Sorry your HWC didn’t work out, that is no fun. And yes…uh, I actually enjoy eating straight-up butter and CO! I do this at restaurants, though I try to keep it subtle (eyes shifting back and forth ;-P), my husband just watches and gives a little roll of the eyes. He’s still very wrapped up in the whole "calories in/calories out, everything in moderation, you have to exercise, bread and etc are fine if you just “balance” everything and “Can you just eat that much fat? I wish you would check all of this out with a doctor”
Sorry for the ramble! I have no health insurance, and as a per-diem home health nurse, I do not make enough to bother wasting it on high premiums and outrageous co-pays. It’s virtually useless to me just now. However, I would like to get some basic blood work done, and wish I could have done so prior to starting this grand adventure. Now, I won’t be able to measure the results of my own N=1 experiment.
So, perhaps you could try a bit of butter, bit, by bit and see how your stomach works with that upon re-feeding? I sure hope someone else may have some ideas on this as well. Do you take a probiotic? Perhaps that would help as well?
August Fat Burnin'
What does your first meal look like after a fast ?
Maybe you’re eating too much.
It’s hard when the people you love don’t support what you’re doing. I have been blessed my husband is doing this too. I keep trying to convince my parents. They don’t discourage me, but they just nod pleasantly while I explain how this could help them too, and then go back to eating pizza and french fries and bread. I imagine this forum is a place you can find the support you need. I definitely look forward to touching base here to dig deeper into my questions and seeing how the other keto-ers and fast-ers are doing.
I hear you on the health insurance. The plan we selected through my husband’s job is the highest possible deductible. Regarding bloodwork, my husband and I recently went to a Quest lab to get some things done (including things doctors would not normally test). It was $530 total for both of us, but we had bought their heart health package plus I got my insulin tested, so it was quite a few tests.
Last night my husband and I went to a dinner and talk (sales pitch basically) offered by a pair of functional medicine doctors. One of them is a friend of mine. I had thought their practice was specific to fertility issues, but that is not the case. They have a different style of practice, built on a curriculum and classes the patients go through. They try to heal underlying causes for basically all the diseases of civilization and general not feeling well. We agreed to pay a couple hundred for both of us to have an initial consultation to see if we would be a good fit for their program. (Good thing we fast so much and don’t have to buy as much food, with all these optional medical expenses!) They do not take insurance, and insurance does not take them. They didn’t talk much about how much it costs to continue in their program except there was a hint it might be a couple hundred a month. We will find out at the consultation if we can fit keto and fasting in with their approach. If they are very dogmatic about it, they might not accept us. I’m interested in their help addressing hormones and that is one of their four pillars of health. Gut health is in there too, so maybe there will be some solution there that helps my fasting transitions (I also have the GI effects when starting the fast).
I am trying some probiotics. Thanks for the suggestion about butter. I am always willing to eat butter.
It sounds like you had good evening, and it may be worth what you’ve invested. I’m sure you have more than enough knowledge to be discerning regarding their “protocols” and overall approach to helping their patients heal. Hormones are such an incredibly complex field, but then, our bodies are marvelously complex there seems no end to the mysteries!
I should make note, that my husband does have a basic grasp on the “good reasons” to fast, and he has been following a 16:8 fasting protocol now since April of this year. So, this is really a help and encouragement to me and he’s lost 20lbs! He is now a believer in the power of the fast 
Also, as Sonia mentioned, perhaps you are eating too much when you first break your fast? Be certain to go slowly. I’m hoping the gut health that was mentioned in this program may have some real answers for you, and I suspect that there is something that needs tweaking for you in that area after the problems you’ve mentioned.
OK, I’m rambling again…it’s the ketone power, I’m full of energy on my fast today and ready to conquer my “list” before I get to work this weekend!
You, rambling? I am the champ of rambling. Can’t shut me up. Awesome result for your husband. My husband also has lost. 55 pounds so far this year! Today is his birthday and he hit a short term goal he wanted to by this day, so that was a nice present for him.
I can’t imagine the whipped cream in the coffee was too much in breaking the fast, and I didn’t eat again for four hours after that, but who knows. I do have a history of GI issues, though while eating keto I have no problems. It’s just the fasting, and also while I was taking metformin that problems cropped up. We’ll see if probiotics do the trick. Otherwise, I am tempted to just build toward longer fasting periods and accept the fact I will have some GI stuff to deal with at the beginning and end of the fast, plan for it.
Darcy, do you sleep pretty well? You mentioned the kids. Definitely can make a big difference for blood sugar, hormone levels, etc.
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/good-nights-sleep-can-help-you-maintain-healthy-weight
https://sleepfoundation.org/excessivesleepiness/content/sleep-longer-lower-blood-glucose-levels
2008-2016 I was a furious internet gamer, often only sleeping like 2 hours per night. I shudder to think…
I’m a believer in keto eating to reduce insulin response and improve insulin sensitivity, but fasting is what has really made for my weight loss thus far. For me, fasting has gotten easier over time, with less GI issues. When breaking a fast, I just slam the Eating button from ‘Off’ to ‘On’ without worrying about what or how much; no problems thus far.
“When breaking a fast, I just slam the Eating button from ‘Off’ to ‘On’ without worrying about what or how much”
hahahahaha! Yay, eating! Wait…I’m fasting today, and…tomorrow. Yay, water and salt!
Darcy,
Good idea to try some longer fasts and just let things happen as they will. Your’e in a process of healing and there is so much for your body to figure out. Just giving it time sounds like the easiest option. Oh, and congratulations and happy birthday to your husband, 55lbs, WOW! Nice!!
I sleep ok but it could be better. I usually get 6 or 7 hours, and get up once during the night. It is something I am working on, because I agree with you, it has a huge impact. I also think I need to be more patient and keep going with the fasting and eating keto between fasts. Now that I’m paying closer attention, there are hints that it is working. Today for the first time I had a fasting-type morning number following the 2nd day of eating after a fast. Usually after the 2nd day of eating my morning bg would be back up to 300 or higher. It was 217 today. I was pretty happy to see that improvement.
I have not been able to lose any weight without fasting either. When I went too long between fasts, I gained back weight. It sucks that keto alone won’t make the weight fall off of me, but then again I have been low-carb on and off and have lost 80 pounds over the last few years, so maybe I already got my initial low-carb weight loss, compared to people who are brand new to it and drop lots of weight. So if I need to fast to lose, fine. At least I know that will work! And there are all those other benefits of fasting too.
Nice that you can transition easily between fasts and eating. Even with longer fasts? I’m not terribly worried about it, it’s just an inconvenience that I need to plan for.
Maybe your GI problems come from dairy. Did you ever try to eliminate it from your diet ?
Darcy, high blood sugar and insulin resistance is something to keep working on - same for me, progress thus far has been slow. I’m hopeful that staying with the program and losing more weight will continue making things better. (I also cringe when I think of how many years my poor pancreas was getting bombarded by requests for more and more insulin…)
I was used to only eating once a day, and I think that has helped with fasting a lot. Haven’t gone longer than 5 days but no problems coming off the fasts, whether I eat a lot, a little, etc. Starting with a nice salty broth appeals to me, but haven’t done that yet.
Have also seen a couple people on this forum mention dry-fasting, i.e. no water, no fluids of any type. Apparently a very big thing in Russia but in the west we don’t hear much about it. I read up on it last night and there are some impressive claims made - I can’t tell to what extent it’s real or ‘new-agey’ sounding hype. I’m going to try it, and there I understand that one really does need to ease back into eating, starting with careful and slow hydration.
OldDoug,
When your down to the last hole in the belt and your pants are threatening to fall off maybe it is time to admit you need smaller sizes. That is a great thing to celebrate.
Gatita,
The 3 day a week pattern is a great approach for most as it is easy to do. And it is effective for lots of people. I think often we start to experiment with other pattern to make it more interesting or to make new challenges.
Liz,
All comers welcome! Talking about fasting but also life as we navigate putting our woe.
Thanks kindly! Trying to find a good spot on the calendar to fit in another fast. I love reading folks’ experiences as it gives me a range of what I might expect. I IF every day, sometimes OMAD, my longest fast so far was 47 hours. Would love to get to 72 & take advantage of autophagy.
I hope that is not it, and don’t think it is because I don’t have the trouble except with fasting. Unless it is something about breaking the fast with dairy? Like some people have trouble with eggs breaking a fast.
Dry fasting sounds scary. How long could a person safely do that? I think my kidneys would scream.
Not more than a few days. However, intermittent dry fasting is entirely doable for a prolonged time. Muslims dry fast for 30 days from sunrise to sundown. The headaches can be unbearable for the first few days, but just as with anything else, the body adapts.
Thanks so much! I was stunned this morning to see I lost another 2 pounds after yesterday’s IF. Pretty stoked.