My first fast - Slightly scared about hunger

newbies
fasting
(Robert Kuhar) #1

I’m not going to lie i’m slightly sacred. It’s unreasonable because so many ppl have done it with great results but I feel like I’m going to be consumed by hunger. Not only that, I cook food for a living and I cook on YouTube! How do I fast while doing that!!??

Anyways I listen to the 2 keto Dude podcast and I’m sure this will help kick start that fat burning process so I am set on doing it starting this Thursday morning and ending Sunday night.

Can someone tell me how to keep from being consumed by hunger? What tools mental or otherwise did you use when you became too hungry? I lift and run almost every day. I assume I should stop while fasting or has someone had success with exercise while fasting. Thanks for the help guys.

#2

Carl mentioned on one of the podcasts something he learned from one of the guests on the show to combat hunger during a fast - 1/4 tsp of salt sublingual for 30s and chase with water. Apparently, your body sends hunger signals when it’s lacking nutrients or electrolytes.

Btw, I’d limit fasts to 3d since LBM loss after that point increases drastically. 3d should be enough for autophagy benefits and kick-starting fat burning. Alternatively, 50g protein/day fasts seem to keep LBM loss in check (so maybe start with 3d water or bone broth or fat fast and continue with the protein sparring fast for up to 7-10d or so).

(Robert Kuhar) #3

Okay so your saying hunger can be caused by a lack of salt or other nutrients. So take a bit salty bone broth could stop the hunger?? I can get behind that.

Someone on Reddit today told me to drink cinnamon mixed in water to curb any hunger.

#4

Exactly. Phinney recommends 2 beef bullion cubes daily as a supplement (each is 1g salt) which should work just as well as eating salt directly.

The water advice is good too. As you age, you become less sensitive to the difference in signals for thirst and hunger. The idea then is to drink a glass of water and wait 20m. If the hunger goes away, then it was just thirst (note that food has a high water content which may explain the body’s craving for water or food)

#5

Oh the other piece of advice with fasting is don’t do it until you are fat adapted. It takes around 3 weeks or so for your body to switch from being efficient at burning sugar to efficient at burning fat. Once you switch fuel sources, you’ll notice you can do keto and go for many hours without being hungry since meals are so satiating.

So if you’re just starting and want to try fasting, do Intermittent Fasting first. This is where you fast say 16h and then eat within an 8h window (or 18/6, 20/4). One meal a day is the extreme of this (23/1) and perfectly healthy - meal frequency doesn’t matter (unless you don’t have a gall bladder to digest large amounts of fat in one sitting).

After trying IF for a few weeks, then a 3d fast will be much easier.

(Tim W) #6

Day 21 of a fast here, about to break it in a few hours…

how to keep from being consumed by hunger?

-Eat a nice big keto meal before starting the fast, then, stay busy. Hunger WILL come on your normal eating schedule, I promise you this. I can fast for seven days and on the 8th day, still get hungry at the exact same time I always eat that day, it’s a routine signal, to be ignored, drink a big glass of water and occupy your mind doing something else.

What tools mental or otherwise did you use when you became too hungry?

-Others have said it, sodium, sodium, sodium, large glasses of water, maybe a lacroix etc…

I cook on YouTube! How do I fast while doing that!!??

  • I read a post by a pro chef who was fasting for 30 days and cooking the entire time, I don’t suggest doing this until you’ve passed the 3-4 day mark, at that point hunger is way down and energy is up, I often grocery shop and cook food while fasting, it just takes will power and, honestly, is an advanced fasting thing, I wouldn’t suggest it until I had 3-5 longer fasts under my belt, when you really begin to understand and appreciate hunger signals (what’s real hunger, what’s just craving, what’s just “because I usually eat now”?).

I lift and run almost every day. I assume I should stop while fasting or has someone had success with exercise while fasting.

  • I’ve done LOTS of exercise, running, lifting, hours and hours of yard work while fasting. If your body is used to it (I did IF for over a year before moving into the longer fasts) you’ll be fine. Have sodium 30 minutes prior to exercise and warm up slow. I once ran 12 miles on day six of a fast, it can be done if you have body fat stores for it (I’d guess you’d want to stay above 6-8% body fat to do this, lower than that and it’s anybodies guess how much you can do).

One note, I’m around 10% body fat, maybe a little less, when I fast long term, I get nasty (ask my wife). Keep that in mind, it can take a lot out of you. Move into it slow, maybe slow down the exercise and don’t try and do too much at once, you’ll get overwhelmed. I’d suggest taking a few days off the exercise while fasting for the first few times, then work up to a more advance protocol.

Lastly, why are you doing this? You MUST know your why, something to fall back onto, without a solid why and a knowledge of “THIS IS GOING TO SUCK AT TIMES” you’ll be more likely to give in when faced with a little adversity.

Best of luck to you.

(Mike W.) #7

How long have you been Keto?

(Chris) #8

I talk to myself when the early day cravings come.

“It’s a lie, don’t listen to it”

“Lift up your shirt, dummy, and look at the belly, you have this in the bag”

#9

The longest I’ve fasted so far is 40 hours, but what helped me the most was really focusing my attention on my stomach when I thought I was hungry. Every time I did this I realized that I wasn’t truly hungry. My head was telling me I was hungry and I should eat, but my stomach wasn’t.

(Robert Kuhar) #10

Huge thanks for all this information. I will say I’m relieved to hear you’ve read a post of another chef successfully doing it. As to your question of why I’m doing it, its general curiosity and because assuming that because I’m knowledgeable about the ketogenic diet I know about fasting. So I think the first-hand experience is necessary.

I’m 10%BF as well so I’ll give exercise a shot on day three perhaps.
Thanks again for the information.

(Robert Kuhar) #11

11 months! so fat adapted by now for sure.