Extended fasting = Diarrhea

(Chris - Mince meat, not words.) #58

So we’re clear, I always have a 3 day bag in my car- I shit myself one time, very minimally- that is what this advice is based on. I think you’d be a moron to not have a packed bag in your car if you travel as much as I do, as well as a number of other “survival tools”.

(Jack Brien) #59

I can’t help but think that threads like this might be putting people off keto/fasting

(Shayne) #60

I get those and migraines that are alleviated only with magnesium. If I still have breakthrough cramps, I massage the muscle with some magnesium oil (you can make it yourself, it’s just magnesium chloride flakes in water).

(Shayne) #61

In one of Jimmy Moore’s podcasts - I don’t know which one or which episode, but I know I was listening to it in November (during my first EF), he or one of his guests/cohosts said that it’s common for the diarrhea to hit right around the 72 hour mark. And it was fortuitous that I had heard that on my third day because that is EXACTLY when it hit for me. I had to leave the house because we had tickets to a play, so I took two imodium and headed out.

(Candy Lind) #62

Me, too! I’m going to try the Mag Oil next time it happens. Thanks for that, @smsherbert!

(James H Shaffer) #63

have an observation, when I have been stalled for over a month I had not diarrhea, the week I start losing again and viola, Diarrhea is back, for results I can live with this. they are only for a couple trips to the thrown so can’t complain if this is as bad as it gets :slight_smile:

(Clark Potter) #64

Your culprit is the Sodium and/or Magnesium you’re consuming. Eliminate these as they’re unnecessary for a week or more (fasting experts insist you’re fine for upwards of a whole month but I find that I can relieve most of the fasting fatigue with one dose of Na/K/Mg per week) unless you’re running or doing hot yoga or something while fasting. Any salt your body can’t absorb will be redirected thru your intestines with a lot of the water you’re drinking, hence the diarrhea.

I’ve done many 10-day water fasts and one 21-day water fast. Only supplement with Na/K/Mg if you’re feeling super especially weak, get cramps or serious muscle spasms, or experience minor heart palpitations.

If you insist on supplementing with those then just dial them back until the diarrhea stops. Oh, and add Potassium too. There’s no reason to take only Sodium and Magnesium but leave out Potassium.

(Emily S Coakley) #65

Finally! Thank you for this post!
I just ate 2 fried eggs after @92 hour fast. Surprisingly - fine. Then, not fine. NOT FINE AT ALL.
I read so much on doing the water fast & easing out BUT nowhere did I read the 411 on the explosive whatever that was!!!
Gross detail - it was like all yellow liquid!! Eggs? Bile? My sins?

(Jarod King) #66

I think it might be the magnesium.

I’ve fasted approx 30 days total over the past year and never had a problem with diarrhea, each fast lasting between 5-7 days.

In all cases except the fast I ended yesterday, I have never had any issue with diarrhea. But this time I did…like almost pure water for 2 days.

What changed? Snake Juice. My best friend who also fasts is always telling me how unhealthy my water fasts are and that I need to drink Snake Juice to keep my electrolytes stable. So this time I tried it, and diarrhea was the result. That is the only thing that changed.

Snake Juice = water + magnesium + sodium + potassium.

Next fast, I will go back to just water. Something to think about…

(Jane) #67

I had the same result on my last 72-hr fast. I changed from the small amount of mag citrate in @Brenda’s ketoaid to powdered magnesium glycinate with quite a bit more magnesium (don’t have the bottle so can’t remember how much more). I was looking for a more convenient way to pack my ketoaid mix for traveling and the glass bottles of mag citrate are not convenient.

I ended up with the worst diarrhea I’ve ever have since starting keto. I was fasting, but this time was drinking the mag glycinate. I stopped immediately and was forced to take some Immodium AD even though I hated to while fasting. No choice. It was that bad.

Don’t know if stopping the mag glycinate or taking the Immodium AD, but the runs stopped and I was able to function. Although for a week after I was in NTAF mode (Never Trust a Fart).

(Bob M) #68

I usually don’t take magnesium for longer fasts, or if I do, I try to stick to magnesium oil, but still get diarrhea after breaking my long-term fast. After 3.5 years of intermittent fasting, it’s gotten better, but it’s never gone away.

(Cole Elizabeth) #69

I go through the exact same thing. I almost shit my pants today at my twins terry fox run hahaha like when does it stop?? I’m on day 3 and water is literally pouring out. Wtf

(Hoby Bradfield) #70

I did my first 3 day fast last week… started it a bit constipated… and then that all changed by the end of day 2… I am now on a Zorn Fast, guts are rumbling, and I’ve been in the bathroom 3 times this morning… the Imodium is not a bad idea… I know Metamucil can add some bulk, but I don’t trust their “sugar-free” label… the sneaky Bastages!

(Sheri Sunshine) #71

Thank you for posting this, I did my first 7 day extended fast and I think I can pretty much expect diarrhea at least once a day, my thought is this: While fasting, there is no intake of food, so our bodies are breaking down fat to provide needed energy, that process also is metabolic meaning waste has to go somewhere. I drank the needed electrolyte water, I drank regular water, each bout of diarrhea seemed different to the last one which was like soft serve yellow :poop: more like fat mixed with bile, which in fact is what it is supposed to do knowing that bile emulsifies fat. Today is my first day of real food, am waiting to see how long it takes for it to become regular again. I have seen posts that this is just the way it is for EF, but the addition of chia seed or psyllium husks might help.

(Jane) #72

The Metamucil has too many carbs - even the sugar free. I bought some fiber capsules to take when I need it - they don’t have as many extra chemicals to make it palatable to drink. Not sure why the capsules need ANY extra additives but the ones I bought do.

(Bob M) #73

For me, when I do long term fasting, I cease to go to the bathroom basically immediately. For a 4.5 day fast, I sometimes only go the first day (after 12 hours or so) and then might not go again, or if I do, will go once and that’s it. It’s when I eat again that my body restarts and suddenly I’m going to the bathroom multiple times, all water.

I think it’s at least partly due to only having liquids in me (which one would think would get completely absorbed, but do not), and changing gut bacteria and perhaps die off of cells in the digestive system. If I thought getting those biome tests were useful, it could be interesting to test before and after to see if there’s any change.

(Robin Perez) #74

Thanks @Clark_Potter! I think you just solve my issues!

(Jonathan) #75

Greetings,

Please do not feel that I am trying to push my opinions on you or anyone else in this thread in anywhere. Here goes. First, as soon as I read that you were having diarrhea, I immediately thought “they must be consuming something besides water during their fast” and sure enough I read that you were taking magnesium. I did a simple Google search with the words “magnesium diarrhea” and found this link at the top.


It states that a side effect of taking too much magnesium is diarrhea.

Secondly, no matter where go, whether it be a forum such as this or a group on Facebook I am always seeing people worry about much about losing electrolytes and creating an imbalance. And I can understand while on the keto diet, there may be a loss of certain minerals, however extended water fasting is not the same thing. The body knows how to redistribute it’s resources to prevent such as loss. In fact, when people try to “improve” their fast by consuming things besides only water (or also herbal tea for the first 72 hours) they are actually keeping a portion of the bodies digestion turned on, which would then allow for a loss of electrolytes. When the digestion track is allowed to fully shutdown, the body goes into conservation mode allowing it to survive until fat reserves have been fully depleted.

I would recommend trying to give another fast a try to stick with only consuming water, and most importantly putting a bit more faith in the body’s ability to manage itself. After all, consumption of any kind is taken out the equation, the body will rapidly restore what it considers it’s “perfect balance”.

Take care,
Heero

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #76

Why? I’ve experienced diarrhea more often than not with extended fasts when consuming water only.

(Jonathan) #77

I see. We seem to be the opposite then. After 6 4-12 days water fasts, my stomach has always dried up and shut down, so dry in fast after my 12 day fast my first bowel movement was the most painful experience I’ve had in my life.