April 2026 Intermitten/Extended Fasting All Welcome

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #1

A tad late but here is this month’s thread.

Let us know how you are doing.

March 2026 IF/EX fasting
(Bob M) #2

Not that late…thanks for putting this here.

Attempting a 4.5 day fast, but this is only my first day. Using a Stelo CGM, and it started initially at around 140 (way too high) and is now at 113. It must take a while to get close to where blood sugar actually is.

I’ve found that eating any carbs the night before really blows up my morning blood sugar, whereas eating 2 teaspoons or so of allulose or eating 1 meal a day really lowers morning blood sugar. Won’t matter during the fast, but blood sugar on my contour pin-prick meter was 118 mg/dL, which I took about an hour before I put in the Stelo CGM.The 113 is probably pretty close.

#3

I still struggle with skipping lunch but won’t give up! And there will be voting on Sunday (I am hopeful, my poor country really need change and things look better this time, too many very serious scandals, even simple people should realize it’s not right this way) and my SO is on the comittee of tellers and he will be there from 5:15 to 19:00 (end of voting) and some hours more. So I will be home alone, super easy to skip lunch especially that I can just go voting at 3pm so I won’t get home until 5pm. My body really doesn’t pester me with hunger signs, I just can’t resist the temptations that shouldn’t even exist.
Sometimes I wonder if I just should go for a walk at 3pm every day… Breaking my old habit but well, I should break something about our tiny family lunch.

I vaguely plan another fat fast day. IDK when, we will see. Possibly on Sunday but it would be better if I could do a proper fast then. I really should try. It’s no shame to give up if my body really screams for food but I should wait for it.

(Bob M) #4

How do those fat fast days go? I found a high fat diet did seem to give me more energy, but I have a harder time with finding fat that doesn’t cause me digestive issues.

I almost bailed at the end of my second day. Luckily, I got home then had to go pick up my daughter from school. Otherwise, I might not have made it.

Here’s my Stelo data:

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With this sensor, you log in online and get data like this. This is set for a low of 80, and the phone app has a low of 70. I tried to lower the low, but that’s as low as it goes.

This morning, I had an 86 by my Contour pin-prick meter, 84 by the Stelo CGM, and 2.6 mmol/L ketones.

Edit: I’m on a drug called Jardiance, which makes you pee out glucose. I think that the weird lows at night are caused by this drug and might be related to when I go to the bathroom (the drug also causes increased urine output, though I take it in the morning). I plan to take some data about this, as I don’t remember going to the restroom that much last night (Wed. Apr 8th). The lows could be caused by laying on the sensor, but I tried to place the sensor on the edge of my arm. I am a side-sleeper, however, and sleep on my arms

#5

When I manage to skip lunch and don’t have some too tempting protein rich meal in the house and I can imagine eating only a teeny-tiny (but very dense and satisfying) food, my fat fast days are very, very good! Huge deficit, perfect satiation, fatty enough food (finally! normally I miss fat, I have this since I left high-carb, it’s better now but still, I have my dreams and desires), no fuss, no cooking, my meal is but a few minutes (it’s pro and con in one BUT I still can cook a lot for my SO so I have my food joy). And it’s one of my few possible ways for me to lower my average protein intake.
It’s weird but a fat fast meal satiates me. At least this is the case if I choose my last meal well, same for OMAD days. Well, my fat fast days are inevitably OMAD days, it’s a handful of food, it’s a miracle it’s enough for me at once!

I don’t do 2 fat fast days back to back as I need my protein intake, especially for my peace of mind. And I would miss food too much, probably. I cook and bake nearly every day anyway and I don’t think that helps with multiple day fat fasts. I don’t see why that would be good for me anyway.

Items are easy for me. I am healthy enough so my body has no problems. I do 1000 kcal, 90% fat meals on fat fast (sometimes I am still hungry, I add a tiny fat and it solves the problem) and use mostly pork for that, unsurprisingly :). Pork is useful, you can do almost any fat percentage with it alone (if your tastes and body agrees. I have problems with lean pork without adding fat). I only can do it up to 98% (with serious conditions, I have ONE item for it) because above that it’s just fat to me and I miss the meat. Once I ate a bite of lard on a fat fast day… It wasn’t nice. Butter is much better, I actually like that as a snack.

I deleted my text regarding other items, maybe too much food talk on this topic! Even though the list is very short, I really focus on my 98% fat pork, it’s my “fat fast food”. I barely ever touch it outside of a fat fast day as I would risk massive overeating. I LOVE it.

So, I love fat fast, I just very rarely do one because I am too obsessed with food (and love protein) and my SO coming home for lunch triggers me. But not today. I am very, very firm now. 2:40pm now, I am very well satiated, it will work. I leave the house if I must to avoid eating.

(Bob M) #6

I might have to retry a fat fast.

I broke at about 62 hours, as I felt shaky and a bit cold. I believe the cold is from working in an unheated basement, and it was below freezing outside this morning. That means it’s pretty cold in the basement. My body is tired of the cold, I think.

I drank some broth, waited a bit, then ate a 4-egg omelet with blue cheese and some salsa. My CGM barely moved.

(Bob M) #7

Weird. After eating, my blood sugar continues to drop. Down to 72 from mid to high 80s.

(Bob M) #8

I’m always amazed at how quickly I return to >100 blood sugar in the mornings when I eat the day before. Was less than 100 when I got up, drove to work (no coffee or tea) and was 106. It’s now 11am, and I’m at 97.

My body just wants higher blood sugar in the morning, and there’s not a lot I can do about it.

#9

I had a pretty fine OMAD-ish day today, close to fat fast except I just had to drink :smiley: I am hopeful for Hungary now! :smiley: :hungary: Things got better than expected!

And I totally try to go for lunch skipping for now on. These changes in my country triggers me a big desire to change my life too, finally, for the better. Lots of exercise, better diet (especially timing wise), hopefully an EF soon!

(CynthiaQ) #10

Just a note to say that at the end of last month I finished the 5-day Fung fast, which was a modified fast: let’s say with “training wheels” (they call them “fasting friends”): the inclusion of bone broths and small amts of veg. I didn’t go for the solid foods but did avail myself of broth daily.

I do have to say I felt that -for me- it was truly a reset, and that I don’t have the same attitude towards food as I previously did. Now it’s hard for me to find something I really feel I have to eat. I can take or leave all of it or any of it. That’s an interesting and novel place for me to be.

I don’t think I would make this a monthly thing, as some of the “Fasting Method” people do, but I might shoot for every other month.

While still overweight, I’ve always been tendentially a OMAD person, albeit with a bad nightly snacking habit. Have been mostly onboard the low-carb train since last November, in support of my husband with T2 and prostate cancer, who’s trying to right his metabolic ship.

A big thing I learned from the 5-day fast was the importance of SALT, which may be overlooked in terms of satiety as well as in terms of bodily requirements. If you’re not eating, while still peeing out a lot of salt, that salt still needs to be replaced.

(CynthiaQ) #11

Maybe it’s not weird? It takes energy to execute digestion, so…
It could be that overall trends are more important than minute-to-minute readings, but I’m new to all this.

#12

I’m doing a sardine ‘fast’ and it is enjoyable. Does it count as a fast?

(Doug) #13

At least somewhat… There certainly are benefits to such a change in eating, though not all the way to the extent that water fasting brings, i.e. autophagy for one thing.

#14

My understanding is that it is a hypocaloric way to eat over a period of at least 3 sunsets. The sardines provide enough protein to spare lean body mass. But the amounts eaten, maybe 2 or 3 tins per day (about 50g to 80g of protein), is still low protein enough, g of dietary protein per kg of body weight, to stimulate autophagy? Especially if a person gets into a therapeutic ketosis state of blood ketones between 1.0 mmol/L to 2.0 mmol/L with a Glucose Ketone Index (GKI) less than 4 to indicate the start of their fast. That therapeutic nutritional ketosis, low GKI, being a strong stimulator of autophagy*.

*https://mywaterfasts.com/RepairLevels.php

(KM) #15

I started a sardine fast yesterday too, planning not to eat anything else til May. We’ll see. My keto’s been pretty lax for a while, I’m used to picking at whatever low carb items are lying around.

Actually not quite accurate, I had one can of sardines and one can of tuna yesterday because it was in the cabinet. I think the tuna doesn’t violate the principles of this kickstart, they just don’t use it because of the potential mercury content. Skin and bones in the sardines probably add minerals too. I’ll try to stick with them from here on.

(KM) #16

Can I ask how often you eat? I couldn’t find anything about that. Once a day? Or spread out? I’m sticking with two cans per day. I’m about 116 pounds, so hopefully that’s not too much for autophagy.

(Bob M) #17

You’re lucky if you can find sardines with skins and bones. I can’t find those, at least easily. Have to order them or go to a fancier store.

How many sardines do you eat? As many as you want? Or just a few cans?

Since sardines are (relatively) high in PUFAs, ketones should increase more than say without them.

Edit: some people eat more cans (one ate 16 cans in 3 days), and others only eat 1-2 cans per day.

(Doug) #18

I really don’t think so.

GKI may be a decent indicator in people who come from a high-carbohydrate diet; there, it’s essentially just seeing how far into a fast they are.

But for people eating ketogenically, the GKI is already going to be low, so going by a given GKI number won’t necessarily tell us anything.

Sardines are high in protein, and high in the amino acid leucine, the most potent inhibitor of autophagy there is.

https://mywaterfasts.com/RepairLevels.php - the timeframe listed here is pretty good, assuming a total fast (or one without protein and carbs).

This is the first stage of autophagy, typically beginning on day two of your water fast.

– One starts fasting. The stomach empties, then the small intestine. ~8 to 14 hours for most of us. Then there’s a “post-absorptive phase” where blood sugar declines, hormonal balances shift, and finally the body realizes “Hey - the pipeline is empty.” Somewhere around 18 to 24 hours into the fast, and this is when a lot of people start feeling real hunger.

Glycogen depletion begins. This is enough energy for a day or two, though it’s not all going to be used up. After that, the body is really going to start scavenging for energy - and that’s what we want - stored fat and old, faulty, messed-up protein structures to be consumed.

Deep Autophagy - Typically achieved by the end of day two, this level targets neurological conditions.

I think “by the end of day two” is optimistic. For a lot of people, it’s going be 2 to 4 days to really get there. But certainly - after two days the stomach and small intestine are empty, glycogen is depleted, and the body is in ‘scour and clean-up mode,’ as well as accessing fat stores.

Maximum Autophagy - The most powerful level, typically reached by day three.

I’d shift it to day 3 or 4, but yes - really should be getting into it on the third day. Also think it’s more complex than that - it keeps increasing through 5 or 6 days, at least, if not vastly longer. All the mTOR, AMPK, insulin, glucagon, etc., stuff keeps getting more favorable for autophagy.

In a mouse, autophagy keeps increasing until the mouse is halfway or more to death from starvation. It would be good to have such human studies.

I’m not at all saying the ‘sardine fast’ is a bad thing. I think it’s great - should have many benefits. It’s fairly similar to the 'Newcastle Diet," for instance (Dr. Roy Taylor, Newcastle University in the U.K., 15 years ago). A little lower in calories, but I bet the effect is the same - lots of improvements. The Newcastle diet reversed type 2 diabetes in a substantial portion of the people on it.

(KM) #19

I found them at Costco, Wild Planet, $10 for 6 cans. They’re “lightly smoked” … Who knows with what, but they’re tasty.

(KM) #20

I have my doubts too, but I’ve had some issues with water fasts - hair loss and back pain. Hoping to avoid these. Curious to see how this goes. I did OMAD today, so 23 hours actual fasting. Definitely in good ketosis now, around 6.0.