Sigh. I had some crazy days again when I ate a bit late too… But now I am back again, today was 2MAD with a smallish eating window, IDK, 3 hours? I had lunch and dinner as normal for my 2MAD days.
Now comes the weekend when I have the highest chance to eat in a bigger eating window but I will try to avoid it this time. Food isn’t very much on my mind now, it’s great.
March 2023 IF/EF Chat Thread (All Welcome)
Shinita
#41
goldwingnut
#42
I have been absent from these boards for many, many a moon! I’m a regular on another forum and I haven’t been very regular there either. 
For several weeks I’ve been fasting every other day and on the in-between days eating one meal. Maybe OMEOD?? (One Meal Every Other Day)
I had crept back up in weight to over 200, having lost 145 pounds in only 11 months in 2017. (5 years at goal of 170’s, followed by 1 year of floundering.) 
Do you happen to know anyone with experience doing this? It has been incredibly successful for me since starting this just before the 1st of march. I worry about what it might do to my already deranged metabolism, but I’ll have lost WAY over 10 pounds by month’s end.
I’m never hungry, I don’t get cold like I do with extended fasts. And I seem to be benefiting from the" faster’s high" that I always have during an extended fast.
robintemplin
(Robin)
#43
Good for you! Been there done that… not the fasting but losing then gaining… many times.
I bet someone on here follows your every other day fasting. Sounds good to me if you are feeling good and have the energy etc.
If I didn’t permanently wreck my body with 65 years of atrocious abuse, you’ll be fine too.
Glad you’re back.
You got this!
PS… you should also post this in the FASTING category, for more eyes.
goldwingnut
#44
I actually thought I posted this in the fasting thread. Which thread do you mean, Robin?
If you would like to move that to the appropriate thread, that’d be just fine with me! And it’s good to be back… to be honest!
goldwingnut
#46
Below is what my last 3 weeks of weigh-ins look like, graphed out in Cronometer. I’m experimenting with a rolling 47/1 fasting schedule. In other words, I eat one meal, every other day. It consists of about 15 to 17 hundred calories, with VERY low carb count…under 30 total grams. (Not net)
I’m not experiencing much real hunger, no cold feeling like extended fasting gives me, and no Charlie Horse cramps. I’ve had 10 fasting days since February 28th, just not consecutive.
Screenshot_20230321-031030~2|690x423
I don’t believe that worked. Can’t seem to post a png file.
Maybe this will have to suffice:
03/01/2023… 213.5
03/02/2023… 209.0
03/03/2023… 211.3
03/04/2023… 214.1
03/05/2023… 211.7
03/06/2023… 211.5
03/07/2023… 208.7
03/08/2023… 210.8
03/09/2023… 208.4
03/10/2023… 208.3
03/11/2023… 207.7
03/12/2023… 206.0
03/13/2023… 204.0
03/14/2023… 206.1
03/15/2023… 203.9
03/16/2023… 204.8
03/17/2023… 201.5
03/18/2023… 201.2
03/19/2023… 199.4
03/20/2023… 198.3
03/21/2023… 197.2
Shinita
#47
It sounds way too low to me, I would worry about my metabolism. No idea if it’s justified especially in your case (I know even less about your needs than my own 
I still use my experiences ages ago for myself as I didn’t lose fat since and my maintenance calorie range is huge and subject to change), just saying. I probably don’t even have enough fat to function with that little but I don’t know about you.
For a short time it shouldn’t be a problem, I would do it if I could too 
Definitely sounds bad longer term.
Impressive!
I saw the pic but then it disappeared…?
I myself went back to a small eating window, yay! 5 and 3 hour in the last days (should I use plural here? 3 hour fast but what should I do without the “fast” word there? I aim to get better at English, always so feel free to correct me any time)!
For some reason, I tend to get hungry even before noon but it’s subtle, only slightly annoying and I have a mission so I eat at 3pm. I wish to push it to 4-5pm so I could have OMAD but it doesn’t seem to happen yet. I wouldn’t mind lunch OMAD days but that’s trickier, dinner would be just right. I keep going for it! But no problem with nice TMAD days with proper activity either! No idea why but I can do TMAD now. I had long periods when I wished for OMAD but ended up with 3-5 meals almost every day (almost always IF, somewhere below 6-8 hours). Much better now and my higher activity makes me less disappointed about my higher-cal days. I may even build some muscle, little but I appreciate every gram I definitely got stronger lately.
Spring makes me more determined in various ways, I made some positive life changes, tiny ones but they should trigger bigger ones very soon. And when various other things change for the matter, it’s motivating and makes me more confident regarding my fasting plans too…
goldwingnut
#48
Exactly! It looks too low. I don’t believe it’s sustainable LONG TERM either or whether it’s even healthy I’ve got no clue. I thought I might be able to find something in Jason’s Fung’s info, but haven’t looked yet.
My main goal when trying this experiment, was to kickstart me and my silly brain back into a loser’s mentality. And I have a battle buddy along for the ride, and he’s doing fantastic also. So we’ve kind of kicked around the idea during our weekly coffee at Starbucks (more like TENbucks) of keeping it up for a while. I just had no idea it would be the SUCCESSFUL… OR EASY!!
robintemplin
(Robin)
#49
You can keep it up until it no longer feels right. We are all out own n=1 experiment. The trick is to not go back to old (bad) foods when your current routine isn’t working. Instead, you adjust your good keto/carni meals or food and then once again follow your body’s needs.
Aside from keeping your carbs low, there are few hard and fast RULES rules.
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#50
If you’re using windows, there’s a program called “snipping tool”. That takes a picture of whatever is on the screen, and then you just paste (ctrl+v) it in.
I would say that if you’re not getting cold, that’s a good thing.
collaroygal
(KCKO, KCFO)
#51
Welcome back. It has been a long time.
I tried doing what you are doing when I put on 10 lbs. during the height of the covid period. I gained back what I lost. So I just started doing a timed eating window, that worked. As long as I didn’t eat outside of my eating window, I did fine and I slowly lost it all. I am currently even lower than my goal weight.
Glad this is working for you, I remember you got cold a lot before.
collaroygal
(KCKO, KCFO)
#52
I’ve been quiet for the last couple of weeks. I took a trip and came back with Covid. I’m fine now and glad to be back on the forums. I was lucky not really sick, just had to stay isolated. Happy to be a free range person again.
Shinita
#53
Considering I had 170g protein for lunch (I am still kind of hungry but it should go away at this point even though I had unusually little fat. I had many protein sources, most of them lean…), I really hope it will be OMAD 
[…] (<- I write this when time passes and I continue my post. I was not sure if it was clear.)
I didn’t want to send it before I know it but yes! It’s 1:30am and I am nicely satiated. Yay!
My eating window was 5, 3, 1 hour long in the last days.
I wonder if I can do a 24 hour fast now… Lunch OMAD helps but I ate little fat on a somewhat active day so who knows?
OldDoug
(Doug)
#54
Finishing the second day of a fast. Did 5 days 4 or 5 weeks ago, and Sunday night I said let’s hit it again. Really good this time around, feel powerful, easy to do stuff. Have not really thought about food. Been hardcore low-carb for a good while, either zero or with just a bit from jalapeño peppers.
Burn fat, baby, burn fat, burn baby burn.
Shinita
#56
You are great.
I just try to eat only twice a day… Sometimes I am successful. But I do need 2 with my not so big meals so it’s okay for now. I will push harder in April, together with pure carni!
Janie
(Jane)
#57
24 hours in and small hunger waves but nothing black coffee and some pink salt crystals can’t fix.
May be bogus but I like to think autophagy is kicking into a higher gear after 24 hours. I wish there were more human studies on autophagy. So difficult to measure - must be done at a research facility or univerisity that can afford the instruments to measure - and my understanding is the measurements are indirect and infer the level of autophagy.
And would like to see keto’ers in the studies since we are already in a state of ketosis when stopping food intake. SAD’ers would need additional time to clear the glucose out of their system I would think.
kib1
(KM)
#58
Have you ever tried a dry fast (no water)? I am not sure of the science behind it (or if there really is any), but supposedly it is the most efficient process for autophagy. I think the idea is that the body will break down cells to create the “metabolic water” needed for its various processes. I’ve tried it twice. I don’t know if it was any better (I told myself it was, because it make me miserable), but it sure was harder, especially since I didn’t wean off caffeine ahead of time.
OldDoug
(Doug)
#59
Jane, coming from a ketogenic diet, I think there’s a good argument for autophagy increasing after 24 hours. We don’t store much protein (the most potent inhibitor of autophagy) in our bloodstream at all, and glycogen levels should be somewhat lower than on a carb-heavy diet. After a day of fasting, the ‘pipeline’ is empty and glycogen depleting should be ongoing. Before that’s over, autophagy should be ramping up.
I’d gladly volunteer to have tissue sample taken while fasting - you’re right that most measurements are indirect. But, a tissue sample can show autophagosomes, and under a microscope they can be counted, so it’s not impossible.
OldDoug
(Doug)
#60
It’s like the “one day of dry fasting equals three days of water fasting.” Somebody just made it up, and it sounds good.
I usually hear it as the body 'breaks down fat cells" or "when we break down stored fat… water is created. But the truth is exactly the opposite - water is consumed when we break down fat. Water is created when we store fat.