Sardine challenge

maggybd

I am very proud to share that I completed the 72 hour sardine challenge. I ate only sardines and drank coffee with cream (that is not technically allowed) for 3 days. Mostly, I am really happy I actually finished. I often start things like this and then abandon them after a day.

I lost 5.8 lbs. I am guessing 5 of that is water weight that I will regain the moment I eat a carb.
My fasting glucose was 75 this morning and my ketones are 1.4 which is the highest they have ever been. The goal of this was mostly to get back into ketosis and I definitely accomplished that.

Now I need to stay in ketosis. The goal for this week is to be under 20 net carbs and under 1400 calories.

I decided to do this mostly over a weekend because I wasn't sure how I would feel. This was probably a mistake. I felt great but being at home around food all day was hard. Next time I will probably do this during the week.

paperpudding

Only sardines for 72 hours??

Good grief.

claireychn074

I’m sorry but 🤮🤮🤮

WHY? Why would you do that to yourself? I mean, I like sardines but blurgh. You know you need nutrients from fruit and veg right? This is going to set you up for a binge and restrict cycle if you’re not careful.

Quick “fixes” don’t work and that’s probably why you say you’ve never stuck them out previously. Eat what you like (including keto it if suits you), reduce your portions and record calories. You’ll lose weight, it won’t be as hideous as eating small smelly fish for three solid days and won’t make you constipated. Or the opposite.

JaysFan82

Lol you'll lose more friends than pounds eating that

Retroguy2000

First of all, ugh.

Second... "the 72 hour sardine challenge"? This is a thing? What?

I don't do TikTok so I must have missed that.

tomcustombuilder

Lol.

kshama2001

Kids these days. In 2016, this guy was working on a 30-Day Sardine Challenge.

https://jonfinkel.com/failed-30-day-sardine-challenge/

Spoiler: he failed after 14 days.

Melwillbehealthy

I’m stunned. I love sardines and eat them as a treat, but nothing but? No thanks, my kitchen would wreak!😵‍💫

glassyo

I've never knowingly eaten a sardine but I'm intuitively with all the responses.

AnnPT77

I'm happy for you, OP, that you set a goal, stuck with it, accomplished something that was difficult for you and that made you feel proud. That "stick to it" skill set is really important for a lot of things, and it's satisfying (empowering feeling) to grab the reins and hang on for the full ride, with anything like that, really.

I have to admit, I wouldn't choose sardines and coffee with cream as my particular challenge, either; and of course any mono-diet isn't optimal nutrition. But 72 hours of a one-time (or rare) mono-diet isn't life threatening, as long as the food isn't something risky in itself. If getting into keto is important to you, that's a bonus. (I don't keto, haven't needed to for weight management or health reasons, and it would be unpleasant to me given my love for eating large amounts of carb-y fruits and veggies.)

Best wishes for applying those "stick to it" skills to ongoing weight management habits!

paperpudding

well, yes, sticking to a goal is good - but I think goals have to have purpose.

what is the purpose of a 72 hour sardine only challenge?

yirara

I really like sardines, and I could probably come up with different recipes for a whole week... but... but...

ninerbuff

I'm Asian so Iove sardines. But with the exception of eating them out of a can with tomato sauce ocassionally, I'd have to have it with rice or something else.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnnPT77

paperpudding wrote: »

well, yes, sticking to a goal is good - but I think goals have to have purpose.

what is the purpose of a 72 hour sardine only challenge?

The OP literally said what the goals were: Sticking to something challenging for 72 hours (because she often starts things, doesn't finish), and getting into ketosis quickly.

I don't get the pile-on negativity in the thread. It was only 3 days, the OP seems to have a reasonably sensible plan going forward, it's not a thing that seems inherently dangerous, it achieved the stated goals, etc.

It sounds unpleasant to me, but tastes are individual. I don't get it at all, but I don't see what's so awful about it. The only thing that raises my eyebrows is the "next time".

I've done all manner of silly things, and continued some of them, including some that were actually dangerous, for literal decades. (Has anyone here been substantially overweight and stayed that way for decades, for example?) I can't even think how many times I've done something silly and risky 3 days in a row for no reason at all, except it was somehow perversely fun or easy, no other positive outcomes at all, and some negative ones.

This is just a silly (to me, presumably not to OP) non-injurious short thing to do for 3 days, NBD, so why not? And it accomplished the goals.

paperpudding

The OP literally said what the goals were: Sticking to something challenging for 72 hours (because she often starts things, doesn't finish), and getting into ketosis quickly.

OK, getting into ketosis quickly is a purpose - not for me but for people who want to get into ketosis quickly

sticking to something for the sake of sticking to it seems no purpose to me if the thing isnt acheiving anything.

Sure it is just silly but harmless - but I think posters are also posting to discourage others from doing such things or thinking such things are neccesary or benificial for weight loss or good health.

sollyn23l2

paperpudding wrote: »

well, yes, sticking to a goal is good - but I think goals have to have purpose.

what is the purpose of a 72 hour sardine only challenge?

They're trying to kickstart ketosis.

tomcustombuilder

Lol, I can think of a lot better tasting ways to get into ketosis if that’s your thing for some reason.

People have this notion that ketosis means it’s a Backdoor entry into burning stored fat. Probably 90% of those people would abandon that idea if they understood what it really takes to burn stored fat in a way to induce Fatloss.

middlehaitch

It seams like @maggybd likes doing challenges to alleviate weight loss boredom. In the thread looking for 52 weeks of challenges some pretty nutritious, food diversity, cooking ideas were forwarded. No one suggested this- 72hr of sardines.
(Note the ‘next time’ in the original post, more short term challenges are on their way)

To me it ranks along with all the other posters who are ‘kick starting’ whatever eating style or deficit they propose to follow by doing an extreme start (cabbage soup springs to mind) - unnecessary.

I don’t buy the ‘never successfully’ as a valid reason for doing a kick start mono diet especially as most people, including maggybd, don’t need this to reach ketosis or any other dietary/nutritional threshold.

@maggybd if the only way you can get through weight loss is by doing varied challenges (60 day no sugar, 1week logging) that’s fine, I suppose, but maybe start working on your maintenance plan now.

Cheers, h.

Just as an FYI
https://ketogenicwoman.com/sardine-challenge/

galiok

Doesn’t seem like you got a lot of support here, sorry to see this. Sardines are extremely nutritious and this fast is “a thing.” There are ways to eat them that make them pretty tasty. Tastier than their name sounds lol. We should really be more encouraging to each other here, friends. Anyway, I’m doing it too. I’ve been plateaued for a couple of months now, and finally after my second day of this fast, I’ve lost 4 pounds and I feel great… no tiredness and feeling mentally sharp. I know you posted this a few months ago @maggybd but congratulations for sticking to it 🙌🏽

AnnPT77

galiok wrote: »

Doesn’t seem like you got a lot of support here, sorry to see this. Sardines are extremely nutritious and this fast is “a thing.” There are ways to eat them that make them pretty tasty. Tastier than their name sounds lol. We should really be more encouraging to each other here, friends. Anyway, I’m doing it too. I’ve been plateaued for a couple of months now, and finally after my second day of this fast, I’ve lost 4 pounds and I feel great… no tiredness and feeling mentally sharp. I know you posted this a few months ago @maggybd but congratulations for sticking to it 🙌🏽

Support, yes. Not encouragement, necessarily. That's the point to me, both what I want and what I try to offer.

People have diverse opinions about what constitutes a good course, but I think most people here give their opinions in that mode, trying to help, not just spewing negativity for negativity's sake.

If someone's doing something that I think is going to torpedo their goals rather than conquer them, I'm going to say so. And I hope others would do likewise for me (as they have).

(As an aside, I think I was pretty encouraging in this case.)

Also, welcome to the Community side of MFP, since this appears to be your first post!

AdahPotatah2024

In my opinion, that whole mindset of wanting to be in ketosis AND limiting your diet to sardines is unhealthy. However, if you are determined to do a sardine challenge, I'd suggest reading Knut Hamsen's book "Hunger" while doing it for a full experience!

Unknown

This content has been removed.