Feast twice as long as you fast - is this decent advice?

(Jennifer ) #1

Hi All!

I haver been fasting pretty regularly for the past 6-8 months. In the beginning, I tried pretty aggressive fasting, doing 2-4 days regularly, and I struggled with the extra hunger afterwards, and not knowing when I could fast again, how much to eat, how many days to fast etc…

For the life of me, I can’t remember where I heard this from…I feel like it was Megan Ramos, but I’d be lying if I said I was even 50% sure about that. but somewhere I heard:

"Feast twice as many days as you fast."

Ever since following this general guideline for a minimum number of days in between fasts, my fasting has been so effortless.

  1. Does anyone know where the heck I heard this? Have you heard it too?

  2. What are your general guidelines for timing of your fasts? How long is your minimum wait time in between?

Thanks all!

#2

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard this advice, but it doesn’t sound unreasonable.

So, from my personal experience, I started off my keto WOL with a TWO WEEK FAST, just water, coffee, tea and bone broth (which I know some may not count). For me, that was extraordinary. I had never fasted, and to go two weeks was mind boggling.

However, the most I might fast now, may be a little more than 24 hours. I believe at first when I had more weight to loose, it was easier to fast longer periods (2 or 3 days), but not so much now that I’m closer to my goal weight.

Some may be pretty strict about fasting, and/or want to see how long they can go, but personally I just try to pay attention to what my body is telling me. If I’m hungry, I eat. If I’m not, I don’t. Now that may sound simple, but it’s actually pretty hard to not eat, when you’re not hungry. We tend to eat more out of habit than necessity (at least I do).

If I think I’m hungry, I try to drink something and see if that helps, and if the feeling doesn’t go away soon, then I’ll eat something.

So if you able to fast for several days, and feel fine, great! But, like myself, with the more weight you loose, the less time you might feel like fasting, and that’s okay too.

(Jennifer ) #3

Yes I agree - according to Richard’s calculator, I actually don’t have enough body fat to sustain a fast without some supplementation any longer…however I actually really enjoy fasting. It comes rather naturally to me. I’ve been working over the past few months on “going with the flow” instead of driving myself bonkers trying to get the weight off as quickly as possible.

As first though…fasting felt like a superpower, and I wanted to know how far I could take it!

Thanks for your reply. :slight_smile:

#4

This has been one of the most surprising aspects of fasting to me.

For the most part, I was generally eating OMAD, so essentially I was fasting 23 hours or so everyday. (I usually eat a big breakfast in the morning, and just recently decided to also have a small supper, when I got home after work.)

But if I’m ever having a day when I’m not feeling that great, I may just decide to skip my meal and wait till the next day. Usually, whatever is upsetting my stomach, or not making me feel well in general, will be cleared up after a day. The ability to just not eat is so liberating! And the knowledge that I can do it, if I want to, is very satisfying.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

I never heard that advice, but if it’s working for you, don’t change it! As Darren says, it certain doesn’t sound unreasonable.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #6

I so want to be able to say that. After 3 If 18/6 and 3 OMADs in the last week I am solidly below 230lbs after a long stall. (actually lost maybe a 1 lb a month during the stall). I’ve got a bit to go. I’d like to be less than 200lbs.

#7

I wonder if it’s based on the 5:2 IF studies - where people who did IF two days a week had as much or more recomp than those who were calorie restricted every day. Because 5 days is just over twice the 2 days. :sunglasses:

For myself, when I do IF only 2-3 days a week and the rest of the time am doing variations of two and three meals a day with many variables, those days do feel like “feasting” - and my progress just keeps progressing! The “feasting” of more meals per day seems to calm/ground my nervous system and has made my IF days stretch easily to 20-24 hours.

The “fast then feast” rhythms are very primordial and biodynamic - in our fat-adapted ancient mammalian DNA I think.

#8

As much as I love Richard, I think that calculator is not very useful. It’s based on experiments with a high-carb diet and long-term calorie restriction, so I can’t imagine we can draw conclusions that are useful for keto folks, especially once we’re fat adapted.

I first looked into it when I totally smashed a hot yoga class on the third day of a water fast. I’m now on the fourth day of a fast and I’ve worked out - quite hard - on three of the days, and I feel great. According the calculator there’s just no way I would have managed even without the exercise.