Today is my first planned IF... mini-blog

(Aimee Moisa) #1

After several unintended several-hour fasts last week (“ate small breakfast, just not hungry for lunch, not skipping dinner”) and an unplanned fast yesterday (“ate a big breakfast, not hungry for lunch, how long can I go before eating dinner”) I’ve decided to try fasting on purpose today. Yesterday I ended up eating dinner earlier than normal 'cause the hunger pangs were just too much. Big tip, and a tool I’ve used in the past is that sleep beats hunger. I slept from about 1:00 to 4:30, ate, watched videos, then slept again at 9 or so and woke up this morning at 5:30 feeling refreshed and ready to try this thing.

So, my last meal was last night at 4:30pm and about 6:30am I had my morning coffee of 1/2c espresso + 1/4c HWC and one of those teenytiny-scoops of stevia but I haven’t eaten anything else. That’s 14 hours down.

My plan is to ignore hunger pangs, drink water, and have dinner at 7pm as my breakfast, bringing my first fast to a 25.5 hour fast. I’m going to a meat-up tonight in Morro Bay, CA, at a restaurant and I’d like to do some social eating at the gathering. If I get a headache or nausea I’m not going to push it, I’ll just eat something small and fatty, like a handful of walnuts. I don’t want to feel crappy and I don’t want to have a car accident on the way to the meat-up.

It’s only 8:50 am and I’m already having hunger pangs and growling. Poor belly monster is sad and crying. :frowning:

Last night I watched several IF videos of Dr. Fung, Dr. Berg, Dr. Barry, and some guy named Thomas DeLauer. I have so many questions, mainly because it looks like everyone defines fasting differently because of the different specific purposes of fasting, and depending on your definition different things are considered to take you out of a fast. The two purposes I’m concerned about are 1) fasting to not raise BG and insulin so you improve insulin sensitivity and burn fat better and 2) fasting to initiate autophagy to reduce inflammation, reduce the loose skin, and help with aging. Those two purposes seem to best achieved by two different types of fasting, Number 1 can be achieved by daily intermittent, short-eating-window fasting and I believe it was Dr. Fung who said that Number 2 is best achieved by 36 plus hour fasts. Or maybe that was Dr. Berg. I don’t remember, I was half asleep watching these videos. :slight_smile:

Anyway, I’m going to keep adding to this little mini-blog today as I suffer through my first little fast. Let’s see what happens.

(Aimee Moisa) #2

9:37 - Hunger pangs/growling are mostly gone but I just had this sudden urge to get up and go get a snack. As someone who went through a lot of binge eating disorder therapy last year I recognize this habit, this unconscious urge, the lull moment between finishing one work task and starting another during which you want a break to assess what you’ve done and what you have to do next, also maybe with a little celebratory feel to it, or maybe a slight sense of boredom. Yeah, you should get out of your chair and walk around to stretch your legs, a la pomodoro method, but stay away from the break room. Water bottle is almost empty. Have the next one prepped.

(Aimee Moisa) #3

10:52 - Is it because I’m purposefully trying to not eat that I’m getting so hungry? Is this what the first fast normally feels like? Not even lunchtime yet and the belly monster is making LOTS of noise again. This is when I normally eat so I guess I just have to calm the belly monster with more water and more work distractions.

(Aimee Moisa) #4

11:43 - Second bottle of water done. Time is crawling and I’m thinking about food almost constantly. Is there a point at which I get past the hunger? Hopefully so and hopefully soon or I’m going to have to eat.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #5

I’m not sure how to break this to you, but 1/4 cup HWC is at least 200 calories.
That’s not fasting. That’s drinking a small meal.

(Aimee Moisa) #6

:slight_smile: I know, this is just how I’m easing into it.

(Aimee Moisa) #7

LeeAnn, what do you think of the stevia?

(Aimee Moisa) #8

Ok, headache has arrived. Not pushing it past the headache stage. Eating lunch now.

#9

Some people do fat-fasts. Just define your fast-perimeters and go for it.

(Khara) #10

Are you drinking Keto-aid or otherwise ingesting salts? This really helps me. Also bone/beef broth helps me. Be careful with carb content, some have a bit.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #11

I could do a banana fast too, but it’s not really fasting.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #12

I think it’s an individual thing and if it doesn’t cause you problems, don’t worry about it.

But… if you start to stall, you may need to examine the possibility of eliminating it.

(Aimee Moisa) #13

LeeAnn, what is your purpose for a fast and what parameters do you use to define your fast?

#14

Letting people experiment is super important. Keep out the dogma.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #15

The purpose is up to you.

If your purpose is to get to reduce insulin production by limiting food intake to a limited time of day (IF), then having a 200 calorie coffee defeats the purpose.

If you are using it as a bridge to being able to go longer without eating, I suppose it may help you. I occasionally do OMAD as a bridge to EF, so if you’re just trying to exercise your fasting muscle, okay. But you aren’t getting the benefits of IF, which is to reduce the amount of time insulin is raised in your body.

I’ve read that anything over 50 calories is considered breaking a fast. I keep it to 20 to be extra cautious. And I only do that once a day with an electrolyte drink. Other than that I stick to green tea or water (as I can’t take my coffee without the extra fat and sweetener too).

(Aimee Moisa) #16

So you fast to reduce the time insulin is raised in your body?

(Aimee Moisa) #17

Oh, and yes, right now I’m just trying to get used to fasting. Heck, this is just my first time doing it on purpose. :slight_smile:

(LeeAnn Brooks) #18

Yes. This is the whole point of fasting and why fasting can even help non-Keto people lose weight. Insulin is what makes us fat. Everytime we eat, we raise insulin levels. Carbs raise it a lot. Protein about half as much as carbs. And fats raise it minimally, but they still raise it.

Everytime you consume something, it takes about 3 hours to digest. Your insulin is raised much of that time. That’s why we discourage snacking with Keto and why fasting can help speed up weight loss. In IF, you limit the window of time your body produces insulin to the feeding window (plus a period of time during digestion). If you snack, you can be in a perpetual state of producing insulin.

And of course if you go EF, you really stop insulin and your body is able to really start to work off it’s fat deposits.

(Aimee Moisa) #19

Have you ever tried apple cider vinegar while fasting? I heard it does something but I can’t remember what. Also, I haven’t looked into bone broth but I assume it has calories, right?

I liked how you called it, exercising your fasting muscle. LOL

(Aimee Moisa) #20

What’s a pearl clutcher? LOL