Learning the subtle art of hunger: to eat or not to eat, that is the question!

(Alec) #1

I am on a 10 month fasting and keto journey and I think I am only just learning the subtle art of hunger.

This week, I did a 3 day fast, Sunday night to Wed night. I was planning to go to Friday morning, but on Wed night I felt a bit off, so I ended the fast. All good.

Yesterday (Thursday) I didn’t gorge, just ate normally (mostly fat), but not that much. This morning (Friday) I have awoken to the feeling of being unsure whether I am hungry or not. I keep changing my mind on whether I want breakfast or not. So I have got to my normal brekky cafe, and when I ordered I just didn’t feel like ordering breakfast. Got just coffee with cream.

Here’s my question: if you are undecided whether you are hungry or not, should you eat, or should you not? Today I have erred on the side of not. Any advice from experienced ketoers/fasters?
Cheers
Alec

(Doug) #2

I think it’s a very individual thing, Alec. I’ve fasted as long as ten days and have not felt what I consider “real hunger” yet - it’s always some other reason that I’ve ended the given fast. My last fast was three days, the first day was rougher than usual, felt great the second day - was thinking of going for a really long one - and at the end of the third day I just threw in the towel, a mixture of boredom and feeling “not right,” but not specifically hungry. 100 lbs/45 kg to lose here, so longer fasts, in theory, should be no problem.

If it’s reasonable for one to do multi-day fasts, i.e. one is not very lean and doesn’t have other compromising issues, then I think there is often value in pushing through some of the more vague feelings. It’s likely that better times are ahead, even with the passage of a few minutes or hours.

(Alec) #3

Doug
This is just how I felt on Wed night. It wasn’t hunger, it was just not feeling right. I am interpreting this as my body telling me it wanted a nutrient of some type that it was lacking. Over my nearly year long fasting journey, I have learnt to listen more and more to what my body is saying. Sometimes I think I read it right, sometimes I think I got it wrong.

But my key point is the subtlety of the hunger signals. I am learning it is not just on/off. There seems to be lots of shades of grey (no jokes please! :scream:), and I was wondering if others had seen the same or if I am just imagining it.
Cheers
Alec

(Ron) #4

I honestly feel that way most of the time and have unintentionally settled into a OMAD routine, but today I ate sausage and eggs for brunch to change things up. I don’t want to let the body get into predictable patterns.

(Robert C) #5

Dr. Fung says eat when you’re eating and fast when you’re fasting. Not eating enough between fasts risks slowing metabolism. Not wanting to eat might be due to remorse (i.e. not hitting your original goal) or it may just be physical (or both).

But when you enter your next fast - you don’t want to have trouble because you kind of “dieted” (in that simple calorie restricted way) while you were supposed to be feasting (keeping your metabolism a fat burning machine).

When he says it that way, it seems to me he is saying eat while feasting (even when you don’t want to - ignoring feelings of wanting to keep calories low) and do not eat while fasting (even if you really want a BPC each morning).

(Alec) #6

Rob
That is a great point. I have swung from that POV to a different one and back again! But your key point is well made: if you ‘half feast’ when you’re supposed to be feasting it is much more likely the next fast is not going to go great.

Thanks for your input. Very helpful.
Cheers
Alec