Feeling My Impending Mortality - My Fasting Journey

#1

Just found out about Fasting. Figured if I didn’t make a record of where I’m at and what I intend to do and chronicle along the way then I’m not being serious.

I’m 57 Years old 275 Lbs and suffer from metabolic Syndrome including Type 2 Diabetes at 5’9 my ideal weight would be 165 -185 lbs so I have a whopping 100 lbs to lose. Live a sedentary lifestyle. Just your average Fat Guy.
Oh and I know that if I don’t take radical action now I’m going to run into big physical trouble in my 60s and can look forward to physical degeneration and early death. I feel my impending mortality. So I’m motivated. Boy that felt wonderful, unloading anonymously on a Forum.

I bought into many of the myths about Fasting. Ran across this forum by accident and went directly to Amazon and bought and skimmed Dr Fungs book and the other that he co-wrote. The books make sense to me. But time will tell.

In the past tried the ketogenic diet and just didn’t have the willpower to stay on them. For me it’s easier to just abstain from eating then to meticulously control my diet. Always been an all or nothing type.

Just Did a 66 hour fast from Thursday night 6:00 pm until Sunday at 12 noon. Then feasted at 12 Noon and 6 pm and back on the fasting train. Planning to fast this week from Sunday 6:00 pm until Friday evening at 6:00 pm. Friday will attend a Pass Over Sedar than back on the train.

I plan to double it to 10 days and double to 20 and then stay on a 7 Day, 10 Day or 20 days interval with 1 day meal break until I reach my weight goal. I’m going to play it by ear and tune into my body.

I plan just a water fast with Coffee and Tea. Debating whether to drink 8oz of Bone Marrow Broth in the mornings or maybe in the evening. So much conflicting information about Bone Marrow. Also bought a bottle of Mega Mineral Iron Free Formula and am considering taking Now Food Adam SoftGels Multi Vitamin. Any suggestions on Bone Marrow and vitamins is much appreciated.

Was considering the intermittant 42 hour fast but at this point in time I think that a more radical plan is in order. I’ll play it by ear. I do plan to go on an intermittent fast regimen eventually.

By the way any suggestions about my plans and along the way are welcome.

(Joe) #2

Great to hear you are motivated! I had that same mortality realization seeing patient after patient come into my rehab facility with strokes In their 30s. ( I am a neurological occupational therapist).

Everyone has their thir own path and plan but I also thought about just fasting and came to this conclusion. Fasting was what broughtm e to keto.I like eating. I like fasting. But if I only fast and don’t change the foods I eat when I’m feasting… I think once my fasting days are done (assuming they would be once I met my goal weight) I’m be right back where I started eating the foods that made me unhealthy do begin with.

Also I was afraid if I started frequently intermittent fasting without being fat adapted I would harm my metabolism because I didn’t see routine longer fasts where becoming fat adapted in ketosis being a viable option for me.

As a result, Once I was keto for 4 weeks it was no problem to stick to and I realize my fears about compliance were not warranted. Its the easiest eating plan for me to stick to. Just say no to the processed carbs and sugar and eat fat. Its so much easier than trying to eat only a little bit of bread.

#3

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

I agree the plan should not be to fast and binge on bad foods. Now I look to lose weight, next I have to find a routine to maintain balance.

Sort of like Atkins Diet and the reduction phase then once you’ve reached your weight you go into maintenance phase.

The most important goal is to reverse my Metabolic Syndrome. Losing 100 lbs would go a long way towards that. After I’ve done that I’ll have to experiment with shorter fasts

(Raj Seth) #4

I am a fellow regular fat guy. 55 yrs, 5’8".
Was 300lbs, T2D, hypertensive on diabetic meds, statin, BP meds.
Now 215lbs, NO medications (since January), just got 5.9 A1C yesterday, & hsCRP of 0.54.
Target 155lbs, six pack, 30" waist!
I am hard core keto. 30 of last 90 days fasted.

Only recommendation from my N=1 experience (YMMV) is the following: years of calorie restriction has probably wrecked your metabolism as it has for most fat folks with modern societal pressures. To fix this, before you go on longer and longer fasts to quicken progress - spend a month or two fast - feast cycling. I am just finishing up my 2.5 month fast feast cycling. NO weight loss - but body changed. pant size dropped. skin tightened up. I believe my BMR is up. I feel juiced up all the time. I just did the Feldman Protocol before my blood draw yesterday. that was 5,500 kCals a day for 3 days :tired_face:. A quick way to get nauseated by the thought of eating another bite.

Now, I feel that I have built a strong platform for some hard core fasting. Planning an indefinite (1-3 weeks) fast starting April 1. with my metabolism hopefully repaired, the results should be better. BTW - its going to be a Water only fast for max autophagy. I know the autophagy stuff is all conjecture and educated but unproven guesstimates for now - but what can it hurt.

I guess my summary is that if you want to fast a lot, its fine, but launch it from a good place. Don’t just Fast - Feast too. my personal philosophy is to feast at least as long as I fast. Once I come off this April Fool’s fast, I will feast for a similar time, and then I am going to go to 3 day fasts, 4x a month till I reach my target weight of 155. That happens to fit my schedule. and will be 18 days feasting, 12 days fasting - which is a good ratio for me!

#5

Wow! 85 pounds is around 28% of your original body weight or over 40% more than you weigh now.

It’s so encouraging to see this kind of progress in weight loss. Off of all the meds and feeling great.

And you figured a way to enjoy yourself half the time.!

#6

I’m 63. 140# of blubber exhaled in 11 months through various tweaks within the KETO Way Of Eating.

Nuff said.

DO IT.!

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(Karl) #7

48, off a high of 330lb (currently 165 @ 6’3"). No official diagnosis of T2D because I hate doctors - but I know my blood sugar was high for a very long time because of regular bloodwork I got at my dermatologist for a biologic drug I take.

I was that average fat guy. We’re everywhere :slight_smile:

For whatever reason, I took very well to this lifestyle. I’ve yo-yo dieted my entire life, at times losing >100lb doing CICO/Calorie Restriction, only to fall back into my old habits and gain it all back and then some.

I’ve learned quite a few things doing this whole Keto thing. I don’t necessarily agree with everything Fung says - but I definitely agree with him on the whole “You can always fast” spiel. Once I got fat adapted, I finally had some true liberation from my nagging hunger - and that allowed me to lose the weight more effortlessly than any other time in the past.

I’m 2 years into this, at a healthy weight (a little on the low side if my wife is to be believed) and have no plans on going back to being hungry all the time as a carb addict :slight_smile:

One thing I would advise is to listen to the experienced fasters in these forums. One thing they all seem to say is that you really owe it to yourself to get Fat Adapted before you start doing a lot of extended fasting. I’m not really a faster, though I do OMAD (one meal a day) as far as my actual meals go. I don’t think what I do is technically fasting because of the several cups of coffee I drink in a day (which all get a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream) so I can’t really offer any advice there. But as another everyday-fat-guy who turned stuff around (and continues to maintain this weight without any delibirate exercise), I wish you the best of luck with this way of life.

(Raj Seth) #8

Having fun half the time? Nah. Only 1/3 of the time. The other 2/3 of the time I’m eating :rofl:

(Raj Seth) #9

As for meticulously controlling your diet - just look at your plate. If you see some greens, some meats, and all surrounded and bathed with yummy saturated fats - you got it right. Then follow 3 rules
Eat till you’re full.
Stop eating when you’re satiated.
DONT eat when you’re not hungry.
DONE AND DONE!

(the cheater) #10

It’s good to hear you’re motivated! That sounds super extreme and difficult, honestly.

I was over 215 just over a month ago and have been sticking to keto - doing it right, with magnesium supplementation and all, as well as tracking my foods on MFP, and I’ve managed to ditch over 20lbs in that time. I’ve included a cheat meal/day about every 6 days, too.

In other words, I don’t think you need to go as extreme as you’re doing. You could probably lose 100lbs in right around 6 months or less just by following keto closely and counting calories/macros. The best part? No torture or hunger! I feel you’re mortal fear, though, and that’s a HUGE motivator. I just want you to do something you’ll be able to sustain.

In any case, it sounds like you’re moving in the right direction. You’ve got time - do it right so you can stick with it. Good luck!

#11

My gosh Karl. You are my long lost younger brother. I could have written 90% of your posts (the ones I’ve read anyways) EVEN the part where our wives say ENOUGH a’ready.

I have yet to take the final step to OMAD on a regular basis, but coffee with cream (and stevia) along with fasting are my secret weapons where maintenance is concerned. I wish I didn’t need to fast, but I’M NEVER EVER GOING BACK TO 300+ and if that’s what it takes to feel like I feel now, after 5 decades of obesity, its a small price to pay.

My habitual fasting irritates my wife, by the way…so I often do it on the sly. :zipper_mouth_face:

It’s just easier that way. I don’t want to be irritating…least of all to her, but its my body, my diet, my rules.

I need to get to work. Later…

(Karl) #12

Yeah, me too… the OMAD helps in a way. My wife never had a struggle with her weight, even after 3 kids. She remains 115lb and has been that weight for as long as I’ve known her. But she’s in control of her appetite, where I still have a 300+lb fattie lurking in my head somewhere. For a while she was convinced I was going to kill myself doing this “ridiculous keto thing”, but now she’s a believer. She has no need to do it herself, but for me, she’s finally conceded that there’s “something to it”. Where the OMAD helps is that she usually gets to witness what a big keto meal looks like - in as much as what she always thought was “really unhealthy” is actually anything but, even in a heftier amount.

(Beth) #13

Hey @fatguy. I want to wish you luck and health in your journey. As far as your fasting plan goes, it does seem pretty aggressive. You could probably see huge benefits by giving yourself more feasting days in that plan.

With that said, everyone is different. Since you have 100 to lose and you are an all-or-nothing type, then according to Richard’s calculation, you should be able to supply your energy needs with your own body fat (31 calories per day per lb. of fat on your body can be available to you), without affecting your BMR, in theory.

In my keto journey, I was concerned with my BMR so I have been feasting a lot and fasting occasionally. I lose weight when I fast and I maintain when I feast. That’s a pretty nice thing considering I did the low fat deprivation yo-yo my entire life.

Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress. I’d also like to recommend the obesity code podcast if you aren’t listening to it already.

#14

Amazing, you lost 1/2 your body weight.!

I’m so stoked to see a fellow Average Fat Guys become a average thin guy!

Thanks for chiming in the more success stories that I see, the more motivated I get.

#15

Looks like some advanced Photo Shop on the right.

Did you have to buy all new clothes or did you have the old ones stored!

That’s some amazing weight loss for only 11 months.!

#16

Well I’m on day two and my blood sugar is through the roof. 145 last night to 175 this morning more than 20 points higher than normal. Brought the empty test strips to work by accident so I just tested and it’s down at around 133 normally I’d be at 110 at this time of day if I hadn’t eaten the whole day.

Was wondering if any of you run into a sugar spike on the first days of the fast? And how long until it went down.

Decided against the bone marrow broth mainly because I’m going to have some serious loose skin for my body to devour. Don’t want to risk looking like a ffin Sharpei.

I find it’s easier to be fasting while working than on the weekends. It’s been busy and I don’t have as much time to obsess about the hunger.

I was concerned than I saw a podcast where Dr Fung said it wasn’t unusual for the liver or body to start flushing out residual glucose or something like that. So I’m going to mellow.

Well just got some ketone strips and I was between trace and small or about 10mg/dl

Looking forward to the next few daysand watching it turn purple, they say days 1 & 2 are the hardest and it gets easier from day 3 on.

Haven’t weighed myself figure I’ll weigh every Friday.

All these other Average Fat Guys coming on the forum really has raised my morale. I’m kind of avoiding talking about the fast to the people around me. So I feel less alone.

Once I lose some serious weight and the people around me ask questions I’ll be more comfortable about talking about it.

#17

I’ had been trying to get back on Keto and somehow just couldn’t do it. Too much temptation. Too many cheats. Was late snacking too.

The reduction phase is just so hard, probably I’ve been close to a maintenance but since I need to reduce at this point in time something more radical is in order.

I need to totally reset my system and break my habits. I think that it’s wonderful that you are having such great success on regular Keto. But it’s not for me right now.

Once I lose 100 Lbs than will be the time to figure out the best way to maintain. My current weight combined with my metabolic syndrome is dangerous.

#18

Yup. I’ve bought new clothes, and more than once.

50 inch pants were uncomfortably tight in the before picture. Now I can wear 34’s but 36’s allow for a larger…um…self protection device to be carried IWB. (In Waist Band)

I don’t care about the cost of new clothes. Its MUCH cheaper than Insulin, Blood Pressure Meds, and/or trips to the Doctor or the Surgeon to remove diabetic extremeties.

You can do this!

#19

Must be nice to shop in a regular mens clothing shop.

I do all my shopping at Burlington Coat Factory “Short and Squat Department” I do get some nice stuff but it’s potluck.

And I bet you don’t miss the stomach hitting the table in a booth in a diner!

(Karl) #20

I love Burlington Coat Factory. And Marshalls. And anywhere else I can get decent & cheap clothes :slight_smile: