Fasting led me to keto

(Sonia A.) #1

Hi everyone,

I’m new on this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself. I’m a 37 year old woman and I’m from France. I’ve heard about the ketogenic diet a long time ago, but I wasn’t ready to implement it in my life. Now I’m ready.

I come from a different background from people here, as I began fasting before going keto and fasting led me to keto. Fasting has been a part of my religious life since I was 12. But it wasn’t until I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that I began doing it for health purposes.

After being diagnosed, I took 1000 mg of metformin twice a day. But I didn’t want to end up like my mother who is taking insulin injections multiple times a day. So, after doing my research, I did a 13 days water only fast. I felt more or less ok, but I know now that I could have benefited from having electrolytes. After that, I did every type of IF possible (except alternate-day) with calorie restriction. Now I know that calorie restriction doesn’t work, but then that’s all I knew.

With fasting and exercise, I successfully reversed my T2D : my A1C went from 7.8 to 4.6. So health-wise, I’m very happy with my results. But, I’m not happy with my weight. I lost 23 kg (50 lbs) in 2 years and I need to lose 20 more kg (45 lbs). I’ve always been a slow loser. And then, for the last year, I lost and regained the same 4 kg (8-9 lbs). I was discouraged and I stopped IFing, which was a big mistake. When I began again, I read a lot about fasting to motivate me and that’s when I was reminded of keto (because you can achieve ketosis while fasting). That’s why I decided that I’m ready to go full on keto.

Unfortunately, since I began in April, I fell off the wagon twice. But I identified the culprits and I’m ready to do this and become fat-adapted. So I started again on Monday without dairy. I hope that it’s going to be ok this time, because I really want to enjoy all the benefits of keto.

I’d like to thank the 2 keto dudes for inspiring me and pushing me on this path. I can’t fully express my gratitude for this forum and its members. The stories I’ve read here are an inspiration and a big help. I hope that I can become a helpful and productive member as well. So thank you :blush:.

(Suzanne Barton) #2

Hi @Ijjunne! I’m relatively new here as well. Started keto 11 weeks ago. It’s been kinda rough but that’s because I have so many years of damage to my body to repair.
This is a great place for any questions concerns or encouragement you have/need.
Welcome!

(Sonia A.) #3

Congratulation on your 11 weeks ! I hope it gets easier with time. Thank you.

(Suzanne Barton) #4

It is getting easier, just slowly. But I still love keto and feel better than I ever have in my 52 years. :grin:

#5

Thats great, best wishes.

I also started Keto after fasting but not as long as you have. After trying a moderate carb, moderate fat diet for many years (where I would periodically fall off the wagon every time I smelled pizza), I discovered fasting and Dr. Jason Fung through a search in March. For the first month I would do 24 and 36 hour fast in between events (I had 4 catered events that I was required to attend in one week in March, ate what I wanted at the event and fasted in between), and lost 5 lbs! I was hooked.

Then in mid April I discovered Keto again (did Atkins years ago without long term success). One tip, I found fasting harder from Keto than before, I was hungrier at the outset. I have no idea why. What really helped was hearing the 2Ketos say that you should feast before a fast by eating more fat. The next fast was much easier

(Sonia A.) #6

It’s great to find someone else with the same experience as me. I love fasting too :heart_eyes:. It’s the only thing that helped me lose weight consistently and effortlessly.

I assume your experience with fasting after keto was difficult because of the adaptation phase your body was going through. I’ll be resuming IF next week, so I’ll see.

Thanks for your support and I wish you continued success.