April 2022 IF/EF Chat Thread (All welcome)


(KCKO, KCFO) #1

Search couldn’t find a thread for April 2022, so I started this one.

I have been doing a water fast only for 36 hrs. a couple of times this month. I kind of like it, so I will be continuing to do those for a while.

Editing to add link to the April Group Fast link:


(UsedToBeT2D) #2

I like it. Me next.


#3

I do that water fast every Wednesday. It seems to work well for my schedule. This week I will probably do both Wednesday and Friday.


#4

Who’s doing water fast Wednesday with me tomorrow?


(Bob M) #5

I’m doing a 36 hour fast, from Tuesday night to Thursday after my workout. It’s not a “water fast”, though, as I had a cup of coffee and two cups of tea (without cream).


#6

Maybe in the future, I can’t seem to skip a day lately (and I have a cute roasted turkey wing for tomorrow anyway. among others).

BUT! After some problematic times as usual… I am back to OMAD (with a few extra bites if necessary later. OMAD gets harder when I eat less carbs and I went back to carnivore-ish). No wonder as I do the monthly fast thing again. Not trying to skip a day as OMAD is challenging enough but when we have this, I find it easy. I am only a bit away from OMAD normally (I don’t mean I do TMAD, I can’t seem to do that, I have 3-5 meals then), a tiny extra effort is enough. OMAD is the best. When I can pull it off.

So nothing new, I fell apart timing wise and coming the monthly fast, I do OMAD… I so wish to stick to OMAD but it never happens. And if a day is off, it’s harder to get back on track as smaller meals can’t satiate me as long… Circulus vitiosus but sometimes I can escape from it.


#7

OK, quick question for my fasting brothers and sisters. Have you ever tracked calories on your typical days? If so, are you noticing any trends as far as your intake?

As I have mentioned before, I have not been tracking anything since I started Keto. However, lately I haven’t been hungry at all and I decided to just check to see where I am. I tracked my foods yesterday and today using My Fitness Pal. I don’t eat breakfast ever, so these were 16 and 17 hour fasts respectively. Yesterday I hit 1740 cal and today was 1670. Both days were lunch and dinner only and completely stuffed at the end of each. In fact this evening, I have leftovers. Which, usually never happens. If the calculators are correct, I am at an almost 700 calorie deficit for the day.

I know that we aren’t supposed to be counting calories on Keto and I am certainly still having great success. However, I wonder if I actually need a few more calories per day on these “regular” days, especially since I normally try to do a 36 hr fast at least once a week in addition to the ~16/8 intermittent fasting.

Thoughts?


#8

I track a lot. My numbers are all over the place.

I never could do 700 kcal deficits without being really active (well maybe after a super overeating carby day but that doesn’t count and doesn’t even happen anymore)… I eat a lot, I can’t help it. Since I first tried out carnivore, I tend to have small meals here and there (and after a big enough lunch I usually have a tiny dinner… a really big enough lunch results in no dinner, that’s the best but rarely happens. I just can’t eat enough for it on my proper carnivore-ish).

I know nothing like this. I must eat little enough calories as I want to lose fat. Counting doesn’t matter, just the deficit, though. I almost always count, had to before carnivore-ish as I had to check my carbs. I disliked that I couldn’t avoid tracking for a day on keto :frowning: I need breaks from it, I am tracking since several years but not all the time. lost nothing since, just gained. I mean, I lost a bit but gained back on off times and I had a quick stress gain too.
Not everyone loses fat automatically on keto, not even when trying to eat as little as possible (it’s only a good attitude for people like me - and I had to stop it on days when satiation was too quick. and I do the opposite on OMAD), I never did.
Tracking helps, gives me information. It doesn’t help losing fat though, well not me :slight_smile: I track dutifully. Even if it’s 4100 kcal on carnivore (I need to go below 1800 in less active times for a very slow fat-loss)… That was a fun day, I kinda avoid too fatty staple items since…
(Yep, one benefit of tracking is to get funny numbers like 5g/kg protein for LBM and stuff. And I see when I do a record. My lunch was 46% fat yesterday… Well that’s why I did my best to eat the fattiest comfortably possible dinner. I dislike wasting precious protein.)

I would do whatever my body tells me - unless I am aware I eat way too little on my normal days. But I almost never eat too little. And when I do, my body automatically triggers a high-cal day but I hate being so desperately hungry so I like to take steps before that happens.
It matters how much fat you have to gain fuel from it. My 40lbs just isn’t enough to go super low with my calories BUT it’s a moot point as my body is against any deficit so it’s a big fight to get a tiny one… Sometimes… And not to do 1000-2000 kcal surplus too often… (And this is avoiding added fat and plant carbs.)

36 hours isn’t sooo long so I wouldn’t add extra food just for that if my body would feel fine.


OMAD is actually a needed thing to me. I eat way too much without, no matter what. (Almost no matter what but I won’t force myself onto some woe I hate.) Not every day but in average. I can’t often do TMAD anyway. If I have 2 meals, I probably have 4-5 meals nowadays. Too small meals do that to me.

I have small eating windows now (3-4 hours) but I just can’t do OMAD, apparently. I will try harder as it’s so great when it happens…
My activity is slow with all the rain and my aching sprained ankle, I just can’t afford 2 meals. And they cause various problems like going off carnivore(-ish)… Food boredom is a smaller problem on OMAD. As food boredom almost always triggers eating sweet desserts (as I can’t stomach anything else very low-carb. well not that very as I only have xylitol now :smiley: but good enough for me in desperate times), I really want to avoid it.


#9

36 hr. fast today. (Technically, 6pm yesterday to 6am tomorrow).


#10

I don’t see the point. Sorry.


#11

Well I do see the point, so there.


#12

Yesterday I ate so much, very much meat too…
And today OMAD happened, automatically. I wasn’t home until 6pm. I actually didn’t even need food I guess (my stomach was grumbling but I know it doesn’t mean hunger and indeed, I had none though I felt a bit before…? so probably wouldn’t pull a fasting day off). We did a city shopping and wanted to try things. I had a very small meal though I didn’t track so I actually can’t know. I am horrible at guessing especially when I don’t eat in my normal style.

I am very okay now and trust that I can do some longer term OMAD now. I am more determined than ever, something changed in me regarding many things. I want to get better at life in general, okay it was the plan since ages but now I feel the strength, passion, attitude to do it.


(Bob M) #13

I’m not sure what the post was about not seeing the point.

I’m trying another 36 hour fast, one this week, one last week. Mine is from about 9:30pm last night to probably about 10am tomorrow, after a work out of over an hour (will likely be body weight training). Oddly, a lot of my best workouts are done while fasted about 32 hours (will work out from about 6 am to 7:xx am, then eat 2+ hours later).


#14

Apologies friend, I don’t mean in anyway to seem rude, trust me!

It’s just that I’ve lost 30kgs alone, by not going on extended fasts, just by going low carb.
So what I meant, was, why put oneself through, effectively, starvation for want of a better a term?
When the same results can be achieved through a perfectly nutritious regime?

Here, I’m not here to annoy anyone, buddy. Including you. So there :slight_smile:


#15

Everyone is individual. I get that!

Again, not sure we are, as animals, supposed to starve ourselves.

Intermittent Fast, (so I’m going to sound like a hypocrite now! I don’t mean to, and each to their own), has happened naturally through keto diet for me. I just don’t really bother with 3 meals a day any more, because I don’t feel the need to, especially in the morning.

So, hopefully, given what I’ve said, I STILL DON’T SEE THE POINT. (But I realise everyone is different).

OK, Thanks.


(Bob M) #16

Really? I think during the vast majority of time, we’ve been eating infrequently. Very infrequently. When you have to hunt down a large animal, you’re going to be fasting and feasting.


#17

But yet we are sated with small amounts of protein and fat every day, and still continue to counter metabolic syndrome?


#18

No worries. Dr. Jason Fung is a great proponent of IF/EF along with LCHF eating. Many, including a younger version of me, have had great success with that combo.


#19

Yes, I’ve watched many YouTubes videos of his lectures, and I respect him.

As I hinted at before…there are keto ways to achieve your goals without extensive fasting/starving.

Look mate, This is truth. search this very site if you don’t believe me.


#20

It’s not starvation at all. 36 hours isn’t even a long time. Not like I can do it nowadays but my body wouldn’t starve (it’s just very attached to its daily food. or maybe it’s my mind, who knows? probably both though, according to my experiences).

You may have lost fat on keto, some of us don’t - but if I do longer fasts, it’s primarily not because of desires to lose fat. Autophagy sounds good and nope, we don’t get the same on eating little on keto (not like I could do that without skipping days here and there)… Many people fast without needing to lose fat too, it’s not always about fat-loss!
It’s nice to do something my body actually should be able to do and what it did so many times quite naturally before (rarely but it happened regularly, well I did HCHF then and that’s different… I did it on keto too but that was a conscious effort, not a big one though, I always eat when get properly hungry or get tempted to eat). I would never starve, I wouldn’t even fast for long! Just a few days here and there.

I did 36+ hours fasts before. In my distant past it was merely lack of force-feeding. I naturally didn’t eat, I couldn’t, it would have been forceful. My body had PLENTY of nutrients to live on and food was the last thing on my mind.

I imagine we have different reasons to do smallish but over 24 hour fasts. So many things to like (as long as our body cooperates but I will talk with mine now, I got serious)!