March 2018 IF/EF chat - all welcome

#143

I am at 50 hours and feeling great! Hoping to make it 5 days, my longest prior is 72 hours.

#144

Thatā€™s amazing progress! I would be ecstatic with half that! Keep it up!

And yes, I do have coconut manna by Nutiva. Itā€™s one of my best desserts on keto.

(Joyce J Egan) #145

Ok so I am always off. I fasted this month already. Maybe the first week about 36 hours or so. Did fairly well. I ate beef broth instead of bone broth does that make any difference?

(Liz ) #146

Do you mean you are off from the Zorn fast? Thatā€™s in another thread but we fast at all kinds of odd times so you are always welcome to check in here :smile:

I donā€™t know if beef broth vs bone broth makes any difference in outcomes. But if it got you through your fast, thatā€™s great!

(Liz ) #147

Wasnā€™t going to extended fast this month, wasnā€™t sure I got much lasting benefit from all my fasts in Feb & I really prefer eating :smile: But after a week or two break from fasting to try focusing instead on lowering my protein (which was fairly straightforward) I find myself in hour 46 of a 70 hour fast.

Might be too soon to tell if lowering my protein will move the scale, itā€™s only been 2 weeks with no progress. But since I havenā€™t felt bad on fewer grams, Iā€™ll keep at it.

I have been using loads of fat on this fast & Iā€™m fine with that, usually I try to rein it in. But I wasnā€™t going to fast at all lol so Iā€™ll do it however feels most comfortable this time around. Plus I have a migraine so my endurance for discomfort is a bit lowered.

(momzbusy2012) #148

I had the same problem with the dizziness with extended fasting. Iā€™ve been doing extended fasts on the weekend and I wasnā€™t only feeling weak, dizzy, and hungry, I looked like my skin was all saggy. As soon as Iā€™d eat, the next day or two Iā€™d gain a lot of the weight back but my skin would plump out again. I wasnā€™t liking the saggy skin during the extended fasts. Oh, and did I mention when I did start eating again, my clothes fit the same as at the end of the fast? Bottom line, I was dehydrated and needed salt and more water. These lasts extended fasts have been so much different in the way I felt and the way I looked because I bought Salt Stcks capsules on Amazon. I donā€™t endorse any product but Iā€™ve been taking these (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 2 at night). I feel and look so much better!

(Melis Jansen ) #149

I have had success with taking collagen for my nails. I actually started taking it off a knee injury, and after about 6 weeks I realized that my exceptionally rough and brittle fingernails were now much smoother and actually growing like normal peopleā€™s nails. I took it for about a year and then I forgot to order it and I figured I would see what happens. My nails went back to being rough and brittle. I started using it again and will never stop.

Itā€™s possible that there are beneficial changes to my skin and hair also. I am not having the amount of loose skin I had feared.

(Liz ) #150

I did my longest EF ever! 93 hours. Like I said above, I used fats liberally, I was totally comfortable throughout and had fewer thoughts of food. Also while still slightly rocky, my refeed went a bit better. Scale went down 6 pounds, not all of which will stay off but maybe some will? Would definitely fat fast again. I used MCT, coconut oil, and just a little heavy cream, 500-750 calories a day.

#151

Iā€™ve been taking collagen for a couple of weeks now, but still early I guess to see any results. My hair is falling like crazy. I think I may have lost a30-40% of it since starting keto 5 months ago.

(KCKO, KCFO) #152

This can happen anytime you cut calories, it is very common. I went through hair loss but it is now growing back thicker than ever. I have thick hair to begin with, so I didnā€™t even mind it being less thick, especially last summer before it started coming back.

There are several threads on here about hair loss, use the search to see detailed discussions about it.

KCKO

#153

12 hours into my 48 hour fast. good luck to the rest of you braver than me lol

(Dawn) #154

Hi All. I am out of ketosis. I have been eating too many carbs and basically bingeing for the last month. (Pancakes, candy, rice and Venti Frappucinoā€™s almost every day) It all started as a birthday celebration and now, one month later, I am still out of control with my eating. I feel HORRIBLE, heavy, sluggish, gassy, and bloated. I feel like my sugar addiction is back, my IR is out of control again. My weight is up 20 pounds and my joints are swollen and inflamed. I have done alot of damage to myself and I am struggling to stop. Carbs suck. I am going to TRY a 5 day EF to try to get myself back on track. I will start today and EF through Saturday. I feel that cold turkey EF is the best way to stop this spiral. I just need the strength to do it.

Other than fasting, can anyone else give me any tips to help me get it together??

(Karen) #155

Jumping into a 5 day would bevhuge for me. Have you fasted a lot?

K

(Allie) #156

Iā€™m on a water fast today after kicking myself out of ketosis three days in a row, each in different ways, and was amazed to get a blood reading of 0.4mmol this morning :slight_smile:

(Liz ) #157

I feel for you!! If it was me, Iā€™d do an extended fat fast. All the fat you want in your beverages. I did that recently and it felt good and like a reboot even though I had not fallen off the Keto wagon, just was eating the keto foods sort of compulsively.

(Liz ) #158

I lost 6 pounds on my last fast (93 hours) and itā€™s all back a week later. I donā€™t care if itā€™s just water, this is still frustrating! I still have 20-25 pounds to lose.

But myy clothes fit fine. I donā€™t eat too many carbs (I track), I donā€™t snack. I donā€™t use sweeteners or whey. I donā€™t overeat nuts.

One part of me is just ā€œkeep at it, keep ketoing, mixing it up, feasting, fasting, after a while your insulin will get low enough and your fat cells will release their treasure.ā€ The other part is ā€œThere must be something I can DO NOWā€.

So Iā€™m still on lowered protein, itā€™s working well, not changing that. I also started glycine today since I miss the collagen I was putting in my coffee & I know I have a collagen deficiency. I stopped the collagen because it has so much protein in it. Although I cannot get a straight answer if the protein in collagen is usable and counts or is unusable and is negligible.

The next thing I try will be Dairy Free April.

(Dawn) #159

@LizinLowell I like that idea. How do I fat fast? Does that mean meat or just butter? Give me some ideas on what to eat and I will jump right in to that. It may help me keep from feeling deprived.

(Liz ) #160

There are specific ā€œfat fastsā€ programs out there but all I can tell you is what I did which is I had 500-750 calories a day from coconut oil, MCT oil, and heavy cream in drinks throughout the day. But Iā€™m strict Keto all the time so your mileage may vary.

(Stephanie Sablich) #161

Iā€™m sorry that the last month has been a struggle for you. It sounds like youā€™ve learned a valuable lesson about what your body needs and wantsā€¦ but it must be so frustrating to be restarting.

How is your fast going today? In the past, after a period of some pretty terrible eating, a 5-day fast is how I kicked myself off, and I havenā€™t been out of ketosis since. I think youā€™ve GOT to make sure youā€™re fasting properly (LOTS of water, electrolytes, etc) and be prepared to break if you donā€™t feel goodā€¦ but if you want to do this, I believe in you! Stay strong, and check in here often!

(Dawn) #162

I understand 100% what you are saying about fasting. It definitely has not worked for me in terms of keeping the weight off. It is sooooo frustrating. I wish I knew what to tell you to make it better. I am in the same boat. I always gain all of my fasted weight back. I have also noticed that I seem to be much much hungrier too. I have not done any fasting or keto for the last month. I took a break (not intentional). Checked the scale this morning and i am up a total of 26 pounds! How did that happen with just one month off of the program? Really scary. And to top it off, Now I am starting to worry about all of the EF I have been doing based on the latest article from Dr. Phinney and Dr. Volek. I am starting to get confused on which way to go. I used to be so sure of myself, now I donā€™t know what to do. The only think I know for sure that is right is Keto, but I stopped losing weight on Keto long ago. I also think it is silly to eat all day everyday. Fasting has a place but maybe not as much as I have been doing? What to do??? Here is the article that I just read from Dr. Phinney and Dr. Volek.

https://blog.virtahealth.com/science-of-intermittent-fasting/

Keto fam, please give me advice to help reassure me that I am on the right track.