I have been intermittent fasting for about 6 months, and have lost 35-40 lbs doing so. I generally do a 20:4 interval, really only eating one meal and maybe a snack in that 4 hour window per day. I’d classify it closer to an OMAD regimen. I do also drink a cup of bulletproof coffee in the morning, with 1-2 T Kerrygold and 1-2 T Brain Octane MCT Oil.
My weight loss has stalled a little, and I’d like to explore more extended fasting. So, since it’s the winter, which is when we humans would most likely be going without food, I’m posing a challenge for myself - which is to fast 14 days out of the 28 days of February. Since my longest fast has been about 48 hours previously, I’m not silly enough to try 14 days in a row - I just want to not eat on 14 of the 28 days of February. (My fast - my rules LOL)
So, for my challenge, I’m counting any day that I do not eat from the time I get up till the time that I go to sleep (not necessarily a “calendar” day - midnight to midnight, but it should work out that way). I am going to try to avoid supplementing with bone broth (because it has protein, and I’d like to see if I can get any autophagy benefits), and I don’t mind drinking my salt in my water. I do intend to keep doing the small amount of BPC - about 200-300 calories, but pure fat.
I’m also participating in the Super Bowl Shuffle post Super Bowl 5 day fast. We’ll see if I can make it.
Not only am I doing Fasting February to lose weight headed into the spring, but because I also want to save money and have more time. The bleak midwinter is a very slow time period for me at work, so I’m not making much money (my job is seasonal and weather dependent) and there are some projects I would like to devote time to. Unfortunately, my daily routine when eating OMAD is that I get up, exercise, have my BPC, go to work all day, and then go out to dinner - and eat European style, so I take my sweet time. So by the time I’m done eating, I’m done for the day, and I go to bed without much time to devote to those projects. (JFTR, because of my living situation, I cannot do any more cooking at home than what I can heat up in the microwave or is ready to eat out of the box or out of the fridge. I’m avoiding processed foods, so not only is it just more enjoyable to go out to eat, but it is probably actually healthier, with more real foods at restaurants. But that doesn’t necessarily help my wallet or time management!)
I figure that it’s good to work with seasonal variation and fast when we would most naturally fast - when food is at its scarcest towards the end of winter.
Here’s the month so far:
2/1: Ate on a trip.
2/2: FASTED
2/3: Ate with friends
2/4: Ate with friends
2/5: Super Bowl! Ate with friends
2/6: FASTED
So far I’m 2 of 6 days out of February, and 2 of my 14 day total goal. I’m 36+ hours into an extended fast.