Fasting Logs

My numbers at the start of day 3: 92.3, 107/79, 6.8. Lots of water loss + clearing of digestive backlog!

So ... for two days so far, I've managed to pull off 2 workouts a day! Low intensity keto-style workouts. 45-min walk around the estate in the morning, and weights + 30 min walk/run on the treadmill in the evening. Sorta re-discovering one of the first rules of workouts, the more one does, the more one can do. Good feeling about this. #workout #fingers-crossed

I spent most of the day lounging in front of the telly catching up on Marvel's Agents of Shield. Wow, season 4 is really really well-written. 7 episodes left to watch, think that'll have to move to tomorrow. #distraction

Water was a thing today. As in I'm drinking a crap load of it. 14x 600ml bottles so far and it's only 9pm. Think there's allowance for another 2 bottles. Sipping from the salt water bottle when I feel like it so I don't get poisoned by dihydrogen monoxide!! Wondering if I ought to up my supplements. Am feeling good so far. #water

The Killers are a good act but I am getting rather sick of them. It was bound to happen when I put all their albums into a single playlist and left it on repeat. I NEED NEW MUSIC!! Maybe I'll have to leave the radio on the next couple days. #music

My numbers at the start of day 2: 94.1, 118/88, 7.2.

Here's a secret: cold water mitigates those "hunger pangs" from the stomach.

Hunger pangs in quotes cos, apparently, that feeling from the stomach? It's not real hunger, it's just that the stomach's used to certain things at certain times, and it's just wondering when the next thing's coming. Real hunger? It's a mouth and throat feeling. #hunger

I've got 7 600ml bottles of water in the fridge, and another 5 outside. That seems to be enough if I refill them immediately. #logistics

So, it's never too early to think about that first refeed meal. It's probably going to be liver. Again. I'm turning into a creature of habit no matter what I'm doing. Liver is good, though. The one difference is it might be a pig liver instead of a cow liver this time. #refeed #liver

This has not been properly scienced but I gauge my state of ketoness by the colour of my pee. Pee colour usually ranges from clear to shades of yellow and/or green. From observation and correlation with what's been going on, I've come to believe that yellow = body has spare glucose, and green = body has spare ketones. #pee #TMI

I'm new to fasting in general. My main goal is weight loss but also self control, mental clarity and clearer skin. I began playing around with it the last week of July and the fist week of august I did my first 3 day fast. I ended up feeling so good I went on for 5.6 days! Day 4 was amazing. I was so productive and clear. It fell on a weekend and my house got so clean. I was so proud of myself for making zucchini bread and not eating half the loaf. My kids were excited to have it too.

I went from 140 to 129 and gained back to 133. I made all the mistakes and went back to my old eating habits and went back up to 138. I wish I took more measurements for comparison.

Now I am IF. Listening mostly to my body not the clock. I am fluctuating between 129 and 133 for the past month. I am semi active I do hiit videos occasionally and run 3-4 days a week for maybe a total of 20 miles a week. I have a desk job.

I want to break this plateau. My goal is to have a weight of 125 but also look and feel healthier. I love candy. However I hate how I feel after eating it. I'm cranky, tired and irritable. I am never/rarely tempted by fried foods. When I fast I have more self control and as an emotional eater that's very important.

Tomorrow I want to start a five to seven day fast. I find the first day is the hardest for me so being home the first day will help. The candy dish at work is just too tempting the first day. I will take measurements and pictures in the morning.

As for exercise...I don't know. I am hoping I have the energy for some running and light weight lifting but no training runs.

Since I started IF the process of fasting went smoothly. Hunger doesn't bother me, and my fasting length increased. I loved the fact that I only ate once a day, and that I don't need to think about food so much. Right now I go 23 hours fast and 1-hour feed (more like once I'm done eating my only meal).

However, right now I'm struggling with IF right now. Primarily due to the fact that I sprained my ankle. The dilemma is that I'm in pain and I can only take painkillers with food. I haven't taken any medication yet because I have been able to live with the pain.

Right now it's 2 A.M. and I can't sleep because of my ankle. Luckily, I don't work tomorrow. 

I may consider medication when I do eat in a few hours.

Right now I'm on hour 12 of 23.

Starting numbers: 95.4, 139/95, 8.0 Planned duration: 30 days + some hours (until 23 Oct)

I had been stuffing my face the past 2 weeks and the numbers show. I think that I screwed up the reset that came with the last fast, and well, I've got an interesting starting point this time around.

About to sit down for last meal before fast. Bacon chips, orange, cheddar and some whipping cream. That would put my start point as 2pm Friday.

About Me:

I'm 30F, and 3 months PP. I've been easing my way back into a healthier lifestyle. I was diabetic during pregnancy, which is my motivation to stay active and lose weight. I've found that with exercise I've gotten a mental sharpness that I thought I had lost long ago. In the past I've done a 3 day water fast and really enjoyed the mental and physical results.

Some Stats:

Height: 6'1

Weight: 232

Mental Well Being: Feeling a little overwhelmed, unfocused. 

About This Fast:

I'm doing a water and coffee fast -mornings are rough enough with a baby, I can't quit coffee yet.. 

Fasting mainly for focus and clarity, and to reap some fitness benefits as well!

24

Today went really well. The morning was kind of a drag. I had been attempting to eat later in the morning for the past few weeks, so I felt like that helped initially. 

And the coffee. I usually take it with some non-dairy creamer and splenda, but I went with it black. I'm a coffee switch. Anyway. 

I felt like that held me over pretty well until I had to take my daughter to preschool at 1:00. After 1:00 I usually take the two little ones on a 90 minute walk, which I was worried about. Pfft, it was nothing. I was able to get in a 3.5 mile walk while feeling just fine.

The rest of the day was a piece of cake. Keeping busy and drinking water was the key to keeping my mind off of eating. The only time I felt tempted was right before bed, but I made a big cup of herbal tea and went to sleep. 

48

I woke up with kind of achey joints on 9/21. My elbows specifically. I think this might actually be from carrying around the car seat and the toddler at the same time. I don't have enough arms!

Walking was a little bit rougher than it was yesterday, but mentally it felt a lot better. My mind felt more clear. Around 8pm I felt like I could give in, so I drank some hot tea and was able to get through it. Went to bed around midnight and woke up at 0700 on 9/22.

Definitely hit the point of clarity that I was looking for! I feel a lot more centered than I was before the fast. I'm looking forward to doing this again soon! 

After Stats:

Height: 6'1 (no change, hmm)

Weight: 230

Mental Well Being: More energy, clearer mind. 

Context: This is going to be my log for a 4 day (96 hour) fast, that started last night around 8 PM and will go until 8 PM (or so) on September 22. I will update this same log each day with notes on what I drank, did, and experienced, including weight loss results, and I will also include follow-up notes on how I break the fast and how much weight I regain. I have completed about a dozen or more fasts of this length or longer, and even more 1-3 day fasts, so this should be a pretty simple fast for me, but I am new to this website and like the idea of having a place to keep track of each fast I do! This fast is going to be followed by a 10 day fast starting next Monday, so this is just a warm-up!

Starting Weight (as of Sep. 19 in the AM): 152.4 lbs

Ending Weight: 145.6

Sep. 19, Day 1

Weight: 152.4 lbs

Normal first day of fasting. Got a little hungry towards bedtime. Didn't drink enough, only about 50 oz of liquid (coffee/tea/water), which is unusual for me. Usually I naturally drink 70-80 oz in a day, even when not fasting. Went for a 1 mile run up and down the hill in my neighborhood around 8pm, took about 10 seconds off my best time, which was great. (Only a 9:35 minute mile, but I am pretty slow still, and the first half mile is a big hill.)

Sep. 20, Day 2

Weight: 148.2 lbs

Down 4.2 lbs. Already cold this morning, and wishing I had gotten more sleep (about 8 hours, but doesn't feel like enough). Happy that my "weekend weight" is gone. I had more sugar and alcohol than usual Friday-Monday, so losing 4 lbs of water weight seems about right. Hopefully some of that was fat, though. Had my usual two shots of espresso, a few cups of black tea, herbal tea, veggie broth, and water/La Croix, for a total of about 76 oz of liquid. Did some squats, push-ups, lunges, and sit-ups. Rather bad headache this evening, but probably from far too much computer time today.

Sep. 21, Day 3

Weight: 146.8

Down another 1.4 lbs. Extremely thirsty this morning, and somewhat hungry. Was restless last night and didn't sleep well, which is normal for me starting around Day 3. Hungry hungry hungry tonight. Veggie broth didn't help. Looking forward to seeing what the scale says tomorrow. That number plummeting every morning, and looking forward to that moment of being rewarded for my self-discipline, is what keeps me on track. Did bodyweight exercises. Did a much better job of drinking water today.

Sep. 22, Day 4

Weight: 145.6

Down 1.2 lbs since yesterday. Went to bed with a headache, and woke up with a worse one. I assume it is either "keto flu" or possibly not enough potassium, since I've been on top of my other supplements. I have low blood pressure to start, so I think my electrolytes being balanced is ultra important for me. I didn't get lightheaded almost at all on this fast, though, which was very nice, and I think it was because I started veggie broth on Day 2. Going to break my fast this evening. Looking forward to it! That said, I relish the freedom of fasting. I think that fasting success comes down to habits. Eating is a habit, a good one in most cases, and not eating is also a habit. When I fast, it's just something that isn't a part of my day. Now that I've been EFing regularly since February or so, I don't obsess over food as much as I used to while fasting. I used to watch tons of cooking videos and obsessively read recipe blogs, and imagine what I would cook and eat when I was done with the fast. I still do that a little--I do love cooking and eating--but mostly now I just try to get other stuff done in the extra time. I am feeling a little nervous about my ten day fast next week, but I am looking forward to a re-feeding weekend full of healthy food and some tasty treats. We have houseguests coming, so there are going to pancakes in my life tomorrow, which hardly ever happens (like maybe once a year or less). I'm vegan, so I just usually don't bother making things like that, because I don't tend to have the ingredients on-hand. Breakfasts for me are usually oatmeal, fruit smoothies, or sometimes an English muffin with guacamole or hummus. If I eat breakfast at all. ;-)

Broke fast 8 hours early, and had a small salad for lunch, mainly because I have so many chores to do today before my houseguests come, and I felt I needed the energy, and I was weirdly hungry for it being day 4. About 3 minutes after I put a bite in my mouth (not exaggerating at all here) my digestive system lurched to life, which I find interesting, because that food definitely wasn't all the way through yet, but the engines started right up regardless. I wonder if my saliva/stomach acid triggered it.

I lost 5.6 lbs in 4 days. Not bad! Guessing that I'll be up 2-3 lbs tomorrow, but this is okay. Anyway, I call this a successful fast! Looking forward to my first ten day fast starting on Monday.

T minus 3 days. I will start on Fri 22 Sep, and I'm planning for it to end on Mon 23 Oct. I will get a blood panel done before breaking the fast.

Last meal before fast has yet to be decided, timing-wise. It will likely be a fatty cut of pork shoulder sous-vided in butter, salt and pepper.

I plan to watch all of these, shows that have gone on my to-do list since I have not had the time to do so -

American Gods Season 1American Horror Story Season 7 (as it progresses)Legion Season 1Lethal Weapon Season 1 and 2 (as it starts)Marvel's Agents of Shield Season 4Planet Earth IIRick & Morty Seasons 1 through 3The Exorcist Season 1 and 2 (as it starts)The Handmaid's Tale Season 1The Strain Seasons 3 and 4Twin Peaks Season 3

Apart from sodium/potassium salts, I will be supplementing vitamin C 1000 mg and calcium/D3/K2 daily.

I have decided that I will not consume any coffee or tea during this fast.

I will have an epsom salt flush on Friday, maybe after the last meal.

I've started on a bit of cardio. 10 mins run. I will have the time to do multiple short runs; hoping the discipline/motivation/energy levels remain for me to carry this out. There may be walks around the estate and along nearby roads.

I'll want to fit in another 200-300g of liver.

Started my 36 hour fast. To reverse overeating today and some practice to lead upto a longer fast.

Stopping at breakfast on Thursday. Two job interviews that morning.

Then a test on Monday. So may fast again from monday lunch.

So I managed to complete OMAD yesterday - I was getting some pretty strong hunger pangs in the afternoon, but I imagine that the bottle of wine and lack of sleep from the day before wasn't helping!  It was tough - but when I could finally eat, it was awesome!

It made me really think about what I want from an eating plan.  As someone who loves food, to be able to enjoy whatever food you like and still lose weight?  That's the dream no?  And all it requires is to acquire the mental strength to avoid eating stuff during the day that you probably don't appreciate or enjoy all that much anyway.  Food tastes so good after a long fast!

So I'm giving it another go today.  Strangely I've had some hunger pangs this morning which I don't usually get - possibly all in my head?

Having said all of the above, I think that variety and enjoyment are the keys to sticking to something and so I don't plan on doing OMAD every day...maybe 3-4 days a week, with calorie counting 16/8 on the other days - and one 'feeding/free eating' day at the weekend.