A really extended fast: going for 46-days!

(Michelle) #21

BEST of luck to you for your fast!!! Great story and I would love updates (and tips) on how you are doing.

#22

Get ready for the little surprises. Tongue will change colour. Pimples come up where you never get pimples. And going to the bathroom after approx 3 weeks of last meal. Oh fun fun…lucky you there are people in this forum who have done long fasts. If something comes up, you can ask “hey! Is this normal?!” It helps to know others went through what you are going through.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #23

@Fiorella Try as you might you are not scaring me! You did get my attention though!! My wife will have to tell me if my tongue changes as I am color blind and probably wouldn’t notice. I figured there would be bathroom issues as I usually get watery around the 72 hour point which doesn’t last more than a day. You say there may be more in store? I like new experiences so we will see what happens.

Thank you for the information and I will be doing daily posts and will ask for help often, I am sure.

I guess I should use this same thread for all of the updates.

#24

Oh hey…I’m not scaring you…or at least not my intention. Sorry if it comes off that way.

Just wanted to let you know these little surprises are around the corner. I did a lot of googling and discovered this stuff in other people’s blogs and diaries before my fast. I was glad to know before hand, so that I wouldn’t be surprised.

Another thing will happen to your tongue. It will turn furry, or velvety-like. And then, one day, the furry or velvet feel will disappear. After that point, your body will start to crave eating again. Happened to me around day 32. It takes about 4 weeks to get to that point.

Oh yes. Bathroom events will be interesting. You will have literally one “black sludge” experience at 2.5 to 3 weeks. It’s common. I remember seeing it talked about on youtube diaries, and in written diaries. And when it happened to me, it didn’t freak me out at all.

So, it helps to know what others went through. Puts you at ease during the journey.

#25

It hasn’t been mentioned here yet, so I’ll take this time to mention that our bodies store excess toxins in bodyfat and as those are being released while fasting weird things will likely happen…

I currently use ACV since it’s supposed to help the liver cleanse toxins, but sometimes it seems to make me hungry and other times has no effect, so it’s hard for me to recommend it or not for a fast.

@Fiorella, do you have any suggestions for helping the body to eliminate toxins that won’t negatively affect the fast?

#26

No. It’s unavoidable. Autophagy will happen and it will unlock toxins. They will find their way out. Drink water. That’s it.

(chris.coote) #27

Day 1 went by with little hunger issues. I wouldn’t have noticed since I spent most of my time realizing that I was biting off too much dropping caffeine on certain days as well :stuck_out_tongue:

(Dustin Cade) #28

so… an extended fast would be good to unlock these toxins or is this just another way the body rids itself of them? an acquaintance of mine mentioned on Facebook the other day he was starting a 2 month vegan cleanse… not sure really what that entails or if he understands its going to just make things worse… I didn’t say anything as i doubt he would’ve taken heed anyway…

#29

The vegan cleanses that I have seen are just fruit and veggie juices, sometimes coupled with herbs and spices (like ginger and peppermint). They all looked like liquid carb delivery systems. Not sure what they would cleanse, honestly.

When fasting, like water and coffee only, and the body gets into autophagy, it breaks down old and unnecessary tissue. Also helps with tightening of loose skin, as extra skin is “useless”. Any toxins in the tissue is released. So, “non toxic” and “toxic” compounds are broken down and/or released in autophagy. It does not discriminate and look for toxic molecules, and leaves behind the rest of the old and unnecessary cells tissue. All “bad” and unnecessary tissue gets targeted.

(Dustin Cade) #30

I do want to make sure i have the least amount of loose skin as I’m going to be going from 421lbs to whatever my “normal” body weight is… I figure around 225 to 200 or so… I’m down at least 54lbs down…

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #31

Day 2 is here and I am feeling great!

I weigh myself and check my blood glucose and ketones every morning, the weight is not as important as my other health markers but I would like to lose another 60 lb so I will track it but not make goals based on it.

Today’s tally:
Day 2 Daily Wt loss (LB): 3 Total Wt loss (LB): 3 BG: 92 Ketones: 0.6

BG is down 11 from yesterday but I had been sitting around 105 for the last few weeks due to excessive snacking on fatty treats: macadameia nuts, 90% Lindt dark chocolate, bacon (got to love bacon), and homemade chocolate mousse made with heavy cream and high-fat cocoa powder (really good!)

Now that I am fasting I don’t have to worry about it and am not hungry in the least, more on that in a little bit.
My ketone level is at 0.6 mmol/l which is down from 0.9 the day before. I am still ketogenic, just barely. From previous experience days 3 and later are normally between 1 and 4 for me.

As everyone has mentioned fasting gets easier with practice; I know my first fast I was hungry on the second day but now, other than a mental urge to grab a snack (a bad habit I’m hoping to break) I have not been hungry today.

Drinking water, black coffee, and bone broth to supplement the need for electrolytes. So this is not a ‘water’ diet as such as I do get minimal calories from the broth and any time I use heavy cream in my coffee. I drank my coffee black for years and years but like the heavy cream especially how it curbs my appetite.

I am still carrying on with business details and even had lunch with a client today. I had ordered a cup of decaf coffee and when the waitress asked what I wanted to order I said “I’ll just have the coffee, thanks. I have other plans.” A few people looked up and I just smiled. I had a slight urge when I saw the potato chips on their plates but that past quickly as I thought about what that would do to my insulin and the possibility of inflammation from the low-quality vegetable oil they are cooked in!

All in all a good day, still learning more about long, extended fasts and some of the weird things the body does as it goes through the detox process. That could be a good topic for a new section!

Lastly, I went to see my doctor today and told him what I was doing. He said that after my last year and a half and all of the improvements I’ve made in my health that he has no concerns about my doing this fast. He even gave me some advice to stay hydrated, use electrolytes along the way, and add some fat if I think I need something. I was floored by his positive attitude—maybe he did read those 3 books I’ve given him in the last 18 months!

(Keto in Katy) #32

Nice report Ron, and it’s good to know your doc is on board.

(Becky Searls) #33

Definitely update daily please! Good luck!

#35

Sorry…don’t understand the question. “How long you didn’t fast for?” What are you asking?

(Becky Searls) #36

Oops typo! How long DID you fast for? Sorry!

#37

33 days

(chris.coote) #38

Day 2 went by smoother than normal thanks to too many distractions :stuck_out_tongue:

2PM yesterday BS/Ketones 92/0.8
10:30AM today 80/1.8

Start 198.2 lb (Baseline prior week 194-196)
Yesterday 194.6
This morning 191.2

(G. Andrew Duthie) #39

Haven’t been testing glucose (my glucose meter was recalled :confused:), but got through the day OK.

Down 2.5 lbs after day 1, and 4 lbs total as of this morning (after day 2).

Now about 60 hours in, and still planning to wrap it up tomorrow evening. It hasn’t been awful, but I’ve definitely noticed more hunger and less energy doing a water-only fast.

I’m thinking that next time, I will do a water and pure fat fast (as opposed to bone broth, HWC, etc that contain small amounts of carbs or protein).

One other observation. My resting heart rate seems to have dropped significantly during the fast (as I sit here typing, it’s 58…as officially reported by my Fitbit app, my RHR for today is 63, down from 68 the day that I started the fast. Not worried about it at all, but I did think it was interesting, and wondered if anyone else has seen similar drops in RHR while fasting.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #40

@chris.coote Yes, distractions do make fasting easier. Thankfully I have a very full schedule for the next few weeks so that should help greatly.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #41

Day 3 and 65 hours fasted on water, coffee, occasional heavy cream, and electrolytes. Here is what today’s numbers were:

Weight	  Weight    Total Wt Loss     Glucose        Ketones
        Difference	    lb (kg)	   mg/dl (mmol/l)	
266.0	  1.6	       4.6 (2.1)	  84 (4.6)    	   0.7

Feeling great and keeping busy which makes fasting so much easier! This is the third day and so the 72-hour ailment, watery stool, found me this morning. I was expecting it so there was no disaster or anything. I took some advice from the forum and took 1T of chia seeds in a glass of water to help build bulk. It is working so far! In fact, I had an appointment about 45 minutes from here and made it there and back with no issues.

I am sleeping well and seem to be waking up a bit earlier than usual, about 6:00, which is alright with me as I am reading in the morning so it gives me good quiet time. I always measure myself first and then sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning!

I was thinking about something else that my doctor had said yesterday during my appointment: he mentioned the blood tests that I am having done, waiting on the results, and the fact that I had requested the hsCRP or high sensitivity C-reactive protein. CRP is a protein made in the liver that is used as a marker of inflammation in the body. Last August I asked him to do the test and my CRP was 1.2mg/l which puts me in the low end of the average range (1-3mg/l). I would like to see my CRP go under 1mg/l into the LOW range as inflammation is a great marker of possible heart disease.
Back to my fast, I did have a few thoughts that I may be hungry but I just added a little salt to my coffee and the hunger quickly subsided.

Well, I’m off to work at our church’s fish fry tonight – of course I won’t be eating but they do have plenty of water for me! Have a great evening!