EF = extended stall talk me off the ledge

#1

I’m currently on day 16 of an extended mostly water fast. Had some coffee with cream the first week. For the last 8 days my weight and major measurements have been the same. I gained 2 pounds around day 13 and that came off but that’s it. I’m the same weight I was 8 days ago. I feel great, energy and sleep are good. I’m using plenty of salt, k, mg. I lift a 25 pound kettlebell 2x’s a week. I’ve been able to increase my sets from 1 set of 25 to 2 sets of 25. I know not a lot but it’s a huge difference from where I was before I got rid of all my ai symptoms. I do HIIT workout on my bike 2x’s a week, walk 90 minutes a day with my dog, my temperature is normal, so no indication my metabolism is tanking. I have 30-40 pounds of excess fat. I was hoping to make this a 23-30 Day fast but this stall is irritating me and making me wonder if I should do something to shake things up. But what? I got all crazy a few minutes ago and added some cream to my coffee. I fast primarily for autophagy and hgh, weight loss is definitely a priority but secondary to healing. So added fat is not ideal as I don’t want to disrupt the benefits of autophagy.

Any other extended fasters out there have any words of wisdom?

I’m wondering about muscle building… how much muscle could I be building doing 2 kettlebell workouts a week? Is it possible I’m offsetting the fat burning? I’m a 52 year old female fwiw. I think I saw somewhere that adding a kg of muscle a month is average. So it seems unlikely that that’s the issue.

(Mark) #2

Just a thought,but have you tried taking measurements instead of using the scale,from what I’ve recognized is weight is not always the best indicator of progress, especially if you are weight training because you are adding muscle which is great, burning fat while you sleep ,doesn’t get better than that

#3

Eight days of no weight loss on a zero calorie fast is pretty atypical. You’re doing a lot of exercise for someone that deep into a fast. Your body may be physically maxed out/too stressed.

Are you measuring your BG or ketones? That would give you some idea of what’s going on with your body…

You may want to pause your fast with a meal or two. If not, stop exercising for a few days and see if the scale moves.

Edit: I’ve been on an extended fast (one meal a week) for ~3 months. My weight stalled several times, but never more than 3 days. Dr Fung says during an extended fast, expect an average of ~0.5 lbs per day. That has been my experience as well, though the daily amount varies widely.

(Tim W) #4

So…

What’s the issue?

Ignore the weight. The scale lies. You retain water due to stress/hormones/temperature changes etc. Ignore the scale. Ignore the scale.

If you feel good and you are enjoying the fasted state then… ignore the scale and fast on.

If you have 30-40 pounds of excess fat to lose then, unless you have a metabolic condition, continuing the fast should not be that difficult.

NOTE: I AM NOT A DOCTOR!

I have fasted up to 20 days and assisted my wife in a 40 day fast. She had similar experiences, weight fluctuations that made ZERO sense and drove her nuts, over all she still lost a good amount of weight, put half of it back on afterwards (no surprise) and moved on.

Ignore the scale.

Ignore the scale.

Ignore the scale.

If you feel good, keep up the workouts if you want to but don’t obsess over things, just enjoy the process.

Good luck!