Hi.
I’ve been looking into and attempting short water fasts.
I know it should take be used for fat lose, but I am in a real need to lose fat and reboot my eating habits.
Is prolong fasting bad for your muscles? Does it actually burn fat? Should I exercise on top of fasting if I have the energy, or should I wait until my body hits full ketosis to exercise?
Thanks everyone.
Nikolas, I would read up on here as much as you can. There a lot of threads about fasting that will give you a more complete picture.
It can be a great tool, but it can be really tough if you’re not already fat adapted, and the answers to most of your questions depend on how well you can access your fat stores while you’re fasting. Some of the possible side effects (muscle loss, weakness) are much less likely if you’re fat adapted because basically you’re fully able to use your own stored energy. Most folks don’t commit to a lot of exercise while fasting but if they’re fat-adapted and used to the fasting and the exercise, it can be fine.
Many folks do jump right into longer fasts and do very well, and it can be a quick way to re-set a lot of things, but the more common path is keto-adaptation (relatively quick - a few weeks), then fat adaptation (several months) with the drop in appetite that comes with it, then naturally skipping meals just because of a lack of hunger. At that point, and assuming you still have fat to use/lose, longer fasts can feel pretty easy and natural.
Thanks. This is motivating. I would like to adapt a more ketogenic diet in the future. If you have any information that you can share, please do.
Again. Thanks you.
There’s so much great info on here! I would start with the Newbie threads and just browse. You’ll see a ton of helpful tips, links to interesting studies and blog posts, some wonderful success stories. You’ll also find what feels like conflicting information, just because keto looks different for different people. Some don’t get to their best place unless they’re zero carb while others actually do occasional carb-ups; some are very careful about protein intake and others are not; some track their macros and others do what they call “lazy keto.”
But the newbie guidelines are a great place to start, and if you follow them for 3 months you’ll be in a position to tweak as needed later on.
It’s an unusually friendly and supportive forum, so feel free to ask questions as you go.
Welcome, and good luck!
First thing to know is there is a difference between being in ketosis and being fat adapted. If you stick below 20g of carbs per day, you should achieve ketosis in a matter of days. For most people, it then takes between 6-8 weeks to become fat adapted. What’s happening is your body is producing ketones but it doesn’t yet know how to use them for fuel efficiently. During this period you may feel what’s called the Keto Flu which is really your electrolytes being imbalanced. Also carb withdrawals can cause flu like symptoms.
As you are no longer fueling your body with carbs and the body still doesn’t quite know what to do with all the ketones, you can feel quite lathargic during this adaptation phase. Many (myself included) suffered from dizziness and nausea during this adaptation process. This is why many people don’t advise working out during the adaptation phase. Or at least going easy.
Once you become fat adapted your energy will return and you can slowly build back up, eventually increasing your endurance from pre-Keto day’s. As this process happens, you will feel less and less hungry and cravings for sugar and carbs should deminish. Which is why it’s easier to fast after fat adaptation has occurred, though it’s not completely necessary. Many come by Keto through fasting first. The only issue is you do not want to go hungry during this phase. You want to feed all hunger with fat. This will speed up the process. So if you weren’t already used to fasting, I would recommend waiting until you know you’re adapted.
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Water fast is only a good short term if you need lose weight for weigh in but once you start taking calories in you gain it right back. What I recommend is the inimante fasting. 16 hour fasting and 8 hour period to eat. Look up the diet on YouTube and they will go more in depth in it.Ive been doing it for day now and I feel great. Just make sure you drinking lots of water