Fasting Muscle is *really* a thing!

(eat more) #1

just want to post this in case anyone considering or having trouble with fasting thinks it’s just something cute that ppl say :slight_smile:

it really is a thing…while i haven’t journaled any of my fasts i do know that they have become progressively easier and with less and less supplementation.

first extended fast (47 hours) i was a little whonky and cold at 45-46 hours…i also supplemented more with broth and even “snuck” some almond butter and whipped cream…was also having BCAA because it was my first really fasted training and i thought i needed it (5-600 added calories…if i remember correctly…my app isn’t cooperating :sniff:)

the next extended fast that i remember (72 hours…and 15 minutes LOL)
i was downing ACV with salt and cayenne 2x/day…had broth w/heavy cream in the evening (under 500 calories)

the most recent extended fast (48 hours) i realized that i didn’t have anything other than my morning BPC, extra salty (for me) electrolyte water, and some sparkling/mineral water (my 99 cent store had La Croix and crystal geyser mineral water yay!) (under 300 calories)

i know this isn’t super detailed and wouldn’'t pass for a “study” but i did notice a pattern so i wanted to share that it does get easier without much effort :blush:

edit: wanted to add that i did have BPC in the morning, salt water, and electrolyte water throughout the day/night with all of the fasts listed and worked out…sometimes more than i thought i wanted to LOL

#2

Yep, my personal experience is that fasting is probably more mental than physical, but in any case, “exercising” it seems to make it consistently easier and easier.

My only problem is eating enough when I’m NOT fasting to be able to fast more often! :wink:

(eat more) #3

your peanut butter mixer should help LOL

as i was mixing almond butter…while fasting (hah) i thought “hmm…maybe i should get one of those things”

(G. Andrew Duthie) #4

Definitely agree it gets easier with practice. It’s still important, however, to listen to your body.

My most recent extended fast was around 5-6 days, which may be my longest. But I stopped because I was freezing cold (not just extremities) and felt like crap. I have a theory that it might be related to iodine intake (or lack thereof) because I did a set of blood tests that last day, and there were several markers that were off in a way that could potentially point to low iodine. I have since switched back to an iodized salt, and have been careful to make sure I get enough to cover my daily iodine needs.

Next fast, I’ll try for a similar length, with the iodized salt, and see where I come out. n=1, etc.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #5

This is a real thing.
My first fast was February of 2016. It was 24 or 48 hours. Don’t remember. I had just read Dr. Jason Fung’s book The Obesity Code and was super stoked to try fasting.

I wasn’t sure I could do it. @richard joined me. He was unsure as well.
We both succeeded, and have been fasting about once a month since then (Zornfasts). I didn’t name it. Lol

I got a bit competitive with Richard and decided I would match his record, a 10 day fast(I think he did it last fall). So in February I did a 10 day water fast.

Success.

It absolutely gets easier, but as @BillJay says, a large part of it is mental. :green_heart:

(Andrea Johns) #6

Many, many years ago, when I was 21 (we won’t say how many years ago that was) I began a 3 month fasting regimen. I ate 900 calories for a day, fasted for a day, 900 calories 2 days, fasted 2 days back and forth like that up to 7 days eating 900 calories, fasting 7 days. I did this as part of a religious exercise. The point was never weight loss. I did however lose 60 lbs in that 3 months. I kept that 60 lb off for 2 years, primarily because I did’t eat much. Then I got married, had 2 kids and never watched what I ate and ultimately gained 170 lb. That weight gain caused tremendous damage to my hip and knees. I was so desperate and in pain I had a gastric band inserted. After several years it eroded through the stomach wall and had to be removed. (not fun) It was only then that I began to consider how much success I had fasting…even realizing (finally) that the only time in my life when weight loss was successful was when fasting accompanied my weight loss efforts. Even with the band there was a 6 week period after the band was placed when I basically ate almost nothing because of swelling in my esophagus. The realization about fasting is what led me to the internet and the forum and podcasts. I am really glad I found you guys. I’m also glad I have that past experience with fasting…I remember that fasting did get easier. The 5 and 6 day fasts were relatively easy. The 7 day was more challenging.