Just finished a 7 day fast

(ben) #1

Ok. Because I’ve received my renpho smart scale a week ago, I’ve decided to do a 7 day or longer water fast. To see what the result would be.
I’ve been doing keto*IF for a year and a half now and since summer I was stuck in a plateau. In fact I’ve gained 6-10kg since summer (fluctuates a lot)

So the main goal was to lose the summer weight plateau, heal my fatty liver and to reach deep autophagy.

After 7 days of water fasting I’ve reached keto of 3.2mmol/l with glucose of 3.9mmol/l. Aka 1.2 GKI ratio.
The result were kinda disappointing as I’ve never reached a high level of Ketosis. Or <1GKI

But!!! My upper stomach aka fatty liver has shrunk a lot. It almost feel hollow now. And I can feel that the fat cells around my body were shrinking. They felt like small tadpoles before and now most of them feel like deflated balloons. I’m happy about that.
I hope my metabolism is reset now.

But 7 day was the limit I set for myself during this Corona time. After this 7 days I was going to switch to a bone broth fast and have some supplements too. But after a bone broth break I’ve decided to stop the extended fast now. As I feel the results is not worth the effort for me. Although I technically ain’t hungry and I have plenty of energy, I AM thinking about food (recipes) a lot and had a lot of ideas. I want the try them.
(But I also felt very hungry after the bone broth. My body IS craving for more)

After refeeding I’ll do IF+Keto for 2 weeks and then switch to a regimen of 36-72hours fast weekly.

I’ve started preparation for referring by drinking a few cups of bone broth a probiotic pill and mct oiled coffee. (Spent quite some time on the toilet because of this) Tomorrow will be some walnuts and lean meat soup.

Hopefully my ketones will still be high

(Marianne) #2

Wow; I give you a lot of credit - I don’t think I could do a 7-day water fast. Congratulations!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

MCT oil is something I would avoid for sure breaking a fast. It’ll go right through you with coffee especially as you found out. Good job with 168 hours of fasting, the most I’ve done is 96 hours. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Susan) #4

Congrats on 7 days =). My max has been 100 hours so far.

(ben) #5

It’s not only the MCT oil unfortunately. Today I had bone broth soup and porkbelly wraps. Both went through me really quick. :rofl:
I wasn’t surprised. My previous 5 days fast was the same. My system needs 2 days to get back to normal.

Thanks. I must say it wasn’t as easy as other long fasters said… Physically ok, but when thousands of recipes flashes through my mind constantly, it probably means that mentally i’m not fully in fasting mode :smiley:

But after my liver shrunk enough, I guess that’s enough for this time. It’s good to know how my system responds to extended fasts.

(ben) #6

Some side effect I didn’t experience before. After refeeding I feel my body heating up. Not fever, just feels warmer than “usual”

(Bob M) #7

Congrats! The longest I’ve made it is 5.5 days, and then I got dizzy standing up.

I personally always have bathroom issues after a long fast. On the other hand, I like to eat, so I eat a normal meal not too long after drinking bone broth.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #8

For myself, that would be like throwing away 5 days of my life, as by the second day, I would be sick, weak, headache, and I would not want to move. Basically I’d be worthless, and id remain that way until I started eating again.

Complete mystery to me how people can do this. I tried a 50 hour once. The second day of that was so miserable, I decided I’d never do that again.

But what the hey, if that somehow works for you, go for it.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

You might really surprise yourself Chris, once you pass the first hump it’s smooth sailin’. I never thought I could do EF either but I blew my own mind when I found out how easy it actually is once you let go of the mental fear block of hunger left from before you were fat adapted and used to fueling on carbs.

It’s a little hard the first day, drink black coffee or water. It gets easier as you go. Surely you look like a very sturdy and athletic guy, I think you could do it easy. For me it was like driving a car the first time, it opened a new world of freedom from the fear of hunger leftover from carb eating days. It was like moving away from home the first time. I would try again a couple of times and if you feel bad no shame eating. :cowboy_hat_face:

(ben) #10

I’d need to prepare myself for it too. Physically and mentally.
Make sure I’m into moderate keto (GKI <6) before I start. This make it much easier. I’d make sure I have my vitamin+other supplements every day at least 7 days before.
Mentally, I’d need to make sure I’m in a good place.

Then it’s really not that hard to pass 2 days. The days after that are just pure wins. After 3 days it becomes easy. After 5 days I tend to doubt if it’s worth it.

If I’m not prepared, I won’t even be able to handle a 36hours fast…

Tomorrow I’m starting a 3 days/72 hours fast. I’m going for the routine 3 days waterfast: 3 days feast. 1 day preparation (higher quality fat, lotsa mct oil)

(ben) #11

Just a update, as I’ve started a new extended fast again this month.

So I did a 7 day fast mid-april as documented in the start of this topic. The goal of that extended fast was to break my 1-year plateau and heal my fatty liver. I believed that this was mainly caused by my fatty liver. Hoping that an extended fast would get rid of the fatty liver and autophagy would heal any potential damage. After the fast my liver size definitely shrunk. It was bulging before the fast, and after it was almost a vacuum.

Also I wanted to see if the weight loss from the extended fast is consistent. Luckily I had a woosh moment at the first day after the fast end, bringing me to 106.5. After refeeding, it stayed consistent around 107,5kg for two weeks. ( Honestly, I was kinda bumped because of this. I have been keto’ing with 20:4 IF, but weight wouldn’t budge. Even though my GKI says that I’m in functional weight loss mode.)

So after bulkloading on probiotics,vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants for 2 weeks and a little carbloading at the last 2 days, I started the current extended fast. Due to the carbs (which came from nuts), my starting weight for the extended fast was 108,2kg. Bodyfat 33.8%

This time I did a bonebroth fast. My goal is weight(fat)loss, not autophagy.
Meaning I’d daily drink 2-3 cups of diluted bone broth and 2-3 cups of creamed coffee. This totals to around 100-200 calories.
The bonebroth is on a 20:4 IF regimen. Meaning I’d drink only in a 4 hour window, which should give me at least 4 hours of autophagy.

Today is my 6th day. Weighing at 105,1kg 33% bodyfat and a GKI of 1.2 (3.8 mmol/l glucose(68,4) and 3.2mmol/l ketones)

Bone broth fasting makes fasting quite easy (but after each bone broth I’d get the runs). I don’t have as much food craving (not hunger) as water fasting. No cold ligaments either.
My skin is also less dry than when I did a water fasts, which in turn would prevent loose skin.(I hope)

I’m now doubting if I’d stop the fast or continue until I reach my goal weight of 100kg. (which should total the fasting days to about 20)
I could also stop for 2-3 weeks and do another extended fast next month… I’m leaning towards continuing though.

My body composition has surely changed. It’s fat which is gone from the fasts. So although I’m fixated on weight, it’s more fat loss that I’m rooting for.

(ben) #12

Amazing update.

yesterday evening my GKI broke through the 1-barier. Ketones reached 4.3 and glucose 3.7mmol/l(66,6) giving me a GKI of 0.9. That morning my weight was 105.1kg

Not sure if it’s coincidence, but today I woke up with a whoosh and weight has dropped to 103.2kg. Measured a few times just to make sure it’s not a misreading. Even tried out my old scale to see (that one even says I’m 102.5kg). Nope, it’s true. I’m happy to have a little shortcut!

GKI 0.8.

Very happy. Will continue this fast for 7 days. According to the prediction of the excelsheet (with about 0.4kg weightloss daily) I’d break the 100kg at the end of the fast!

(Walt) #13

Great job, there is no way I could go for 7 days. I think 4 days is my max.

(Mia Song) #14

I cannot believe how long people like you can fast. I have been doing keto for 6months now, and I hit my plateau of weight loss, mostly I think it was because I didn’t stick to the proper way of eating and started eating advertised keto products.

I am trying to reset my appetite by doing fast, but the most I can do so far is 32hrs. I’m still trying to push myself. but it is hard. Could you share some experiences and how long did doing fasting allow you to get to 7 days?

(Bob M) #15

There’s no reason to push it.

Personally, I started intermittent and long term fasting a full 1.5 years after going low carb/keto, and then it took a while (months?) to build up to 4.5-5.5 day fasts.

Now, I only do a longer fast every once in a while. I aim for once a quarter, but only have one this year so far.

Not everyone needs to fast a long time. Probably most don’t.

Longer term fasting did seem to lower my blood pressure more than just keto, though.

(ben) #16

Like everything, the toughest part is the first step. But it does help if you prepare for that first step.
A few preperations:
Make sure you’re in ketosis before you start an extended fast and even more important: go to sleep early.
Get a decent rest a few days before you begin.
It helps if you’re busy the first 2 days. After the 2nd day it does get a bit easier.
Maybe start with an extended bone broth fast first.
Prep yourself with enough vitamins and minerals.

(I was planning to do my monthly extended fast today, but failed because I wasn’t mentally into it because I was tired and it’s hot and humid. Tomorrow it’s a working day again, so I’ll try to start again tomorrow. But if I fail, it’d still be a 20:4 or longer fast.)

(Mia Song) #17

Hi Benp, Thanks for the tips. I find myself much more alert during fasting. I am only starting, at 25hrs of fasting right now.

I am receiving amazing results with my ketone reading and I had huge drop of my glucose level.

I’m only aiming for a 36hr fast since it would be the longest time I’ve ever fasted so far. I hope that your fast can go well, and maybe let me know how it goes later on. I find it very encouraging to have fasting partners!

20:4 fasting is already one of the toughest thing I have ever pushed through. so I think you are doing very well.
Keep me updated! Talk to you later!

(Bunny) #18

Check this out:

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[1] ”…In this study, the authors looked at the patterns of sodium and potassium excretion with fasting: Notice the rapid increase in potassium and sodium excretion in the first 5 days of fasting. Equally as interesting is the preservation of potassium and sodium after the 5 days. …” Jan 30, 2018 - The 7 Cardinal Rules of Fasting For Weight Loss

[2] “…Benefits of Electrolytes While Fasting Food (especially plant matter) is the main source of every electrolyte except sodium. When you fast, you cut off your supply. Fasting precipitously lowers insulin levels. As a result, your kidneys start expelling sodium, potassium, and water with great gusto. …” - ELECTROLYTES AND FASTING: BENEFITS AND BEST SOURCES

[3] “…Fasting has certain advantages over caloric restriction in the treatment of refractory obesity; however, its mechanisms are apparently more complex and not entirely defined. The initial rapid weight loss is greater than can be expected on the basis of caloric expenditure and is largely water. Determinations of fat loss and change in body composition with starvation have resulted in contradictory and even invalid data. Potassium excretion is rapid during the early part of fasting and then tapers off to a constant level of about 10 to 15 mEq/day. The urinary loss represents release from the intracellular compartment and is probably affected by the rate of protein catabolism. Its pattern of excretion, however, must be modified by other undetermined factors. Sodium excretion is also enhanced early in fasting, declining progressively to between 1 and 15 mEq/day, losses that persist even through prolonged caloric deprivation. The losses exceed those with salt restriction alone. Renal sodium excretion can be interrupted abruptly with the ingestion of carbohydrate, resulting in decreased urine volume and a plateau in weight loss despite a negative caloric balance. Why fasting results in sodium loss and why only carbohydrate sources can reverse this loss are questions that remain unanswered.

The usefulness of sodium chloride supplements to control the weight rebound upon conclusion of fasting has not been well demonstrated. Finally, it is speculated that the carbohydrate inhibitory effect on sodium excretion could have clinical usefulness in the management of certain disease states. …” - Fasting—A review with emphasis on the electrolytes

[4] The truth about salt - Dr. Fung

(Christine) #19

Bunny - I really enjoyed and appreciated all the articles you’ve cited in this post. I’m currently on a 7 day fast (my first - though I’ve done many fasts, some 5-day fasts)… and this post was just the boost (and reminder) that I needed! I am in my third day (hour 63) and am always plagued by hunger on the 3rd day…this really helped …so thank you!!!

(Mia Song) #20

Hey Ben, I was able to fast for 36 hrs. But after that I have been eating regularly for 2 days now.

I feel so so incredible. But it is so hard when hitting the 36hr mark.

I do hope to be able to fast for 72hrs next time. Hopefully I can get to where you guys are one day.