January 2018 IF/EF chat - all welcome

(Liz ) #141

OMG thank you!! This information is super helpful!! I’ve been IFing daily & doing a 3 day fast once a month since October but my weight is basically the same now as it was Nov 1st.

I love the autophagy of longer fasts, I have extra skin I’d like to shrink. But right now I just want the morale boost of a nudge down on the scale. Even if I could just get down, like 3 pounds, and hold it for a few months it would keep my spirits up. It’s not like I’m ever going off Keto, I’m Keto for life. But I’m eager to be done with the weight loss part. Mostly this is a patience problem, I really need to chill LOL!!

The biggest complication keeping me from fasting more frequently is not hunger, it’s that I’m the cook for my husband. Logistics! He works long hours & I’m a self employed artist/crafter so I have more flexibility in my schedule. Plus I love to cook! Also I’m crazy about that guy & I love making sure he comes home to a tasty dinner. :heart: But I do not love to cook when I’m fasting, I’ve done it though. Meh.

So I figure if I start a fast after dinner Saturday night & cook again on Monday he only has to fend for himself one day & it’s a weekend so he has time if he wants to cook himself something.

As a final point about refeeds, I agree about revving the metabolism with lots of tasty Keto foods. I’m less alarmed now that I know I’m not the only one, lol @rustyk61 you describe accurately my Tasmanian devil approach to refeeds :rofl:

Thank you for your encouragement! I’ll let you know how the weekly fasts go. And I’m cheering you on in your fasts! :tada:

(Liz ) #142

I love Vora!

(Dawn) #143

I also have the issue of having to cook for a family while fasting. And some of my fasts are 14 days and I cook at least 12 of those days. It is hard. Sometimes I will end up “tasting” something and that taste can lead to a bite which can lead to a spoonful and so on and so on and next thing I know. …FAST OVER. I have now inadvertently done a IF.

SO one more trick that I would like to share. Since my fasts are well planned and carefully timed, I know when they are going to start and usually when they are going to end. I will meal prep a few meals during my eating phase and then pop them in the freezer. Plus if I cook while I am in the eating phase, a little snacking won’t hurt a thing (especially if it is a keto meal). Once the meals are prepped, I pop them in the freezer. I will make my husband put it in the oven to warm it up and I just stay away. I use the time to go soak in a magnesium lavender bath. I come back down later and we have our normal family conversation at that time. You can also get some good precooked dinners for the deli and the grocery store. Just some ideas. Hope they help. :grinning:

(Liz ) #144

Yes! Super helpful, as always. You are a TREASURE.

Since it’s just two of us I’ve never prepped much but it definitely seems worth it for fasting days. I don’t like to make him eat alone so I do hang out with him while he eats which is not at all hard like cooking something I like!!

Honestly I love my Keto cooking so much, he eats & enjoys my Keto dinners too even though he is not Keto, just lowish carb, that I think I’d be super sad to make him one of our favorite meals & not be able to eat it.

One solution is he makes his chili which lasts days & which I wouldn’t eat anyway because it’s full of beans, Another is I make 3 portions of something we eat together then the leftover is his dinner on my fasting night and I haven’t missed out.

Ugh it’s totally psychology at this point!! But I respect the mind & its quirks & I work to find methods that solve these issues. I’m dogged! I’ve got to get my insulin down low enough to burn this bodyfat & fasting is the answer.

(KCKO, KCFO) #145

Doing another 36 hr. fast. Just for the fun of it.

(Dawn) #146

I am in hour 227:50. This has been the most successful and stress free fast that I have done up to this point. I am learning as I go. This is probably my 8th EF within the last 4 months. Here are some of the things that I did differently this time to make this more successful:

  1. My refeed was epic. I made absolutely sure to eat a lot of fat. I wanted to push my metabolism up so that is why I ate more calories
  2. I supplemented very heavily during the feeding time.
  3. I started the fast with allowing myself one small salty meal for the first 3-days (I guess you could consider this IF). This allowed me to slowly ease back into the water fast
  4. Instead of doing straight water, I allowed myself to have a little coffee with cream and stevia and chocolate, heavy cream. Also a little broth but only within the first 3 days
  5. I doubled the amount of water that I drank this time

I am in ONDERLAND as of today (which is a miracle). Fasting will end tomorrow around 9am. I will begin refeeding again with keto food and prepare for the next fast which will start next week.

(Liz ) #147

ONEDERLAND!! Congratulations!! Hope your refeed goes smoothly. Thanks so much for sharing the specifics of your methods, so helpful.

#148

This is ONDERFUL! Congratulations to you and I too want to thank you for all of your sharing, the trial, and error and amazing changes and successful “hacks”.

I have just had, I think…pray and hope…a break of some kind in my stall. It sounds similar to what you mention, but the dynamics for me are a bit different as I do not do as many EF as you :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: For me, it is usually IF every day and 20:4 generally, and then an EF of 72 hrs every other week maybe? I’m not even sure because sometimes I just stick in a 48 hour when I don’t feel like waiting for the 72!

So, I had been doing the above described IF/EF for months with no real change at all. Then, I broke off of any EF since the 21st of December and commenced to eat keto every day. I still was IF every day, but some days it was only an 18:6 window, which felt really decadent I might add!

Then after January 1st, I think…it may have been the 2nd or 3rd, I had about a 70 hour fast, and saw no changes still.

WARNING: I will be mentioning food in this paragraph!
Now, I read the article I saw linked to on another thread here, regarding the need to get back to more nutrient-dense foods and eat fat to satiety (duh, I knew that, but I overeat and this was the biggest issue, I’m certain). Thus, I decided to get back to eating the yummy salads with olives and olive oil, a few cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and feta. Then enjoy a great big serving of bacon and eggs and maybe a bit more cheese.

Then, I started another 72-hour EF as of Monday evening. I did allow some HWC, in small amounts, in some coffee or tea, here and there. Drank loads of water and made sure to beef up my salt intake.

Yesterday, only 36 hours into my fast, I decided to take some measurements, and they finally have decreased! Not by a lot, but they are definitely less than they have been in months! I also got on the scale and…wow, I had shown a drop of 3+ pounds. This has not happened to me for months, really.

I will be ending my fast tonight, I think…maybe I will hang on until Friday, but either way, I know the weight will likely come back (as water?) but I am just so encouraged to see a change…after so very long.

All in all, just wanting to share my small NSV and weight change, and remind everyone who finds themselves in this limbo…KCFO it will all be OK :smiley:

(KCKO, KCFO) #149

So happy to read about Goal179 and Helewisa progress. Congrats to both of you, well done.

Isn’t it exciting to learn just what you can do when you KCKO and KCFO?

(Dawn) #150

This is GREAT news. I am so proud of you. This stuff is hard. There is a reason that so many people are obese…because few people have the will power and mental strength to stay committed. For you to hang in there even after having a stall, is super impressive and shows how strong you are. Good for you!! Thanks for being awesome.

(Liz ) #151

Whoa fantastic news! You have been so patient and dogged, I have been so impressed and found it so inspiring! So to be clear, what exactly do you think this time made the difference? Fewer calories but plenty of fat in the refeed?

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #152

:muscle: Congrats!

#153

Thank you for the kindness Dawn. This is something I really needed to hear on so many levels far beyond keto and fasting. :slight_smile:

It certainly is an interesting road we are traveling, and I am so happy and proud of you and the progress you’re making too.

#154

Thank you Liz and @rustyk61 for your encouragement and the question!

That’s what is a bit frustrating, it’s hard to be clear because I’m not sure I can pinpoint the answer, Liz. I believe fewer calories may have been a part, but perhaps the big change over a 2 week period with no EF and ramping up the fat and calories prior to beginning more EF, and so then…perhaps a metabolism boost, plus the more careful choices when trying anew?

I certainly had less cheese/dairy, but by no means cut them out, oh no, not at all! I did stop eating butter by the teaspoon and or adding it to my cheddar snacks! So, probably, yes; that is the lower consumption of fat (but by no means low) and trying to be a little more aware of my “fullness” and stopping when satiated.

Overall, I was definitely still eating what I wanted and not feeling deprived. I even got a psychological boost from regrouping a bit in regard to the better focus on nutritional content. I hope that helps to clarify?

(Liz ) #155

Yes that’s totally helpful, thank you! I can relate, for real. I keep careful track of all my macros and am thinking about nutritional choices very carefully since I stalled out. I’m thinking of taking a dairy break (save for butter) for a month and see if I notice any difference? I’ve done it before and it didn’t seem to affect me but that was before Keto.

I believe the ramping up of the metabolism as described by yourself & @Goal179 is key to successful fasting. And as Megan Ramos discussed, changing things up keeps the body guessing and avoids falling into homeostasis.

I will be interested to follow as you continue on with your n=1 experiment and hope you have more successes!

#156

I’m glad I was able to clarify this a bit, or at least try to since it is all a grand experiment!

I was just noticing that I am starting to feel quite cold and think I will go have just a bit of coconut oil…I hate to have anything before my 72 hours are passed, but the cold feet thighs and hands and nose have me concerned about too much of a metabolism slow-down which I want to avoid.

But, I’ve also read about the cooling extremities being a sign that your body is focusing on burning the visceral fat stores and putting energy into that process…am I wrong?

(Liz ) #157

I don’t know!! It’s been record breaking freezing cold here for two weeks, like zero degrees Fahrenheit and our heat wasn’t up to the task, so during my last fast I was freezing but I couldn’t know if it was internal or external. So I just got in a hot bath and that solved it. I always worry about that metabolism slow down sign, though.

#158

I’m in central Maine, so I know all about these freezing temperatures, but we’ve had quite a warm-up the last three days.
Well, I did it, a teaspoon of coconut oil and I’ll have some Earl Grey with a bit of HWC, then hold off until evening as best I can. I hate feeling cold, and only have a shower. I am NOT going to go to bed even though it would be cozy :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: I have too much knitting and designing ideas I want to play with just now!

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #159

This is hard to learn, but sounds like you’ve got it whooped. I might also add…try not to do the same exact things with every fast…ie don’t always fast for 2 days, or always 3 days…I think you get the point…Just keep your body guessing what its doing.

#160

Yes, I agree, I was trying to keep away from a pattern, but I feel guilty if I don’t have an EF in a week’s time. Even if it’s just a two day fast.

I think I’ll just go back to enjoying some good refeed days and try to get a better handle on listening to my body’s signals. It’s funny how I can actually feel like I “need” to fast if I’ve eaten well for more than just four days now. That’s not even the mental aspect, but my body’s physiologic response saying “enough!”

I’ll let you all know how things go…

Meanwhile, huzzah for fasting and fasting buddies!