Breaking a fast and avoiding the TMI distress

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #1

@Digital_Dave
@Karim_Wassef
@Herb_Martin
@Brenda

Hello, fellow fasters. I’m seeking advice from you and others on how to break an EF and minimize intestinal distress. Lately, I have not had much luck with 40 to 70+ hr fasts. Yesterday I eased in with a small salad, green olives, small amt of olive oil and some bone broth. I did have a tablespoon of active culture sauerkraut.

After an hr plus, I ate some plain ground beef with some soft cheese. Maybe 4 oz of beef over 1 hr. Got a stomach ache but no distress in the intestines. As I slept the stomach ache got worse and then I had diarrhea once and felt a lot better within a few minutes.

This morning I felt weak and did take it easy at the gym. I’m reintroducing food slowly this morning in case, just in case. 3 green and 3 kalamata olives and a tablespoon of sour cream. I won’t eat more till I see how that goes. I’ll wait till I’m at work which will be 2+ hrs.

What advice do you have for fellow fasters to reduce these symptoms or is this just what I have to always expect.

I want to move my EF to water only for maximizing autophagy and do them weekly most of the time. For now, I will stick with 3 days until I can talk with my dermatologist about my plan for reducing risk. See: https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/my-childhood-is-catching-up-with-me/86524

My fasts are water, salt, black coffee and green tea only so far. I don’t add fat or anything else.

Also, my wife is not interested in our shared science and is concerned about my fasting safety. I’m easing her into autophagy benefits and keto for cancer concepts. (I’m reading the book starting today).

#2

I too wish there was more information out there on this, in regards to how/why this occurs. But from everything I’ve read, it seems like everything else… that we are all different, so it seems some things that affect one person doesn’t with others? - As I mentioned yesterday, normally I don’t even think about having issues anytime I Fast under 48 hour fast, but I did have some minor issues after yesterday’s break at just 40 hrs? So I’m thinking the lack of Fasting I’ve done in the past 6 weeks or so, (due to being sick and all) may have played a role in this? Whereas, when I’m Fasting on a regular basis as I usually do, this doesn’t seem to be the case? (This is only speculation of course, but it seems so?)

For me, the food items that I presently avoid for ‘Breaking a Fast’ are simply ‘Eggs’ and any type of ‘Nuts’. (I avoid these for the first 24 hrs after a break) These seem to be the main contributors that will cause me to have issues, whether I’m breaking a fast of 2 or up to 5 days. (As I’ve mentioned before, I have a self-imposed 5 day limit to my Fasting. Again, I have no rhyme or reason for this, other then I simply didn’t see a need to Fast for more the 120 hrs., and I simply start missing eating a nice meal)

As for what has worked for me… I’ve had success eating a small Salad, waiting 30-60 minutes and then just eating a meal. This can be Steak, Chicken, Fish, etc. And as long as I don’t overload it with butter or a lot of Fat, this seems to work well. - But there are those rare times I still experience some issues?

For the record, I don’t usually have really ‘Major’ issues when this does occur with breaking a Fast. If anything, I may end up going to the restroom a couple times, and occasionally a third time. But it’s not like I’ve read others mention, like having stomach issues for days. This has never happened to me and I can see this being a ‘Major’ issue.

#3

I’m not by ANY means an expert, but the thing that jumps out at me is eating salad right away. Vegetables are harder to digest…maybe just start with the bone broth then move to meat and save the veg for the next day. That’s what I’d try!

#4

I agree with you on the Vegetables being harder to digest, and it does seem to make sense. But eating a Salad with a little bit of Olive Oil and Dressing was actually suggested to me some time back, and so far it has worked? I believe @Brenda also recommended just eating a couple bites of meat and waiting 30 minutes or so, and then eat a meal. I’ve done this successfully as well, so I can’t say for sure what causes the stomach issues overall, but can only simply avoid those items that I know trigger it.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #5

So far I’ve been avoiding eggs and nuts other than macadamia nuts. Guess I will take them out. I’m very motivated to make more bone broth. I’m down to one serving. I hope to get to the farmers market this weekend. There is one grass fed farmer that sells bones for $1.50 a lb. All the others are much more expensive.

@Digital_Dave and @Maisri thanks for your feedback. I’m sure that many others will contribute today.

#6

Yeah, it may be that Macadamia’s might be one of the types that doesn’t affect you, but I’ve never tried different types of them to see which ones do or don’t for me. So to be on the safe side, I simply avoid Nuts in general. But again, this is usually only for the first 24 hrs. or so. I do think I have had some later that day and don’t recall them being an issue, but again I think this is a learning experience either way.

(Karim Wassef) #7

Why avoiding eggs? I find them essential in normalizing the gut myself.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #8

Karim

I always thought the sulfur in the eggs would be a problem and I have read that they are not good for breaking a fast. Other than that I’m flying blind.

I’d love to hear more about your experiences because you seem to be a power faster.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #9

What about a little probiotic consumed to get the bacteria mix right. Of course which one can we trust. I don’t have much trust in supplement quality in the USA.

(Karim Wassef) #10

As fat eaters, activating stomach acid and bile from the gall bladder is vital to healthy digestion. Egg yolk, broth, liver, ACV and fermented/pickled foods help me activate the different parts of the system.

Egg yolk has chemicals that improve gall bladder activation. The literature will say that the cholesterol in egg yolk causes gall stones but it’s nonsense.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #11

You can make your own sauerkraut very easy, kind of fun and it tastes better than any you’ll buy. Live kraut has 1000’sX more probiotics than any pill you can buy in a couple of Tablespoons. Probiotic pills are a racket. You have full spectrum probiotics in three week old vegetable ferments.

#12

Oh, believe me, this is not a preference of mine. Hard to find someone who enjoys Eggs as much as I do. (Actually eating some as I type this :slight_smile: ) … But every time that I’ve eaten Eggs to break a Fast, it has caused me stomach issues, sending me to the restroom within 30-60 minutes, and I’ve tried just eating a small amount and giving it time before consuming more. But still the same results. … And in the year I’ve been here, I have read a lot of folks mention that Eggs do this to them as well, so think it’s pretty well known knowledge that Eggs cause this for a lot of people. (I really wish they didn’t)…

(Neil) #13

I think this is going to be very individual. You might just have to try different foods and see what works for you! For example, the two foods I’ve found are bulletproof for me – that is, they’ve never caused me any problems at all, even when breaking 6-day fasts – are (1) bone broth and (2) eggs. But as you can see here on this thread, eggs don’t work for some other people!