I've decided to take a break from extended fasting

fasting

(Laurie) #21

I’ve had a similar experience.

About a month ago I did a few twice-weekly 44-hour fasts. It wasn’t hard, and mostly I felt good. But it was difficult to do my daily exercises on Day 2 of the fast; I just ran out of steam. Also, the fasting took a teeny bit of mental effort, and I just don’t need any extra challenges in the winter.

Maybe I’ll try again when the weather improves and the days get longer. For now, I’m back to 20/4 intermittent fasting, which seems fine most of the time.


(Bob M) #22

The problem is that the scale is a really poor indicator, especially for small amounts of weight loss/gain. I’ve had multiple times (one just recently) where the scale did not move or went up, but I lost a belt hole and my pants fit better.

I also had to stop fasting for a while, as I was getting cold all the time.

Other things to try: no sweets (personally, I never have anything sweet unless I schedule it, such as for Christmas); go dairy free for a while. For me, sweets just make me want to eat more. The most I do now is 85% chocolate, which to me tastes like dirt. Dairy is tricky. I’ve both used and not used dairy, and I find it hard to tell whether I’m affected by it. It’s another possibility, though.

When I started out, I ate a lot of fat. Lots of it: fat bombs, butter and coconut oil in my coffee, butter on my steak, fatty processed meats, etc. Now, I rarely eat any of that. I also drain my ground beef (gasp!) and eat “95% fat-free!” ham. So, you can also try to decrease your fat (which means increasing your protein) to see what happens.

I recommend doing one of these things at once, otherwise you can’t tell what’s going on.


(Leo Whitlock) #23

what app is that?


(Running from stupidity) #24

I think it’s CarbManager?

It’s one of the apps people use before they discover Cronometer :slight_smile:


(KetoQ) #25

Hi Rachelg –

From early July thru early Oct I fasted beginning with the conclusion of Wed dinner (10pm) until Sat am/noonish. It was roughly 55-60 hours of fasting every week.

And like you, I made some great progress with weight loss which made it all worth it. I took a break in Oct that corresponded with a trip. And then I got a cold on my return. And then the weather changed here in Chicago and my outdoor activities came to a stop. I had developed a number of good healthy habits then life happened. So I decided to give fasting a break so I could recover from the cold and give myself a mental break from fasting.

If you’re like me, you’ll more or less maintain. You may also treat yourself food wise in ways you haven’t let yourself over the past few months. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But be careful that it doesn’t trigger you back to your old ways.

Enjoy the holidays then get back to your successful routine Jan 1. Also, while you’re not fasting, you may want to try to up your activity level as a counter balance, whether that be walking or hitting the gym, or even joining the bodyweight squat challenge group we have on this board.

Good luck,
Q


#26

It is cronometer.


#27

Thanks for your response! We’re planning a fully keto Christmas so no temptations there. I love to cook and especially bake, so I’m most looking forward to cheesecake with caramel sauce, and a chocolate candy cane Swiss roll. And my desserts will be going to two different Christmas dinners, so I won’t have tons of leftovers taunting me from the fridge :slight_smile:


(Leo Whitlock) #28

Thank you


#29

Two weeks into my break and I’m back with another update. My weight has stayed a steady 163 for the past several days, except for one day that it inexplicably dropped to 155 and then was back to 163 the next day. Considering it was Christmas this week and I went up to ~50-70 carbs a couple days, I’m incredibly pleased!

I’ve decided to continue not fasting for now. I’m still reliably hungry 2-3x a day so I’m not going to push it. I would like to lose another 20-30 pounds by June, when we’re going on our epic 10th anniversary trip, so I’ll have to get back on the fasting wagon sooner or later.

As always, many thanks for the support and advice!


#30

Almost 4 weeks update!

I’ve been feeling ready to start another fast, so the last few days I feasted A LOT. I’ve also been trying to up my protein. Yesterday I had BPC for breakfast and a pork chop for lunch; dinner was 4 keto chicken tacos, plus a little salad with more chicken; and cheesecake fluff for dessert. It was so much food, but my chicken tacos are pretty darn irresistible.

After bouncing around 161-165 some more, I’ve been losing the last few days, and this morning I was down to 159.3.

I am now fasting with the goal of 48 hours, but I’ll listen to my body and end it early if need be.

I also had my annual checkup and got labs done, and they looked fantastic. They didn’t do an A1c but my fasting blood glucose was 83, which I’m very happy with. The women in my family are highly prone to diabetes, which is one of the reasons I began keto in the first place.


#31

First fast went very well! I didn’t experience any excessive coldness and very little hunger overall, even when I smelled the bacon my husband was cooking. I actually ended it at 42 hours, since 48 would’ve had me eating dinner at 10pm, but I accomplished what I’d hoped to!

I actually ended up doing a second fast this week as well - I know, I know, I had meant to ease back into a fasting schedule. But we were supposed to have dinner with family at chick fil a Thursday, and I’m cheap and don’t really find their keto offerings a good value for the money, so I decided to fast through it. Ended up fasting about 28 hours total. This time I did feel extra cold, but didn’t have much hunger, so it was all good.

I weighed in at 157.2 this morning, which is fabulous! My plan going forward is to aim for one 48h fast a week, a few days of IF, and feasting on the weekends. But I’m more confident now that if I feel the need to fast less often, I’ll be just fine!


#32

this is so inspiring! great job :slight_smile: