Many, many, many observations of people on Twitter. For instance, Dr. Ted Naiman discourages fasting. If you look at him, you can see why.
Also, just from my perspective. As I’ve gotten thinner, it’s been harder for me to fast.
When I was 50+ pounds heavier, a 4.5 day fast was easy. I could even exercise twice during that time.
Now, a 4.5 day fast is difficult, and I do not exercise at all.
And I think for a lot of us, there is no such thing as “eating normally” or “following your body”, as that’s how we got to be so overweight. If I followed my body, I’d eat ice cream every day.
sorry ctv, you became a lost cause here in my eyes about real growth about nutrition and more for me, you are you only and only you exist and a few ‘facebook or whatever’ useless posts as backup…not a scrap given to others really…bleck…ugh and another ugh.
can’t even chat this crap out truly, sorry I am out on this convo! over and out. Done!
@Fangs - Opinions will differ, and that doesn’t mean that any ONE of them is correct in the end, no more then it means they are all wrong. I believe the OP’s question was in regards to if it was common for one to be overly hungry after breaking a Fast, not whether Fasting should be done.
Fasting is simply another choice, (for some) and is in no way different than someone who runs around yelling I’m a Carnivore, or I’m a Vegan, or I’m a Vegetarian. … They are ALL personal choices and none of them will suit everyone in the same manner, for obvious reasons, and shouldn’t.
But regardless of ones choice, or someone else’s thoughts on those choices, please keep comments from being snarky back toward other members who may have a difference of opinion.
I don’t see what I did wrong. I’m merely stating what I see. And, if you want to see it, I could search my Twitter feeds and find the same Tweets by the same people.
Are there thin people who can fast a while? Sure. How many of those? Not nearly as many as who can fast while being fatter.
Of course, the whole Gary Taubes idea of the “starving fat man” comes into play here, which is that if you can’t access your fat for fuel, you’re not going to do well fasting, regardless of the amount of fat you have. You still need a lot of calories even while fasting, and if you can’t access those, you’re toast.
Makes me wonder. There’s an “insulin resistance” that occurs over time on keto. Maybe that makes it harder to fast? Maybe this makes it such that you have less access to your fat stores, instead of more?
Hmm…interesting idea. Don’t recall ever seeing a study on that.
I don’;t understand what was the problem either…
And isn’t it a logical thing and a fact but thinner people usually can’t fast so well? Sure, a thin veteran is probably better than a fat average person and there are people who can do EF when thin and fat people who get super hungry quickly but in average, of course if we have less reserves, we can get less fat from it. There is even a formula that doesn’t work well for everyone but still, it’s has some base, we usually can’t get out very much energy per day from tiny fat reserves…
It’s just one factor, I could fast better on high-carb while being thinner but so many things were different then and it didn’t happen often anyway. Even now, fasting longer is way easier after carby days due to the bigger amount of food that keeps me satiated surprisingly long sometimes… But my fat reserves still matter to some extent, I am sure, I just never had them low so I have no experience about that.
And I never saw any hint of a forced, torturous fasting here…
But Fangs is against fasting. I like fasting as long as I don’t get hungry or tempted or need fuel (the latter often happens without any hunger)… I am against forced feeding when one eats every day even if they feel better without
Fortunately I never had problems with refeeding. I never got super hungry but that makes sense too, I suppose. Sometimes I needed very much food after skipping just my lunch, it wasn’t even a long fast…
Fasting is a lever you can use, but it’s not obligatory. Dr Fung sometimes admits a patient in danger of amputation and fasts them immediately for 7 days as a medical emergency (under hospital supervision i believe). This represses their insulin like nothing else, so it’s a good choice. Of course most people on here are not as metabolically unhealthy as that, but fasting is a tool for dropping insulin that many people find useful and even enjoy. It’s hard to describe to those who haven’t experienced it but fasting feels good. If it doesn’t then it’s probably a good reason to stop.
I still remember very clearly my first experiences of fasting- going from the anxiety and up down energy of the proficient carb eater to the serenity of ketones and inner calm in just a few days was an eye opening experience. These days I can’t really fast because I am one of those (that ctv mentioned?) who no longer has enough fat- so it’s not necessary for me either.
If someone is curious, just trying 24 hours can be good. It’s interesting to feel and observe the different kinds of hunger, if that’s your thing!
My experience is different. I fast 42hrs twice a week, and it is rare that I am hungry either during my fast or when I end it. My first meal is usually bacon and eggs, and after that I feel stuffed.
Some thoughts:
Is it possible you are actually thirsty and not hungry? You could test this by drinking 2 pints of water before you eat and see what happens.
Are you getting salt while on your fast? Is it possible the meal is triggering a salt craving?
How long has it taken you to drop that weight? BTW, well done on that, you must feel great! If your weight loss has been fast it is possible your body is in starvation mode like others have suggested. If so, then maybe keeping the fasting within a day is right for you right now. For sure, you should be listening carefully to what your body is telling you.
Never forget your head! :)) When I binge after a fast its not because I am hungry - I tell myself that I am but actually I stopped being hungry sometime early in the binge.
No, its my head playing all the pictures of all the things I like to eat and can eat now because I waited for so long and honestly: I earned it! So I keep on eating because I like eating and I did not do it for 2 or 3 days. If I just stop and make myself aware of what is happening I can jump out of it quite easily. And sometimes I decide I dont want to
I dont think saying that with an extended fast you starve your body. You dont. You probably carry enough stored energy to go without food for many more days. What you do is forcing it to tap into a different pathway of getting energy and provide for other needs. If not eating for 2 days would be starving I do not believe humans would still walk on this planet.
Well, if you define starving as the absence of eating then you are starving. But I see it as the prolonged absence of supply that cannot be replaced by the body itself. Starving is a situation where you die when you do not get food. Quite severe. Fasting in an industrialized country cannot be starving. My 2 cents
Update.
Last week I went on a 72 hour fast and felt great during and after. When I broke my fast I ate but I didn’t eat much.I felt great the next day. If I remember I had Pork Belly, sauerkraut, eggs and olives. The next day no issues. Had all the energy in the world. Got a lot of yard work done. I ate one meal that day.
This week i went on a 48 hour fast. At the end I ate a cup a tallow,1.5 cups of Pork belly and 8 oz of sirloin steak. Also, had 2 Michelob ultras. Didn’t feel any different. Woke up at 4:00 and had my Black coffee and felt great. By 6:00 am I was getting tired. Made it to work. But, felt run down. I had no energy. Sat down most of the morning. I Drank 2@16.9 oz. of water and 2 big pinches of salt. At 12:00 I had 2 cans sardines in EVOO and EVOO salmon and more water and another pinch of salt. I am just starting to feel “normal”. A lot more like my self.
I “think” I did nothing out of the ordinary to prepare for the fast. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I did not have enough fat and/or protein to do my 48 hour fast. On the 72 hour fast made it point to have plenty of both but not over do it. Maybe I was lacking in Salt for the 48 fast.
Next month I will do it again. I will do a much better job of keeping a log of what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat.
2 things I have noticed during the fast all my fast:
the first 24 hours are hard. After that it gets easier.
