Three weeks (minus 1 meal) today. Down 23 lb in 21 days. This is amazing!
A little history:
Like many of you, I have tried so, so many diets. About 12 years ago, I went on a very long hike (6 months). I ate garbage and drank beer, but I lost the weight of my backpack, getting down to 160. After returning home, I gained 60 lb with each of 2 kids, then lost it with a lot of effort. The first kid weight with marathon training, and the second with CrossFit boot camp. All along, I was eating low carb. Both times, I had to stop when injured. Both times, slow, insidious weight gain ensued. I reached out to âpros,â friends, Dr. Google, etc. nothing helped. Things I tried: Weight Watchers, cabbage soup diet, potato diet, shakes, counting calories, counting carbs, counting net carbs. Then 3 years ago, my husband was out of town for 3 months, I had 2 kids to watch, and I started a new job with a long commute. I decided I needed a break from dieting. I DESERVED a break. I made the kids convenience foods, which I also ate because, Hey, who has time to make 2 dinners!? I promptly gained 40 additional pounds which stuck like glue.
Last October, about 1 year ago, I started Keto. I had inadvertently brought my metabolism down to a tidy little 1200 calories. When I dropped to 1000 calories, I still didnât lose weight. I was cold and tired with dry skin and hair falling out. Why was my body fighting me at every turn? Starting in January, my husband joined me in doing Mark Sissonâs Keto Reset for 6 weeks. I still lost nothing, but I finally became convinced that this was a hormonal problem. The math was just not adding up. From then on, I devoured the science. I ate more food and didnât gain. I didnât lose either, but by September 2018, I could prevent gain at not just 1200 calories, but something closer to 1900. I still could not lose, though. I started intermittent fasting. First 16:8, then 18:6, 24 hr, 36 hr, 3 d, and 4 d. I was obese but not able to lose, even without eating for 4 days. Again with the math problem! My issue had to be due to elevated fasting insulin. Nothing else made sense. If Keto didnât work, then I had 2 choices: bariatric surgery or extended fasting. The surgery was out (there was a great 2 Keto dudes podcast with 3 guests that taught me it wasnât the route for me). So, here I am. And, the scales have moved.
Why did I have dinner on Day 12? First of all, I obviously didnât want to. I thought about calling in sick, but I am the president of a professional organization, and this was our monthly meeting. I thought about not ordering, and coming up with an excuse (Iâm sick, Iâm meeting someone later, Iâm fasting for a medical procedure), but I was just feeling too hungry at the time. I didnât want to be staring at everyoneâs food. I considered ordering a salad and stirring it around, but, again, I was feeling too hungry and didnât trust myself. In the end, I decided the least of evils was to order something Keto and pretend to be normal - not an easy task for me, even on a non-fasting day 
. I gained 3 lb which came off 1 at a time over 3 days. I am still calling today Day 21, but you can look at it either way.
If extended fasting continues to be the only thing that works for me, then I consider myself lucky to have found such a luxurious solution. Feasts of beef, wine, and cheese, punctuated by brief periods without beef, wine, and cheese. Ahhh. This is the good life.
