Another 37 day EF

[CFLBob]

Why did I decide to stop early on Day 30?
For the last 4 days of the fast, I was feeling cold and hungry. I mean really cold, like I couldn’t get my feet to warm up by rubbing them together and wearing thick wool socks, so I just went to sleep with ice blocks. Lots of extra clothes and sweaters indoors. I was also feeling more hungry and preoccupied with food from Day 26 to 30, particularly later in the day. It was taking more to distract me. My skin became very dry and itchy, again, moreso with each passing day. I also had a rash on my face that wouldn’t heal and various scrapes and bug bites that wouldn’t heal. This part was a little odd, because I thought autophagy would clear things up. I got the sense that my skin wasn’t doing so well because my gut wasn’t doing so well. Next time, I think I will do something to help my critters be happy, like take a probiotic or kimchi or apple cider vinegar, instead of starving them to death.

Congrats, ToxDoc! I think quitting was the smart thing to do. I’m no expert on long term fasting or much of any of this, but the combination of being so cold you can’t do anything to warm up and you skin issues (including the thing with bites not healing) make it seem to me like you were running short of some critical nutrients.

And I think the digestion issues you’re talking about are much better to deal with today and even tomorrow than on your trip to your conference!

[ToxDoc]

Thanks to everyone who followed along. I thought I would give a post-fast update. I quickly gained about half of the weight back for a net loss of 12 pounds. That is a little less than the 0.5 lbs a day that Jason Fung and Megan Ramos predict, but better than anything else I have tried. Plus I kept it off over thanksgiving!

I have tried a few 24 to 36 hour fasts since then, but I find them too hard (plus no weight lost). It’s like I’m always on the first or last day! In the new year, I plan to do 5- to 20-day fasts to reach my goal. And, as always, KCKO