Want to Avoid Refeed Gains


#1

At 4 pm today I will be starting my first extended fast, I am between month 3-4 of strict KetoWOE. I have done IF almost daily 16:8. Still have not lost weight with 75lbs minimum to lose, 38yr old, female. I have lost only a few inches since beginning and in odd places (right under bra line and each arm), tummy still as big as ever but not bloated at all (definitely a NSV). I have benefited from no more reflux, appetite/craving control, and diminished fatigue that I used to suffer from daily!

I am not new to water fasting, I used to do it every few years pre-Keto (usually out of desperation from health symptoms). This is my first EF on Keto. I am not setting an end date, because I want to just listen to my body and see when true hunger returns. My only concern is how do I minimize any weight gain after? I realize a small amount may naturally occur, but I definitely don’t want the fasting period to be only a temporary step forward. Hoping I am doing this correctly by feasting today before 4 pm…


(mole person) #2

You have to expect weight gain after refeeding. You will only lose about 1/2 lb of fat per day that you are fasted. The rest comes off of water, shrunken lean mass, and intestinal emptying and will mostly return over the following week to ten days.

So if you do a four day fast and lose six pounds expect two pounds of that loss to be fat. It might be a bit more but you shouldn’t count on that.


#3

Thank you that really helps me to keep things in perspective and be realistic about the fasting and refeeding periods.


(George) #4

I do extended fasts pretty often and haven’t had any crazy refeeding gains. Just don’t weigh yourself immediately after eating. I do weekly weigh-ins, so I can’t say for sure how much comes back on when ending a fast, or how soon you start seeing the regained weight come off after resuming keto, but I do continue seeing steady weight loss weekly, if not every other week.


(John) #5

My experience with fasting is that I might lose 2 to 4 pounds during the fast, gain half back, but then a week later of normal eating I am back down at the fasting low and it becomes my new non-fasting weight.

For reference, my fasts have been short duration - 24 to 63 hours so far. I really felt like crap after this last one (59 hours) and decided I will stick to 36 in the future.


(Carl Keller) #6

I’m confident that you will do well Graci. Most of the hunger I battled during fasting was influenced by the clock. The ritual of eating at certain times of the day can cause what we perceive as hunger but is simply an expectation to eat. Once I made it past the dinner hour, the hard part was over. Just stay busy and try to not look at the clock. :slight_smile:


#7

Thank you Carl, I do remember feeling like time stood still in the past when water fasting. I am typically TMAD, I will make sure start a puzzle or an outdoor activity for when I find my mind loitering on thoughts of food lol.


#8

I am hoping I will experience something similar in regards to establishing a new lower set point for my weight :blush:


#9

I am a little nervous that once I end my fast and refeed that my appetite will go haywire and I will want to eat everything. I think it will be important for me to continue EF as part of my new normal :slightly_smiling_face:


(John) #10

I experience the opposite. I have a tendency over time to slowly drift back into eating for reasons other than actual hunger, to where I may get up and have a handful of walnuts as a snack, or want to have a dessert (nuts and berries with whipped cream), even though I had a decent dinner.

I do about a once-a-month fast to remind my brain and body that it is perfectly OK to go without eating for a while. It sort of resets the good habits and re-regulates my hunger signaling. It also re-acquaints me with the feeling of being empty but choosing not to eat, and to let hunger signals come and go without reacting to them.

36 to 48 hours seems to be the right length for me, and once a month seems to be good enough. I just use it like a mental tug on the leash to stay on track, not so much of a weight loss tool per se.


(George) #11

For me, if it’s a shorter fast, say 48 hours or so, my appetite does that. But I just have to have self control and all is okay. But, when my fasts are 60 hours or more, my hunger is gone and I can have a decent size meal without it turning into a binge


#12

I am hoping to last 3+ days, but as this is my first EF on Keto going to take it one day at a time, years ago during water fasting, the first 3 days were always the hardest for me.


(Jane) #13

There is a thread that runs every month for fasting support. People jump on and off as they are fasting, whether IF or EF. Please join us if you’d like!


(Jane) #14

As for your original question. Some EF’s I reset my weight setpoint and didn’t gain much back (always gain a little as you fill up the pipeline of your gut) and some I gained it all back and ended up where I started. Don’t know why either way.

Hopefully your results will be the former and not the latter!


(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #15

I’ve gain almost every back a couple of times and then the next fat I lose extra. My stomach folds get stiffer the day or 2nd day of refeeding. I think that is water that the fat cells want to hold onto. Then whoosh later. I had one fast when I lost 2 lbs after refeeding and that refeeding included way too many pork rinds. Like a half of one of these large containers. I just could not get satisfied.

The trend is our friend.

It is weird the way our bodies respond.