January 2018 IF/EF chat - all welcome

(Jennifer) #266

The 3rd is my one year ketoversary and I’m ending it by fasting. I’m going to try and lose a few more pounds to end the year at 90 pounds down. Starting tonight…

(Jeanne Wagner) #267

@Canuck that’s the plan, keep doing it. I’m glad you found Keto too. :smile:

(Jeanne Wagner) #268

Ok so I broke my 72 hour fast at 76 hours. I was going to keep on going but a couple things stopped me. 1) since the beginnin of this fast I have felt on edge and couldn’t focus, 2) constipation discomfort, 3) I went to a birthday dinner tonight with family and I didn’t want to be the only one sitting there not eating, just sipping water. I was not concerned I would get hungry. I really have been just fine hunger-wise days 2 & 3.

I have a very busy week at work this week and I just coudln’t afford to be in that distracted unfocused state. I was in it all day Friday and I got jack done. Has anyone had this issue?

Day 2 I woke up and had the funky breath, which I think means I was in ketosis. That lasted all of day 2 and 3. After I have eaten the breath seems to be normal again. I did this kind of on a whim and I had no idea that my local Walmart/Walgreens had the pee strips. I know they are not all that reliable from what everyone says, but I figured I’d give it a shot. I want to get a breath machine, but unsure which one to get.

I broke my fast with 1 chicken thigh with the skin on, about 1/4 c black beans with small squares of onion in it, and 3 small bowls of salad: lettuce (‘field greens’), black olives, mushrooms, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Kokoman Ginger dressing, I couldn’t help but eat after 7 pm, but I think we were done no later than 7:30 pm. I am more than full. Still at almost 11 pm. Even thinking of food makes me feel queasy.

All in all I think a successful first 3-day fast. I’ll be doing it again this weekend most likely, and intermittent fasting during the week. I’m sure that will be the way I eat from now on. No less than 16 hrs and up to 24 hrs.

(KCKO, KCFO) #269

You are off to a great start. That unfocused feeling is a sign you need more, wait for it…

SALT

Being in ketosis you need a lot more salt that you ever dreamed of, it controls the other goodies, like potassium and magnesium.

And for the :poop: magnesium citrate will do wonders along with coffee with coconut oil in it. I found too much fiber only made things much worse. So easy on the fiber for a while.

(Jeanne Wagner) #270

@collaroygal thanks for those tips. Is magnesium citrate a different substance thatn simply “Magnesium?” I am taking a magnesium supplement at night. It’s a Walmart brand supplement. I took 2 pills once and didn’t have any bowel movements for 2 days. Not fun. So much salt! I have a block with salt… I used to get super bad headaches if I ate too much salt…at least that is what we think was the culprate. Also I had borderline high blood pressure and I got afraid of salt from that too. I have been taking pure salt but obviously not enough.

(KCKO, KCFO) #271

I get liquid magnesium citrate, available at most pharmacy dept. Our King Sooper grocery pharamacy has the best price around, Target has it as well as Walgreens and CVS drug stores. You might find Brenda’s ketoaide recipe helpful

(Liz ) #272

Ok you guys, finally having my first black coffee morning! I’m such a wimp lol. I used some Redmond’s real salt, high quality coffee and a French press. It’s fine, not too bitter. It’s just not how I like my coffee, you know?

I wouldn’t have any at all if I wasn’t so addicted. If I skipped it I’d get a 3-day migraine. I used to drink tea in the mornings but unless I added collagen to counteract the tannins, it would turn my stomach. But collagen is protein so that would ruin my IF worse than fats might.

But I’m so interested to see how my fasting goes without that 2 tbs of butter in my coffee every morning. Will I feel hungry? Will I lack energy? Will the scale budge? Tonight I’ll break my weekly 46 hour fast at dinner. I’m curious to try black coffee all week while I IF & see if my weight responds.

If my big meal of the day was lunch, I’d go on using delicious fats in my morning coffee, but since I eat at around 1 or 2 and again at 6pm, I’m not sure I’m getting all the 19:5 IF benefits using 200 calories of fat at 6 am every day. I’m sure everybody responds differently. Time to do my n=1 on fats during a fast.

(Allie) #273

@LizinLowell I have caffeine tablets for the mornings of fast days as I just can’t do black coffee. I don’t mind the taste, but it irritates my bladder issues and causes pain - the odd cup here and there is OK, but not a regular option. Caffeine addiction is real but it’s my only vice to I’ll hold onto it :joy:

(Liz ) #274

Good idea!! I’ll keep a watch on if the black coffee does me wrong…Sounds like you totally understand, ugh!

#275

@EyesWideOpen

There are several kinds of magnesium. Here’s what a ND taught me:

Magnesium OXIDE is not good for you in that it is terribly difficult to absorb. It is the cheapest so most often found in supplements.
Magnesium CITRATE: great for loosening the bowels.
Magnesium GYLCINATE: great for all things magnesium but will not loosen the bowels to the degree that citrate does.
Magnesium STEARATE: stay away from this, it is considered toxic and not from magnesium at all. It is also very cheap and so used in supplements of a lower quality.

(What The Fast?!) #276

I take a citrate/malate combo and throw in glycinate sometimes too. Granted, I still have :poop: issues so not sure if that’s helpful or not. :rofl: When I make keto-aide, I add a lot more mag citrate than the recipe calls for as well.

(Jeanne Wagner) #277

@elaine1 good to know, thank you!!

(Jun Yutuc) #278

Greetings everyone!

Ill be joining the IF/EF bandwagon. The longest I have lasted was 25 hours before breaking my fast but it was intentionally since I was on my day off, I didnt feel the need of eating until I did my day 01 in the gym after several years.

My question here is, if you guys do EF more than 24 hours, do you just stay home and do nothing or you do it too on workdays? How about working out in the gym during an EF? Is it healthy or safe for a beginner?

(Allie) #279

EF is over 48 hours, below that is generally regarded as IF.
When I’ve done EF it’s been Weds, Thurs, Fri and at work as normal. Sometimes IF Mon & Tues, also at work. I don’t fast at all on weekends.

Normally gym is fine as normal, but I’ve discovered fasting and leg day aren’t a good mix for me.

(What The Fast?!) #280

Hi there! I find that each fast is a little different, but when I feel good, I continue my workouts (from yoga to HiiT) during multi-day fasts without issue.

(Ivete C) #281

I tend do 5 day water and black coffee only fasts … and can still manage a few weight lifting sessions and also walk quite a lot outside :+1:t2:

(Justin Jordan) #282

54 hours in out of 72.

That’s just water, green tea and black coffee. And salt. No artificial sweeteners, fats, etc.

My blood sugar has been remarkably steady. I’m a type two diabetic, and a week ago I cut back from Glipizide and Metformin (itself a step down from that plus insulin) - on that combo, I actually had truly normal blood sugar except for dawn phenomenon - I’d cruise at 85 to 90, and 110 to 115 in the morning. Which was good. So my pancreas is clearly capable of producing enough insulin to manage my blood sugar.

So I cut back, hoping that reducing my overall insulin load would be lower and I could reduce my insulin resistance. I expected a rise in blood sugar, and indeed, that’s what happened. Not super high - mostly around 130, sometimes a bit higher in the morning, a bit lower after I exercise.

None of that was surprising. What IS a little surprising is that the fast hasn’t really affected my blood sugar at all. Essentially identical. I don’t necessarily expect a quick change in my insulin resistance from a relatively short fast, but I did expect it to drop my blood sugar some more. And I’ve got eighteen hours, so maybe tomorrow will be different.

Apparently my liver is very good at gluconeogenesis.

*Well to me, anyway I can’t say about you.

(Justin Jordan) #283

72 hours completed last night.

No real change in blood sugar. Still 129 this morning.

(Allie) #284

Could be your body burning through pockets of glucose stored in your bodyfat. This was talked about on the Fasting Talk podcast.

(What The Fast?!) #285

Hey fam! Wrapped up my fast early by breaking it last night at 49 hours (I was going for 100 hours, but I wanted to work out today and had very little energy on my fast this go round). Had dinner last night, worked out this morning at 6AM, ate breakfast (bacon, eggs, cheese, avocado, olive oil, coffee w/1/2T MCT oil - super fatty meal) and started a new 48+ hour fast. I’ll do a bike ride this afternoon and I’ll break Friday either with breakfast or lunch. I’m traveling tomorrow so should be an easy day of fasting.

Happy fasting!