I am fasting starting 29th November

(Tim Cee) #1

I missed the group fast with COVID and now I have some lingering asthma. November has been a long month for me so I’m trying to get back in the groove.

1st day went well.

2nd day, mild adaptation symptoms. I’m also quitting caffeine.

TBC.

(Bob M) #2

You’re fasting and quitting caffeine and just had covid? And have lingering asthma?

That sounds like a lot.

How long is the fast? There’s some confusion as to when or if your immune system takes a hit with fasting.

(Robin) #3

Good luck! Giving up coffee too!? An endurance medal is waiting…

(Tim Cee) #4

Not more than 14 days but we’ll see. The reason is I’ve seen somewhere a documentary that mentions a clinic that uses a fourteen day water fast for asthma. In my experience, ketosis helps with some asthma. I’m not sure that COVID asthma and allergic asthma are the same. It might not make a difference. Regarding the immune system, I should be clear of the infection by now so fasting should be no worse for me in that regard. I’ve done many shorter extended fasts without problems. I’ll not go beyond what feels okay.

(UsedToBeT2D) #5

Good for you. My wife managed 12 days awhile back. My longest has been 4 days. Keep us posted.

(Tim Cee) #6

Starting day 3. Caffeine headache is mostly subsided and my hands were not numb when I woke up for the first time in two weeks. Progress on the asthma is unclear. I had a pinch of table salt yesterday evening just to alleviate carb withdrawals. I’m feeling optimistic about the fast and ready to keep going.

(Bob M) #7

I don’t believe they are. For me, asthma is more of an inflammation thing, caused a lot by wheat. I only got asthma rarely, but once I stopped eating wheat, it went away. (I can’t blame it solely on wheat, since I also stopped eating a lot of other stuff. But if I eat something like pizza, I can get asthma-like symptoms that disappear again.)

As for covid, this is much more dangerous:

Will fasting help? I’m hopeful, but don’t know. I can guarantee there are zero studies on this.

(Tim Cee) #8

Thank you for the links. I have allergic and exercise induced asthma since early childhood. The lung aspect feels different with the COVID asthma. It’s a sharper sensation. Even if fasting doesn’t help with the covid asthma, at least it will help in other ways like inflammation, hypertension, and autophagy(sp?). It will be an interesting observation if it helps with covid asthma too.

(Tim Cee) #9

Woke up a little early today. I think fasting has affected my ability to sleep. Rationalizing that if I were starving at large, I’d need one eye open to watch for an opportunity to eat something going by. In this case I have plenty of food available. Hunger seems to be in rolling cycles but never overwhelming. BP is improving. I don’t have a way to weigh at the moment so I might not end up getting any data on that. Asthma is unchanged. Hands not numb when I woke up second day in a row. Not sure if I this is because inflammation in the carpal is better or if I’m keeping my hands straight at night because I’m sleeping with half an eye open. My energy feels okay so far but muscles burn earlier with exercise—Glycogen stores depleted I suspect. Work performance unaffected near as I can tell.

(Robin) #10

You’re like a talking Petri Dish. I like watching as you experiment and report back. (And yes, I did have to google how to spell petri.)

(Bob M) #11

That happens to me, many times. Often, though, I remain energized during the day. I think it’s hormones.

(Robin) #12

I think life is hormones. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

(Michael) #13

Good luck in your fast Tim. I want to go for a 14 day fast sometime soon, but not right now :slight_smile: Keep us updated on your progress!

(Tim Cee) #14

Hands feeling definitely better this morning as I enter day five. Lungs are feeling better today as well, although it’s too soon know if that’s a solid trend. It could also be time since infection as much the fasting. Bp 133/79 71bpm

So far the most difficult day was day two. Since I wasn’t in ketosis when I started I had some glucose withdrawals as well as caffeine withdrawals. I’m over that hump. I’m still feeling hungry, but the hunger isn’t growing in intensity—it’s tolerable. Also I don’t feel any of the popularly predicted faintness, weakness, etc. My experience is, that stuff is a sugar crash not hunger.

I miss food. I think the next couple days will be a real challenge since I will be home and tempted to eat socially. However my family supports my goal so I will have positive influence to help me along.

#15

Insomnia/poor sleep is one of the drawbacks of fasting and is due to the counter-regulatory hormones, which folks have alluded to. There is no real way around this.

I would tend to keep up electrolytes using pink salt, low salt, magnesium, etc, or a good supplement (powder with no fillers). And, of course, water (I prefer sparkling).

I have, what one doctor termed, chronic rhinitis, which means my nasal passages are seldom both clear. This improves drastically when on my diet is on point and when I fast. It goes the other way when I eat crap or drink too much coffee.

Good luck with your quest. I think there is real mileage in periodic longer fasts.

(Tim Cee) #16

Another mileage point in extended fasts might be reducing the risk of cancer. I don’t know if this has been verified scientifically. It seems cancer cells depend on glucose for growth. Given all the nasty stuff in the environment, it seems like it’s worth a try—especially since there really doesn’t seem to be a significant downside. Personally this is not the imminent health concern of interest for me. But it’s worth mentioning as part of the general discussion.

(Tim Cee) #17

Updating evening of day six. I got a scale yesterday so I’ll have weight data going forward. Yesterday was tough because I miss food more than just being hungry. I got home last night and made school morning breakfasts for the week. I watched a show with the kids and went to bed about nine thirty. I had a terrible dream that I interrupted my fast early with Doritos. I started taking a basic multivitamin on day five to reduce the risk of re-feeding syndrome. My weight day five is 200.2 (67” tall, male)

This morning, day six, my hands felt the best in a long time. So for some reason, fasting is helping with carpal tunnel syndrome. I feel overall a bit diminished but that might be because my blood pressure is in the normal range—which I am not used to. Today, I made breakfast for the family and sorted cans and bottles for my son’s soccer team fundraiser for three hours. I should point out that these leisurely activities are on top of my regular 57 hr work week. So bah humbug on the people who say I have to eat everyday.

Day six in numbers:
198.1 lbs
BP 111/75. (Wow)
Resting heart rate 76 bpm

Tomorrow I’m going fishing so I’ll probably post my next update Monday.

#18

yea and how we balance them and then torture them thru how we manipulate our lives on ‘a diet’.

so agree. We are hormone driven in every aspect of our lives. Not a doubt about that for me too!

(Tim Cee) #19

Ok folks. Nearing the end of day seven. I miss food. Also I just went fishing and brought home nice fish. I’m feeling like I might be done. Blood pressure is very much improved. A surprise, carpal tunnel health seems much improved. Asthma seems better but a ways to go. I’m thinking it might be better to go back to OMAD and sprinkle in some 3-5 day fasts a few times per year. Thoughts?

(Robin) #20

You’ll know what you need to do and when… as you are already listening to your body. Great job