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

[Shinita]

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.

what decisions would you have to make you couldn’t put off for 2 days? Just curious.

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.

When I was doing longer-term fasts, I usually found the second day to be the worst. After that, it got better.

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]

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.

[Janie]

I understand - thanks for the explanation.

[Shinita]

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.

[collaroygal]

June chat is over here:

June 2022 IF/EF Chat Thread (All Welcome)

Didn’t see a chat for June so here it is. I’m going to be doing some OMAD fasting for the next few weeks. As the temps rise I find it easier to fast, especially things like OMAD or ADFasting.