May 2022 IF/EF chat thread: "May the fast be with you."

#1

Mutual support thread for IF/EF. Experience, advice, what works, what doesn’t.

(Robin) #2

I like it! The faster, the better!

(Bob M) #3

One thing I have been doing is eating high saturated fat the day before my 36 hour fast. For instance, yogurt (high fat if I can find it) plus cacao butter, maybe with some chocolate (assuming it’s early enough in the day, as this can keep me up sometimes), maybe with unsweetened coconut. Maybe adding A2 (goat’s or sheep’s milk) cheeses to my lunches/dinners.

I’m doing this because there MIGHT be an effect where this causes you to get warm. From trying The Croissant Diet, where I ate a very high saturated fat diet, I found that eating a lot of saturated fat does seem to cause me to be warmer. (Why? I’m not totally sure.)

If I get hungry during the fast, I eat salt. I have some large crystal salt, and eat that. This does seem to help to reduce hunger.

I have also been taking probiotics, and I have two types that can be taken without a meal. I took these on my last fast, and the next day, after eating, I found I was not in the bathroom that much. Now, that could be coincidence, but I’ll continue to test and report back.

(Robin) #4

This is all fascinating to me. Totally out of my wheelhouse. I naturally do OMAD IF. Just cuz that’s where my path led.
But I like to read about everyone’s experiences. And it seems there are different reasons why folks do long fasts. As a weight nudge, as a overall mental and/or energy boost, and as part of a regimen to treat a specific disorder…. Like T2D.

There are other benefits that I can’t remember, but curious about the main motivation for the regulars on here, as it seems to be a basic part of your lifestyle.

#5

I first took up 36-hour fasting in 2017 (shortly after I quit drinking, but that’s another story). I did 3 a week for about 3 months and lost 30+ pounds. I think among other things it “confuses” the body’s metabolism so that the body does not adjust downwards like you would get in a calorie restriction diet.

I have only done a few truly extended fasts (5 days). It’s a different experience, a little bit spiritual if you believe in woo-woo. You do gain a little weight back on the refeed. I found it really worthwhile and I look forward to doing another 5 day soon, whenever I get my act together and talk myself into it. Also there are indications extended fasting may be a cancer preventative.

(Bob M) #6

My experience is similar to @ourtown’s. I find my appetite actually goes down for these 36 hour fasts.

I’ve done many 4.5-5.5 day fasts. I’ve lost count as to how many, but I also started doing fasting 5.5+ years ago. I only did one 4.5 day fast last year, though. Would like to average at least 2 a year if I could.

I do them because I hit my lowest weight while fasting and eating higher protein, lower fat keto. I tried The Croissant Diet (TCD), and while an interesting test, I gained 20+ pounds. I can gain weight really easily, but I lose very slowly. I’m almost back to where I was (size 34 pants) before TCD, and it’s taken me quite a while to get back. 1.5 years? 2 years? I know that one summer after the TCD, I couldn’t fit into any of my shorts. Last summer, I had gotten back into a few of them; I think I’ll be back in most/all this summer.

But there’s just something about >24 hours of fasting that seems to help me.

(Robin) #7

I understand the woo woo side of it. Back in the 70’s it was a thing. And I loved the way I felt on it. Almost as good as speed. And there was a spirituality side, if I wanted to explore that. I did a LOT of exploring, back in the day. Can swap booze stories with you, probably.
I think many former addicts are comfortable with keto or carnivore because the boundaries are firm. I need that.

(Robin) #8

That makes sense to me. I am quite happy with eating one meal a day (dinner) and often have to remind myself. So a 24 hour fast would probably be fairly do-able. I just have to be careful not to take things to the extreme.

#9

I don’t expect fat-loss from anything and I am okay with my health and my energy gets low without food - I was CURIOUS what happens when I don’t eat for a while. And I am a human, I should be able to do it…
But now I go for autophagy results, whatever they may be :slight_smile: Some fat-loss sounds good but I kinda gave up I ever will lose any fat on keto… (I am a huge optimist so I am still hoping but don’t expect much.)

And WHY NOT if it’s easy?
I won’t do if it takes any special effort, of course. I may push a tiny bit when very curious but it must be done almost completely naturally.
If I get hungry or tempted, I will eat. (I can wait if it’s just a tiny hunger, sometimes it passes.) And I definitely eat if I get weak or get some other urge I need fuel. Hunger is something completely different for me.

Now I have an extra determination for May and that always helps. We will see what happens.

My default and basic goal is many OMAD days (it’s fine to have some TMAD ones) and maybe I can do 48 hours or something… If my body is cooperative but my mind is way more ready than usual and my focus is elsewhere, not on food.

I never noticed any metabolism slowing at a cute deficit so that would work - if I could eat at a deficit. That’s super little food, I may pull it off near carnivore here and there but my average is at a surplus. It’s good I don’t gain when eating more than my energy need (only if it’s way more and even then, super slowly, at least that was in the past).
Even if I could do the almost impossible and ate at a deficit (I still think carnivore OMAD could do the trick, I just don’t know how to eat big enough meals on it. and without big enough meals I can’t do it), a simple fasting day probably would give a bigger deficit than a whole week (and the whole week would include a high-cal day, ruining my effort anyway). Not like I think it works that simple, it’s easily possible the same deficit for a week would mean more if the majority of it happens at once.
Theoretically a longer fast would help me a lot. But that’s not my reason to go for it.

Sometimes I think my ex-vegetarianism helps to follow rules too (not like I follow them well…). Someone who never ever restricted themselves and ate whatever saw may have a very hard time with keto. But it may be my personality or tastes or some other personal factor. Cutting out food groups always was super easy for me. If I chose them well, of course, I couldn’t cut out just about anything. But grains, lactose, legumes, sugar, meat? It was so easy. (How could I live without my dairy I can’t really comprehend but I had my plants so maybe that’s how… I need them on carnivore. Not much but some.)
Some of us, sometimes require firm rules. I don’t say “none at all ever” anymore but cutting out something is way easier than allowing “a little” in many cases. But it depends on the stuff. If it’s an addiction, zero is the way or else it just gets out of hand surprisingly easily.

So… I quit coffee for May. I hope. I feel determined but I never was even remotely successful. I could wait with the first one until noon or 4pm but that’s it. And it just started to reappear all over the day again. I don’t even like it so much… Stupid habit. So I stop.

24-26 hour fast is easy, that’s still OMAD. Skipping a whole day is the special thing to me. Both my body and mind has certain problems with it most of the time. Sometimes one doesn’t but I have the other… Or plans… But I am ready to work on that.

#10

My sweet spot seems to be the 36 hour water fasts that I do every Wednesday. I look forward to it, almost crave it if that is a possibility.

#11

I got hungry early today and as I had a headache too, I ate (it helped a bit) but it’s still April. I am very ready to get my stuff together for May! I just will wait until a really good reason to eat, I won’t force things but I don’t need to. I only need to ignore the pull of a family lunch when I am not satiated anymore but can wait 1-2 hours without a problem. Doable.
And I will be very ready for the odd day when I just don’t get hungry. I focus on food a bit less now.

(KCKO, KCFO) #12

Thanks for starting the thread.

KCFO

#13

I might be on to something. I think I must avoid putting almost anything in my mouth (except small amounts of water?) to avoid the hunger response. I think I have some imbalance in my gut where once it is “turned on” I need to feed it to avoid a discomfort (which is not really hunger). Even salt - so helpful to some - makes me want to eat. I definitely can’t take supplements of any kind. Maybe a microbiome issue?

#14

Wow, that’s a level I never heard about until now.
Because not being able to eat small meals under normal circumstances? That’s normal to me. My SO is more extreme than me, it’s either a substantial meal or nothing for him (I am very similar but a tiny bite is no problem). He never tried to supplement things though but it never crossed my mind that even eating salt can trigger a nearly irresistible urge to eat.
The human body is very interesting. But maybe it’s the mind, who knows? In May I need to be careful with both if I want success.

#15

Today is turning into a fast day unintentionally as I have a late appointment coming up. Often when that happens I don’t bother with the evening OMAD.

(Jane) #16

28 hours into a 45-hr fast. Haven’t fasted much lately and this week seemed to be a good time to fit one in. Hubby and I had our last meal at lunch yesterday and will break some time tomorrow mid-morning.

#17

After my ~3 hour eating window yesterday, today’s was 30 mins :smiley: Success.
No coffee is completely effortless too. Oh and I do carnivore and my earlier other desires just don’t come. I decided on things for May and I just do it this time.
Wow. This is so easy this far. And I definitely ate a big enough meal, it could be a bit less I suppose but let’s not be greedy :smiley: It’s better than the opposite.

I got kind of hungry after 11am but it passed and I ate at 5pm in the end. That is a great time for OMAD, simply the best. I need food enough to have a proper sized meal, I rarely have boredom problems… It’s perfect. Earlier meals just don’t work.
I had super low appetite but hunger always win eventually :smiley: And I just ate super dense items so my low appetite couldn’t pose a big problem.
I am pleased. With this part of my life, I mean, my stubborn awful headache series (it started days ago so it’s very sure it has nothing to do with quiiting coffee but it wouldn’t be logical anyway. coffee just doesn’t affect me) start to get old and I only don’t scream because that makes it worse.

(Jane) #18

30 hours in and struggled a bit from 2-4 pm but finally some salt under my tongue and salted water did the trick - hunger gone. It’s never a strong hunger - keto took care of that in Jan 2018, but I got tired of hearing the tummy rumblings.

Been raining all day so I guess a good day to fast. Got out early this morning and weeded my garden and sowed my green and wax bean seeds. Only have okra left to plant and it needs to be warmer before I do that - a few more weeks I think. A little late to sow my beans but between the flood a week ago Thu with all the cleanup and going out of town on business last week I didn’t get to it until today. They will catch up.

KCFO

#19

My rumblings are a few seconds and that’s it, I don’t know why it is so different for people. I rarely even get it in the first 20 hours while it’s very known that many people get it way sooner…? Oh well.
So rumbles don’t bother me but soft hunger can be distracting too. But yes, usually hunger isn’t an immediate problem (unlike before fat adaptation, sometimes). Need for food is, when my body wants food. Sure, it could live without for weeks but it’s not how it works. I just stop working properly and that’s no good. Now I am afraid I get hunger headache too, I rarely do, maybe never if it’s hunger alone but when it is alone? We always have some stress or other problems, my body still loves to communicate through headaches even though it has other communication channels as well and it’s not nearly as frequent as in my very young years…

After my big OMAD meal yesterday I expect perfect satiation until the evening but we will see. I feel super full now but it’s not even 9am, of course I do. While other people would be starving at this point, why are us this different…?

I sow thymes and garden cress yesterday :slight_smile: The mints grew a lit, at one point I can use them in my lemonade or whatever I call that, it is almost only water and never any sweetener :smiley:
And my tiny tomato and capsicum plants are still alive! The last batch didn’t handle replanting well, they are so, so tiny… One died earlier just because I didn’t water it for maybe 20 hours and it was outside on the terrace table (I didn’t think the dark-ish kitchen is good for them). But the rest is pretty and healthy. Just very, very, very tiny. A rain comes and they will be lost in the mud…

Coffee still has no pull on me, I drink water in huge amounts though. I guess it replaced the role of coffee, just consuming something in my fasting period, I surely don’t drink it in the morning because I am so thirsty. My thirst arrives way, way later. I need a bit but only that much. Except if I am walking or the weather is hot.

#20

24 hour approaches. I am kinda hungry but it’s not annoying. Still no chance to skip today, I feel it. But I am fine with OMAD for now :slight_smile:
And I had some baby hunger way before noon again… But it wasn’t serious. I don’t know why I have that now, I usually don’t. Maybe my early waking lately interfered. Whatever, it passes :slight_smile: