What I'm learning about myself through fasting

hunger
fasting
(Avocado a day keeps the doctor away.) #1

I started keto a few weeks ago to treat my diabetes and fasting shortly after that to treat the underlying issue of insulin resistance. And what I’ve discovered is that, for me, fasting isn’t an exercise in resisting my hunger, it’s an exercise in resisting my desire to eat.

The hunger comes and goes and it’s no big deal. Just ride the waves. But the mental distress is constant. Food is an obsession.

And I have no problem with keto restrictions either, for the most part. The problem is that my keto food is so damn good I can’t stop thinking about what I’m going to get to eat next - whenever that might be.

It’s particularly an issue at work. If I bring food I keep thinking about when will I get to eat it. When I check in with myself (literally a “reality” check) I realize I have absolutely no hunger signals whatsoever, yet the drive to eat anyway is SO strong. I decided to remedy this problem I simply wouldn’t eat at work. This does seem to help, and helps reinforce the idea that I don’t NEED to eat, I’m just obsessed with it.

I can see this mental war is something that is not going to be won in a day, but I’m glad to see steady progress towards healthier ways of thinking.

The good news is my glucose is down from an average of 170 to an average of 135 and reached an all time low of 85 this week! And A1C is down from 7.9 to an estimated 6.3%. I think it’s seeing progress in these numbers that’s helping me to not be obsessed with the fact that the scale has only seen minimal movement thus far. :wink:

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #2

That’s really promising! I’ve been toying around with the idea of fasting, but like you I think it’s the mental struggle that’s more of an issue for me. I honestly don’t feel hungry much of the time, but my mental desire for food is strong. Congrats on your progress!

(Carl Keller) #3

So true. The hardest times for me are at those hours when I am accustomed to eating. Eating is as much a ritual as it is a necessity. Once I made it beyond “dinner time”, the thought of food was out of mind.

I’m 49 hours into a 3 day fast and I really tested myself at the market earlier today. I did some food shopping and picked up some beef ribs, sausage, avocados and pork steaks. Man, was my mind really getting excited thinking about how good this would be with that and how I was going to season and cook it etc…

Another thing I noticed about fasting is how great everything tastes after the fast is over. I really enjoy my meal, without being a glutton, after nothing but water and salt for days.

Good job on your progress! Keep it going. :slight_smile:

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #4

I can sympathize completely.
I cannot extend fast anymore, but by Day 2 I would be obsessing over what I could break my fast with.
Even now, with alternate day fasting, as soon as I finish my meal on the one day, I’m focusing on the day after the next and what I can eat then!
I just love eating, man.

#5

This feeling will probably stick around for some time, but as you say at least you are still feeling that hunger, which is a good thing. And I think the intro to new foods, that are actually good to eat on Keto, is something that seems to trigger those desires even more. … I’m just a little over a week away from being 6 Months in, and I’ve mentioned this many times now that I can’t recall the last time I was actually hungry, hungry.

I mean sure, we make some nice meals that I do enjoy eating, but I still miss that real craving for food in general. Even when I started Fasting up to 5 days, it was more like what others mentioned above, simply looking/thinking what I could break the fast with, and yes, I find the foods do taste so much better after simply water fasting. But not sure what I can do to actually get back to those days when I actually thought, ‘Damn, I’m really hungry’. … Hopefully it will one day, but as of now, nope… :confused:

(Heath) #6

I feel the same way, Thomasina, and I’ve started extending my fasts so that I have to wait longer. In other words, I can’t say, “Oh YES I can eat in 3 hours! I can’t wait!” I’m hoping making myself wait longer will develop those fasting muscles and reduce the strong desire just to eat because it’s fun.

(Justin Jordan) #7

Yeah same. That said, the extended fasting is easier - once I get rolling it’s easier. But fasting in general has never been physically difficult - it’s all a mental game of fighting the desire to eat. I LIKE EATING.

(Avocado a day keeps the doctor away.) #8

Oh, I hadn’t thought of that! Makes sense!

(Marius the butter craving dude) #9

Doing Keto and then IF and prolonged fasting experiences I have learned a lot about the sensation of hunger.
Before all I knew was the carb hunger witch has a mental element to it. Like a drug.
Doing keto I feel I lost the body’s carb cravings and I could finally distinguish between the body’s hunger and my desire. Then with IF I told my body when I wanted to eat and the body started being hunger 1 hour before my meal time.
Doing prolonged fasting was even more interesting. The hunger comes right when I usually have my meal time and goes away after 1 hour, but each time there is an increase in hunger.
The mental desire is the big problem. Once I had I dream in witch I eat 3 colas and 3 7-days with chocolate… I was very scared that I would have a slip. Yet I bought a 7-days and I realized the doe tasted awful and the cream was so sweet I could not eat it. I do not feel the desire for 7-days after this.

(Joanna Parszyk ) #10

I’m in the same boat or even more intense.
My passion is cooking so shopping for food, looking for recepies and cooking makes me happy.
I’m the only person tho takes care of this in my household and l also bake or cook for other people (l even have keto clients).
So sometimes fasting is simply a nice break from the “lovely chore”.
It is difficult when l have to prep a lot of meals while fasting ( daily 18:6) since I still sometimes need to check for the taste if everything is OK.
BTW you know when you are a Ketoer when you had a nightmare about binging on carbs :rofl::rofl::rofl: ( last night it was my first!).

(mags) #11

I totally relate to what you are saying. I work away at least 3 days a week and I used to spend hours thinking about where and what I would eat in the evening. Once I was able to fast I decided not to eat when I’m away. That is quite freeing but now I am constantly planning what I am going to eat when I get home.
The hunger comes and goes but it is the mental stuff that is so hard and is a constant battle.
You are doing brilliantly with your results. Well done :clap:

(mags) #12

Also because I drive long distances I would constantly eat. It horrifies me now when I think of the tons of carbs I would ram down my neck on my journeys. I love love love sandwiches and crisps. Would pick up a burger en route. Chocolate and doughnuts with every stop. Now I nibble on olives and a bit of cheese and never even look at the carby stuff. When I think about it there is definitely progress with my thinking in that I only obsess about keto food now. :meat_on_bone: :bacon:

(Michelle) #13

I obsess over keto food as well. Once I decided that keto is my new way of life and truly committed to that, I no longer desired non keto food. I can cook desserts and appreciate cakes and cookies for other people, but I just know it isn’t for me. It sounds crazy, but it’s almost like getting married. I can appreciate listening to my single friends’ dating stories, and even set single friends up, but I don’t have the desire for anyone but my husband. I don’t even want keto-sweets - that’s paramount to dressing my husband up like some young hunk and pretending… :joy: :open_mouth: :flushed:

(Susan) #14

Even on a fast I feel this way. This makes me remember when i was in my twenties and living on a BLT with plastic cheese every day and never getting hungry.

(Gigi Face Glam) #15

This one immediately caught my attention because I just decided to do a 36 hour fast. And, like you, I also feel just a little bit hungry but I think a lot about my next meal. To the point that I avoid watching food videos even if it’s healthy food.

I know we’ve been conditioned to eat a lot and to think we need more food than we actually need, so I’m taking it easy and I try to focus on the benefits I am getting from the fast and the fact that I have to endure this so I can reap all the amazing benefits later.

(Ted Ream) #16

Keep it up! My weight dropped 57 lbs on Keto and my fasting glucose went from 160 to 82 and my A1C is now a 4.5 versus 7.8. Here’s one tip which I only found recently. Heavy cream and one TBSP of coconut oil in your coffee (or tea) in the morning. The Lauric acid reduces your hunger signals and coconut oil helps increase calorie burn rates. I find myself not hungry (even with a morning run or lift) until close to noon. I’m down to two meals a day without a drop in energy or performance. Stick with a high fat/moderate protein breakfast (for me that is 3 eggs, two pork sausage links, cheese and guacamole) - that keeps me fueled until at least 2 pm.

#17

Wow!! Congrats on your success!! :grin:

(David) #18

Have you considered that your obsessive hunger was the response to an addiction, carb addiction, just like a smoker really looks forward to that first smoke of the day. Now that you are over your carb addiction, why on earth would you wish it back

#19

Yeah, I see your point, and does make sense to a certain degree. But for me it was never being obsessively hungry, given most days I didn’t eat but once or not at all. My biggest issue was that I wasn’t eating properly. Of course, this includes not eating the right foods, but I was also only eating once or occasionally twice a day way before learning of Keto, or simply not eating at all. - And when consuming Carby-stuff on a SAD, this doesn’t work as it does with the Keto WOE/WOL. (Actually works against you from what I was informed) … So no, I surely don’t want to feel hungry on regular basis, but there is a part of me that just simply misses the hunger feeling that one gets from time to time. (I guess basically to know it still works? If that makes sense?)

It’s basically that since starting 6 months ago, I don’t ever feel it at all anymore, and feel like meals are just being consumed based on either time of day, or just when dinner is made? … So it’s not a craving per se, but simply knowing that this feeling hasn’t been present at all now. And I know I’ve read others mention similarly about not having their hunger signals working that indicates satiety for them. So was wondering if this is similar or generally random for some, or just something I’m feeling?

(David) #20

Hi Dave

Nice to hear from you. Let me tell you where I am at, so that you can put what I say into context. I am 69, wife is 65. We went LCHF about 6-7 years ago. My son started pushing for Paleo first, but I poo-pooed it. Then my nephew was diagnosed with T2D at age 40. He is a sports writer in South Africa, and knows Prof Tim Noakes, who he then consulted… At that time, Tim was only just coming out of the closet with LCHF. Tim advised my nephew to go onto LCHF, and he did so, successfully. I heard about it, so started Googling. I have never been very fat, so longevity and better health is my motivation, rather than weight loss. But at 6’1”, I came down from 72kg to 65. I’ve picked up to 67 over the past 3 years, which is probably due to being more relaxed in retirement. I wouldn’t say we are fully keto, but we have completely eliminated all grains and grain derived products, rice, potatoes, sugar, PUFA oils. I cook with coconut oil or butter. My wife still has sugar in her coffee. I usually have breakfast at about 11am, and then supper in the evenings, after a few drinks (one beer included). My breakfasts go in cycles of 3: Greek style yoghurt with a third of a chopped apple and 1/3rd banana and a mixture of seeds - I call it my cheat breakfast; otherwise a stir fry of onion, cabbage or kale, bacon, any supper leftovers and topped off with one fried egg; otherwise I skip breakfast and only have a few little snacks at drinks time just before supper. I tend to skip breakfast - I should call it brunch, when it is a nice day and I decide to do something useful with myself like gardening, or going for a paddle on the SUP or kayak.

Just over a week ago, I went on a 40 hour fast for the very first time. I didn’t really notice anything different, but a week later I noticed that some persistent raised spots on my stomach had just about disappeared. I had even consulted a skin cancer specialist about them, who said they were not cancerous. Might just be a fortunate coincidence, but I will give fasting a go again - maybe 2 days next time.

Hunger: I agree with you that we eat out of habit. And if one is not otherwise occupied, it is very easy to give in to the slight urge to eat. If I miss brunch, and am relatively idle, my body does give me little reminders that it would like some food, but this is easily quelled by drinking some water - maybe it is just thirst that I am feeling.

6 months into it. What can I say, I hope for your sake that you stick to it for the rest of your life. while I am a bit of a fanatical type of person myself, I can only advise that you do not go so overboard with the diet that you get fed up and lose interest and motivation.

I used to get numerous colds every year. Since being LCHF, I have had 2 colds (in 6 years).

Cheers David