New to my fitnesspal and Keto - Fat Fasting
TLogan1226
Posts: 5
I am new to myfitnesspal and Keto. I have been on a low carb diet for 9 months and hit a plateau with 25 lbs still to loose. I am into my third day of a Fat Fast using Dana Carpender's Fat Fast Cookbook taking in 1000-1200 calories/day, 85-90% coming from fat and the balance in protein and carbs ( Fat Fasting for no more than 5 min. -10 max. days) to get into nutritional ketosis. Obviously this is not and should not be a long-term strategy. Has anyone done a Fat Fast and transitioned into Keto? Any suggestions?
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Replies
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With 9 months into low carb - are you sure you weren't already in ketosis?
A few people here have done it. 2bemeagain even did a blog update. I think it's a decent strategy if your body is resistant getting into ketosis. I think it's pretty far down on my list for plateau-breaking strategies. I'd put Intermittent Fasting and a carb-load / Free Meal ahead of the Fat Fast.
I'm not sure what your macros were before you went into the fat fast. I found just boosting fat to 70-75% on an ongoing basis has been helpful for me. I like to use some of the recipes from the cookbook for that purpose.0 -
Thanks for the mention Kira!
I've been doing keto since Nov 2012. In February my losses slowed, and found the cookbook via Kira. I did it for 5 days and wrote some posts which you can find here:
Read about my first FAT FAST experience (Lost 6.4 pounds, 2.75", and 0.6 BMI points in 5 days):
Overview: http://alturl.com/9hm8d
Day #1: http://alturl.com/ho8tr
Day #2: http://alturl.com/6ug5s
Day #3: http://alturl.com/5nf93
Day #4: http://alturl.com/dvn4k
It definitely was an interesting and successful week, and then I went right back into my regular keto routine. I gained 3 of the 6 back over 2 weeks and then it took me a couple more weeks to lose that and have a net gain. I don't know if I'd do a 5 day FF again, but I would do and have done a 1 day.
Like Kira said, I prefer IF and free meal options.0 -
Thank you, Kira and 2bemeagain. I had not heard of IF/Carb Load. I googled and there are several approaches to doing this. Would you mind sharing which approached worked best for you? I'll definitely try that in the future. Although the Fat Fast has been, thus far, successful for me.0
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I don't think that there's any doubt that the FF will be successful for you while you are doing the FF -- the question is, how much benefit do you see in the weeks AFTER the FF. You'll have to let us know.
I've been doing the free meal once a week. Basically it's just that - you get to have a meal where you eat what you want. I don't go crazy, and usually carbs are still in the 50-75 gram range for the day. It's mostly psychological. By giving yourself the freedom, you don't feel deprived. Just need to ensure you keep it in check the rest of the time.
Intermittent Fasting is basically that you fast for 16-20 hours every day, and consume your food in a 4-8 hour window.
Truthfully, I haven't done it. It's just on my list of strategies if / when I hit a point of frustration with my current approach. So, eat between, say 11 am and 7 pm, and fast from 7 pm to 11 am.
My concern with the FF is that, having followed keto for 9 months - I'm definitely in ketosis. That was the original purpose of the FF from Atkins - to help those whose bodies were resistant in getting into ketosis. So I don't think it benefits me much. And I'm concerned that the losses experienced during the FF are short term.0 -
You make a good point. Tomorrow will be my 5th day on FF. I'll keep you posted on the transition back into LCHF subsequently.0
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Melanie shared a book suggestion with me called "Low Carb Diet Strategies You Don't Know About" by Susan Campbell. Great so far, by the way. It's an ebook on Kindle.
The author also recommends incorporating cheating, but suggests that it's not strictly psychological. Rather, by adding in the cheat meal once a week, you keep leptin levels elevated. Leptin, she explains, is a key hormone in maintaining metabolic rate. Those stories we read about people at a massive calorie deficit, eating less than 1200 calories while exercising and can't lose? That's because their leptin has dropped off, which drives their body to conserve energy. A cheat DAY (yikes - not a meal, but a day) can help keep leptin elevated.
Interesting stuff!0 -
Thanks for the recommendation.0
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I did the fat fast about three weeks ago for 4 days. I ate strictly cream cheese until I reached 1000 calories. It was ghastly! But I was trying to get things moving. Guess what? I gained 2 pounds. Nothing changed and boy was that a hard one to do. I bought the recipe book too, but thought I'd go with the cream cheese to make sure I hit the 1000 calorie mark. Very disappointing for me. I hope things turn out better for you. Good luck.0
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It can be ghastly doing it your way. I really did use all the recipes in Dana Carpender's Fat Fast book. I was amazingly surprised to find most of them tasty and satisfying. I only had problems with anything that had Shiritaki (sic) Noodles. For whatever reason, my body and taste buds can't manage them. I lost a total of 7 lbs. and gained back 2 lbs. and since lost 1 lb. So it worked for me. I would only suggest FF if you are truly stuck as I was, i.e., working out 10 hrs./wk, eating low carb and still struggling to get the scale to move. Melanie's post offered a read that might also work for you -- "Low Carb Diet Strategies You Don't Know About" by Susan Campbell. I tried it as well and lost 1 lb. but gained it back.
I am now reading The Plan by Lyn-Genet Recitas, which might offer some additional insights...as I am a mature female and my body chemistry is going through major changes. We'll see...but not matter what, keep plugging away...doing something is better than doing nothing at all.0 -
@kira - thanks for the low carb dietong book reference. I'll have to look into it.
Also in terms of keto plateau. if you're eating above 1200 calories & losing losing weight then stall. Then I'd suggest adjusting your macros to match your new weight.0
