FEB. 2025 Intermittent/Extended Fasting All welcome

#4

January wasn’t so great but could have been much worse. I had OMAD days, finally and mostly 2MAD ones, sometimes 3MAD or extra bites in the morn or after midnight, just the usual. (Nowadays night eating happens when my dinner is super tiny as I am too satiated but lunch wasn’t big enough. I really should go for dinner OMAD.) I had days with deficit and days with epic overeating (or I guess, it’s not like I tracked those days… or most of the rest)… I want February to be MUCH better.
I start tomorrow as weekends never were good for me to start strict. I have extensive supplies (monthly big shopping was done yesterday) and roasted a lot of pork today :slight_smile: I go for as strict as I can so I don’t even plan to eat tomorrow but I probably will feel the need. Or not, who knows, surely not I. But even if I eat, I very slowly add things, I am curious what will happen, when I will reach adding dairy or eating more than once…

I really, really want to take it seriously now. Among other things.

(Lucia) #5

Hi!

2MAD is also what I usually go for. Sometimes, depending of where I am in my cycle, I eat 3 meals a day…or just 1 meal. I am glad to hear it was a good month for you.

I am doing a lot better after the holidays, thank you for asking.

I haven’t binge eaten in almost 4 months, I started strict keto 2 1/2 weeks ago and I am already 10 pounds lighter. I am in a such better place now =) This forum has helped me a lot not feeling lonely in my journey to recovery.

I started meal prepping on Sundays which helps me a lot and it’s much fun!

I got a keto breath meter as a gift and I use it everyday and it seems to be working well, so far, for me.

Overall, I am doing my best to not get complacent, to be consistent and I track as much as I can my progress.

Oh, I got this super cool scale for Christmas that gives you a full report on your body composition. I use it every few days.

I track my calories on some days but not everyday…I kinda eat the same everyday. I am completely hooked on eggs. I can easily eat 6 eggs a day so I don’t feel the need to track all the time.

I hope everyone is doing well and thank you so much!

I

#6

I used to have about 7 eggs every day for decades, it was nice but meat is more satiating and potentially much leaner so I keep my eggs to the minimum now. So, 1-5? I try to imagine people thinking that they shouldn’t go over 2 a week and eating like that. How they make… virtually anything? Eggs are too useful, I use them for so many things, it’s impossible for us to go too low, now I am able to eat very, very few but my SO still needs his cakes and whatnot. I don’t deliberately make egg dishes but even so, 5-6 per day is the minimum I can do for us two. And when I make the tiniest tiramisu, it’s 12 yolks at once. If I ever made a small ice cream cake, that probably would be 20 :smiley:
Theoretically one can live without eggs… I suppose… If they aren’t I… Or my SO… But I can’t imagine it.

Sorry for writing about food but others did that too and the spoiler tag was shot down ages ago…

I am at 14 hour only as I ate at midnight for reasons. Doesn’t matter, it’s more interesting to me that what is the time when I just have to give up fasting (or not but sounds a good idea). 3pm is trivial (doesn’t always happen but with the tiniest determination it’s no challenge). If I skip lunch, I usually can last until 5-6pm. And I usually don’t think I can do EF at that point even if could last for 1-2 hours so rather eat at 6.

I wasn’t this determined since ages but I am a tiny bit hungry so I expect skipping lunch at most. But maybe I can last longer, I can’t predict it anymore since my hunger may go off. I never had that experience before keto.

Different parts of me feels differently now so I am hungry and satiated at the same time…? Let’s forget about it, maybe all the reading about food messed with me. I will go and do something useful. Maybe I come back when I feel writing here is the only thing able to keep me from eating… I really want to last as much as semi-comfortably possible this week (and hopefully later too. I may take breaks in weekends, maybe not).

The last weeks made me very, very sure that skipping lunch is truly the way to go. I don’t know what proper hunger is like, I am so satiated at dinnertime but my lunch is too small for OMAD (I usually eat a few little fun bites and then I need to have a nigh meal as well, not ideal).
Anyway, eating is time consuming (I always take my sweet time and I am kinda addicted to the kitchen, I am there way too much) and tiring. Fasting is only tiring if I really fight against some proper hunger. I love satiated fasting, it feels the best. And then people come and try to broke my bliss with early eating… They don’t understand I NEED fasting until mid-afternoon at least, it’s what my body craves. And it’s not starving, I eat way too much normally, thank you very much. And not because starved bingeing, I don’t have that.
Though I don’t really know what is considered bingeing, it’s probably fuzzy and individual. it can’t be the amount so it’s probably the attitude… Maybe unnecessary eating and a ton of food is already that, maybe a very serious and unhealthy compulsion must be involved…? Maybe I should google it. But I am pretty sure some people call innocent things bingeing too. Or just eating much even though that’s normal for many of us… Why do I think about this now?

#7

Things fell apart, probably my bad sleep at that point, IDK why that triggers very early eating in me when other times I hate breakfast with a passion. Oh well. And if I eat in the morning, I probably will eat at least 3 times more and that’s not good for me (the meals are small though, it’s not like I massively overeat).

Interestingly, I manage to do OMAD in the weekend… Yesterday we did some hiking a bit farther away so we got home after 5pm :smiley: So lunch skipping was trivial. My SO just brought some peanuts but it’s not a meal to me and anyway, I wanted an OMAD day again if possible. And it was.

Today I felt a bit hungry early but I could wait… I was really hungry before 3pm but I wanted to cook first and when I was ready, I realized I got my food joy and my hunger went away…
It’s 4pm now and I still can wait. So, yay.

I don’t think I will be able to keep OMAD but I really, really will do my best to avoid eating before 3pm and if possible, skipping my lunch as well. It’s not so trivial for someone like me where whims can have big power. I am normally okay until lunch but when my sleep is bad, I can be very vulnerable. And eating didn’t even feel good! Bad deal, very much not hedonistic. Such things annoy me.
But I go to bed earlier now and falling asleep is no problem either, I should keep it up!

So, I have these plans for my IF. As for my diet… I start every week at my strictest and go from there :slight_smile: It’s fun. I want to see if I can have an only meat day every week!

I don’t track unless I eat really simple. I just focus on a tiny eating window or rather fasting late but the two are strongly correlated.

#8

Now that I´m getting weight/fat loss results, I´ll stick to what has been working for the last couple of weeks.

-OMAD with max 10 g carbs/day and 75% fat. I´m never hungry that way.

-Exception 1: Sunday I try to eat all along the day to collect enough calories for monday/tuesday fast. Monday only water and electrolytes. Tuesday , electrolytes and OMAD again , I have felt really great on those fasting tuesdays… but I know I can´t finish a huge meal that night so…

  • Exception 2: Wednesday I eat all along the day,too,to signal my body that there is no famine despite the fast. Seems to work,body fat is “burning”.

Sort of simple, looks more complicated when you read it.

#9

I had another OMAD meal and it’s so special for me still that I write it here :slight_smile:
It was a bit strange. My hunger stayed very nice and when I finally went down to have dinner with my SO, it pretty much disappeared. I had leftovers and I start my week too strict for them and anyway, hunger happened on the day already so I ate. Not particularly much.
I am quite satiated now (it’s noon on Monday, I am ready for anything, my guess is a fat fast OMAD or only meat OMAD day. I try to make myself more and more open for the potential fasting day… as I surely will need every help, I won’t be just super satiated all day so it could happen automatically).

Right now, I don’t really care about my diet (except the strict start and we go from there part), only lasting until dinnertime if possible. So I dropped all effort to stay close to carnivore or on keto, whenever I will fancy something (and I am not against it for some good reason, so when eating it is easier), I will eat it, yes I do something like that all the time, it’s not like I even really try to resist temptation let alone succeeding but I still try to behave if it’s not hard so there is a subtle difference and that feels less free than what I have now. I don’t think it was very clear, oh well. Main thing I focus on OMAD or 2 dinners or whatever I get when I skip lunch. But if I am really hungry at lunch, I will eat it. I WON’T eat in the morning, that’s stupid. I am never hungry then, it’s some mental thing I suppose. Sometimes it happens. I sleep well and it won’t.

I don’t have anything tempting today and I don’t think I desire a fat fast meal but it’s only noon so we will see. Yesterday, after my meal I felt not so well, IDK why but maybe my body wants a break after so much time, who knows. I’m hoping for a fasting day soon but won’t force it.
Oh and it would be nice to have energy and losing a tiny bit of fat after so many years with less than zero success but I don’t hold my breath yet… OMAD is supposed to help (I easily eat too much on a OMAD day but not when I have several in row), my usual problem is that I can’t stick to it. But I have changed! I am not really hungry until dinnertime and getting experienced with lunch skipping! I am positive I have a high chance to do mostly OMAD weeks. And I used to be unable to do OMAD on carnivore (5 meals happened so often too, stupid tiny satiating meals) but it’s in the distant past already :slight_smile:
OMAD seems my way since many years, keto 2MAD was too much food and I couldn’t help it, carnivore changed up things and I kept getting hungry at lunch but now… Now I may have some great mostly OMAD time. Or so I think, of course I can’t possibly know what will happen. I just don’t want to eat too early without proper hunger so I train myself on it. It’s what I focus on right now. What I eat is secondary, I mean I don’t need focus on it. Of course it’s important, I just can trust my tastes and desires (mostly).

So, new day, new hopes! Strict Monday. That one day may become Fasting Monday, it would be nice but I may not be there yet.

(Tracy) #10

I’ve settled into an almost one meal a day, it’s still about 4 meals in 3 days. I don’t overly plan, I just go with the flow and eat when hungry or it suits the family. So yesterday I had my main meal at 1330 but then we cooked a roast chicken for a family meal so I did sit with them at 1800 and eat just roast chicken, not much just a slice. We have been going out on Sundays and eating a late lunch/early dinner out at about 1700 giving me a 27 hour fast from previous meal. I don’t want my body to see a pattern and adapt to it.

#11

I had 3 OMAD days, wow. Today I had lunch, not like I was really hungry but I just felt like it. I can’t skip lunch every day, I am pleased with my result.
No tracking, no rules, it’s nice. Well I do try to avoid drinking coffee and it goes well. I am at day #2 now as I tend to drink coffee in the weekend.
I am too satiated for dinner but maybe I will eat later, who knows? So there is a chance for OMAD even today! (With a little bite around noon for some reason but still good enough.)

It surely makes sense for many people as I see it a lot but I don’t get it. My body really loves the same pattern and I don’t care if it adapts to it, it still can’t make energy from nothing or some other weird things so what’s the problem? :slight_smile: If my pattern changes, that is a bit troublesome but oh well, I am not a robot and need to be flexible a bit. My days are too varied but it’s normal for them to be a tad varied.

#12

Don´t you have any extra body fat to use? Optimum weight? If so,good. I´m making truckloads of energy “out of nowhere” right now. The greatest ketosis ever.

#13

Using my body fat (that I basically never do) isn’t out of nothing, it’s from very obvious fat.
Nothing can make energy from nothing. My body is simple too, I eat little, I lose fat. I eat much, I don’t. One day I will figure out how to eat little or something else happens.
So I focus on eating little - but enough for OMAD. It’s best if I just eat dinner every day, not like it’s necessary possible but maybe it will be soon, who knows? I doubt it though. I go for the same pattern and sometimes break it without planning it, sounds good enough.

#14

My english must really suck.

I meant can´t you get energy from your fat storage,with no added food?

Not sure what you meant by “from nothing”. I thought it meant “no dietary food”.

Besides I´m in a wrong thread, I don´t do carni. Over and out.

#15

It may mean different things, sure. Nothing meant nothing to me here. I just wanted to express that there is no magic and as I am a simple case as far as I know, I don’t need to keep my body guessing, though I am not sure why people want that, maybe there is some other reason and not fat-loss. No idea.
I do what feels good to me and if I really wanted to lose fat, I would just fast a lot and eat little (but not too little) on eating days. I do it a bit lazier and comfier hence the zero success but it will happen eventually.

(B Creighton) #16

I am doing fairly well. I have gained about 2 pounds of muscle, and a lot less fat than last year. I would love to hear from anyone else doing what I have been attempting for several years now… basically I try to do a keto bulk. So, on MWF I do OMAD, and workout in the evening, followed by about 80-90 gr of protein between a protein smoothie and dinner. The other days are recovery days. I did awesome my first year, and my second year was crap. Last year I added a protein smoothie for lunch on my recovery days in an attempt to grow more muscle, and it seemed to work, but I gained almost twice the fat vs muscle. This year I don’t seem to be gaining muscle at the same clip, but am not gaining fat near so bad - I switched out coconut milk for hemp milk in my smoothies… so the thing is I am purposely trying to spike my insulin a bit with the smoothie. About 20 gr of the protein is from whey, which spikes insulin, and then I sweeten it a little further with a stevia coated maltodextrin… I know… lol. But it doesn’t have the fructose to build fat with. My other meals basically give me the protein without the insulin spike… Anyone else’s experience with what works best here will be welcomed.

(Connor Lidell) #17

I’m on a pretty heavy fasting regimen right now to combat my insulin resistance. I’m really working toward total reversal so I can have some metabolic flexibility at some point in my life.

Right now, if I have more than 20g carbs in a meal, my glucose levels will shoot up. I had a carby meal (like around 150g carbs) a week ago, and it took 5 days for my glucose levels to stabilize. it was mostly for experimental purposes. My emotional eating days are over, and I was happy to not repeat that experiment for a while.

So, the weekly regimen is: 72hrs fasted + another 24hr fast. I have about 9-10 meals a week with lots of protein and fat.

Right now, however, on the heels of that carb experiment, I am doing a 5-day fast. It’s going well so far, except NO sleep. I maybe got 3 hours last night. I’ve been up reading for hours now.

(Jane) #18

Coming up on 48 hours fasted. Feeling fine, no hunger so will go another day and break tomorrow at lunch for a 72-hr fast.

(B Creighton) #19

Waving goodbye to February, so I thought I’d give my final results. I gained about another 1/2 of muscle for the month so a total of about 2.5 lbs of muscle over my IF period this year so far. If I get another 1/2 pound in Mar, that will bring me up to the grand total of 1/2 the muscle I gained last year :frowning: I have also gained a lot less fat, but am feeling somewhat frustrated with my “progress.” Still welcoming any suggestions…The universe must have some answers for me…lol

(Jane) #20

You kinda disprove the notion you lose muscle when fasting.

(Jane) #21

I will wave goodbye to Feb also. Made it to 70 hours instead of 72, but happy with that. I was feeling weak and dizzy so decided to drink some pickle juice and have a small snack until lunch, which was 2 hours away.

I was in the garden shoveling dirt to fill new raised beds and I think my blood sugar dropped too low.

All is well. Will fast again in a couple of weeks in March.

(B Creighton) #22

Not really. I don’t think OMAD is enough fasting to start losing muscle, but fasting also stops muscle growth, so I am playing around on the fringes I guess. My idea is to suppress mTor and insulin before my workout, but also maybe stimulate some stem cell growth…,… starting at around 24 hrs fasting stimulates stem cells. Muscle satellite cells are a type of stem cell, and is the only place new muscle cells come from. So, don’t know but maybe I stimulate a few satellite cells with OMAD, and then starting with a pre-workout fat bomb, I stimulate growth factors. Protein and exercise stimulate mTor, and then I am trying to pop insulin at the same time… these things are pro-growth. So, the idea is to make a depressed loaded spring “pop” up. This may seem like I am over-thinking things, but I have always been what is called a “hard gainer.” I don’t know. It’s not working all that well this year it seems, but thanks. :slight_smile:

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #23

I have created a new thread for April, check it out at: