A doctor's experience of extended fasting!

(Lisa ) #21

Hello again. Day 6 today - wowee! Time has flown by. Ketones 2.4 this morning. Down 6lbs from the start. Will be interesting to see what happens when I refeed! I had planned to gently break the fast tonight/tomorrow morning so that I can eat at the wedding tomorrow, but I’m feeling so good that I might just fast through. The idea of cake makes me feel sick - I had a severe hypoglycaemic episode after eating two big slices of carrot cake several months ago. Luckily I was close to a nurse as my blood glucose was 1.1mmol/L (about 20mg/dL). I am not wanting a repeat of that!!

Positive things I’ve noticed: mental clarity, better sleep, motivation, no headaches, weight loss/clothes fitting better, not spending money on food!

Negatives: not participating in some things involving food, missing food a couple of times, some nausea.

(Running from stupidity) #22

Tell them you’re fasting on medical advice :slight_smile:

(Lisa ) #23

Lol I feel like they may not believe that one, I’m a bad patient :joy:

(Lisa ) #24

Good morning everyone. Day 7 has arrived and with that I shoooould be finishing my fast tonight. However, now I’m on this track and feeling good, I might as well continue with some slight modifications. Today, I will be doing a big workout and attending a wedding tonight so I will have a couple of small, fatty meals to keep the energy up and also prime my tummy in case I end up eating something I wasn’t planning on. Then, back to fasting on water/coffee/tea tomorrow and I will continue this as long as I feel well.
In short, I have exceeded my expectations in how long I would be able to fast for, and I learnt to pay more attention to my body. I feel better, have lost weight and my muscles have become much more defined (particularly my quads and shoulders. I have had no migraines and no hypoglycaemic episodes. All in all a good experience!

(Karen) #25

I’m a big fan of ADF and 3 day fasts. Stay safe.

(Lisa ) #26

Thanks Karen!
Turned out to be a MUCH later night than expected, but I had a lot of fun! I think I was the only one who managed to keep their heels on all night :joy:
Had a sober driver so had some dry wine, drank a lot of water with it so I didn’t get too tiddly! They had pork rinds and fatty beef in the buffet so had a small dinner with family. All in all a great night!

image
image.jpeg1080×1920 406 KB

(Gigi Face Glam) #27

I just went for a 48 hour fast for the first time. Definitely will shoot for a 7 day fast in the near future. Please, can you share what do you do when you feel the most hungry/tempted to eat? How do you cope?

(Running from stupidity) #28

I fight with my brain and tell it to shut up. Explain to it that it’s a weak loser, and that I am not, and that this wave of “hunger” will pass. These fights can go on for extended periods of time…

This may not work for everyone. My #ADHDBRAIN is mostly a PITA.

(Brennan) #29

I just did my 1st EF (~70 hours) and found warm water with a bit of salt in it works amazingly on cravings. TBH I could have gone much longer but I really started to miss food ¯_(ツ)_/¯

(Lisa ) #30
  1. I have a hot drink, preferably black and unsweetened.
  2. Chug on a water bottle - put a herbal tea bag in it if you need flavour. Keep up the fluids.
  3. Distractions, distractions, distractions. Get out of the house.
  4. Take a long shower after drinking and see if you’re still hungry after.
  5. If you’re gonna break, have a small amount of fat (piece of Parmesan, some pork fat, bone broth etc).
  6. Don’t be hard on yourself. If you do break just jump back in.

I’m about to start another seven day fast, any takers to join me?

(Gigi Face Glam) #31

Haha… Great, I will try that. Thanks!

(Gigi Face Glam) #32

Interesting, never heard of that. I’m only doing the acv with lemon and salt but I will try this next. Thanks.

(Gigi Face Glam) #33

Thanks doc! I’ll be following your journey and maybe joining you in one of those fasts.

(Lisa ) #34

Back into it! Fasting day 2. And again I found the first day the hardest!
Did a good workout today! Ketones were 0.5 yesterday, so looks like I’m still in ketosis.
This time round I’m only going to check ketones once a day, and I’ll check my weight at the end. Will just be doing measurements (TOM so all the water weight will completely bungle any trend, haha).
Anyone else fasting? Lisa

(Running from stupidity) #35

Yeah, I’m the same. Sunday was by far my worst day, then it calmed down by the time I was 36 hours in on Monday morning.

(Lisa ) #36

Update: I have done two 7 day fasts, now have dropped into a OMAD pattern which feels very natural and easy for me. Will do another extended fast towards Christmas, I think! Fitness is increasing despite the fasts, which surprised me. And I have kept off all the weight lost (about 10 pounds). Very visible difference in muscle definition and clothes fitting. No migraines. Feeling great!

(Running from stupidity) #37

Hey Lisa, how’s it all going?

@lisylooby

(Lisa ) #38

Hey Juice! Merry Christmas. I’m doing really well thanks - you? I’ve just about finished day 1 of another extended fast, this time 14 days. I let myself have sugar over Christmas and made myself veeeerrrry ill so I am looking forward to getting some energy back! Will probably start another thread to see if anyone wants to join me :grin:

(Running from stupidity) #39

Fighting with anti-depressants, but otherwise just trolling along :slight_smile:

I let myself have sugar over Christmas and made myself veeeerrrry ill

Yeah, well, I bet that came as a massive surprise :slight_smile:

(Lisa ) #40

Yeah I said to myself that I would get unwell, but I was surprised that a slice of bread made me vomit! Guess I’ve been fat adapted for so long that my body freaked out.
What trouble are you having with you ADs, if you don’t mind me asking (message me if you like).
Also. I realised yesterday that I now hate chocolate, it tastes like plastic.