Day 8 of my first EF- weight loss so far

#1

Hi All,
I have been keto/IF for about 4 months now. Lost 29 lbs, and now about 5 or so lbs away from my goal with some plateaus along the way.

For background, I am female, 5’7.5, started out at 172. The initial weight loss was easy (likely with some water weight), followed by a plateau. A few rounds of IF got things going again, then another stall. Switched things up and tried OMAD with dinner only. Initially that worked well, but it was hard to get through the work day, stomach making loud noises in meetings was not pretty :grinning:. The weight loss stalled again, so I tried OMAD, lunch only, with red wine for dinner (yep, I love my dry red wine). That worked for about a week, and I lost some more. Predictably, the weight loss stopped again, which brings us to this EF.

I started the fast on Sunday 12/10. The first 3 days were rough for some reason, which I did not expect. Having previously done two 3-day fasts, I did not expect it to be as hard. Maybe it was psychological knowing the plan was to go beyond 7 days. Day 4 was a bit better, and days 5-8 are about the same- not too bad. The plan is do break my fast tomorrow (day 9) for lunch at work with 2 avocados, and then a normal (keto, of course) dinner with the family. Does that sound like a good plan?

What I have been consuming during the fast: a once-daily multivitamin, salt supplements, coffee with a drop of cream, hot salty water with pepper, occasional nights I would take a 1/4 cup of bone broth in a full mug of hot water with salt and a small piece of butter.

Weight on day 1: 151.8 lbs
Weight on day 2: 150.8 lbs
Weight on day 3: 150.0 lbs
Weight on day 4: 148.4 lbs
Weight on day 5: 146.4 lbs
Weight on day 6: 145.6 lbs
Weight on day 7: 143.8 lbs
Weight on day 8: 143.0 lbs

My goal weight is 140 lbs, and I am deceptively close to it. However I know I will gain some weight upon re-feeding, but how much do you think? Also, how long should my eating window be once this fast is over? Should I eat “normally” i.e. 2 meals a day through the holidays? Fit in a couple more fasting days before X-mas? Any ideas are welcome on how to try and not undo all the progress I have made and get to the goal.

Thanks for reading!!!

#2

I’m on day 8 of my first extended fast and things are going great.

My only fear has been too much shock to the digestive system upon exiting the fast. To countermeasure this risk, I have been consuming 2 tablespoons of coconut oil each day to keep the pipes well lubricated, and I plan to slowly introduce food as I exit the fast to reduce the risk of shock to the digestive track. Something to think about…

Congratulations on your progress!

#3

Congrats on a successful EF! Sounds like we are on a similar track, same goal weight. I have been fasting mon-fri the last 2 weeks and am going to try sun- Friday this week. Everyone is different, but 2 avocados after no food for 9 days is an awful lot of fiber. You may want to try a half avo and see how you feel. Would hate for you to have a disaster pants situation- especially at work!

(Zack F) #4

Congrats to the OP and all who are on an extended fast. I started one on Thursday. I intend to got to at least seven days maybe nine.

#5

Well, I ended up breaking the fast as soon as I posted the message above. One reason was my family didn’t want me to break the fast at work for fear of any unexpected issues, and also we wanted to have a nice dinner as a family. I broke the fast for lunch with eggs, a salad with olive oil, and salted salmon. I first nibbled, then waited an hour, then finished the rest. No issues whatsoever, thankfully. I then had dinner in the evening.

This morning weighed in at 144.8. So up 1.8 lbs. I am wondering if the regain will continue…

#6

So, it’s been about 5 days since I broke my 8 day fast, so I thought I’d report back as to my current weight. I started the fast at 151 lbs and ended it at 143 lbs.

I gained about 2 lbs upon re-feeding, and now, about 5 days later, I am still 145. Not too bad! I’ll take it. I’ve been fasting intermittently here and there, with nice and fatty meals in between. I am currently doing a 36hr fast, and I am struggling at the moment (hungry!)

(Michael ) #7

You regain a lot less when you are already keto since water weight is hardly a thing. Carb eaters lose like 7 plus pounds right away but gain it all back right away. That’s part of the fasting stigma, but your accounts are losing actual body fat every day so no surprise most of the loss is permanent. Congrats

(Andrew) #8

The glycogen level is very “soft” squishy number. Long term fasters have the same glycogen levels as SAD eaters. Your body wants “bear glycogen” to save itself in an emergency.

I forget who has doing a 60+ day fast but they had BG of 115. Burning triglycerides throws of tons of glucose. My point is you can have full glycogen levels even in huge ketosis.

I did a four day fast and was in ketosis after 12 hrs and still dropped 8 lbs after day one. It all depends what your brain liver decide to do.