Taking on an extended fast (10-14 Days)

fasting
(Zack F) #37

Informative but…eeewww. Better out than in.

#38

The funny thing is (funny?!) that once I break the fast I go back to normal looking excretions immediately. Where’s the sludge?! :confused:

#39

Under normal circumstances there’s too much digestive material and/or it moves too quickly to access the material trapped in villi.

Given that there are bowel movements during fasting, it’s a combination of ongoing mucous secretion and the mechanical disturbance caused by peristalsis and physical movement that allows the material to break free when otherwise it would keep getting pushed back in by the regular ingestion and digestion of food.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #40

@Debby I am at day 16 of my fast and had a black sludge experience and it really wasn’t bad. I could feel a slight urge, that wasn’t gas, and waited a bit to see if it would go away. When it didn’t I easily headed to the bathroom and took care of it: no urgency, no great pressure, just took care of it and was back in my office in a few minutes!

(Zack F) #41

Day 10 Evening Reflections

BG 68 mg / 3.9 mmol
Ketones 4.1 mmol
GKI 0.95

Today was fun. High energy levels. What was amazing is how much water I drank…and that is what I wanted to drink. I’m relaxing now with some green tea and a squeeze of lime. It’s tasty but almost forced.

I’ve been browsing online for a food processor. I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow night as I turn over a more continuous leaf on my keto journey. Of course I have high hopes in the long run to helping my wife shift to a low carb diet. The short term grocery bill is going to spike but well worth it.

Tomorrow and Saturday are the last full days of this fast. What can I say? It’s been no less than remarkable. Though this has been such a success, I have no idea when I’ll go this long on a fast again. Until this summer at least i’ll probably just incorporate more intermittent fasting with the occasional 48-72 hour fast.

(Zack F) #42

Day 11 BP Drop

Weight 255.4 / 115.8 kg
BG 69 mg / 3.8 mmol
Ketones 4.0
GKI .95
BP 129/85

BP sometimes gets thrown to the backseat in these discussions. Watching my BP approach normal numbers is as important to me as dropping insulin levels even though I didn’t put it in the goals. Though I’m not an ER doctor nor fireman my job can be stressful and my direct reports can get stressed out. I know a lower baseline BP was essential for my long term health. More colleagues than I can count are on blood pressure meds and have to go on leave to deal with it. I didn’t want to be there.

Some more sludge came out this morning a few minutes after I had a glass of water. Others have seen this on day 14, 15 and so forth. I think I can explain by having faster than average transit time. Also, I don’t need more than one hand to count how many times in my life that I’ve been constipated. Sometimes I normally go twice a day.

(Zack F) #43

Day 11 Midnight Reflections

BG 67 mg / 3.7 mmol
Ketones 3.9 mmol
GKI 0.95

I just had a tremendously long day. I got up about 7am. Did a few things around the place. I then uploaded an entry to this fasting log. Did some work related things at home for a couple of hours before going into work. Worked eight and half hours there while running three errands during lunch. After work I went grocery shopping. Spent a pile of dough on food and ingredients to cook keto meals for my family. Got home about 1140pm. It’s now a little after midnight. I’ve yawned some but not fall to floor exhausted.

Bring on the last full day of this fast tomorrow!

(Zack F) #44

Day 12 The End Draws Nigh

Weight 253.2 lbs / 114.8 kg
BG 70mg / 3.9 mmol
Ketones 4.0 mmol
GKI 0.98
BP 130/85

Just soaked up a good 8 hours of sleep after an eighteen hour day where ten hours was spent on my feet.

After a bunch of shopping online and hitting a few stores, I picked up a food processor yesterday.

I’ve been wondering how to break the fast. I was thinking some BPC-lite before church. Then after church something a bit more. Maybe a can of tuna with some mayo, olive oil and a little relish. Any ideas? On my last fast I don’t remember for sure. I think I has a fews nuts and some BPC lite.

Here is to day 12 :+1:

#45

Careful…after an extended fast, you may want to wait until after church to break your fast…just in case…if you know what I mean…:boom::toilet::scream:

Good job holding out on your fast regimen…bravo!!!

(Zack F) #46

Day 11.5 (no it’s not a typo)

Well I broke my fast…last night! My dear expecting wife was feeling nauseous last night but wanted to eat something because that usually helps. Nothing sounded good. I suggested biscuits and she said why not? I whipped up some from the cheddar biscuit thread (HT: @WhoAteMyPsyche ) She ate one and thought it was fine. What the heck I ate one slowly. I experienced no adverse reactions and so l had another one about an hour later. They were delicious. Thank you Ashley. Before bed I had probably an 1/2 ounce of walnuts and pecans each, extremely slowly. I am by nature the scarfing type though working hard to improve on that.

Slept great. I did experience a leg cramp. I got up and downed some magnesium and salt. Over the next thirty minutes took in another 32 ounces of water. I’m sure the eating caused the dehydration. I didn’t drink much last night. Feel great now. I had BPC-lite before church. I used 1 tbs of both MCTs and butter. No adverse action either. We brunched with bacon and eggs. Here I am now typing this.

I’ll take some readings again tomorrow. Last night I snapped some “after” photos. I’ll prepare a before/after posting along with a few “very” before pictures later in the week.

(Louise ) #47

Great work @ZackF - what an inspirational account!

(Ashley Haddock) #48

Sounds like a great fast, and a great way to end it. I’m glad you enjoyed the biscuits!

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #49

Congratulations on the fast! Thanks for keeping us informed.

(Keto in Katy) #50

Good thread, I enjoyed reading about your experience. Thanks for posting it.

(Zack F) #51

Last Night’s Numbers (about 24 hrs post fast)

BG 78mg / 4.3 mmol
Ketones 1.9 mmol

This morning
Weight 255.0 lbs / 115.7 kg
BG 71 mg / 3.9 mmol
Ketones 3.4 mmol

Enjoyed my WOW this morning!

(Michelle) #52

awesome!! Congrats to you on such a long fast. Interested in a few weeks post fast too if you care to share.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

(Crow T. Robot) #53

Thanks for the diary, it was very interesting reading and also informative. :+1:

(Zack F) #54

Thanks all of you. I’ll be keeping up with updates in this forum. I don’t plan on going anywhere. Here is a photo set.

(Yori Bargil) #55

I am currently day 7 thinking of 10 days or so fast
I read your experience and want to congratulate you for a successful fast
I am curious the rate of weight back for the days since end you fast
I previously did couple of 8 days and gain it all back within a week or two.
like to know what do you experience.

(Zack F) #56

I’ve regained about five pounds. It leveled off yesterday. Weighed in at 259.4 this morning. 259.8 yesterday. We’ll see. I had one day where I had some carbage. Went back to the straight and narrow yesterday after Wednesdays detour. I have no desire to go back to SAD or a moderate carb diet. I