This is fascinating. Ever since getting home from work and eating around 2030 at night I have had a hard time losing weight and slowly gaining despite efforts. I’m going to try this too. Thanks for the idea, Shortstuff!
So today I’m going to try another full day of fasting and see if I can make it confortably. So far so good at 38 hours.
Wow, can’t wait to experience this some day! Glad to know that even more good things are yet to come!
Wow, lots of you are doing really well!
Grrr, finding to day really hard! I’ve done 2 fasts this week, thought I’d do another shorter one today, but it’s been a struggle- I’ve gone for water & black coffee only, so probably why! Only had one cup of black as I don’t like it so much, & now have a headache- could be the drop in caffeine or otherwise electrolytes, been so hot today… I hate breaking a fast, it’s silly as I feel like I’ve failed even though I’m just maintaining now, so I’ll struggle through today… I’ll try some ACV too- I like that & you’ve just reminded me!
So here’s my conundrum, and I am sure some of you have had this. What determines that you break a fast - if you are feeling awesome? Is it an event - like family dinner - a set time period? Is it that you are getting the benefits of healing and you can close the window knowing you can always do it again at another time. I am asking because I am feeling as great as I hoped I would. My ketones are amazing (3.0 via blood), my gut is slim and non-bloaty. I have no headache, no hunger…just pretty much fantastic. I was going to break it at 72 hours, but that would put me eating at 8 p.m. Perhaps I should break it at 6ish and eat some nuts, and then just have a light dinner?
I don’t know - my fasting math (and let’s face it, math in general) is not so hot LOL. Any suggestions?
If feeling good, I would ride that wave. I stop when I start to feel not as good, I might get a headache, even with supplementing, or my gut will not respond to more salt and water. I did over a hundred hr. fast once when I thought I was going to just do a 36 hrs. I rode the wave and it was my second longest fast ever. Now that I don’t have weight to lose, I am lucky to do 50ish hours.
And I am a believer in stopping the fast refeeding a meal or for one day and diving back into another fast. These days I aim for 36-48 hrs. So if I refeed at around 40 hrs. I find I can easily do another 40-48 hrs. It is all good.
Do you use an app, Vora is good for helping you track both your current fasting time and how long your other fasts before were. I think it is both iOS and android?
Joining the discussion because I really want to fast today (or longer)…not sure I will be able to do it, but I really want to. Since being on keto, I’ve only done a few 19 hour fasts…I never wanted to really push myself because I was afraid I’d fall off the wagon and binge. Years ago, not on keto, I pushed myself to do a few extended fasts and ended up binging really badly afterward (not like the day after–yuck I would have been so sick–but in the following days/weeks). But I wonder if now, being fat adapted (which I assume I am), things will be different. It’s 9:30 a.m. now and I won’t really know until I get past 2:00 p.m., which is the latest I’ve eaten while on keto. I gotta remember that the hunger comes and goes…one minute you feel like you want to die if you can’t eat, the next minute you feel totally fine, even good. (I never experienced the high that some people talk about, so I don’t expect to feel great–just not deathly would be nice.) Also, I gotta remember today that if I don’t feel good, it’s not because of the fasting; yesterday I ate a ton and I felt like shit (I don’t know what’s going on with me–almost feels like I have the keto flu or something.)
You shouldn’t feel that kind of hunger if you are fat-adapted. I water fasted years ago for 3 days in college and my hunger was like that, but I was a carb-burner then.
Now the hunger is a lot more understated and usually goes away with time, water or salt (or all 3).
Good luck with your EF! And moderate refeeding 
Thanks! Caveat–it’s maybe not a “real” fast because I’m drinking coffee with a little bit of half n half. Looking forward to this afternoon when I think I will really start to see if I’m fat adapted or not–hopefully this is a different experience than when I was a carb burner.
Hey I’m back again, did my second 47 hours and had dinner and breakfast. Honestly really excited to get going again. So this time I want to see what three days feels like. Starting after breakfast, cause at the end I’d rather be sleeping then cooking for my family and staring at the food! Hahah! I would love to get to 5 days. My goals are to readjust to my old weight set point about 15 lbs lower than where I’ve been for 5 years. Also to gain the benefits of autophagy. I’ll be drinking coffee and tea still, so in training for the water fast I guess.
You got this! Good luck and enjoy.
Wrapped up my 5 day sorta fast last night. I say sorta cause I still use some BPC and bone broth along the way. Still got the benefits and almost felt too good to stop. However, could tell my body was ready for fuel and I slept two hours longer than usual. Refed over a 2 hour window with about 1200 calories and feel really satiated this morning. Life is good.
KCFO!
How is your fast going?
Coffee with small amounts won’t really impact you that much when fasting. Dr. Fung suggests 1 teas. of cream or coconut oil or some bone broth, if it keeps you from eating other foods. I certainly use both those things from time to time.
It’s going great thanks for asking! It’s 12:30 now and I made it through my morning of rock climbing with no problem—that’s what I was most worried about. Although mornings are always easiest as long as I stay busy. Afternoons get hard. So I’m now on day 2!
I haven’t posted an update to this thread in a couple of weeks, and I’m posting mostly because I hope it will help someone.
I’ve been doing Alternate Day Fasts for five weeks now, and I can honestly say I broke a stall I’ve been in since around late 2016. I’ve been losing about 2 pounds a week and while I see almost everyone here seems to care most about longer extended fasts, these are relatively easy and painless. If you’re used to OMAD - 24 hour fasts - or even 16-8 intermittent fasting, this isn’t much harder.
Hope this helps someone else discover ADF.
Climbergirl, that’s awesome! And CFLBob, thanks for the idea! I will try that too once I’m done with this effort . The alternate day seems like a really cool way to keep the weight loss going in the right direction.
So far I’m going into my second day on a three day effort. I am feeling great this AM, hoping today goes as well as yesterday. Excited to be able to discover what day three is like tomorrow. Day one flew by, a few weeks ago a whole day felt trrrible and was really difficult. This really is like training ones self to be able to fast. I feel like I’m in a cleanup mode of my body.
Paendora, you have been so encouraging, Thank you! When you said I could do this I believed you and that’s really why I am trying! Guess what, you are right! I did not think I could but it’s not that bad!
