Don’t get too excited. 
I had to go home early to make dinner for my kids, and ended up eating. Ugh! (I usually stay out to miss dinner.)
Tried to blur this, but can’t figure out how to do it on my phone.
May 2022 IF/EF chat thread: "May the fast be with you."
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#66
Janie
(Jane)
#67
I have read some here who fast and cook for their families. That would NOT BE ME!!!
I can look at the food porn thread all day long and surf recipes whilst fasting as long as I don’t SMELL food cooking. Nope. My kryptonite.
Shinita
#68
As I mentioned a few time for sure, even the smell of scrambled eggs with sausage (and that’s pretty serious considering what we use) is fine for me. If I am not hungry, I am not hungry. Okay, lack of satiation with prolonged time at the kitchen table can slowly wear through my defenses… I usually cook lunch then sit at the table while my SO is eating. (The plan is doing the dishes but that’s hard when I worked and like to sit and drink some warm liquid instead. And we talk too, a bit.)
Well that often triggers a meal. This week I don’t even resist, I have a TMAD week, odd as I normally can’t do that and yesterday it was a bigger eating window too, not the usual 3-5 that used to belong to my TMADs. Still IF but that’s so basic, not good enough for me. But I still think OMAD is better so I am waiting patiently to last longer. Last week I got hungry so early, it slowly changes so hopefully my eating window will diminish. But my body is very adamant at eating every day. I just don’t feel okay without that.
This is morning for me so this thread is best as my first meal is more than 6 hours away.
I started to cook in the mornings, by the way since I wake up much earlier (at a sane time) than before. I try to figure out what food is safe and what not. The smell is okay but if I know I have some very tempting stuff and I am around it for 6 hours, things may happen. It’s all fine and dandy until I am satiated. But it slowly wears off. The period when I am not nicely satiated anymore but easily can wait with eating is where I should be careful. Family lunch (2 persons but that doesn’t matter) sitting somewhere around the end of this period, right after cooking isn’t fortunate.
And I am up since so long then 
It doesn’t matter to my physical urges, those follow the clock with some random factor and probably others but it’s mostly the clock… But mentally… I like eating. I like fasting too but after satiation expired, my attitude may change. Or not, I had times when I was hungry in a special, not annoying way and just couldn’t eat, fasting was way more enjoyable for some more hours.
As much as I need food at some point and HATE not eating, I have my times (very long periods) when eating would be miserable, fasting is the only okay thing to do. That probably helps me. I suspect there are some people who totally force themselves on fasting (as I met them online before), they get hungry, very hungry, suffer like crazy, their personality shifts and they yell to their family members or boss while they wouldn’t do it normally (I don’t think I am very familiar with hangriness, my SO shows zero signs of it even when he is quite hungry since 4-5 hours… odd thing)… And when asking for help, everyone but me told them to be strong and force it and oh so great if it’s painful, it means it works and they are the winners. My attitude is very, very far from that and I am very sure mine is the right one. I can understand forcing it a bit, sure, even if I don’t do that. I can see things very okay outside of what is okay for me personally. But this “I am strong and rule my body” and “success requires suffering” causes reg flags popping up in my mind. With reason, I would say.
Even sane ultramarathoners know that sometimes we should give up instead of damaging out body or mind. There is a goal, there is sacrifice - but at some point it just doesn’t worth it.
It’s so nice this forum has smarter fasters, apparently 
I never saw danger signs here. Oh on that another forum… Once a significantly underweight person started a long fast (I don’t remember it was a dry fast or that was another case, someone talked about the experiences of it. I never ever could comprehend dry fasts myself, I am a very thirsty person and anyway, water. my precious water. you can pry my water bottle from my cold, dead hands. even if I don’t always have it but I am never far from my water and use it too). Well, he finished it in the hospital. THAT was the time when even the “be strong” fasters said nope, we need reserves for a lenghty fast. But even if someone have them, our body is so amazing, it often gives us signs when something is wrong. Ignoring it very much is a big mistake.
It’s easy for me, I wouldn’t do that anyway but my body is a bitch if I ignore its louder and louder screams (it doesn’t matter mine is sensitive to certain things and it is in NO danger). And it is my body, it has power, it can make my life very, very unpleasant. That’s one reason I can’t do EF normally. It’s not nice when my body isn’t cooperating. And it rarely is. OMAD, fine but skipping a day? That’s tricky. But it will happen, eventually, I am super stubborn and sometimes my body is less interested about food and handles longer times well. I should be mentally ready for those times and a shorter EF could happen. But I like eating. Especially when I just made something nice. Sigh. I will work on it.
But now I should push a bit for OMAD. I have days (big surprise, very nearly everyone have them) when I just don’t want to try hard or at all. My focus is elsewhere and I have enough problems without some extra self-discipline (I am bad at that anyway). So I can’t just wait until a very serious (and not mental) reason to eat every day. But after an OMAD day it’s easier to make another as the bigger meal lasts longer.
But eventually, it break apart. I don’t even know what happened last time. I will look and listen.
But I am okay now, my TMAD days aren’t bad and I felt no hunger lately (I still had to eat as my “need for fuel” signs arrived. I still think I don’t need fuel then, just my body gets impatient but it’s the same thing, I dislike the consequences if I ignore the call for long).
I can do better now, my body went from its crazy “eating all day” (usually still IF but 7-8 hours feel super long to me) holiday thing (my SO was on holiday last week and that affects me) to a very cute TMAD, then hunger disappeared… So I suppose it’s time for OMAD again. TMAD, even if it works is problematic. I can’t cut my food into 2 proper meals. One should be tiny and I rarely do tiny meals. It works with very close meals but I don’t always feel like to do that. I finally get perfectly satiated, my body is very much not interested, I won’t force the thing… But skipping the day, nope, I get hungry again 
So OMAD still sounds better with occasional TMAD days normally - and TMAD when carnivore made my satiation too easy again but it rarely happens now.
Maybe I don’t need to think about this so much just be more determined? But that’s powerful and takes effort, I can’t do it often.
Janie
(Jane)
#69
Almost 24 hours in and cruising along.
Worked in the garden this morning - weeding, fertilizing and finally got my peppers planted I started in my greenhouse. Have some marigolds I started from seeds that need to be planted but rain moved in so I had to stop and come in.
jenikinz
(Jen)
#70
I am joining in starting right now. My plan is to go for a full week, with 3 days being the minimum. I did eat today, and I am feeling like crap. The “food” I ate when I got up is not agreeing with me. It tasted awful. I also had a keto chow shake in a flavor that I didn’t like so the thought of food at the moment is disgusting to me.
What better way to start out a fast?! 
Janie
(Jane)
#71
The high today was in the 60’s so we had to turn the heater on to warm the house up since hubby and I are both fasting and we get cold after 24 hours. Almost June in northern Arkansas - crazy!
Janie
(Jane)
#73
Our running joke when we are fasting…
Hubby: “I’ll cook tonight”
Me: “I’ll do the dishes”
Sated-Meg
(Megan)
#74
New to this thread! I managed my longest fast ever this week. I try to fast on Tuesdays, its a work in the office day and my kids both have activities so I dont get home until 730 then we crawl in to bed. Wednesdays though I work at home and have endless options for food so I normally break my fast about 41 hours around noon. Yesterday though we had a walk thru at our new house and didnt eat until 530 pm so I got a 46 hour fast in, and I wasnt physically hungry OR hangy, I was so proud
Shinita
#76
Meanwhile I am mildly proud that I didn’t eat super early… I woke up at 5am for a while and for some reason, waking before 6am typically triggered a tiny meal in the past. It made me feel more alive. Normally it’s out of question, very seriously, it would be a horrible, traumatic force to eat (my poor childhood… it was good otherwise, a bit lonely but breakfasts caused problems).
I slept back but still, I felt similarly off and heard the siren song but I am so good at waiting a bit now and it disappeared. I got a hunger warning (well, when it’s definitely not pleasant but not too bad and doesn’t last long? that thing) at… IDK, one at 11am and one at 1am? I don’t remember. These were serious enough to wonder about having an egg, not like I ever could do that, if I eat, that’s serious… That actually helps me to wait. And I will cook soon so it will be way easier to wait (food joy. even if I don’t eat, cooking is a nice replacement especially that I know I will just a bit later. I probably won’t skip lunch today, again).
So I definitely improved. It’s nothing NEW but not very old. Some years ago I would have messed up my timing. As it’s not the thing where I just should eat when I feel any proper urge. It’s very close to NEVER good for me to eat early. Waiting a bit even if it means being somewhat hungry for a while (but nothing very distracting, weakening so it’s okay even for a hedonist like me) is LOADS more enjoyable than suffering due to a big eating window. That just doesn’t work for me. And I must eat in the afternoon (except the super rare EFs I lately never do). So I mustn’t in the earlier parts of the morning but noon isn’t so good either. My usual 3pm lunch is early too but when I have my carnivore easy satiation phase, it may be okay. And it’s hard to skip lunch lately.
So I consider my probably TMAD day a tiny win today. Normally waiting until lunch is the easiest thing ever (way easier than eating even earlier). Not today.
So I am quite pleased this newly developed “waiting” when I get this “I WANT food but won’t turn off important functions yet” body sign (the “hunger warning”) stays with me and becomes a long term thing (hopefully permanent).
It is not always fun when every tiny hunger and hunger like thing triggers a meal. Usually no big deal but sometimes a problem. And impossible to lose fat that way, not like I ever proved I have found a realistic way to do that… I think I did but something always happens. Right now things are up even with TMAD but I do my best to go back to OMAD and later to do EF. I need the cooperation of my body for that and I am waiting patiently. But I can avoid totally messing up my timing on difficult days, it’s something. Maybe not for you disciplined folks but I rarely but regularly had non-IF days (! that’s more than 8 hour long eating window for me and that’s SUPER long!) this far even though IF (with a smallish eating window, usually) is natural to me and I feel off when I don’t do it as it’s not right for me.
It’s not hedonistic to do things not good for me even if the other way involves a tiny self-discipline… Fortunately such difficult days are rare, self-control is very tiring, I couldn’t do that often.
I never give up my ideas regarding EF even though sometimes even TMAD is a bit difficult… But it’s clear I do what I should from a hedonistic viewpoint and that’s what matters to me when I can think with a clear mind. Hunger forced me into some stupid decisions before… I like to think it pretty much stopped. It’s such a huge gift when you have hours to avoid problems when you get a bit hungry… Even losing strong hunger after fat adaptation, the small soft one was bad enough in the last several years. But I got a tad better at control (despite it sounds so wrong to me… but sometimes needed. just a tad) and it seems to be enough to avoid really bad days eating wise.
Sorry for the long comment but at least I didn’t eat during it, today it’s not trivial And I don’t want to abandon it.
I was somewhat controlled but extra safety measures may be needed knowing me and my track record.
Janie
(Jane)
#78
What is the longest fast you have ever done?
I was amazed at the mental clarity that came on day 3 of a fast, back when I didn’t work from home full time and worked from Ft Worth. Not being at home and not traveling on business with colleagues you were expected to eat with made it easy for me to do longer fasts.
But you have to push through the first day to get there. Thinking of your situation with no outside job and no kids where a stupid decision could have serious consequences…… what decisions would you have to make you couldn’t put off for 2 days? Just curious.
I am off work for the next 4 days and my biggest decisions are where to go eat for lunch, what to fix for dinner and which items on my ever-growing To Do list will I tackle. LOL
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#79
@Janie I’ve always found it to be difficult, to make dinner/lunches and fast. But when my wife was fasting with me, she could do it. We made it 5 days or 4.5 days multiple times, with her making meals for the kids. Amazing.
Our kids and my wife will be out of school soon, so everyone will be home. I guess I’ll have to stay at work as long as I can if I want to fast.
The good news was that I actually ate OMAD. Usually what happens is that I’ll eat, then get hungry later. That didn’t occur.
When I was doing longer-term fasts, I usually found the second day to be the worst. After that, it got better.
We have a holiday this weekend, and we are going to open the pool and I plan on cutting down tons of invasive trees. I assume I’ll be so tired after the weekend, that I won’t be fasting next week. But we’ll see about the week following.
jenikinz
(Jen)
#80
UGH, so I have fasted for 24 hours thus far. Yesterday when debating on when to start I had three different dates in mind.
My son is being deployed for a long period, so in the last few weeks he has left we have a lot of get togethers planned. Then my daughter is coming for a visit right after.
I am going to change my start date. Doing this right now is going to be insanely difficult, especially when we will be eating out a LOT. Yeah, it will save money, but sitting in restaurants while fasting doesn’t seem like a good idea for me.
So I will see you all next month. My start date will be after June 9th.
Shinita
#81
Once I was super curious and my boyfriend slimmed down and I was fat, things just happened at the same time… I did almost 120 hours? Fasting was WAY easier on high-carb for me. The less carbs I eat, the harder it gets and as I do my best to stay close to carnivore, it’s pretty hard and I can’t even do EF while with some determination, I could do it on keto. Or my body got older and more stubborn, I don’t know but it wants its food every day. Fat adaptation helps with avoiding sudden strong hunger (or strong hunger, period) and I can wait hours now but I still can’t stop eating for as long as in my younger, high-carber years. I suspect that my short automatic EFs were some self-protection things from my poor body that got way too much food and not even the best kind.
Once I starved for a while (no money, no food, it was very short term though, 11 days and it was no zero food in the beginning), that was easy too (okay, I remember some not too bad hunger, that was unavoidable) but as I had no way to get food and I had plenty of bodyfat, it makes sense…? It’s not hedonistic to demand food when there is no way to get it.
I never get more mental clarity, my mind is the same on all woe and EF did nothing to it either. If I am not suffering (but then I eat :)), my mind is normal, of course it’s a big range, I can be tired or zombie or whatever but it doesn’t seem to do much with my eating.
Nothing I guess. I just can’t be weak, dizzy and unbalanced, seeing black. It’s NOT fun. I am a hedonist, I can’t not eat when it makes me feel better. It’s not THAT important that several hours of suffering and lack of sleep or bad sleep would be worth it. I went to bed hungry once, NEVER AGAIN. I need my sleep, I have no energy without it. I never have much energy, fine but I can’t let it go even lower.
Maybe one day I will get more determined and push a bit more but if my body isn’t cooperative, I won’t play with its goodwill and my mental health.
Waiting until a proper reason to eat is big enough. I used to be unable to wait until that long.
Makes sense to me, I have problems around but rather after 24 hours when my body realizes food WON’T be coming that day… And I have little experience with more than 48 hour fasts, it may get harder and I stop but as time passes, eating becomes a more and more foreign idea…? So I consider skipping my first afternoon the hardest. The next morning is trivial, I don’t eat in the morning as I am satiated (not if I went to bed hungry but I never do that)… And the next afternoon is harder again but I have momentum so… Mentally easier but physically possibly harder…?
I should less to think and write about it and more to do. But I just can’t, I don’t feel okay.
CFLBob
(Central Florida Bob )
#82
It figures I’d find this thread just as the month was ending. Seriously. Been here, looked for it but couldn’t find it.
All that aside, I’ve settled into the attempt at maintenance with one day/week fasting. I thought about mixing up my schedule but my wife prefers I do the same day every week, so I fast from Wednesday night after dinner until Friday around mid-day. Today I came in from my hour long bike ride to find she had cooked hog jowl bacon and I couldn’t resist grabbing a slice. That was actually about a 10:45, and I don’t recall the last time I broke a fast that early, around 39 hours.
It’s looking like since the first of the year, I’ve gained about a pound a month, which is hard to see while it’s happening. It’s within the accuracy limit of the scale. I definitely have what sounds to be a common problem of a gut that’s reluctant to go away. I see there’s a thread on that I can go read.
Shinita
#84
I can just talk about my tiny successes about not eating when getting hungry (I was in the city being busy) - AND not being bothered by it. This is so great, I get a tiny warning, ignore it and it goes away. Even when it’s my traditional lunch time and I normally get hungry earlier in the weekends! It feels like I can just wait for several hours in peace when the first “hunger warning” comes. I didn’t have this even after fat adaptation, my hunger got way softer and cuter but it stayed, it could be annoying and distracting while being soft too… Maybe it’s mental, not physical. But I suspect both.
I am at home again, Alvaro will cook early so it will be a good training day to wait for something serious before I even entertain the idea to break my fast. Fasting sounds very nice for now, I am perfectly satiated…
I will nurture this waiting ability of mine, I still want longer fasts as long as it’s comfortable. Not eating when there is some hunger-like but not bad feeling is actually fun at this point.