you are older, female, tiny and weight-prone you would be amazed at how little food it takes to gain weight. I would indeed be willing to tolerate a bit of a weight gain in order to get a more reasonable BMR…Would weight training help?

Congrats on your fast and on your weight loss. You have inspired me. I figured if a full-grown younger man with far higher caloric requirements than I have could successfully complete a fast that long then I should be able to handle it.

Do you have any more weight you’d like to lose or are you done?

(Tim) #92

Not sure about the weight training. Probably yes, seemed to work for @Brenda

My recommendation for you would be to not do long fasts. I’d break your fast Sat AM, eat 2500 to 3000-ish good keto calories on Sat/Sun, and then five day fast all week. Cycle that for a month or two. It’ll be hard to gain weight in the long run, and it’ll put you on the road to fixing your BMR.

EDIT: Also, just going off what I consider to be a reasonable deduction based on my best knowledge at this time. If anyone has any better suggestions or wants to contradict me, feel free.

(Cathrine Helle) #93

As a really short female myself like @scijunkie (I’m 153cm, or 5 feet), you’d be surprised how much that impacts the amounts of food we need. Protein requirements for me will be (if you go by 1g pr kg lean body mass) 42 grams. I took an Inbody-test a few years back, it might have changed to less now. I have a big frame and optimal weight is in the upper part of the normal bmi due to more muscle mass (or so it said back then). My point is that if @scijunkie has a small frame, protein requirements are even smaller (perhaps down to 35 g). I’m no expert, and I’ve never counted calories so I don’t know how much I eat.

(Tim) #94

Yeah I agree with that. I guess my overall point was one of ‘Don’t calorie restrict while fasting, and eat more nutirent dense foods like fat’

(KCKO, KCFO) #95

Have you read the Complete Guide to Fasting, Dr. Jung’s book? He says to not pair low calories with extended fasting, it makes your metabolism slow down quickly. You might have success for a while but you will stall out and it will be extremely difficult to lose anymore.

He also recommends doing fasts over 14 days with medical supervision. I think a lot of people here disregard that advice. Here is a link to his blog post about going over 14 days:
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/refeeding-syndromes-fasting-20/

(What The Fast?!) #96

Tell us more!! I’m so fascinated by your experience!! How was your first day of eating?? What did you eat?

(Laura L Wrzeski) #97

It really isn’t fair is it? Not only do very short women have much lower protein/calorie requirements…If we gain five lbs it looks like ten. It seems like every oz. we gain SHOWS…And to complete the crap-hand we’re dealt our appetites aren’t any different than taller people.

And my “frame” is very small. Tiny hands, feet…wrists no bigger than my 9 y/o granddaughter. My larger-framed sister is the same height as I am and looks GREAT at 140 lbs. I start to look chubbo at 115. Even when I am really fit. (Sister has naturally curly hair too…and she’s a lot smarter and…yeah. Dammit.)

(Laura L Wrzeski) #98

THANK YOU…I most definitely must review TOC. Jason Fung is my hero.
“Medical supervision” seems mainly to be monitoring electrolyte balance and I’m supplementing sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium along with a multivitamin. I have to pay out-of-pocket for medical care; I only have what amounts to catastrophic coverage so I just can’t afford the kind of monitoring that Dr. Fung provides his patients. Plus, my energy level has actually improved and I take that as a sign that what I’m doing isn’t harmful…And I remind myself that several thousand generations of my ancestresses not only survived very long periods without food but they gave rise to future generations (me) who have inherited their ability to use stored fat and extra protein in the absence of food.

#99

Hi, scijunkie. I’m also very short (just shy of 5’2") and post-menopausal. Along the lines of what @JorgePasada is saying, I’ve been purposely increasing my daily caloric intake in order to increase my BMR. I’m not at 2000-3000 cals a day because I can’t comfortably eat that much in one sitting (I’m generally eating OMAD but occasionally I’ll eat twice a day). My cals are somewhere between 1400-1600 right now because that’s the amount that satisfies me. (I should mention that I’m zero carb). I don’t have a binging problem but if I were intentionally restricting my cals to 1000 I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a tendency to binge. Anyway, my plan is to slowly increase my bmr to 2000, and I plan to do that by increasing my daily caloric intake in small increments when I’m not doing extended fasts. What are your thoughts?

(Laura L Wrzeski) #100

GOTCHA!..And ty!
Do you want to lose any more weight?
Did you have any digestive issues/discomfort associated with breaking your fast?

(Laura L Wrzeski) #101

I’m a newby so I wouldn’t be the one to advise you. I am just now feeling out the notion that someone can actually increase their BMR…I’m really hoping it’s true. I thought that the only way to increase one’s resting metabolic rate was to increase muscle mass. I only just found out (Jason Fung “The Obesity Code” and “Complete Guide to Fasting” that fasting is metabolically drastically different than caloric restriction in that the BMR actually increases during a fast and decreases in response to caloric restriction…To me this was way past astonishing…ASTOUNDING.

This is my first extended fast. I have 33 days to go and I am on day nine…I am still struggling with mental “background noise” that keeps muttering and whining things like “it’s crazy to fast…yer gonna DIE”…or that fasting is unnatural or unhealthy. I know for a fact that fasting is NOT unnatural (a hundred thousand generations of our ancestresses either were able to withstand LONG periods without food AND give rise to future generations -that would be you and me- or we wouldn’t be here and be FAT.) I know fasting is NOT unhealthy either because I’ve been reading everything I could find on the astonishing improvements in the health of people who have fasted.

YAY for us re. “zero carb”. I just passed up my daughter-in-law’s gorgeous potato salad and the birthday cake at my grandson’s second birthday party. I don’t think doing that would have been possible if I had not achieved deep ketosis from this fast. Carbs are SATAN…lol.

By the way…That’s such a cute picture with your red hat!!! I’m gonna get me a red hat of my very own when I hit goal!