Good day everyone! I started doing keto and IF since April 2018. I have been reading Dr. Fung’s book The Complete Guide to Fasting. I am at 66 hours into my 5 day (120 hour fast) unless I just completely misunderstood the book which states that acceptable liquids (fasting fluids (page 254) include coffee, and refer to Bulletproof Coffee as an acceptable thing to drink during a fast. Although, I realize, that it seems rather contradictory because it also says, "you can add up to 1 tablespoon of certain fats to each cup of coffee if you wish…For Bulletproof Coffee, see the recipe on page 264.
My question now is, did I just break my fast? I used 2 TBSP Kerrygold, and 1 TBSP MCT oil in my coffee. Essentially 300ish fat calories.
Yesterday I hiked a part of the Appalachian, almost 6 miles, 3:33 hours. I was pretty spent afterwards, but overall, I recovered pretty well. Since this is my first attempt at a 5 days fast, this morning I had been reading the book, and decided to go ahead and drink a BPC. My thought was that I still have 2 more days to go after this, and I really want to make it.
Do you think I broke my fast and I should just eat now? (Am I looking for an excuse to eat?) LOL
Interestingly, my starting weight in April was 213.8 - I weighed in this morning at 188.4 Lbs. which brings me to a 25 pound loss (albeit, I am fasting and I know some will come back, however, I was totally stoked because I haven’t been in the 180’s for a lonnnnng time. Last time I got that low was when Phen-Fen was popular and I vowed to not do that crap again since it made me a real nutter. Any thoughts?
Attempting a 5 day fast for the first time (I am fat adapted)
If you feel ill then eat if you don’t then carry on…
what are your reasons for fasting?
My goal is mainly for fat loss, and I love the concept of autophagy and building up my mitochondria. 
I want to get down to 130-140 pounds. Prior to Keto and IF, I couldn’t get past 199, and now I know that this way of eating is helping my body to respond in a positive way of resetting my set points. I read that a 5 days fast is really beneficial for breaking a stall. I have a busy day today and I rationalized the BPC as a means of getting through the rest of the day with water only.
For fat loss you should be fine with the BPC… for autophagy to be honest whatever people say no-one “knows” what contributes to stopping it so you may have impeded it but you may not. I’m guessing that like everything else in our bodies the process to trigger and stop autophagy will be pretty unique to us all. Like people who can stay in ketosis on 50g of carbs a day and others that have to be below 20g…
Anyone who says a BPC will “definitely” stop autophagy is , in my opinion, guessing.
If you feel good then carry on
Will do! Thanks for the encouragement. The benefits of a 5 days fast are a major goal for me. Then I will go on to do 18:6 for a week, then every other day fast for the next week - to see what happens, and how steady my weight loss is.
There are differing personal opinions on this.
I’m sorry to say that mine is it breaks a fast. 300 calories is a large snack or a small meal. It simply isn’t fasting imo.
I know people will say it’s an individual thing, but you asked and that’s my answer.
@Katniss I think there’s a thread on here called “does cream in my coffee break my fast?” and it might be an interesting read for you. I just wrapped up a 4-day fast and I had BPC in the mornings and a spoonful of coconut butter later in the day if/when I felt slightly off. I’m hoping to keep doing a 3-5 day fast once/month and gradually move away from any fats but for now it eased the way for me and probably helped me through some pretty intense exercise in those days. It was not a strict fast and I’m probably missing out on some benefits of a water fast, but I’m sure I still got some metabolic benefits from it and I’m happy to call it a fast for myself 
.
Baby steps!
IMHO
To use the mantra of the Jedi’s of fasting - Fung & Ramos - progress, not prefection. You are better off being able to repeatedly and successfully fast with some crutches, than to not fast at all because you are not able to do the perfect water and salt only fast.
Since you are fasting for fat loss, any level of fasting is fasting. Yeah sure, a 300kCal BPC makes it not a pure fast. But ask yourself - What is the goal?
Fat loss?
You need to lower the cumulative time spent under the influence of insulin. Pure fat has a very small insulin response - (graph on here somewhere), IIRC it was about 5% of the insulin response of carb conxumption. SO, your fat burning, lipolysing, metabolically healthier bod is able to continue to fat burn. Sure some of it came in orally, but the rest was internally extant - WIN!
Metabolic repair?
- read above response - lower insulin - still on path of metabolic recovery from hyperinsulinemia
“Longest pure distilled water only fast, and only if consumed from a glass jar made by tibetan monks displaced to a remote monastery in the pyrenees who pray every day for 23 hours”? 
Sorry - you lost your bragging rights for sure - you failed. Whatever…
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I think what really derails a fast is if you consume enough nutrition for the body to come out of fasting mode and go into - “Yay - food is coming in” mode. Seems like anything under 600 calories seems to keep the body feeling fasted. I base this on the FMD - fasting mimicking diet - which has had great results and provides for about that much nutrition daily. Additionally, from Fung & Ramos, seems like keeping the intake minimal, but random, helps keep the body hopped up in fasted mode. A random cup of BPC on day 3 or 4, did not derail the process from my understanding. If you were to consume enough calories (600-1200), regularly, to make it more like a traditional reduced calorie diet, then methinks you are on your way to making it the old CICO, calorie reduction method which does not work and actually lowers your metabolism.
Other people have other opinions - but this being the open interweb and all - I have expressed mine…
My opinion: 300 calories of fat may push you out of a fasting state or stall your progress for a little while but there’s no reason to give up and stop the fast. Valter Longo does something called “fast mimicking diet” in which he allows up to 700 calories of primarily fat per day, and claims the benefit is almost as much as water fasting. Your fast might not be “perfect” but I’m betting it’s still going to be “darn productive.” KCFO!!
I’m totally a Jedi! Yes, progress not perfection, and I appreciate your perspective because a first time 5 day fast is a challenge for sure! But hey! I rocked my hike on 44 hours of fasting so technically I win! 
seriously though, I tend to be perfectionistic and I’m learning that I can still be a fasting warrior even with this crutch. Maybe next time I do a five day or longer, I’ll have built my longer fasting muscles. 
Thanks for your perspective! I do acknowledge that there is a literal answer and a grey answer. I tend to be literal, however it’s important to me to not give up a goal unless I felt sick.
Thanks for your perspective! I do acknowledge that there is a literal answer and a grey answer. I tend to be literal, however it’s important to me to not give up a goal unless I felt sick.
I read about the fast mimicking idea, and I hope this will apply, but I recognize that I’ll need to be my own science experiment more or less! Thanks for your post!
Sorry everyone I’m on my phone and trying to post lol. Greatful for everyone here and all of your posts! I live for positive energy, and I need it because I can be hard on myself sometimes. 
I think part of the concern is that 300 - 700 calories is calorie restriction, which leads to metabolic slow down. What isn’t clear is How Long that restricted calorie situation has to be in place before MSD occurs. I’m guessing FMD wouldn’t work well for a month-long fast, but perhaps Longo’s recommended 5 days is too short a period to worry about MSD.
(I prefer to water fast, it’s just simpler and more reliable, but FMD is definitely easier and I don’t beat myself up for a few fat calories if I need them.)
There is an issue here, which Dr. Fung is the first to bring up: the point of fasting is to allow fat-burning by keeping insulin low. Too many calories will cause your insulin level to go up, which inhibits ketogenesis and lipolysis. This is why we do not recommend intentionally restricting calories, because it signals the body that there is a famine going on, and it needs to lower the metabolic rate to be safe. Whereas when we fast, the body simply switches gears and burns fat to keep the metabolism going at the same rate. I don’t know what level of fat is safe to eat, though I imagine it’s fairly high, since fat is the macronutrient that stimulates insulin the least. I would still be careful, however.