A really extended fast: going for 46-days!


(Michelle) #42

love your updates!! Keep em coming and stay strong!! You are doing great.


(Keto in Katy) #43

Go Ron :smiley:


(chris.coote) #44

Sadly, something was not going right this time. Though I was getting through with almost no hunger waves, the progressing headaches and feeling of unease led me to discover they were not from fasting but an unrelated issue. I exited at 5:30 with two tbs of Kerrygold dissolved in a pint of homemade bone stock. Once I get things back in order, I may rejoin.But still a bit disappointing this far short of my PB :frowning:


(chris.coote) #45

Final values
Ketones: 3.0
BG: 82


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #46

@chris.coote Yes, you have to listen to your body, I hope you can get well soon. Looking forward to your come back!


#47

Donā€™t be disappointed. Number targets are just numbers. The idea is to learn to listen to your body.


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #48

Day 4 and 90 hours fasted on water, coffee, occasional heavy cream, and electrolytes.
Here is what todayā€™s numbers were:

Amazing how strong my will has become! I was at a retreat today and the provided lunch was BBQ! I am sitting at the table talking with my friends looking at their ribs, chicken and pulled pork and it all looked so good; well, the pulled was soaked in BBQ sauce so I would have avoided that! I was able to resist with very little effort! I had no hunger pangs or other physiological feelings; now, I could have given in to the temptation and gone and had a little but I didnā€™t ā€“ staying on the fast!

This is one of those events that I knew was coming and planned for it mentally as I know I can have great BBQ after I finish my fast.

I am making this a spiritual journey as well as it is, after all, Lent and I am Catholic however I will keep these updates more around the fast and things I learn and experience along the way.

I donā€™t go to the gym so I donā€™t expect really large numbers but I was a bit more active last night working at the fish fry. My ketones are a bit higher as the increase in activity used more of the stored glycogen so I required more ketones for energy and my liver obliged.
One feeling I always when I am in ketosis is that I can almost feel the fat lessening around my waist, as if tiny bubble wrap pieces are popping just under the skin. I know this sounds really weird but for me it is something I consistently sense when my ketones go above a 1.0 mmol/l.

I have a busy weekend planned so I will be heading out to work at bingo tonight and have a very full day planned for tomorrow as well. I am not hungry and keeping busy helps to avoid thinking about eating. It is truly amazing that Iā€™ve gone 3.5 days and have yet to feel hungry, a little pang yesterday but salt took care of that very quickly!


(G. Andrew Duthie) #49

Good job! I broke my fast this evening as planned, but earlier today I was at a menā€™s conference put on by my local diocese, and they had pastries for breakfast and box lunches with sandwiches, chips and cookies. Made it very easy to skip all of it. I did have some black coffee, which given the quality (or lack thereof) of the coffee was arguably more penance than pleasure. :wink:

Personally, Iā€™d probably have had a much harder time resisting BBQ. Congrats on your progress, and I wish you well on the remainder of your fast. Iā€™ll probably do some more multi-day fasts during Lent, and Iā€™m looking forward to following your continued progress.


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #50

@devhammer Yes, conference coffee is mostly not of the best quality however, it is hot and black!


(Barbara Greenwood) #51

I preached this morning on the temptations of Jesus from Matthew. I was able to tell them that hunger goes away after two to three days of fasting, and only returns when the body is close to exhausting its resources. The things you learn on groups like this!


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #52

Yes, we were talking about that in Bible study as well. People are astonished when I mention that I havenā€™t eaten in five days, they ask me if Iā€™m hungry or if I feel sick. I tell them the truth: I feel great!

I heard the term self-cannibalism the other day in regards to fasting and decided to not mention it. :grinning:


(Jason) #53

Nearly 3 days fastedā€¦


(Zack F) #54

Howā€™s that possible after three days? Were you bleeding Jack Daniels when you entered the fast??


#55

Nice progress!! 40 days is a nice chunk to bite off. Love the updates!


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #56

Day 5 and 117 hours fasted. A bit late on this update but I have had a very busy weekend. Here is what todayā€™s numbers were.

Had some homemade beef broth today along with my usual decaf coffee, water and electrolyte supplement. I did notice early this afternoon that my fingertips were shriveled like when you spend too much time in water and, in this case, being dehydrated. I just made sure that I drank a lot more water this afternoon and everything was fine.

We went on a road trip to a state park about an hour away and I took 12 bottles of water for the trip for the 3 of us. I think I drank 3 full bottles and when we stopped for supper I had 3 cups of decaf coffee and 3 glasses of water. Had to use the restroom a couple of times at the restaurant before the hour drive back home but all was well. I will probably have another cup of broth, chicken this time, this evening.

Iā€™ve been making my own broth for the last year or so and really enjoy knowing exactly what goes into it. I used the stovetop method until last fall when I bought a Power Pressure Cooker XL electric pressure cooker for the broth and other things. I think we have decided that we like the stovetop results better, taste and appearance wise, although the pressure cooker was much faster 2-hours pressure cooker for beef compared to 24-hours on the stovetop. I tend to drink more broth when on a fast so I need to plan to make some more in about a week.

One of the biggest advantages of the pressure cooker is using it for canning the broth for storage! We have limited freezer space so canning the broth makes it very easy to store. Our pressure cooker only handles the pint jars, about 12oz of broth, but that is fine as it makes for a nice big cup!

Have to travel this week, Iā€™m going to Irvine CA on business. I have seen a few people mention that fasting is difficult when travelling but I have never found that. I donā€™t have urges to eat and am not tempted when I see some of my favorite foods like my experience with BBQ yesterday. I simply drink water and black coffee through the airport. I like to buy the Smart Water brand when travelling as it has electrolytes in it already, it is quite a convenience.

My electrolyte supplements are Jigsaw Healthā€™s Electrolyte Supreme that comes in a very convenient single serving packet. It is sweetened with stevia and monk fruit and is very safe for me. I did a n=1 test and monitored by blood glucose to verify it and will post the results on the forum in the near future.


(G. Andrew Duthie) #57

Following up on thisā€¦Iā€™m on day 2 after breaking my fast, and RHR went back up a couple of points from its low at 61. Will be interesting to see if it continues to rise, which might provide some support for the idea that fasting contributed to the drop.


(Jason) #58

I hit 0.05 this morning as I broke my fast. Lol


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #59

Day 6 and 138 hours fasted still on water, decaf coffee, broth, electrolyte supplements, and occasional heavy cream. Here are todayā€™s numbers:

I added a column for the Body Mass Index (BMI) which is the rough percentage of body fat an average person is carrying. I said rough as it is not accurate enough for studies and there are far better ways of determining the total lean and the fat mass in a body like a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan often used to determine bone density. Rough is close enough for me.

I received my blood tests back and I was shocked that some of the numbers were a bit worse than I expected. I had been snacking a lot in the month or so leading up to this fast especially on peanuts which are higher in carbs. Peanuts have 161 calories(kCal) per 1oz serving distributed as 78.3% is fat, 11.4% is carbohydrates (2.7% from sugar), and 17.4% as protein. This may seem like a decent snack but I REALLY like peanuts, and like I have stated in an earlier post, I tend to go all-in. I could easily eat 6-16oz of peanuts in a day or even a sitting.

I would also snack on macadamia nuts on the same day and they have more fat but also more sugar! Macadamia nuts have 204 calories per 1oz serving distributed as 92.6% is fat, 7.6% is carbohydrate (2.7% from sugar), and 4.3% as protein. A much healthier snack than the peanuts as macadamias are much higher in fat especially saturated fat. Comparing peanuts and macadamias the types of fat stack up like this: saturated fat 13.9% and 16.2%; polyunsaturated fat 31.9% and 1.9%; monounsaturated fat 50% and 81% respectively.

Getting ready for a trip to Irvine, CA, in the morning so I will cut this update a bit short. One final word though is that my glucose (sugar) readings are dropping nicely and my ketones are increasing at the same time. This is an indication that my liver is creating ketones to fuel me while fasting. I am not eating any carbohydrates so the glucose measurement is likely from any residual glycogen stored in my muscles and that from my liver through a process called gluconeogenesis, yes, your body can feed itself and I have plenty of stored up fat to live on through this fast!


Taking on an extended fast (10-14 Days)
(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #60

Day 7 and 155 hours fasted still on liquids only and as occasional Ā¼ cup of heavy cream (200 kCal). Here are my numbers from today:

Surprised me a bit that my weight went up a bit and I donā€™t know why! I had water, decaf coffee with a bit of cream in the first cup, and my 3 of my electrolyte solution throughout the day. I am wondering if it was just a bad reading as I wear the same thing every day. I am travelling today so I weighed about 5:15 and maybe my eyes werenā€™t in focus yet! Because of my trip I didnā€™t take the time to reweigh so I will have to wait until I get back home and then weigh on Saturday morning.

My glucose and ketones look great and the glucose may be leveling out a little which I expected. According to studies of people on high fat diets who are fat adapted, i.e. burning mostly fat for energy and not much glucose, low glucose does not cause hypoglycemia because the body is not requiring glucose. The low glucose does mean that my insulin levels are low and that is what I am trying for as when insulin is low human growth hormone (HGH) production is increased to raise my metabolism, protect my muscles, and help build bone density; that is the miracle I am looking for!

Ketone bodies are produced by the liver from fatty acids and can be used by almost every cell in the body for fuel. When glucose is at normal levels (low) the liver automatically begins producing ketones for fuel. This is what kept our ancestors alive during food shortages! The brain needs about 600 grams of energy and day and about 150 grams must be glucose, the rest can be ketones which many brain cells prefer. The liver produces about 250 grams of glucose every day through a process call gluconeogenesis so my miniscule requirement for glucose is easily satisfied.

I feel great sitting here in the Atlanta airport with about an hour before my flight boards. Like many trips, my flight has been delayed about 30 minutes. I donā€™t have any meetings today except some dinner plans with my Uncle and some of his children/grandchildren. Some of them I havenā€™t met so I am looking forward to some great family time!

Iā€™ll be reading ā€œThe Obesity Epidemicā€ by Dr. Zoe Harcombe on my way to California so I will continue on my journey to learning how to get healthier through diet and so I can share it with others.


(Jessica) #61

I kept muttering ā€œhave some salt, man!ā€ as I read about day after day of lethargy.