Alternate Day Fasting turned ZC...back to fasting

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(What The Fast?!) #241

Progress update:
3/26/17 SW keto at 149 (32% BF) - was already working out constantly, eating clean, but couldn’t lose weight before starting keto.
10/15/17 SW for Fasting: 153.7 (34% BF) - gained on keto
95 hr fast
48 hr fast
10/21/17 147.7
48 hr fast
10/23 150.8 after refeed
24 hour fast
10/25 150.1
65 hour fast
10/27 147.0
10/28 150.1
10/29 151.9
Start fast (after breakfast)
10/30 150.1
10/31 148.6 end fast 49 hrs
Start fast (evening)
11/1 148.7
11/2 147.7
11/3 146.2 end fast 72 hours
11/4 146.2
Start fast (evening)
11/5 151.0 (hoping this is water weight…)
11//6 146.8
11/7 145.3
11/8 144.2
11/9 143.3 Ended fast at 110 hours, had lunch and dinner
11/10 145.1
11/11 145.9 start fast after lunch
11/12 147.0

I’m noticing that when I re-feed with more than one meal, I pile on a few lbs. This is hugely disappointing because it makes me concerned about maintenance (when I get there). The good news is that I’m still trending down, but it’s a little obnoxious that I gain 3-4 lbs back every time I end a fast. I’m going to try to do a single meal re-feed when I end this fast and jump back in for another 48-72 hour fast and see if that steadies the loss. Wish me luck!

(Beth) #242

Girl, you are AMAZING. I just want to offer some encouragement. Your diligence and discipline inspire me, thank you! You’ve lost six pounds in four weeks, that’s got to feel good.
I have been following your posts because you and I are almost the same size, with a similar story, but I’ve only been working on my weight loss since June. I wondered how you’re implementing the fasting (how long, what days) so thank you for posting this.
Nothing has worked for me except fasts of 36 hours or more. I am losing about 1 to 1.5 lbs per week with ADF/EF. My goal is 36 hour fasts MWFs. Anything shorter or less frequent and I don’t lose anything. I go longer at times, but not like you - 48 to 65 hours is about all I’ve been able to do so far. Hoping for longer eventually.
I get the same gains on re-feeds, approximately 3 to 5 pounds. It drops off faster when I start fasting again if I drink lots of water, more than just when I’m thirsty.
I’ve noticed that I lose slowly or not at all when I re-feed in the evenings/at night.
My fasts seem to have better results if my eating window ends in late afternoon or early evening (before 6 for me) which is a real pain because my fiancé likes to eat his biggest meals at night.
Thank you for sharing your journey. Hang in there. You’ll figure it out. Your commitment is phenomenal! Good luck!!!

(What The Fast?!) #243

Thanks so much for the encouragement!! Also that’s really helpful to hear! Are you drinking anything aside from water?

(Beth) #244

Morning: black coffee (I buy great quality coffee, I figure it’s worth it since my grocery bill has dropped). I have tried to use HWC but it slows my losses.
Afternoon/evening: I use Canada Dry flavored seltzer water (fruit ‘flavor’ but no sweetener, basically fruit scented carbonated water). I drink 1 - 2 a day at the most and not every day. I make myself drink a quart of water before I get a second one, lol.
I have just started making Brenda’s KetoAde and I will probably try Snake Juice.
I’ve just started watching his videos - interesting, thank you for sharing.
I get plenty of salt - I keep Celtic grey or pink Himalayan sea salt at home, in my desk, in my purse.
Dr. Jason Fung says that we get a 25 to 50% higher insulin response to food eaten at night, and in my experience I’m on the higher end of that range.
Thanks for sharing the Snake Diet guy. Like Dr. Fung, he offers entertaining perspective on how little food we can really get by with.
My only other thought for you (and maybe you’ve posted this and I missed it) would be possibly hormones? Have you had yours tested? I had a 24 hour collection test and it helped me tweak my levels. But I think I’m older than you (48), so probably hitting the peri-menopausal stage…

(What The Fast?!) #245

I get good quality coffee as well but put a little HWC (like 1/2 or 1T) in it. I haven’t noticed it affecting my losses. Snake dude says no coffee. I also drink seltzer! La Croix for the win! I sometimes drink tea but not that often. I do heat up the snake juice and drink it like soup though!

(What The Fast?!) #246

Man oh man!!! I had a crazy busy last two days. Non stop work calls and stuff going on in the evenings as well. Today I worked out in the AM (hot yoga), had back to back calls all day, then a rehearsal from 5-7, then MORE work calls. Just finished up at 9:20pm and am thinking there’s no way I would have gotten it all done if I had to stop to eat. :crazy_face:

(Beth) #247

Tell me about your re-feeds. Are you eating as small a meal as possible like Snake recommends? Eat to fullness?
I broke my 48 hour fast last night & ate until I was really full (keto meal). It was deliberate because I want to keep my metabolism up. I heard Megan Ramos advise that in a podcast. But Cole (Snake guy) advises small re-feeds until you get to goal (I am 15 pounds from goal).
Have you noticed any trends based on re-feed meal size?

(What The Fast?!) #248

I do that too (feast/fast). I don’t seem to gain if I limit refeeds to one meal or one day, but gain when I refeed two days in a row.

(KCKO, KCFO) #249

Hey Andrea, just stopping in to say congrats on getting some good results. Your determination is amazing. You are da :bomb:

(Beth) #250

@collaroygal
Thank you for sharing your story on this forum! It really helped me. I found it in an online search and it led to me joining this site. It was the encouragement I needed to commit to keto and IF when every single other thing would not budge the scale.
Nine pounds down, 15 to go. Even if it’s slower than ever before, it’s still moving in the right direction.

(KCKO, KCFO) #251

Wow, glad I could lend something to your weight loss journey, it sound like you are doing very well. It doesn’t get much better than this, the 2ketodudes have created a unique place here.

(What The Fast?!) #252

Arrrgghhh. Refed yesterday with salad and bacon. 145.7 today - I know it’s water and no :poop: but it’s still obnoxious. I find I lose better when I don’t work out, maybe it’s the “less stress on the body” thing. I was REALLY hoping to get under 140 by the time I leave for this trip. I have dinner plans Friday night so I’ll break this current fast at 55ish hours and then start again until we get to Vancouver on Sunday.

I’d like to point out that I’m literally only 3 lbs down from when I started keto 7.5 months ago. Granted, I’ve bounced up and down, it just boggles my mind.

(Beth) #253

Lol, I just had a salad & bacon meal.
I’ve been discouraged this week too. Two 48 hour fasts and when I refeed I am right back up five pounds.

@KetoLikeaLady: You are a machine with your fast lengths. When I fast into day three I start to feel weak & irritable, even with sodium. It’s a struggle to focus, climb stairs, etc.

@collaroygal: Does it get harder to fast as you get closer to goal weight? I still have 10-15 pounds to go. Do you just lose more slowly? What helped you most to get to goal??

Had to balance three major work events with IF this week: I had dry wine with mixed nuts & veggies/cheese at a fundraiser yesterday. Those were the ONLY low carb foods in a long buffet. Sigh… carbs are cheap to serve.

Oh well. Trying to focus on the positives: less pain, better concentration, steady energy, better sleep, stronger nails, thicker, healthier hair, better skin, my vision improves, my skinny jeans fit, in fact I keep having to pull them up. There must be some recomposition happening - my husband notices it & comments. No cravings when I smelled the buttered popcorn at the movies last night.
Life is still 100% better than before I found keto & fasting.
Off to the gym.

(KCKO, KCFO) #254

:clap:t2::clap:t2::clap:t2:

A lot of non scale victories going on for you. Great results.

I could not budge those last 15 lbs. until I started fasting, that helped me the most in my last few months of losing. I started with IFing saw a little movement not much, after a couple of weeks, I jumped into longer fasts 36/48/95/106 hrs. I’d lose several lbs. with each fast and put a couple back on that would drop off at the next fast and I would have a new low weight.

Since I hadn’t fasted earlier in my Journey, not sure if I can say if it was harder, it was actually easy after doing the IFing and the lower hours fasting, I would have to halt some fasts and refeed, but I kept at it and got to goal plus some extra lbs. I hadn’t even dreamed of at that point. :crazy_face: This graph shows lclearly how it went from April to beginning of May for me. I have never dropped lbs. any faster in my life. And I have been dieting for over 30 yrs.

OCT2017 results
OCT2017 results.PNG756×398 6.64 KB

(What The Fast?!) #255

This chart tho…#goals
I’m currently in Vancouver for a few days and was planning to eat every other day but…you GUYS…the food here in insane amazing. I’ve had two of the best dinners of my LIFE here.
I have dinner plans with coworkers tonight and then we are headed to Whistler to ski over Thanksgiving. I’m planning to keep IFing or doing OMAD but OMAD seems unlikely with skiing all day. Physically I know I’d be fine fasting completely even with skiing but honestly eating on the mountain is part of the experience. I promised my partner that I wouldn’t let Fasting run my life or change how we vacation. He’s totally on board with keto and he’s very supportive of my fasting, but we are foodies through and through and love to enjoy a whole “experience” not just an activity. There will be hot toddies…

Speaking of which - I used to drink hot cocoa with booze or hot toddies (which have honey) on the mountain…any ideas for warm cocktails at the end of a long day of skiing?

(KCKO, KCFO) #256

Old school hot buttered rum. A pour of hot rum, add butter. Any bar should be able to do it.

I would think one meal a day while skiing should work fine, you can just ski through lunchtime?

I totally get being a foodie, because I am one. I always try local favorites. I got a big surprise in Alaska, they have plenty dishes that are keto. I had awesome lamb meatballs at a local place in Anchorage, better then the ones in Greece. In the Whistler area there should be great steaks and chops, not to mention seafoods.

Have a great time. Vancouver is a foodie delight for sure. Just make the best selections and carry on.

(Beth) #257

What she said. If it were me, I would enjoy it. Make good choices so you feel good. Remember the point of vacations & holidays: enjoyment, relaxation, celebration. We’re playing the long game here so why not enjoy your planned break.
Feast/fast. Balance. You can start fasting on your way home.

(What The Fast?!) #258

Hi all!!! Ok, so I’m officially back from vacation, let me fill you in. I spent 3 nights in Vancouver and then 5 nights in Whistler. Right before Vancouver, I did a 60 hour fast and then had a couple really incredible meals in Vancouver (plus cocktails/wine with each). I also did my favorite workout (Bar Method) twice while there.

In Whistler, we skied 5 days (my legs are toast!) and also had some REALLY amazing food and cocktails/wine EVERY night.

I stuck to OMAD most days with IF a couple days and ate basically keto (aside from a couple bites of things).

I had Starbucks coffee with cream every morning and a boozy coffee or hot whiskey drink as an afternoon warm up most days.

I began a fast after dinner on our last night there (Monday night) and fasted during our travel day yesterday. I just weighed myself at 33 hours fasted this morning (Wednesday) and am SO EXCITED to report that I somehow am almost the same weight as when I left!!! I think all the activity counteracted all the awesome food.

You guys - this is actually sustainable! We ate VERY well - oysters, beef tartare, octopus, lamb, etc. I’m pleasantly surprised this AM! Woo hoo!!!

I am going to continue doing 48 to 96 hr fasts until I reach my goal. Once there, I’ll stick with OMAD or IF for maintenance with a 48 probably once a week. I’m sure I’ll have some off days during the holidays but feel good about this plan overall.

(For those following along from the very beginning, I’m at 144.0 today which is actually only 5lbs down from my pre-keto weight, but almost 10 down from all my experimentation.

Also, I have a consultation with IDM today!

Fat Burning Female Project
(Paula Green) #259

Sounds like a wonderful trip Andrea. I’ve been wondering how you got on - so pleased it was a good experience. Great news that your success continues - to survive a vacation with no weigh gain, whilst still eating great food is just awesome. So happy for you.

I have a four week trip to Maui coming up after Xmas - I’m thinking OMAD may be a plan for me too - I’m very scared of your American food lol!

(What The Fast?!) #260

Haha, Maui is tough because there are so many amazing fruits in Hawaii, plus all the sushi!