Just finished my crazy craft show season & am returning to my normal schedule. Catching up on all your posts, good to see everyone’s check in!
@Helewisa Ugh!! I feel for you. I had my 1st root canal earlier this year right after I’d gone Keto. The $800 was totally covered by my insurance but lol the $$$$ crown was not. Still paying that off.
@curlybri I like a nugget of pink Himalayan salt right on the tongue. I eat them like hard candies when I’m fasting. That kind isn’t harsh. I also use Redmond Real Salt in my morning coffee. I know there are folks on here that take salt capsules to avoid all that salt in your mouth if you aren’t into it.
UGH, root canal and the cost too all in one day. Hoping you make it to 8PM. Eating isn’t going to make any of it better and your mouth can use the rest after to root canal.
C. diff usually involves a hospital or dr. office visit. Just taking the antibiotics shouldn’t create a problem, just don’t do another round soon and visit hospitals or Dr. offices.
Thank you! Yes, I know about the Dr. visits etc, but I’m a home health nurse and so…
I’m sticking to my ibuprofen and acetaminophen dynamic duo every 6 hours because it certainly is still tender and will likely mean that all I can eat later is…soft cheeses, cooked spinach, eggs and butter. Definitely waiting until 8PM, but have to have some sauerkraut and or kimchi then when I get my tummy ready for the abx.
But happily, this 8 PM will make it 72 hours for me, and for that I am very happy!
Thank you for the encouragement, it means so much to me, I am stressed beyond belief still and just want to rest for a month. You know, a warm cabin with plenty of firewood, no phone or TV, just some books, knitting and my spinning wheel! Ah, to dream
Hey Donna, I was wondering if you might give some info about how you started fasting and moved from IF to EF assuming you did? I can do 16-18 hours comfortably. Well maybe a headache but feeling ok. I pushed it out to 24 hr today but am not feeling great. I am thinking that I might just push it out bit by bit and that then next time might be easier. I think I have found that with the 16-20 fasts and moving between them.
Halfway through day 20. I think my 12 year old is trying to kill me she is making almond flour pancakes that smell amazing and she is telling me how she made a raspberry chocolate sauce to pour over the top. God I love this kid but I really want to eat.
Hi, Zoe
I was already keto-adapted when I began, so that probably made it a little easier. (Don’t know where you are on your keto journey.) On my first day, I decided I wanted to go 19 hours. The last two hours were very difficult. I got a heinous headache that didn’t even go away after I ate at 19 hours. The headache persisted for a couple hours after eating. The next day, it was easier. The headache didn’t start until the last hour and it wasn’t as bad and I don’t remember it lasting much after I ate. Also, on the second day I discovered pink salt and that probably was a big factor. On the third day, it was a breeze and I went walking, I felt so good. I have maintained 19 hours as my minimum, since I began IF at the beginning of October. On only a couple of occasions have I had to eat at 16 or 18 hours, because of special occasion events.
As far as EF, it happened gradually and I was able to go 36 hours and 48 and 70 and, eventually, 7 1/2 days (180 hours). I find that everything needs to be in sync for longer fasts. I have to be in the right frame of mind, my body has to be willing to do it, and there shouldn’t be any major social event that would require me to eat/cook or host a gathering at my house. The holidays have proven difficult because between Thanksgiving and Christmas we have three birthdays (including my own), our wedding anniversary, and several parties and then, of course Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, I’ve managed my daily minimum of 19 hours and lots of 20-24 hours.
Today, I’m at 65 hours and feeling fine. I’m sailing, as is common on day 3.
Supplements: Pink rock salt, potassium, magnesium. (I take the pink himalayan rock salt like a pill, just swallow it down.)
Empty stomach or rumbly stomach cure: HOT green tea with a little pink salt sprinkled in.
Headaches: I do get headaches on longer EF’s. I take my salt and self-comfort with a hot rice sock on my head or neck. I’m usually at home, so I can do that.
Feeling cold: On longer EF’s I sometimes feel cold and can’t warm up. I bake myself in a very hot bath to warm up. This usually helps for the rest of the day.
Skin dryness: On really long EF’s, my skin gets dry looking — noticeably on my arms and legs. On the 7 1/2 day EF I remember this happening. It went away when I re-fed. I suppose even more salt might helped. I’ll try it when/if it happens again.
Re-feeding: I start back with some pecans I’ve roasted myself in coconut oil. Then, about an hour later I eat meat. I love hot wings or ribs. It seems that now that I do IF/EF, I really want the quality of food that I do eat to be superior. I don’t want to break my fast for something sub-par! Haha. I’m saving money not eating as much, so I’ve treated myself to some new clothes. But, mainly, I’m spending the saved money on high-quality foods during my re-feeds.
Zoe, I’ve tracked my weight since beginning IF/EF on October 2. It seems my body wants to fight me or resist after reaching a new low. Then, with fasting it dips down and accepts the new set point. I’m sure hormones also play a factor. I just KCKO
I failed a fast yesterday!!! I can’t believe it. I just started eating out of the blue. I have to accept that maybe I have been fasting too much and I am a little hungry. Need to listen to my body. When it told me to go ahead and eat, I ate. Oh well. Back at it again today. Doing ADF between now and Christmas to try to make sure that my weight is maintained. I will start a longer fast again the day after Christmas.
Donna, Thank you for your detailed sharing. It makes it seem all the more possible and that I am edging in to fasting. I think I will focus on IF for now- especially with Christmas/ New Year.
Also in the other post, what you mentioned about the body accepting a lower weight after fasting makes sense to me. I think with the drop in persistent insulin this makes it easier for the body to use fat. Thanks again.
Hello All!! Hope you had a lovely holiday. I have been experimenting a bit with how my body reacts to adding more carbs, eating daily with no fasting vs. eating every other day. Trying to figure out what is going to be my “go to” plan when I reach maintenance. How am I going to avoid gaining all of my weight back? How am I going to adjust keto lifestyle so it is sustainable for the rest of my life? What damage is done when carbs are reintroduced? How many of them can I eat? How long does it take for weight to come back on and how long does it take to drop back off? All very interesting. I got a little sick in the midst of my last fast and I had to stop. I decided to take a break and really focus on eating good food and alot of it. (trying to raise that basal matabolic rate to prep for the next fast which will be a 10 day). I also snuck in some carbs, some junk food. Not enough to totally derail me, but enough to get a good understanding of what would happen. Here are some interesting observations;
My stomach is swolen beyond belief. Very uncomfortable
The aching in my knees and legs has returned and I can barely walk again (last month I was literally skipping down the stairs, now I can hardly get up and down them)
Some acne has appeared. I typically have good skin without keto/fasting but exceptional skin WITH keto/fasting. Adding the carbs back seems to have deteriorated my skin significantly
I have put on about 12-14 pounds (mostly water probably but still not happy to see it)
Today is the start of a quick 3 day fast. Then keto, then extended 10 day fast.
I don’t think I’ll EF again until the new year but I’m still IFing on an irregular schedule to keep my body guessing. My whole aim right now is to stay below 170 into 2018 then try to EF down to my goal of 150.
@Goal179 Experimenting! Right on. More data = helpful. Sorry your results were negative but sounds like the info is very useful to you as you plan your future.
Did the Zornfast, went 90 hrs. did some refeeding on Sunday and Monday. I am IFing and feeling good, if this continues I might just slide into a 36 hr. fast or atleast a 24 hr. one.
I got back down to my 2nd goal weight I had set for myself. But after the refeeding I am 2.8 lbs. over that, so want to start back into fasting. I’d love to reset my setpoint to my 2nd goal weight. It puts me more center of the range for normal for someone my height. Still trying find that Phinney weight point!
I have been lower carb since 2003 when I was 260 and lost 60 pounds on Atkins but could not get all the way to goal because I did not know about insulin resistance. I went up and down in weight over the years but the highest was only 220. Then I went full keto in March 2017 at about 210 pounds. I’m 5’8" and 48 years old. I lose slowly, maybe 5 pounds a month tops, some months nothing, but my body changed shape dramatically.
I have food addiction issues so I’m happily VERY strict keto, log everything, never stray. But now I’m at a point where I don’t seem to be able to budge the scale if I don’t EF. I’m not even sure what I should weigh! I have a slender frame. Aiming for 150 but will reassess as needed along the way.
WOW!! @LizinLowell We are so similiar. My starting weight was a little higher at 271. Took over a year to get down to 210. I am 44. Started EF and got all the way down to 201, but now I am back up around 215, due to my experiments. I have been pretty strict keto, not even allowing keto treats or artificial sweeteners. I am thinking that I will probably take 2-3 years also to get to my goal weight. I am so impressed to see that you got down to 170. That is simply amazing. Thanks for the constant inspiration and motivation. Please let me know when it’s time to move over to the January IF/EF thread
Didn’t make it to 24 hrs. But I had a good IF for the day, 17 hrs. After dinner tonight I will try to start another 36 hr. fast. There is something about the 24 hr. ones that I seem to have a mental problem with, guess I prefer to just think about going longer more than hanging in for 24 hrs.???
