I am doing an extended fast!

newbies
fasting
(Zachary Vasas) #1

Hello everyone! I’ve read a few posts here and decided to make an account. Last Friday (13th of October) I decided to start an extended fast. I want to fast for 21-28 days. My starting weight is 271lbs, and I want to reduce my body fat content. The true goal of the fast is to move from the fast into a ketogenic diet, using the fast to start fresh without my old cravings.

I just wanted to post here because there has been many people who have experience with long fasts and having your guided support would be really beneficial to my journey. This will be my first time doing a fast longer than 2 days, but I feel optimistic, since I’ve gone through the first 3.5 days without too much of a problem, I have managed my hunger cravings. Right now I am supplementing with sodium, potassium, and magnesium every 1-2 days.

I’ll probably update regularly. Thanks!

(Chris) #2

Nice! I am doing weekly 5 day fasts starting Sunday nights and going until Fridays. It’s working out fantastically for me and I think in a couple months I’ll be at my goal. Keto and fasting have so far netted me about 90lbs of fat loss. It’s hard, very hard at times, but if you can grit your teeth through cravings and realize they are temporary or false, you can succeed.

I will caution you to be as strict as you can manage with keto, and you’ll have the results you want sooner than you think. STRICT!

(Zachary Vasas) #3

Thank you so much! I do want to be strict with keto, I have been doing a lot of research about keto, definitely on the cooking side of it. The hard part is that my family is not planning on doing keto, so I’ll have to work around that, but I’m learning how to control my cravings through fasting right now, and I should be able to resist non-keto foods. So, as long as I’m adamant about keto afterwards it’ll hopefully work out.

(Chris) #4

Yeah that’s a big, and common, challenge. I feel you there. I’m buying for 2 families right now it feels like sometimes!

(Dawn) #5

Congratulations!!! You are already a winner. The cool thing about fasting is that you can just stop when you get sick of it. LOL! I will give you some minor advice (not a Dr)

  1. If you haven’t already, you may want to consult a Dr., longer fasts can be a bit more taxing, especially if you are on medications
  2. You may need to add a good quality multiple vitamin and some fish oils
  3. When you come off of the fast, go straight into keto. Be very very careful with your refeed. Dr. Fung talks more about this and explains how refeeds after a longer fast can be tricky if not done correctly. We want you to be healthy. So please research how to come off of an extended fast heathily (is that a word?)

You can do this! We are all very proud of you and inspired. I can’t even get past 3 days. But I do plan to attempt 30 full days of fasting during Lint. We will see how that goes. Good Luck =0)

(Dawn) #6

How long have you been fasting and how long did it take to lose the weight?

(Zachary Vasas) #7

Thank you so much! Reading comments like yours really make me happy that I’m working on this. Luckily I am not on any medications right now, but I definitely agree, I do need to consult a doctor about this just to be safe. I did forget to add in the original post that I am taking a multivitamin alongside the electrolyte stuff. I bought Dr. Fung’s “The Complete Guide to Fasting”, so I may learn new things from there. Thank you for the inspiring comment!

(Dawn) #8

Awesome. If you aren’t taking any medications, things should go more smoothly. Please check in with us every week or so and let us know how it is going. We will cheer you on!!!

(Chris) #9

I started in or around February, between 235 and 245 pounds if I had to guess, with one meal a day at lunch consisting of 8 breakfast sausage links with a pile of cheddar cheese and a fully-packed grass-tasting kale shake. Lost about 40lbs over 2 months or so. Then I found out about extended fasting and the benefits taken from that, so in April ish, I began with 2 days and ramped up to 5 days. This got me down to 150 pounds where I have maintained. Since then I switched it up to multiple short fasts throughout a given week, and eating zero carb / carnivorous only on the weekends.

And now I am further pushing fat loss (while maintaining body weight) by doing 4-5 day fasts through the week, and eating within 4-6 hour windows on the weekends. A couple more months of this and I’ll be at a bodyfat level I am happy with (hoping for 10-12%). After that, I plan to continue to use fasting as a health tool and eat zero carb indefinitely. If I do not end up doing regular 5 day fasts, I will still integrate them into my life as a cancer prevention tool, something that was mentioned by Dr. Fung on one of the old fasting talk podcasts (or actually, Jimmy Moore might have brought it up).

Right now aside from the obvious goal of further fat loss, I’m working on muscle and strength gain as well. I believe the recomposition is working nicely. I have a progress thread and photos in the n=1 category.

(Dawn) #10

I am so impressed with you. Congrats to you. Thanks for being an inspiration. You guys who can fast for multiple days are amazing. the most I can accomplish is 3 days. My full focus right now is on losing weight with keto but I do Fasting for health. =0)

(Chris) #11

Thank you for the kind words!!! Don’t sell yourself short though, 3 day fasting shows you’re no slouch. It’s not a race by any means, and you’re making some seriously great positive health choices. Pat yourself on the back!

(Zachary Vasas) #12

One thing I’m definitely trying to get out of this is to be an inspiration to the friends so they can make more educated health choices, using my (hopeful) success as a backbone for their own experiences. Your comment alongside the others who have commented have truly made my day and are helping to solidify my resolve to complete this task. Your comments and feedback have been a true inspiration for me.

(Dawn) #13

I want so badly to be successful because I believe in this WOE. But I can’t go around “saving lives” until I have saved my own. I have been on keto for 44 days today and i have lost 25 pounds. I am at a bit of a plateau so hoping that my 3 day (currently on day 2) fast will help push me through. Even if I never lose another pound, I am no longer a slave to sugar. That alone has been worth every sacrifice

(Chris) #14

It can be done. My dad went keto and started fasting after some of my progress, he got off his BP meds pretty quick, cholesterol too. His best friend then started up and got off of 3 different T2D drugs. It can be done! It’s happening!

#15

I subscribe to the school of thought that believes excess fat accumulation is the result of hormones. So I am doing extended fasting to improve my insulin resistance and maintain my BMR. Weight loss is the result, a means of measuring the process.

I do extended fasting with occasional meal breaks. So far this month I’ve had 2 meals. So most days I’m fasting, but it’s occasionally interrupted by socal dictates. The meals are always a d hoc, allowing me to be flexible as needed, rather than “that person”. The meal (it’s always a dinner) isn’t designed to compensate for lost calories, it may not even be keto, it’s whatever is being served on the occasion. I don’t expect to go more than a couple of weeks without a meal, nor do I expect to eat more frequently than once a week, on average. Instead of OMAD, maybe this could be called OMAW…

My extended fast is clear liquid, not water only. I drink liqiuds flavored with artifical sweeteners, homemade lemonade, carbonated water, etc. Most nights, while my family eats dinner, I sip broth made made from bullion. These are probably not ideal, but it helps meet my goal of downing a gallon of liquid every day.

I also take supplements (that have minimal but not zero calories). All told, my fasting days are ~100 calories. I measure my blood ketones daily, and try to stay above 3 mmol (for therapeutic not nutritional reasons).

I think of extended fasting as a tool, used temporarily, not a way of life. I’m losing >5% of my body weight per month. If that rate continues, I’ll only be doing this for a few months. Whatever dietary changes I may make, I plan to stay in ketosis for the rest of my life because of all the health benefits associated with this state.

(Dawn) #16

This is amazing! I have so many questions. What was your SW? Where is your weight now. Have you had issues with constipation, coldness, lethargy? Are you male or female? I’m curious to know how this works with the female body

#17

I’m female, 5’9 and shrinking. The first reading on my scale was 232 lbs. That was 52 days ago, today’s reading was 207. The first few weeks I was eating keto, I’ve only been fasting for about a month. There’s been no decrease of energy. I do my normal activities of daily living, which includes going to the gym. I have occasional episodes of lightheadedness which are transient (my normal BP is 90/60 so if it drops by 20 points…). No constipation, stools are infrequent, small, loose and watery. It’s hard to be cold when it’s 85°F outside :slight_smile:

(Doug) #18

Very nice. :slightly_smiling_face: Amazing - in less than 2 months - this stuff really works! Agree with you that hormones may be making all the difference, and that high insulin levels and insulin resistance are the culprit for many of us.

(Dawn) #19

You are fascinating to me and totally inspirational. Two last questions, do you worry about gaining the weight back? Have you suffered any hair loss or anything? I want to badly to do this. I need to get weight off fast in order to save my knees. I started at 256 and now down to 232 in 44 days. But I need to get below 200. Then I can start slowing down. My knee is strong enough to handle weight below 200, but suffering above. Are you being supervised by a Dr? I am soooo intrigued and I totally want to try this. I am finishing up a 3 day fast right now and then i am going to refeed for 1 1/2 days and go right into the Zorn fast. Thank you so much for the inspiration. You ROCK

#20

I enjoy the spirit of this forum. We’re here to encourage, support and inspire each other.

I know that I will not gain the weight back because I’ve addressed the issues that caused the weight gain. It’s all in the mind.

I have not had hair loss or any other ill effects. I also haven’t experienced any of the miraculous healings that others report can come from extended fasting.

I’m am not doing this under a doctor’s supervision. That is one of the reasons​ why I decided not to do an uninterrupted 3-4 month fast. I am not fasting for medical reasons. So I’m willing to forgo some of the benefits associated with completely shutting down the GI system, in exchange for reduced risk of electrolyte imbalances, cardiac muscle metabolism, refeeding syndrome, etc. Of course, I could be all wrong. Perhaps one meal a week isn’t sufficient to replenish anything and all I’m doing is interrupting apotosis, HGH spikes, autophagy, and other benefits associated with extended fasting. I’m not an expert, I dunno anything… Perhaps this is a question for Dr. Fung.