Anyone fasting for Lent?


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #4

That is a good start!

Remember, a 48-hour fast is hard as you are going through the hardest times in the first 2-3 days. You may want to consider extending those hours if you think you can!


(Bart) #5

I have done 7 day fasts before and many 48 hour + fasts. This one is for religious reasons not health. But thank you for the advice. I have no real reason other than autophagy to fast any longer at the moment and with the exercise regimen I am in the middle of makes fasting any longer less desirable. My body fat % is already very very low.


#6

I am thinking I may do a series of 6 day fasts until Easter. Not sure I could go a whole 46…my longest so far has been 5 days. I have my son’s birthday in there and a long camping weekend with friends…so we will see. Good luck on your long one!


(chris.coote) #7

Ron, I’m in there with you. I have been dropping weight with plain keto and monthly Zorn fasts. If that keeps working this may be the last time that my body will have enough fat to pull this off…


#8

@ron-coleman what’s your desired result from the 46-day fast?


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #9

@Kirkor I started a new thread:


(G. Andrew Duthie) #10

Started a 4-day water-only fast on Tuesday night, planning to re-feed a small amount Saturday night, so I can have a relatively normal breakfast with my family on Sunday.

I haven’t decided 100% on the rest of Lent, but considering doing 3-4 day fasts throughout, though I may not do all of them water-only. This is my first water-only fast. No coffee, no tea, no diet soda, just water with a liberal amount of salt added.

So far, so good on this one. Taking just electrolyte supplements (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and then the added sodium in my water). Given the copious amounts of coffee I usually drink, I opted for caffeine supplementing (100mg twice in the early part of the day) to avoid withdrawal headaches.

Today was my StrongLifts 5x5 workout day, and while it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t too hard. Saturday is my next workout day, so that’ll be interesting as I’ll be 3+ days fasted at that point.

Hunger hasn’t been a major issue yet.


(chris.coote) #11

Andrew,

I was originally heading down the path of starting off as a full water fast (w/electrolyte boosted water) for yesterday and subsequent Fridays, but added caffeine back in as the withdraw headaches came on strong at the 17hr mark since I did not want to risk the larger picture. I didn’t even think of non-beverage caffeine supplements. Do you mind sharing what you used? I could try that route tomorrow…

Thanks,
Chirs


(G. Andrew Duthie) #12

I got a product called Jet-Alert which I ordered from Amazon. I got the regular strength, which is 100mg per tablet. That being said, I just looked at the bottle again and noticed that lactose is the second ingredient in the “Inactive ingredients” list. Crap.

Might want to look for a different source, if that would be a concern for you. The tablets are pretty small, so it’s unlikely to be a significant amount of lactose, but now I’m annoyed that it’s there at all.

Getting very tired of how vigilant you have to be to avoid any and all forms of sugar these days…

UPDATE: Checked a couple of other brands on Amazon, and sadly most of the better-known brands (no-doz, vivarin, etc.) have either corn starch, dextrose, or both. So just be aware.


(chris.coote) #13

Coffee is sounding like it might keep its role this round then…

Thanks, and I’m glad you caught the lactose!


(G. Andrew Duthie) #14

If I could stand my coffee black, that’s probably what I’d do. But my usual coffee is with sugar-free coffee syrup, Truvia, and HWC (first cup of the day usually includes grass-fed butter and a scoop of mascarpone also), so going from that to black coffee is beyond my current capacity to handle. :slight_smile:


(G. Andrew Duthie) #15

Definitely in the day 2 slump. Chilly, mildly hungry, and a little cranky.

Nothing too bad, though. Time to go make more salt water. :slight_smile:


(Jeff Davis) #16

Right there with you. This is my first extended fast, trying to go three days, or more appropriately, 84 hours. I’m a little over 42 hours in, so over halfway there!


#17

You could try the powdered caffeine instead of capsules … just checked this one at random – http://amzn.to/2lFiOEc – and it’s got cellulose but not the other stuff.


(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #18

I decaffeinated myself many years ago as it may have been contributing to an issue I was having due to the dehydration it causes. I usually drank about 4 cups in a typical morning so I started out replacing 1 cup a day with decaf for a week.

Then I alternated regular and decaf for a week. Next I had one cup of regular each day for 2 weeks and I moved the cup of regular to later in the morning. Then alternate days with all decaf for an entire day and was pleased that I had no headaches!

I went slow, about a month to decaffeinate myself and, like fasting, was astonished with how much better I felt. Moods were even, energy good, and slept much better at night!


#19

I see that I’m not the only one who had the idea about fasting for Lent. My initial plan had been to start Ash Wednesday and then slowly break my fast Good Friday in anticipation of an Easter feast. But my wife just booked us a 3-day weekend in Austin at the beginning of April, and there’s no way I’m passing up some Texas BBQ, so I’m probably scaling it back to just fasting the entire month of March.


(Ann) #20

I’m doing a 24 hour on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Hoping in increase some calories on Sunday (feast day). This is my first planned fast experience. Hope to have a good experience. Then work up to a 72 hour fast and 7 day fast during the 2017 year. So far it is a water only fast.


(Ann) #21

Wow, sounds like a challenge. I try to only use the fat bombs or snacks when I’m working and have to wait for my lunch period to eat a full meal. It certainly does help to avoid snacks. Good Luck.


(Jeff Davis) #22

I’m on day three of a three day fast now to kick off Lent. Will probably do the same for Holy Week/Triduum. Otherwise, alternate day or 24 hour fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays.


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

@onlyjeffdavis This sounds like a good plan! Depending on your experience with fasting the 5-2, eat 5 days and fast 2, may be easier to keep up with. ADF may be tricky if you want to fast on particular days.