Keto and Fasting has been amazing thus far.

Good Morning all...

I'm only on week 6 of my new way of life (At least that's what were telling our selves. And I have to say I believe it.)

My fiancé is on week 7. Were both adopted a more strict form of Keto than we have in the past which basically means absolutely no "real" bread, pasta etc... Where in the past we would enjoy one Wonder bread Thin sliced toast with breakfast and perhaps a few table spoons of pasta and an occasional half of small-medium potato. Absolutely no fruit, but at least a serving of berries minimum 5 days a week. It seems in the past, allowing us such small refined/simple carbs would invariably lead us to allow more and more things, until things just got out of hand.

We do though allow us a higher carb count meal a few times a week.. But when I say higher were talking 10-15ish tops, usually in the form of a low carb pizza, or Cabbage Lasagna or some other recipe we come up with.

I have in the range of 200+ pounds to lose starting out... and my fiancé has around 100 to loose. (and she's only 4'7")

Given the above and our general love of calorie dense food... This diet continues to be one that is more or less easy for us and allows us to eat all the foods we love so much. (with some obvious exceptions).

I firmly believe those of us with such a tremendous amount of weight to lose, don't really need to listen to the suggested amount of calories I need to eat per day. Personally I'm very satisfied and rarely hungry eating 1500-1800 calories per day, and sometimes less depending on the choices of that day. (yesterday I was only at 1350ish). My fiancé is eating somewhere in the area of 1200-1500 per day. Where MFP tells me I should be eating about 3440 calories a day.. (I just couldn't imagine eating that the way i feel now.)

With my first 2 weeks under my belt... And after doing a bit of research, My fiancé and I both decided to do something neither of us every considered before..... and that was Fasting.

So before we started, I ordered a Keto-Mojo blood Ketone and Glucose monitor... And for the past 3 Sundays, we didn't eat a thing between supper time Saturday and Monday morning Breakfast (36 hours). And this weekend past, since I had Monday off and my fiancé worked, I extended my fast to 48 hours till Monday Supper time when my fiancé got home from work.

So how has fasting been going? To my surprise, it was way easier then I had expected.

As i know from blood testing, Both my wife and I have been in ketosis steadily (day in day out and without fail)... I assume since our bodies are already in a state of ketosis, our bodies just don't really care that we stopped eating as they just continue to burn fat for energy as they do on none fasting days. Sure we get a little hungry, but a few drinks of water quickly quite the grumbling and by about mid afternoon of the fast day, those grumbling practically disappear. And oddly it seems, as soon as you lay down for bed, all feelings of hunger 100% disappear and personally I sleep like a baby and wake the next morning with no particular hunger. The morning before "Break-Fast" my ketone readings are upward of 2.5+ and my blood sugar ranges between 100-110. (normally 110-140 on any other day of the week.... And yes 140 being on keto has me a little concerned that I may be pre-diabetic, but I'm not about to eat some carbs to see what happens at this point).

Basically, going into a fast produces no ill feeling what so ever. Life is just normal.

Energy is fantastic 7 days a week. And now that we don't have to prepare meals, eat meals, or clean up after meals... Sunday has become chore day, where we pick tasks to complete just because when you have so much time on your hands... Let's face it, things can get boring really quick. So all in all, we actually get more exercise on Sundays now, and were getting stuff done around the house which is great.

Weight is just flying off for both of us. Unfortunately I'm still to big to get a reading off a scale... But clothes wise, mobility wise, energy wise, face wise, upper body wise, behind the steering wheel wise it all becomes quite obvious. Doing some quick math, I suspect I'm loosing 5-6 pounds of fat per week. Lynn on the other hand, has lost 10 pounds in her first 4 weeks... But I suspect since fasting she will be averaging 1.5 to 1.66 pounds per week. Lynn only weighs in every 4 weeks, so another week and a half to go and she's quite excited to step on the scale, as people at her work and mine are all noticing the change already.

Things are going so well... We are both looking forward to the next long weekend that we both have off, as we will likely extend our long weekend fast to 60 hours (This coming Easter).

So that's about it... I just wanted to put it out there. In the past I would put Fasting in the "Crazy people" group. But now, It seems silly I never considered it before. Our bodies store fat for a reason, and that reason is to use it when it's needed. We both got lots to use, so we are going to do just that. And being in Ketosis 24/7 makes transitioning into and out of a fast a real breeze. As for Starvation mode... I don't believe this is something one needs to worry about, when one is very overweight.

Anyone thinking of doing keto and fasting... I will state a few things I do religiously as I know it just makes life easier on me during keto.

1. I always have Metamucil at breakfast. This ensures I never get bunged up, that can sometimes happen on keto. Although I do get a fairly decent amount of fiber each day. This has also cured my fiancé of IBS she's been dealing with for 15 years. So I have been drinking it with her every morning in support of her regardless of keto. (As she wouldn't of stuck with it without me beside her every morning)

2. I always take a Calcium Supplement (currently with Vitamin D and Magnesium) and a Multi-Vitamin with breakfast... As I think it's a wise decision.

3. I always take a potassium supplement with breakfast. Normally this far into a low carb diet and particularly a strict keto, I would be experiencing muscle cramping issues by now... Particularly in my lower calves and sometimes in my back or feet. Stretching, would be always be touch and go. I'm very happy to report I have had absolutely no such inclinations this time around. This is big in my book.

4. On fasting days, first thing in the morning and in leu of not taking the items above as I'm not eating.... I take a Keto friendly Electrolyte Hydrator as my body is dumping Electrolytes pretty hard core on fasting days. The current product I'm using is Vega Sport Electrolyte Hydrator... And thus far it seems to be effective.

5. Drink a lot of water... Personally I'm drinking 4-5 liters of water on fasting days. and 3-4 on non-fasting days. Water is even more important when on Keto, and following a severe calorie deficit. Past experience tells me, if I don't drink this much water, uric acid will build up to the point that Gout can onset. If I drink the water, I will pass uric acid and never reach concentrations that cause the formation of uric crystals (the cause of gout).

So that's about it... I realize particularly with item 5, some might think that eating this far under my MFP calorie target I'm likely also breaking down protein/muscle in my body which would explain past experiences with gout. And I have to agree that is probably happening. However as the weight comes off, I also don't need to be strong enough to lug a nearly 500 pound self to multiple grocery stores every Saturday (as I have been forever). I can definitely stand to loose some muscle as I transition. Besides, as the weight comes off, I automatically become more active, as a jump slowly creeps into each step.

I'm hoping someone out there might find this post useful, and I'm also very interested in anyone's stories regarding fasting, and particularly Fasting while following a ketogenic diet.

WOOT WOOT!