My experience on a 7-day Fast

Violet_Flux

@Liadin123 since ending the fast, my weekly weigh-ins have been +6, -11, +1, -6. So no, I don't believe I've had any weight regain. Crossing my fingers that it stays this way.

FWIW I don't think I was retaining water during the fast, it was once I started eating again that the water all came on at once. I saw it referred to as post-fasting edema or refeeding edema.

Liadin123

@Steph_Maks thanks for that! I am just now breaking mine, five days in... sadly, but I could not sleep I was so hungry and the headache was too much. Not sure if I did anything "wrong" or if maybe my body just didn't take to a longer fast? Disappointed in myself a bit (trying not to be, five days isn't anything to sneeze at), perhaps another time... or another way. I was really good up to today (full day 4), and started to feel badly. I think if I were to do it again I'd stick to a 3.5 to 4 day fast. You have my admiration for making it 7 days!

Violet_Flux

@Liadin123 Congrats on making it to day 5! That's something to be proud of!

Did you look at the calculator on this web page? http://blog.2keto.com/why-fasting-is-easier-for-some-people/

Depending on your total weight / body fat percentage, maybe you need to 'supplement' the fast with a few grams of fat each day, to ensure you have enough energy to keep going.

Liadin123

@Steph_Maks Thanks for the link. I was consuming a tiny bit of the bone broth, which had some duck fat in it (when I made it I added duck fat and lots of salt to the broth). Not a ton mind you, so maybe it wasn't enough - or maybe it was just enough to stimulate constant hunger.

I figure it's all a big experiment and a constant understanding of our own bodies, but I am currently battling between my own perfectionism (Dagnabit I didn't do the whole thing!) and my inner voice saying "calm down woman, it's five days, ya still did great". lol

Thanks again for posting all your experiences and sharing your insights, valuable information!!

cstehansen

Steph_Maks wrote: »

@Liadin123 Congrats on making it to day 5! That's something to be proud of!

Did you look at the calculator on this web page? http://blog.2keto.com/why-fasting-is-easier-for-some-people/

Depending on your total weight / body fat percentage, maybe you need to 'supplement' the fast with a few grams of fat each day, to ensure you have enough energy to keep going.

First, thank you for the detailed write up. I think it has been quite insightful to many who have looked on at fasting fearfully.

Since going keto, I have fasted for 24 hours on occasion just because I wasn't hungry. However, last week, I did a planned 48 hour. My sole goal is BG control. I don't really have any weight to lose anymore and haven't for close to a year.

I did want to draw attention to one potential flaw in the calculation in the above link though. The study used had subjects eating a far different diet that was high carb both before and during the study. As Phinney and Volek have shown with high endurance athletes who have gone keto, their ability to metabolize fat more than doubled. The top performers were in the neighborhood of 1.7 g of fat per minute. If that were maintained for a day (which would be unreasonable for sure), that would be over 22,000 calories from fat metabolism.

I doubt any in this group are athletes at that level, but I do think those of us who are keto/fat adapted are going to burn fat at a higher rate than that study would suggest.

My n=1 for this is that my 48 hour fast (technically 47.5 hours) was done solely with water and salt and about 60 calories total coming from my fish oil supplements each day. According to my Fitbit, I burned somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500 calories per day. That is just from the activity it can track as I don't log my weight lifting which I did on both days.

I could have easily kept going as I wasn't hungry. I had the same urges to eat you mentioned because of time of day or other stimuli, but no real hunger. Social obligations were really the only reason I didn't just push another day.

Part of my variance, and why I think I need to to a longer n=1, is that I think I probably was able to pull a at least 1500 calories from glycogen during this time. With a longer fast, I this energy source would be depleted.

Regardless, my fast was a huge success based on my goal. My FBG had been running between 119 and 125 pretty consistently. Since ending the fast, my average has been 108.7 and would be lower except I had one bad day where I overate significantly at dinner and got a poor night sleep leading to a 122 the next morning. If I take that out, my average is 106 (105 4 times and 110 once).

I will definitely be doing this again. I am thinking 48 hours every other week may be my go to experiment for the next couple of months.

Edit to add link to the study showing fat metabolism rates: http://www.vespapower.com/the-emerging-science-on-fat-adaptation/

totaloblivia

When I fast (most I've ever done is 72 hours) I then have a terrible reaction from refeed - I end up with diarrhoea (sp?). Does anyone know how to avoid this?

Violet_Flux

Thanks for all that info, @cstehansen!

I had figured that the "31 cal / pound of body fat / day" was just an average and it might be higher for folks who are already very fat-adapted.

As far as why my fast came apart on the 7th day, if it wasn't due to overtaxing my fat-burning metabolism, my #2 theory was electrolyte imbalance. I had been taking salt pills during the fast, but perhaps not enough. Considering my post-fast edema issue, maybe electrolytes were more to blame than I originally thought.

kmca1803

totaloblivia wrote: »

When I fast (most I've ever done is 72 hours) I then have a terrible reaction from refeed - I end up with diarrhoea (sp?). Does anyone know how to avoid this?

This is a reply I have previously given elsewhere to a similar question that may help.

The bowel urgency and cramps after fasting is probably just the gastrocolic reflex kicking in. Its quite common for some people doing extended fasting.

It's a bit complex, but the very short explanation is basically your GI tract becomes empty while fasting. Then when it senses any 'stretching' due to the reintroduction of food the motility ( the peristalsis 'waves' that moves everything along) becomes exaggerated and moves everything along quicker than normal. Hence loose bowels or diarrhoea. It's a normal reflex for babies - there's a physiological reason they eat and poop in quick succession. You can google it for further info if you wish.

I do extended fasting (usually 4-5 days during the working week) and often incorporate some degree of IF into other days. I only experience the GI distress you mentioned after breaking my extended fasts, but obviously different regimes for different people will cause different results.

It seems to help me to break my fast very slowly. A handful of nuts, then an hour later a small meal like a salad, then slowly building up to a regular meal. If I try to have a full meal straight away, I will get diarrhoea without fail within 12-24 hours. (The gastrocolic reflex is strong with me!)

I personally have also found eating eggs to break the fast will make diarrhoea more likely (I don't break my fast with an omelette anymore) and consuming any sugar alcohols will also exacerbate the bowel distress at this time. YMMV.

Obviously you should get checked out if you have concerns, but I have personally found most GP's don't understand the fasting, low carb, keto, etc. WOE and are not especially supportive re: the whole situation. (I am not in the US, where the majority of posters seem to be so I can't comment on situations elsewhere.)

I hope this helps and you reap the benefits of whatever fasting regimen you choose!

retirehappy

I have seen many report eggs causing this. I break my extended fasts with olives, nuts, or just a pat of butter. After about 30 mins. I will eat some other things, usually a meat with butter and a salad with lots of vinegar and oil. I do not get the issue doing this. I did do one fast where I was drinking WAY too much black coffee and got diarrhoea during that fast. I won't be doing that again.

Hope you find what will work for you.