I want to try fasting for one day for the first time but im a little nervous.
Any tips? What do i do with myself for 24 hours without eating??? I feel like ill want to eat out of boredom.
Also i heard a little bit about fasting and then feasting in the podcast. Can someone point me in the right direction for more information on that?
Dr. Jason Fung has a great series ( and book) on dietdoctor.com, but when I first started fasting, I started with 12 hours, then next increased to 16, and so on.
One thing that REALLY helped me was drinking bouillon with my coffee all day. It has the sodium that keeps the headaches away, and keeps the belly a little full. Also drink water as well.
I try to have special projects lined up, or a really good book, or something like that to really get into. Even work projects help. Paint a room. Learn a new craft. Whatever!
FEAST before your fast and keep yourself busy. It’ll be over before you know it. You go to bed hungry and make up satiated. It’s great.
I agree with @MiKetoAF Fasting is an animal unto itself. Hunger for me seems to come in waves when I fast. You just have to ride it out and it passes surprisingly quickly (10-15mins), not some prolonged, agonizing ordeal. I just nosh on salt crystals or busy myself with other crap non-food related. It’s Amazing how much stuff you can accomplish when you aren’t focused on food. It’s also true that you wake up satiated. Bizarre but True!
Fairly new to Keto and new to the forum, but loving both so far!
Like Ryan I’m developing an interest in fasting.
I ordered the Fung book on fasting- but it hasn’t arrived yet. I listened to several you tube videos about it.
I’m curious about the Feasting part.
Do you eat all your calories for the day in one setting? Do you keep your macro percentages the same?
Would you give us an example of one of your typical fasts
Thanks!!
All of the above…yes to the salt crystals, those are so helpful to keep hunger at bay, to sort of appease that need for flavor, but not create a need to feed.
I think the bullion is a real win too, as long as you can get the hot water to make some up whenever you’re feeling that desire. This is a little more like “eating” to me though because of the whole “soup” idea…?
But mostly, just drinking loads of water and staying busy, busy, busy.
I haven’t had a very difficult time unless I let my head get in the way. It’s really a mental game, as long as the water and salt are well maintained.
I also worked my way up to a couple of days and then 3…then 6 for the last fast. Just do what you can and try not to overthink it 
Best wishes for a fasting success!
Fungus books and videos are excellent as is Megan Ramos videos. Pink salt to help through hunger waves. Hunger has both physical and psychological components. You can usually relax and ignore it knowing the phase will go away in 15-30 minutes. The more you fast the better you get at it.
All that said, fasting gets easier when you’re fat adapted. You can tell when you’re fat adapted when you no longer are snacky and can ignore a meal without really being stressed.
I IF’d then extended IF. Then 36 hr… and more from there. It’s not starvation. If you cut it short you can always try again to extend it a bit longer the next time. Practice makes perfect! Nothing to be concerned about.
Good questions.
I’ve decided to fast today. I will post about how it goes.
I do one meal a day intermittent fasting every day, with some exceptions now and then.
Yes, I eat all my calories in a single meal. Could be 1600, could be 2400, I don’t really track. I make whatever I think will fill me up and keep me full until the next day which is sometimes more, sometimes less.
I keep my macros the same as I would eating more often, but again I don’t really track. I know what I can eat and what I can’t and that’s based on carb content. How often or how much I eat doesn’t really change that.
I do this more for convenience than anything. Eating one meal per day saves me the time and effort it takes to come up with and make food and allows me to put more effort into the one meal I do make. I don’t care much about getting to 24 hours every day and might very well go over or under as my schedule allows. Since I’m mainly doing it for convenience I don’t have any qualms about eating outside of the planned meal if hunger becomes inconvenient enough that the balance shifts, which sometimes can happen.
Honestly fasting for 24 hours is really no big deal if you’re used to it. If you’re not used to fasting it can be hard, but it’s really all in your brain. I don’t say that to trivialize it, your brain is a rather critical part of you, but rather to say that the rest of your body doesn’t really care all that much about that short of a fasting period. The only things making it hard are the way you’re hyping it up in your head and the hunger if you’re not used to going that long without eating.
I didn’t say it was hard i’ve just never tried it 
I’m trying today though so we will see how it goes. 
Ha ha! Thanks for posting that! Makes a lot of sense- and I get what you mean about convenience.
Aside from convenience are most people using fasting for say- weight loss, improvement in metabolic parameters, gastrointestinal rest, or feel better doing it. Maybe some or all of the above?
Thanks.
Weight loss, basal insulin level, endurance athletic performance is an expected side benefit when I near my goal weight.
I know one of the claims that made IF popular is that it could improve insulin sensitivity, and I think there are many that do it for that reason. It’s the same with extended fasting which I think is why that too has become more popular lately. Fasting is sort of the ultimate ketogenic diet in that regard. I know in extended fasting circles there are many that do it mainly for weight loss, and many that do it mainly to “fix” themselves, which could range from some specific metabolic function they have in mind to more woowoo reasons like “detoxing”. Another popular reason is putting some perspective on their mentality and habits regarding food.
Not every reason people fast is equally valid. In the keto community it does seem to be fairly grounded with expected effects that are reflected in science or reliable anecdotes, and it is viewed more as a tool instead of something less mundane. Outside of keto there’s a higher possibility you run into some more sketchy stuff.
His blog https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/ also has posts going back to 2013. Along with the 2 Keto Dudes podcasts there is a LOT of good information there.
Sure. I mainly IF 20:4 occasionally 18:6. So basically I eat from 3-7 or 2-8. I don’t go crazy but I don’t count anything. Carbs are minimal, protein is moderate and fat is whatever I want until I don’t. I had good results losing weight this way. More recently though I’ve adopted an ADF, or alternate day fast. Basically I would eat on Sunday. A good amount of food throughout the day, but not “snacking”. Just 2-3 solid meals with lots of fat. I then fast Monday, and eat lunch and dinner on tuesday, fast Wed, eat lunch and dinner Thurs…etc. Most weeks I ADF I stop after Thursday. So really it’s 2 days of fasting 5 days of eating a week. I like my weekends to eat. Just another tool in the shed. I’ll share some results below.
So its about 11:50am here and the last time i ate was around 9pm yesterday. So far ive only drank 1 tea.
Its interesting as i dont feel hungry the way i normally would. I do have a slight headache. Ive caught myself thinking about food and/or planning meals but then i just remind myself that i’m not eating today.
I’m going to drink some boullion now and another tea. I bought some gum to chew but i suspect it will just make me hungry.
Sounds like you’re handing things well, Ryan. We’re all different but the “I’m not eating today” thing is right on.
