Have I finally found something that works?! My extended fasting results so far

(Ginger) #1

I’ve been keto on and off for over a decade. I haven’t been overweight that entire time, but i’ve used keto to lose weight after pregnancies and then ultimately, like so many others, discovered that I just feel better eating keto and stay with it for all those other benefits.

However, i’ve been obese since my last child (6 years ago), i’ve managed to get down from maybe 270lbs/125kg at my very heaviest after that pregnancy. This took several years and was very hard won… then in 2015 I hit a wall at around 200lbs/90kg and have been stuck there for 3 years. I had gestational diabetes with pregnancy no1 and over the last few years have become pre-diabetic on the very cusp of diabetic. So I decided to start taking more drastic action and began fasting.

Previously, i’ve done OMAD and IF so thought I might have the fasting chops to manage an extended fast straight out the gate. SOOOOOOOO WRONG. My first 24 hour fast was the absolute pits and I barely made it. But I kept trying and have slowly managed to extend the length of my fasts during July.

Last week I managed to fast for 4 days in a row. I ended that fast because I was freaked by how low my blood sugar was, but then after some more reading, i’ve come to realise that this is pretty common during a fast. My ketones were high at the time, and I felt fine, so i’m going to judge when to break a fast based on how I feel moving forward. My GKI has been below 3 most of this month and sometimes below 1.

My plan is to fast for as many days during August and September as I can. I won’t force it. If I feel ill or really need to eat I will. And I will eat well when I do. (Keto feasting yassssss). I don’t eat frankenfoods or carb substitutes but I do drink red wine on some of my keto eating days. Otherwise, i’m hoping for improved insulin sensitivity, weight loss, low inflammation to help with chronic pain and autophagy.

So far I have lost 11 lbs in 13 days. I’ve fasted 5 full days out of the 13. On eating days I have been OMAD/keto apart from 2 epic feast days where I ate over my TDEE. I didn’t gain at all on any day.

This is all miraculous for me, I usually gain easily and if I lose at all, it’s at a glacial pace and only to the 200lb set point.

I’m currently 203 lbs so very close to my set point. I’m going to try extended fasting to see if I can get beyond it and will post back here for accountability.

#2

Yes, please keep us posted! It sounds like lots of folks get their set point lower through fasting so this might work well!
Good luck to you and I’m excited to see your progress.

(David Taylor) #3

Seems to be doing you good. Well Done.

(Raj Seth) #4

On feasting days - FEAST. Feasting is just as important as fasting. Don’t be afraid to exceed your calculations of TDEE etc. eat fat to satiety when feasting.

Fasting lowers your insulin and body set point. It’s hormonal. It’s not about the calories that you are skipping on the fast. See Jason Fung’s videos and blog for how it works. The way I understand it, if your basic needs are 2000/day, and you eat 0 on the fast, and 4000 on feasting days, you still burn fat (though likely you won’t be able to have that much) Your own results from the ‘epic’ feasting days reflects that

(Jane) #5

Fasting worked for me that way for the last 10 pounds I wanted to lose. I fasted 2 weeks in a row - fat fast to ease into fasting and a water fast. No access to a scale so not sure what my results were individually, but when I got home I had dropped about 8 lbs and stayed there. I probably lost more than that but had been refeeding for several days so I was already at my “net loss” for the fasts.

(Ginger) #6

Well done Jane! It’s really motivating to hear, thanks!

(Ginger) #7

I did feast. As per my post. I’m not the least bit afraid of feasting but I had to force myself to eat above TDEE and could only manage to do that for 2 of my eating days. I specifically did so, based on theories about fasting/feasting but my appetite didn’t send those signals and my stomach definitely didn’t enjoy it either. I have never found it so hard to over eat before!

Like most people here, I have read all the literature and watched all the videos including Jason Fung.

Fung has a theory, but there isn’t comprehensive science to back that up yet, so it shouldn’t be presented as fact just yet, but rather a very sound hypothesis. Whilst it has been supported by observations in his clinic. Fasting/feasting has yet to be rigorously tested or published. So much about keto, autophagy and fasting is still in its scientific infancy after decades of neglect by the scientific community. It makes sense to me, especially from an evolutionary perspective, and as the data and studies come in, it feels to me like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle revealing a bigger picture that makes a world of experiential sense… so I subscribe to the hypothesis and prepared to n=1 the shit out of it :wink:

(Raj Seth) #8

I apologize for not being clear in my post. I was not saying overeat or eat past satiety. Always eat to satiety. Just don’t count calories and limit yourself to whatever was calculated by someone. Eat to your body’s satiety signals. I do, and N=1, it’s working for me

(Ginger) #9

From my own reading, research and experience, there are benefits to over eating on occasions. If I eat to satiety on keto, I would always under eat. I over eat on occasion to fight against metabolic down regulation.

(Raj Seth) #10

Yeah. Like for the Feldman protocol. 5500 calories for 3 days. I was never as sick of eating!! Couldn’t wait to fast after!!!