Could we PLEASE stop telling people that fasting is the solution to everything?

(Running from stupidity) #1

First point - I fast. I’ve done multiple 3-4 day fasts [1]. I regularly do 36-40 hours (or 23 hours if that isn’t working that day :slight_smile:

Second point - we’ve got a fasting thread here, and it’s great. People who know what they’re doing, or are finding out, people who are encouraging those who are/want to get into fasting. They’re generally fat-adapted, they’re not noobs, for them it makes sense if they want to fast.

But you know what?

Fasting is NOT a compulsory part of keto.

It is NOT the answer to every question on the forum.

You could be forgiven for thinking it is, though, given the speed with which it gets suggested, irrespective of the ACTUAL question(s) being asked.

Tired?? Fast for a couple of days.

Hungry? Why, fast for three days! (I mean, this makes sense, we can all see that.)

Exhausted? Don’t take any energy in for at least 48 hours, that is guaranteed to help!

Leg fallen off? Fast for a week! (Two weeks if it’s both legs. DUH)

“Stalled” after being on keto for two weeks? Fast for a month!

Can we just please STOP suggesting that fasting is the answer to EVERYTHING? It’s as bad as the “eat a heap of carbs every weekend, it’s what you were designed to do” stuff that similarly takes exactly no notice of the person that the advice is directed at.

Keto - especially in the beginning - is about keeping your carbs under 20g/day, eating plenty of whole food, and getting enough salt/electrolytes in so that the carb withdrawal symptoms are avoided (as much as possible) and you don’t become deficient in these areas.

At its base, keto is EASY TO DO. So let’s not stuff that up and frighten off the noobs by making it seem like fasting is compulsory because they keep getting told they should do it. IT IS NOT COMPULSORY.

Is it a good tool? Sure is for some - perhaps many - people, including me. And - IMPORTANT POINT HERE - that’s relevant ONCE YOU’RE FAT-ADAPTED, something a lot of people seem to miss, which also misleads newbies (which isn’t their fault, again).

But like so many parts of keto/life, n=1 - just because it’s good for me, or you, does NOT mean that it’s for everyone, especially not newbies. So reflexive “Just fast for 40 days and XXXX problem is guaranteed to clear up” posts are EXTREMELY unhelpful.

So if we could just have a bit of a think before immediately posting that fasting will sort everything out EVERY DAMN TIME THE FAINTEST OPPORTUNITY ARISES, THAT’D BE GREAT.

image

Thanks :slight_smile:

[1] Also, me fasting doesn’t MEAN anything other than the fact that I fast. I’m not “better” at keto because of it, or anything. I don’t have any deeper insight into it as a result. (Yes, this post proves it, I hear some of you thinking.)

My husband won’t go into Ketosis
Gained 2 lbs and in Week 4
#2

You know, we started keto by doing a two week bone broth (feast?) fast, but there’s no telling HOW MANY people I turned away from keto telling them that.

#LiveAndLearn

#3

The reflex answers to everything are only multiplying, gotta fast, up the fat, drop the protein, more salt. I don’t get it. They come out without any followups that may steer someone in the correct direction for their situation.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #4

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

#5

Well said. I think it’s the sort of thing people will naturally gravitate toward when the time is right - or not if it’s not suitable for their particular situation.

(Mike W.) #6

Have you tried fasting and then eating again?

(Running from stupidity) #7

That long-lost brother thing? Yes, that :slight_smile:

(Empress of the Unexpected) #8

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hey, I’m not snacking for the first time in my life - surely that counts! It’s like a body makeover… If anything, I need more time to get all the nutrients into my body. Maybe someday?

#9

That absolutely counts!

#10

Nope, it isn’t. Definitely not a necessity, simply another tool if needed/wanted.

Couldn’t agree more, and could simply continue with this without ever thinking of fasting. … I seem to lose just as much when eating daily meals, but I Fast because I like the way I feel doing it. No other reason. :slight_smile:

(Running from stupidity) #11

Habit of a lifetime being broken? Yeah, I’d call that good.

:slight_smile:

(Mike W.) #12

It was an IT dig.

#13

I always thought of this as one of the main things Keto does for everyone. Which (in my opinion) is one of the best things we get from this WOE/WOL. … It’s usually snacking that appears to do the most damage, constantly keeping those insulin spikes kicking in all day/night long.

#14

Cont/Alt/Del … Eat/Fast/Fix? … Hmmmm :smile:

(Running from stupidity) #15

My wife is a speechie working with augmented communications devices, and she ends up doing a fair bit of support for them. “Turn it off and on again” is one of her first instructions, but do you think she does that at home with IT gear? No. Drives me crazy :slight_smile:

(Empress of the Unexpected) #16

I am fascinated by the fasting “high,” but my GI tract (sorry, TMI) not so much. After seven months of keto, my GI tract is finally happy and normal. But, if I stray, and go too long without eating, it is not happy. I totally get that, at a minimum, IF is great for healing the body and autophagy. Just that my body, at this point, is not ready. Which is odd, because there have been years in the past when I totally lost my appetite and probably consumed 500 calories in a day. For months. Then, one morning I would wake up and say “Hey, let’s eat.” No rhyme or reason to it. So yeah, my current victory is just three meals a day, no snacking. Today, Saul brought me pork rinds. I incorporated them into my steak lunch. Two hours later walked by them and thought: “I could eat some more!” Didn’t.

(Running from stupidity) #17

See, that’s AWESOME.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #18

Thanks Juice. Just thank you.

When I started this forum the message was “this is to help people get metabolically healthy not specifically for weight loss”. Lately, I’m seeing folks here for weight loss and tips on how to lose it fast and being told to withhold food. Makes me uncomfortable.

(less is more, more or less) #19

Here, here.

I also notice people don’t ask questions for clarity or understanding, both of the OP and the readership. They dive in with their favorite cure. Then again, I proposed a Keto Quiz some time back. I really got to get to that. Develop a “test” of your “keto”

(Empress of the Unexpected) #20

And this is why I hate seeing people give up after a short trial of keto. For me, every day is getting better. I would have to say, at like four months, the magic started. Forget the weight loss, even forget the lipid panel victories, my body is now functioning normally. Just think what another year will bring!