I remember that one, he was basically about to hit the floor. If I remember right Jimmy’s blood sugar likes to hit the floor if he let’s it. I think the people who tend to lean towards going hypo have a worse time with stuff like that.
That’s probably true, but I’m not obsessed with my insulin levels. Doing normal fasts robbed me of a ton of muscle and screwed my RMR, PSMF’s allow you to keep your muscle, they can be miserable, but worth it. I’m eating on average 150g/carbs day these days and my last A1C was 4.3, so somethings working. It’s definitely easier to do an all out fast vs getting in the protein and getting the hunger going, but the end result isn’t worth it for me.
Thank you,I’m really curious what have you written that can not be posted.
If the longest fast you can do is "only’ 2 days, that is great too. Many people do shorter fasts whit success. IMHO, longer fasts reqquire several factors to come together to make it work. Are you fat adopted?
I have read all the long term fasting journals of everyone on this forum and some more, the general take away as I could see was that while there is some muscle loss, it is negligible compared to the benefit of shedding the extra weight. (my plan is to start a workout regime after my next fast to improve helath and build up some muscle) The way I understand it, after a few days HGH supposed to kick in and help preserve muscle mass. As for the BMR, it supposed to bounce back.
PSMF???
Never really heard much about it but it sounds to me like a starvation diet. I don’t think I could do it.
If I happen to loose some muscle than so be it, i will rebuild it after.
Thank you for your support and for checking in on my progress.
Sony for taking such a long time to reply, life gets busy sometimes, bla bla bla…
The downside of not fasting is…
… meal prep!
It is very liberating not having to think about what I’m going to eat, and spend time making it.
It is only Wednesday but feel ready for starting my third fast on Sunday. What is the general thought about the length of re feeding before doing another fast? As for now, one week seems sufficient for me.
Yes, very much real lifting, If it were any other time I wouldn’t be able to answer that as I’ve done so many programs but during my fasting binge I did 3 back to back Jim Stoppani programs, Shortcut to Size, 5/3/2 and Shortcut to Shred. pretty intense programs.
It could be posted but lately I am more self-conscious about my personal walls of texts… It’s your thread! And it did what it should have, I was thinking… I am not sure I am closer to fasting now but I have some idea which fasting/right eating muscles I need to use more…
I would be happy with 48 hour fasts! But they happen extremely rarely, the last one was several months ago. And I usually eat very much on my eating days. Some break would be good for various reasons. Even my OMAD days are rare at this point. And I definitely need them more frequently, small meals can’t satiate me well enough.
Sometimes I think EF would be easier to me than this struggle. Harder at some rare points but only then. I like my well-fasted state, things are fine there for so long and it’s quite hard to have an annoying, not controllable hunger there while it happens very often during/after a meal.
I remember how nice it was to take a break and being disconnected from eating for a while… But normally I get hungry every day, the first skipped afternoon is hard without a big determination.
I got fat adapted once and I don’t think I lost it. Before I got a bad hunger (strong and very sudden) even well-fasted and in ketosis. But people say there are various levels, maybe it could be better? But if I eat right, I am quite fine and hunger is not a serious problem, mental things are worse then.
Our thoughts about PSMF is quite similar… It’s amazing what people are able to do… Even your 14 day fasts seem cute and easy compared to that, not eating is easier for me than eating tiny and/or low-fat meals… And it’s both as I have read (unless I eat around midnight every second day but low-cal OMEOD at midnight sounds tough too). It seems it works for some people, that’s fine but it’s hardcore and I can’t like it even theoretically. Not losing muscles is a huge priority for some and less for others, it’s understandable. (I want to keep my little ones but not through suffering. There must be a third way, I don’t mind slowness, that would be a huge improvement… We can’t have everything at once and some people sacrifice comfort for quick, good results.)
I have no knowledge about ideal refeeding length after such a long fast but one week sounds good to me. As long as you can eat properly during this time, of course but I guess everyone can except some people with eating disorders or some sensitivity…? But I don’t know, it’s a long time and I never read experiences doing such ones repetitively…
And it’s not many repetition for you. What is your goal, even vaguely?
@Shinita Sorry for not getting back sooner but I think the forums were down as I was not able to log in.
Don’t worry about “wall of text” or it’s being “my thread” as I believe we post/share our experiences here in order to find a style that works for our personal situation and body, so every comment/question is welcome.
You are not alone, I struggle whit portion control myself. Even on keto I can overeat. However I don’t seem to gain weight on keto, that’s a real bonus for me.
Are you saying that you get hungrier after eating?
I don’t think anyone is claiming that fasting is super easy.
IMHO, to do EF the “easy” way, it has to happen at the right time in the persons life, whit the proper motivation, determination, and relatively low stress.
While “fat adapted” is probably a thing, I think many people overstate the effect on hunger. It doesn’t mean that you don’t get hungry (at least not for me), I think it is more like one can just simply push trough easier and don’t have the sugar crush what one would experience while burning carbs.
PSMF is probably the right thing for someone in certain situations, I have never tried it but it doesn’t sound like fun to me, also i hate measuring and keeping track of food. I’m too lazy I guess.
If you mean my body weight goal, it would be around 80-85kg 175-185lb. I will keep up my fasting routine until I drop below 200lb, it should happen by beginning of march. The weather should improve by than and I will start working on my cardio and probably keep fasting until I feel good whit my pants size. I hope the gyms will reopen soon so I can work on strength training as well.
I’ve started fasting again after dinner Saturday evening. I was not able to stick to OMAD during my feasting week, it was more like two meals a day. I didn’t see the reason to restrict my eating that week.
First fasting period;
Jan 04 2021 Starting weight 107kg / 235lb
Jan 11 2021 Monday weight 102kg / 224lb
Jan 14 2021 Thu weight 100.6kg / 222lb
Jan 16 2021 Sat Weight 100kg / 220lb
Total days = 12 Weight loss= 7kg / 15lb
Jan 16 2021 - Jan 23 2021 OMAD
Second fasting period;
Jan 24 2021 Sunday 102kg / 225lb
Jan 26 2021 Tuesday 99.5kg / 219/lb
Jan 30 2021 Saturday 96.6kg / 213lb
Feb 04 2021 Thursday 95.7kg / 211lb
Feb 06 2021 Saturday 94kg / 207lb
Feb 06 to Feb 13 Feasting.
Current period;
Feb 14 Sun 96.5kg / 213lb
Feb 17 Wed 94.6kg / 209lb
It seems like my weight increased for more than 6lb after feasting for a week. It’s kind of surprising, didn’t expected that much.
Its day 9 in my third fasting period. It is interesting to note that the first 5-6 days I felt more hungry and was thinking about food more often than usual, that seems to have passed now. Other than that I feel fine, although it is quite hard to stay warm. As long I do things, move around I’m fine but when inactive I get cold feet and hands. Although my hands and feet always get cold easily even when not fasting.
And, here is the data;
First fasting period;
Jan 04 2021 Starting weight 107kg / 235lb
Jan 11 2021 Monday weight 102kg / 224lb
Jan 14 2021 Thu weight 100.6kg / 222lb
Jan 16 2021 Sat Weight 100kg / 220lb
Total days = 12 Weight loss= 7kg / 15lb
Jan 16 2021 - Jan 23 2021 OMAD
Second fasting period;
Jan 24 2021 Sunday 102kg / 225lb
Jan 26 2021 Tuesday 99.5kg / 219/lb
Jan 30 2021 Saturday 96.6kg / 213lb
Feb 04 2021 Thursday 95.7kg / 211lb
Feb 06 2021 Saturday 94kg / 207lb
Total days = 14 Weight loss = 8kg / 17lb
Feb 06 to Feb 13 Feasting.
Current period;
Feb 14 Sun 96.5kg / 213lb
Feb 17 Wed 94.6kg / 209lb
Feb 22 Mon 91.9kg / 203lb
I must say, so far this is working quite good for me. I’m quite confident I can go up to 12-14 day again this time which would put me sub 200lb. I know it is just a number but I set that number as a big milestone before starting this experiment. The weather is stating to get a bit better, and I will start running again once bellow that threshold. As of now I’ve lost 15kg / 33 lb during a total of 35 fasting days. I’m quite happy whit the results.
That is the plan, although it will be more of a combination of fast walk and running to begin whit as I am extremely out of shape. My goal is to be able to run 5k without stopping.
Eating triggers my hunger the best… Normally it’s fine but sometimes it’s hard for me to reach satiation. Or I reach it very quickly and get hungry in no time (like, 5 mins). Maybe my body is still confused, my vegetarian keto/low-carb -> carnivore-ish (on good days, I can’t stick to it longer term) woe change made things like they never were and things keep changing. My occasional carbs surely don’t help so I do my best to be as strict as possible.
But I never stay hungry, I didn’t do that even on high-carb. I massively overate but I got satiated. I don’t need overeating on very low-carb. But occasionally it happens.
But if I fast, it’s hard to feel strong hunger, it can’t be that impatient feeling I have after eating some. The odd feelings of something lacking is bad enough but I imagine it would go away on a longer fast. Or not, I have little experience and I only did EF if I was ready for it and that’s different.
But now I go for OMAD. I need good timing or it won’t happen, at least not while simultaenously avoiding a bunch of carbs. But I can do it if I wait until I get properly hungry (even if I don’t feel strong hunger but my body wants a big meal. too bad I don’t feel that, I just guess. or I use tricks after I got satiated).
But I don’t do hard things if it’s about my eating… Maybe it will come gradually to me? If I do everything right? I don’t want to be able to do EF on command, a few per year whenever my body likes it would be nice enough. Or a bit more now to help with my eating a bit too much? But maybe that’s not how I should lose fat. A few per year then, for autophagy, a break and to show I can do it. I am a human, with lots of extra fat at that, I should be able to do it. If I had no food, I surely had little problems for a while (I had that once). Not eating while having food (both around us and on our mind) is tricky. I only could do it when I was extremely determined.
Fat adaptation is different for different people. It drastically changed my hunger. Of course I still get hungry. Sometimes. Not every day (I broke my fast after 48 hours once without any hunger, that was unusual) and not strongly but soft little hunger doesn’t mean I can stand it… Sometimes I can.
Before fat adaptation my well-fasted hunger could be strong, super annoying, demanding and very sudden. If I have that type now, I either ate in the last hours (it’s the most probable and carbs had to be involved) or my well-fasted hunger progressed slowly, gradually while I didn’t eat just stayed hungry for a few hours or more (it happened once. I was away and had no food. sometimes this hunger goes away, sometimes not).
I still can’t resist hunger most of the time. I get hungry (even slightly but definitely hungry), I eat. I try not to do it on Zornfast when I manage to get extra determination. I failed at that lately.
If I want easy fasting (about the only kind I can do), I mustn’t get hungry for a while. That’s easy but at the moment I must avoid not only any hunger but all real temptation and even lack of satiation. If I can eat, I probably will (I made a tiny breakthrough lately so lack of satiation may not be enough but it takes effort). But fasting still sounds nice and not something I can’t do… It’s just tricky a bit if it’s longer as it almost never comes naturally like IF did. But maybe it will if I became less obsessed with food (as it never happened since I focus on it more than before, spend too much time in the kitchen etc. I change this now as well).
I am not sure I am familiar with sugar crash. Maybe because I always had to eat a ton of fat and protein with my carbs?
Yes, I meant body weight goals. Good luck! Well you seem to have it, you do it super good even close to your goals. I am so much farther and struggle with OMAD. But I can’t compare myself with others, I know that.
Hopefully you will be able to hit the gym again. I do my little weightlifting at home, I would need some more equipment (just for convenience, I have enough weights and all kind of stuff I need. but I want a dumbbell just for my back exercise so I don’t need to take apart all the others every time… I like optimization anyway) but the shop probably still doesn’t have it in these Covid times…
I want to run too but I am not good at it. I mean, very bad considering how much I can do without stopping. But a human should be able to run so I will.
5k (meters, not miles) is supposed to be doable in a month according to plans starting with lots of walk with tiny running parts. Not for me but I don’t like running (I am bored if not winded), determination matters a lot as in so many things.
Spring is near already!
No wonder you experience differences, you get more used to fast but lose fat… But you do great!
Thank you!
Although I am not there yet. If everything goes as planned I will get there by the end of the week.
On the side note, does anyone have problem posting? when I reply the “saving” msg stays on forever and then I get a bad Gateway error but the post went trough. Its weird.
Thank you.
That is the exact reason I wanted to wait for my weight to drop. I did loose weight many years ago just by portion control (it was miserable) and running. I started running weighing ~230lb and my knees did not appreciated it a bit.
I was a runner in the dim and distant past, but those days were 180 - 190 lbs. I’m 61, so things are going to be different anyway, but even just the thought of running on paved roads, for example - wow, the part of my brain that deals with my knees cringes at that.
12 days was my longest fast. While we don’t know everything about the human body and fasting, I’m very glad for every fast I’ve done. I kick myself sometimes, so to speak - it’s like how running used to be for me - if I could just get as far as putting on my running shoes and getting out the door, then all was well. So, If I can just get that first day started, fasting… Often, it’s spontaneous; I’ll have black coffee in the morning and a little while later realize it’s been 18 hours since I last ate already. “What the heck, might as well throw a fast in here…”
Yes, it takes a long time for my post to load. I think this is related to the recent problem when no one could post for a few days. I guess someone is working on it. (And I thank them.)
First fasting period;
Jan 04 2021 Starting weight 107kg / 235lb
Jan 11 2021 Monday weight 102kg / 224lb
Jan 14 2021 Thu weight 100.6kg / 222lb
Jan 16 2021 Sat Weight 100kg / 220lb
Total days = 12 Weight loss= 7kg / 15lb
Jan 16 2021 - Jan 23 2021 OMAD
Second fasting period;
Jan 24 2021 Sunday 102kg / 225lb
Jan 26 2021 Tuesday 99.5kg / 219/lb
Jan 30 2021 Saturday 96.6kg / 213lb
Feb 04 2021 Thursday 95.7kg / 211lb
Feb 06 2021 Saturday 94kg / 207lb
Total days = 14 Weight loss = 8kg / 17lb
Feb 06 to Feb 13 Feasting.
Current period;
Feb 14 Sun 96.5kg / 213lb
Feb 17 Wed 94.6kg / 209lb
Feb 22 Mon 91.9kg / 203lb
Feb 26 Fri 90.7kg / 200lb
Total days = 13 Weight loss = 6.5kg /14lb
Total days fasted since Jan 04 = 39 days. Weight reduced by 16kg /35lb
I was planing to go for another 14 days but it was just not practical to do so this time so I ended it on Friday evening instead of Saturday. Because of that I did not reach my goal to get below 200lb, that’s OK I will have the pleasure to have that achievement on my next fast.
Some of my observations;
This time I was thinking about food and had hunger feelings more often than previous fasts. While my belt size shrunk considerably the belly fat is the most suborn and it will be probably the last place to go. The good news is that I have to get my old pants out because the current ones hanging on me like potato sacks.
It feels very liberating not to worry about preparing meals or worry about taking food to work etc during fasting.
That’s it for now, I’ll probably start another fast this Saturday evening.
Maybe it will come gradually to me? If I do everything right? I don’t want to be able to do EF on command, a few per year whenever my body likes it would be nice enough. Or a bit more now to help with my eating a bit too much? But maybe that’s not how I should lose fat. A few per year then, for autophagy, a break and to show I can do it. I am a human, with lots of extra fat at that, I should be able to do it. If I had no food, I surely had little problems for a while (I had that once). Not eating while having food (both around us and on our mind) is tricky. I only could do it when I was extremely determined.
The substantially-less-weight thing and how it’s easier on our joints can be profound.