February 2018 IF/EF chat - all welcome


(Doug) #81

Right on, Liz - perfect way to say it.


(KCKO, KCFO) #82

Couple of questions.

How did you break the fast that ended in disaster pants?
Before you started your current fast, had you done a seriously high fat refeed day?

I ask because what you eat right after a fast can impact your body’s reaction to the refeeding. Many here can not eat eggs right after a fast, others are fine. I find olives and nuts are my best friends after a fast.

I fail at fasting when I haven’t had plenty of fats the day before I start a fast.


(Jeanne Wagner) #83

Thanks for the reply @LizinLowell. :+1: I’m going to say that not enough salt is not the problem right now. I had some heart palpitations last Thursday and thinking it may be related to low electrolytes, I packed in (what I thought was) a lot of salt. Three pickle halves, two 3/4 cup servings of pickle juice and salt in my water for a steady trickle. After that is when my feet blew up and 6 days later are still really swollen. I now think I’m addsicted to pickles and pickle juice! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: I just can’t seem to eat enough of them and my mouth waters at the thought of them. I feel like that may be keeping me retaining water though.

I am around 3 months in but I didn’t start making too much effort until mid-December.

Something I just tried worked some kind of magic against the hunger, though!!! Right after I posted, I went for a 1/2 hr walk, 1 mile. It wasn’t the briskest of walls but I kept having to stop and take some deep breaths. I felt out of breath but wasn’t breathing heavy. I was yawning like crazy. I needed more oxygen in my body a I think. But I made it, I feel just fine now, and I’m no longer hungry!!! Thank God because I almost gave in and had something to eat for lunch. I could have gone a lot longer but it’s my lunch break so I’m limited with time.


(Jeanne Wagner) #84

Ok let’s see, I am sure that before i started the fast I did not feast enough. I basically had a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, a 1/2 avocado (Haas), a handful of walnuts, with Newman’s Own Olive Oil and vinegar on top. And I think I may have had a bulletproof coffee, just basic with Kerry Gold butter, heavy whipping cream, and one packet of Truvia (which i have since completely given up… not more sweeteners in my coffee at all anymore since the 3-day fast).

Leading up to that, all week I had beeen doing 22 hour fasts Mon-Thursday. And I basically had very similar meals. Friday started the first of the three days.

The refeeding consisted of like 6-8 olives around 20 minutes before the main meal, which was chicken thigh with the skin on and seasoned, about 1/4 c black beans (soooo delicious!), and 3 small bowls of salad which had green onion bits, tomatoes, black olives, button mushrooms, cucumbers and lettuce - field greens/remain mix. Dressing: Kikoman’s Ginger Dressing. I couldn’t seem to eat enough of that salad… but I was really satisfied, definitely didn’t want anymore anything to eat after that. I skipped the birthday cake. (It was a birthday dinner.) wasn’t even tempted. That is the one thing I can say, is that the sweet and starchy stuff holds no power whatsoever over me anymore.


#85

Kids are so funny. After learning that I had fasted for 3 days my daughter said “that’s 3 breakfasts!” Thought about it a second, then said “oh, my and 3 lunches and dinners?!?!” Yep, that’s right.
My kids have become way less worried about meal schedules now.


#86

Alot of us are rookies…you’re in good company. So I just did a little ‘beginner’ exercise with OMAD 22/2, but only until yesterday, 4 days. My mindset was that if I wasn’t in the feed window I “had to” have nothing but water and salt. Like others here coffee is THE THING and I didn’t give up the morning coffee, but I had it black. Point is I don’t think OMAD is same as a proper fast. I may be wrong.
What I’ve read is “anything that produces a metabolic response” breaks a fast. I wanted to get some 22 hour fasts in anticipation of longer fasts.
So now I’m at the ‘new regular’ and I notice less hunger overall, no breakfast and smaller meals otherwise. It was a successful experiment for this ‘fraidy cat’
I ordered some low strength caffeine/mct pills that I’ll ease into prior to the next OMAD or full on fast. I’ll have to research on the metabolic response on coffee. But, its not just the caffeine, its the smell and the warmth at 3:30 am when I get up - that’s what I’m addicted to. Good Luck!


#87

There are so many views on how to fast and why. To be honest for a newbie like me, it’s overwhelming. I’m sticking to the basics. Multivitamin + Green tea (with a bit of saffron threads) and dinner to dinner. So far it’s working and by working- I’m not trying to lose weight but not to gain either. My PCOS would not like me with more weight. I had some disordered eating issues and trying to stay healthy mentally.

If anything, I’m a bit underweight. I’m really just relaxing to eating to satiety at dinner. It’s a lot of food! But I’m okay with it. I don’t feel bigger. But the mental clarity and ability to not to stress over food keeps me in!

So I guess fasting is different for everyone for sure. What I’m practicing isn’t typical, I guess, or at least WHY I’m fasting isn’t. The other worry is that I don’t think I have enough body fat to go without food for more than 2 days based on @richard 32cals per pound of body fat? Who knows, maybe I’ll have the metabolic flexibility one day to do that if I refeed properly. But I’m yet to research the benefits of a longer fast vs. OMAD specifically for me.

For now, I am staying with OMAD. KCKO!!!


#88

Ugh back again seeking wisdom! And maybe TOO MUCH INFORMATION for some of you but oh well.

So again I’m a newbie in OMAD. Had been a three-mealer my entire life up till a week or so before. My question is what to eat on refeeding window so I don’t drop too much weight but stay in ketosis?

Last week I was eating my usual keto dinner, protein with fat, avocado(s), salad with oil and fat bombs with primarily coconut oil. That made me full but I was losing weight. (I don’t want to lose, at least not continuously). So I added roughly two ounce of nuts since I just don’t want more of the other stuff. Oh boy, did that change things- I’m in the bathroom four or five times working their way out. Are nuts too much fiber? If not nuts, what else to eat? I cannot do dairy :frowning: I just cannot think of things that’s not protein but high in fat I would want after dinner.


(Travis Lovering) #89

Thanks learned a new word tonight “autophagy” new to me. Lol I am also a heavy coffee drinker so noted.


(She had one feck to give and that feck is gone.) #90

2nd 36 hr fast nearly done! Yesterday was much easier.

NSV? Now on fasting days I volunteer to do ALL the chauffeuring to and from the kids sports. “No, Dear, you have your beer. I’ll take them.” :innocent: :joy:.


(Olivia) #91

Going from three meals a day to one meal a day might just be a little too radical. I would recommend gradually increasing your fasting window by an hour every 1-2 weeks. I know this sounds quite slow and conservative but you will not be torturing yourself.
Have you tried dark chocolate (at least 85%) as an evening snack?


(What The Fast?!) #92

Hi all!!! Happy Fasting February! I haven’t had a chance to read through all the posts yet but I wanted to check in with an update.

I started February at 141.8lbs, right at the tail end of 2 multi day fasts. Then, I went on a ski trip from Feb 2 - Feb 7 and feasted. There were some non-keto foods and there was definitely some wine/cocktails. All in all though, with the amount of activity (4.5 days of skiing), I feel good about my choices.

I had breakfast yesterday and then started a fast as we traveled home (a LONG 15 hours day of travel including canceled flights…). I weighed myself this AM, 24 hours into my fast and have gained 5lbs (over 7 days). I’m bummed of course, but I think a couple 2-4 day fasts should knock it back off. I did way more cheese than I usually do, so I’m going to cut cheese out during my refeeds for a bit and see if that helps.

I actually may cut out eggs and butter for awhile, as I had a food sensitivity test a few years ago that showed both eggs and casein as SUPER high for me. I plan to lean heavily on olive oil during this time, but I dunno…eggs are such a staple of my diet, It will be extremely annoying to figure out a replacement.


#93

Day 5 of the warrior fast for this week. My Tuesday - Wednesday fast was a little longer, probably about 27-28 hours, because my OMAD was early on Tuesday and late on Wednesday. Both Wed. & Thurs. were ZC / Carnivore or as my family lovingly describes it, a “meat meal.”


(Liz ) #94

My last 70 hour fast was fine, no headache, not a lot of hunger, but honestly, I do not love fasting! I love eating :smile: Also I think fasting is starting to make me hate tea lol.

But I think of EF as a therapeutic action and that gets me through. This past time, using no fats, I think something did click in my metabolism because I have not gone back up on the scale after I started eating again Tuesday evening. I’m too nervous to believe maybe I finally broke through my bouncy stall, but maybe I did?? I’ll do my regular weekly 46 hour fast starting Saturday after dinner and see what happens from there. And I plan another 70 this month after a big valentine’s steak dinner! I’ll see if I’m up for it.

I wish SO much we could home test our basal insulin rates!!! What a difference that would make in our n=1s.


(Jeanne Wagner) #95

On day 4 of my five day fast. I just decided Monday after a very big dinner of lots of eggs and bacon that I would start one and go as long as i can. I know I can go beyond 5 days but since this is only my second extended fast, I guess I don’t want to push it nutrient-wise. First one was three days 2 weekends ago. I’m doing them to try to aggressively ‘treat’ my insulin resistance. It needs a lot of work.

I have a couple of questions: does anyone get lots of floaters in their eyes when they do an extended fast? I have had them all my adult life that I can remember. I know they calm down a lot when the blood sugar is under good control. Since I started Keto a couple months ago, they calmed down a lot. And my blood sugar has reduced greatly. But today and yesterday, I’ve noticed a lot of activity. The blood sugar has not gone above 107, and it’s really hovering in the 80s and 90s. I think it’s pretty stable.

The other question has to do with the multi-vitamin. Any suggestions? Are we talking Centrum? Or something more high quality you’d get at a health food place? I’m T2D so I’m thinking I might want a little something extra in the vitamin. Currently taking Super B (I think it has all the Bs covered), Potassium, and Magnesium Citrate. Then there’s the 1000 mg/Metformin 2x/day. (Yup that’s why i’m fasting. Trying to get that dose down and eventually off of it.) I was also taking a bunch of salt but I think I overdid it. My feet and ankles were swelling really bad, and now that I stopped salt intake for 2 days it has gone down a lot. I’m hoping the Potassium and Magnesium will take care of any electrolytes I need replenished.


#96

Hi, anyone fasting today? I will try to get into a Mon-Fri routine. Both two times I fasted for 6,5 days my headaches got bad after five days (and also the pain in the fractured leg didn’t start until then), so I’m hoping five days will be my sweet spot and I will avoid the complications.


(Brandon) #97

Hello there ! I am ashamed to say I’m 350 pounds but I am down from 400. I mainly cont that success to IF 16:8. Cutting back all on all sugar drinks and process sugar. I hear about the Benefits of resetting your body with water faster and wonder what kind of results I would see. As well as to prevent rebounding and what to take during my water fast


#98

Congratulations @BrandonAlex, 50 pounds loss is awesome. :blush: How long a fast are you considering? :slight_smile: The best way not to rebound is to be keto before you go on the fast and to be keto after you fast. But in any case weight wise it’s best not to get too attached to the weight loss on the fast - it is normal to gain about half of it back in any case, depending of course how long the fast is. Dr. Jason Fung says about half a pound of fat per day is feasible to lose.

If you want to do a pure fast, during the fast you should basically stick to water and salt and possibly coffee or tea. And in the beginning maybe you need some “crutches”, such as a bit of cream in your coffee or some bone broth or something, but it is advisable to drop those once your body (and mind) gets adjusted to fasting. In any case a lot depends on how long your are planning to go.


(Rebecca) #99

I can’t tell if anyone answered your question about coffee breaking your fast. I’m somewhat new to IF and I’ve never done EF but everything I’ve heard/read states that it depends on what your goals are. If it’s strictly to lose weight or breaK a plateau, then it’s probably ok. If you’re doing it for the health benefits then yes, it would break your fast. Black coffee is ok and of course water. Someone with more knowledge may want to chime in here but I believe I covered the basics.


(Tessy M.) #100

I’m on hour 36 of a planned 72 hour fast. I feel better at this time than I did on my last extended fast. It really does get easier! We’ll see how I feel at hour 60 :thinking::crazy_face:
:star::star::star: UPDATE :star::star::star:
Well, I haven’t yet hit the 72 hour mark, but it is inevitable. The last “hurdle” was making it through lunch today without stopping for some cheese and sausage. Now, I’m on the last 3.5 (very busy) hours until I get to head home for the evening where my husband is making a Fathead pepperoni and black olive pizza.
Everything I’ve read about fasting beyond 48 hours has said that the first 48 were the hardest. I never had trouble with 24 hour fasts. My first 48 hour fast wasn’t a cake walk, but wasn’t miserable either. This time, I made it through the first 48 hours and some of the discomforts I previously felt didn’t present, like heartburn and “hunger”. The last 24 hours of this 72 hour fast have been a breeze.
I would keep going but I want that Fathead pizza!