Day 4 fasting

(Auggie White) #1

I’m into my fourth day of fasting. Feeling fine but I’m hungry. I thought that by now the hunger would be gone.

This is the longest I’ve fasted before. I’ve previously done 48 hour fasts. Fasting for me means a teaspoon of HWC in my first coffee/ tea of the day and one 500ml ketoaid drink a day. Other than those it is water and green tea.

I’m using a cheap alcohol breathlizer to gage my level of ketosis. After almost 4 days, I’m reading 0.053 BAC. I thought it might be higher by now.

I guess my questions are is the hunger normal? Is the breathlizer level lower than one would expect? If so, does that mean I’m not as fat adapted so might have previously thought?

I wanted to go 5 days but constantly thinking about food is annoying.

Thanks!

(Tim W) #2

Every fast is unique, even for the same person. Your eating habits days before the fast will impact your hunger levels, your “experience level” at fasting will make a difference (it gets easier the more you do them), the length of time you’ve spent eating keto will make a difference, the amount of body fat stores you have to lose will make a difference.

In summary, there are MANY variables and your fast will be unique to you.

Try the “sea salt on the tongue” trick Megan Ramos describes, it might help cut the hunger.

The hunger WILL go away, but when that happens… it’s different every time for me.

I can’t speak about the breathilzer but, after 4 days, you are surely deep into ketosis, do you have “metal mouth” or a strong odor to your urine? Those are classic signs of ketosis, especially when you first start fasting (they go away after you’ve been doing keto/IF/extended fasts for a while).

If you are only feeling hunger, and no other “negative” side effects, push through to the 5th day, you’ll be glad you did, no regrets from giving in. Eventually, you’ll hit an almost euphoric state, one where you’ll think to yourself “I can do this forever!” and then, a few hours/days later, you’ll feel like crap and might even slip back into the keto flu feeling, my hypothesis is that we burn fat slowly and when the body is busy burning it, we feel good/don’t feel hunger but, once that fat store is almost totally gone, we start to feel weak/hunger, until the body is able to fully metabolize another “unit” (fat store) of energy, at which point we feel better.

Best of luck to you!

Sources:

  • Complete guide to fasting by Fung
  • Personal experience
  • Lots and lots and lots of youtube videos/podcasts etc…
(Auggie White) #3

Thank you very much for the kind and encouraging reply. I really needed some words from someone more experienced than me to just keep calm and fast on. I have a slightly metallic taste to my mouth but not much else, so yes, I’m sure that I’m in ketosis.

I’m a pretty low carb (but not no-carb) eater, as I cook almost everything my family eats in the house from scratch, but I don’t track it or anything. I also regularly intermittent fast. I’m more into the extended fasting for the health benefits such as lower IGF1, Alzheimer prevention and autophagy.

Thank you!

(Tim W) #4

Same here. I use long fasts for the same benefits, not weight loss.

During my first couple of long fasts I felt like crap, often binge eating afterwards, often on carbs (wasn’t keto at the time). I’m talking sit on the bed just counting down the seconds kind of crap feeling. I can tell you that the more you do it, the easier it gets (usually, it can vary based on those factors I listed in previous post).

The funny thing is, you do a 3 day, and the 3rd day sucks. Do a four day and days 1-3 are easier and day 4 sucks… and so on. Eventually, doing anything over day 5 or 6 usually gets me deep in the “zone” with a lot “I can do this forever” hours/days. I hope you find the same.

Take care.

(Auggie White) #5

Getting loads better and almost euphoric on the school run to get the kids (3 and 5 years old). I think I’m a believer in your hypothesis. . . I feel that getting to 120 hours will actually happen.

I mentioned my first 5 day fast to my husband. He’s away for work the whole five days. He thinks I’m absolutely crazy.

(KCKO, KCFO) #6

Crazy like a fox. What you have gone through is pretty normal. Some fasts fly by others, I throw in the towel and just eat something.

The salt is what usually gets me through though. Don’t forget to break the fast with a small amount of fatty food, then half hr. or so eat a keto meal. Maybe a bit heavier on the fats than a normal meal for you.

(Auggie White) #7

So, less than 12 hours of this five day fast to go. I had the best sleep ever last night on a fast. I have always struggled with this and never understood how people could sleep deeply on a fast. I only had 6.5 hours of sleep but when I woke up I felt great. I think my ketones just have really bumped up on day 5. On the cheap breathlizer I registered 0.081 BAC.

My husband is not home for a further 2 days, so I might make the fast 7 days if it is going well. . .

(Tim W) #8

Not an uncommon thing to happen, to extend a fast once you hit that “damn I feel good point”.

Wife and I quit doing anything less than 3-4 day fasts since, the first few days usually suck the worse (not anymore since we’ve been full keto all year) we figured why not stick it out 5-7 days since your “paying the piper” up front? Why survive the suckage that often comes with the first few days, only to give in and eat on day 4, with easier times just around the corner (usually).

My wife used to think I was crazy, when I started IF, I would email her from work, telling her how miserable I was and how I didn’t know if I could do it (wait until 1300 to eat lunch…). Then, I did a 48 hour fast and she “checked on me” every few hours, she really didn’t think it was healthy/a good idea.

Now days, she’s on day 38 of a fast. We both did 20 days and she decided to really push her boundaries (I don’t have the fat stores for a 40 day water only fast…) and I’m proud of her, she’s like the energizer bunny, she keeps going and going and going. She’s down 75 pounds using keto and fasting and has another 45 or so to go, fasting will get her there, it’s a powerful protocol.

She recently got a stomach flu that’s been going around (she works in a doctors office and it’s not uncommon for the really nasty things to get shared around the office, no matter how careful they are). Since she was fasting though, all she “got” was very tired (we were very careful to ensure it was the stomach flu and not dehydration/time to eat) and her stomach hurt (she could tell it wasn’t the “normal” stomach pain from fasting/hunger) for a few hours. By fasting, she avoided the vomiting and “other” (nasty) side effects of the flu, sometimes the simplest answers are the best!

Good luck in hitting your goal, just remember why you are doing this if it gets hard again. I’m glad to read you got a second wind.

#9

I have no doubt that @infromsea gave you the response you needed, not so long ago he kicked some solid knowledge my way. My best fasting advice, and I know everyone is different: salt, salt, salt, and limit or eliminate caffeine. That’s been the key for me.

(Danelle Derks Scott Nelson) #10

@Rian , why do you say avoid caffeine? Does that help with hunger? Also, how much salt do you take on an extended fast? I’m on day 4 and feeling more hunger today…

#11

I recommend avoiding caffeine because it’s an outside factor that seems to throw me off (false hunger, heart rate changes, hormone secretion, etc). Everyone is different but I know coffee messes with me (even decaf) because I feel way better when I stick to herbal teas.

As for salt, it’s very unlikely you’ll have issues until maybe 6-8 grams per day. I’d recommend taking 1/4 tsp of pink salt directly on your tongue every 30 minutes until hunger subsides and you feel better. From my experience hunger after day 2 is rare. Either you need sodium or something else is causing it. But everyone is different of course, you can never underestimate the mental aspect of hunger while fasting either.

(Jeanne Wagner) #12

I know this is last year, like 6 months ago, but I’m having the same issue with constant freaking hunger. I am drinking tons of water, taking some salt but not a lot because my lower legs and ankles blow up so quickly if I take too much. I will go 5 days. If I finally get into that euphoric state, oh well, I’m breaking it because I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday morning and I want to ‘stabilize’ a bit before going in.

It’s really annoying because it’s hard to concentrate at work when I’m constantly distracted. I have done two fasts before this, a 3-day and a 5-day. With both of them I had 1 bulletproof coffee in the mornings around 10 am and that kept the hunger at bay. This time I’m doing just water and that little bit of salt, and I’m miserable. Grrr…

(Steve Hord) #13

Thanks for the advice guys!! I am technically into my 4th day now (its after 12am) hehe and the longest fast I have ever done. I am so hungry though… really gentle and mind is quite clear and not sleepy. I was aiming for 10 days, and it would be really good to get to that euphoric state… okay… I can make day 5!! Going to get some salt now, wish me luck,

Blessings steve

#14

Good Luck Steve, you seem to do fine, you can do it :+1:t2::+1:t2:

This whole thread was really inspiring. Im on day 2, my plan is to make a decision on Monday. If i make it there, it will be my first day 4 :eyes:

(Jeanne Wagner) #15

Good luck! I’m doing another one and am in the 47th hour. Going for 4 days I think, maybe 5. Five is usually great for me but that will hit on a Tuesday, which is yoga after work day, and I can eat lunch only if I’m sticking to OMAD, which I try to do. BUT maybe I’ll need to get up early and have some waffles!! I mean, eggs and bacon. hahah that was just a poor attempt at Schrek humor. lol

(Steve Hord) #16

Great work guys :smile:

This is my first day 4, so many emotions coming up, pain working through my body…unberable at points…must…keep…going haha!!! yiewww

Best of luck everyone on this journey

(Corlene Greenwood) #17

OMG day 4 was the hardest for me as I was extremely tired, suffering insomnia, and psychologically excrutiatingly hungry. I kept going. I prayed, I read other peoples experiences and you know what? Everybody experiences things differently. Some people find the extreme hunger immediately, others like you and me on day 4, and others report not feeling hungry after day 10, and sailing through to their 21 day fasts. Rest assured that while you are going through this, your body is fighting toxins and healing the inflammation in parts of your body that you had no idea were the root of any ailments. I have finally been able to wake up two days in a row without taking my pain relief for my back. The weight is shifting now. Slowly lost 0.9kg a day, but it is now moving. Keep the faith

(Susan) #18

Welcome to the forum @Corlene_Greenwood

Good luck with your fasting goals and your Keto journey.

You might want to make your own thread or post on one of our up-to-date fasting threads so that more people can welcome you to the forum and notice that you are a new member =).