Advice on fasting

[Goonergal]

Hi all

Hoping for some advice on fasting. I have read about the benefits of doing it on here, but have always been wary due to years of chronic migraines, often triggered by not eating (or so I thought).

However have skipped breakfast a few times without issue - although I did get quite hungry - and am now considering a longer fast as having got most of my numbers down, I'm frustrated by higher fasting levels and pre-breakfast rises and want to see if I can nudge everything down a notch.

Question is, do you eat anything at all during your fasts? I have read about people drinking coffee with cream or 'fat fasting' (not sure what that is).

I don't drink coffee and don't fancy cream in tea (full fat milk is fine), so any advice on how to extend my fasts?

I'm already committed to no breakfast today and since I have no commitments today am thinking about taking it further.

All advice would be welcome.

Thanks.

 

[kokhongw]

I would suggest a spoonful or two of virgin coconut oil to keep the brain happy while the fasting body tries to ramp up ketones to meet the base energy requirements.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Try skipping breakfast, drink lots of fluids. Take some multivitamins. Just eat once a day at lunchtime. Avoid snacks as they make you more hungry. There are videos on fasting by Jason Fung on dietdoctor.com.

 

[Goonergal]

Thanks @kokhongw and @Art Of Flowers

 

[bulkbiker]

If I may can I ask how low carb you are? It's much easier to fast if you start from a very low carb place (20-30g per day) rather than a higher one as that, I think, can still lead to hunger. I used to do the "bullet proof coffee" style fat fasting but recent have cut back a bit on that and just have tea with full fat lactofree milk (about the lowest carb I can find) in the morning (2 large 400ml mugs) followed by a coffee with 30ml of double cream at 11-12 depending on gym and dog walk timing.

If you are just doing intermittent fasting and are having lunch and dinner then I wouldn't try to have any extra fat. If you are trying for longer then one of my tricks it a cup of broth (ideally home made but if not a stock cube in boiling water) with a 10g piece of butter mixed in. That should put a stop to hunger for a while. Personally I didn't try any fasts longer than about 16-20 hours until my weight loss stopped. Then I slowly built up from 1 up to 7 days.

If you are looking to trigger autophagy and get the maximum benefits then current thinking is that peaks at 3 days... but it seems you need to do a water only fast to really get those benefits as protein (and carbs obviously) can slow down or stop autophagy. If you like black tea then you're ok but I have';t ever managed a water fast longer than 24 hours as I can't stand black coffee and would get terrible caffeine withdrawal without it...

Hope that helps a bit..

 

[bulkbiker]

What I also meant to say .. if you feel ok then carry on but if you start to feel weird then eat something, Your body won't be used to this so it may take some time to get into the swing of things.

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @bulkbiker and thanks for your comments.

I'm pretty low carb - not one for weighing and measuring, but would estimate around 30g a day. No starches at all, no root veggies and simple food consisting of eggs, meat or fish with small portions of above ground vegetables. Some fats added to that - butter, double cream, avocados and I eat the fat on the meat.

Normally I eat breakfast around 8am and dinner as close to 6pm as I can, given work commitments (and definitely no later than 7pm), so I have quite a lengthy fasting window anyway. Have found that I can skip breakfast - tried a few times - but now wanting to see if fasting for longer would be beneficial. Not thinking of any more than 1 day at the moment (let's not try to run before I can walk).

As you say, maybe just see how I go and eat if it gets difficult / I feel weird. I'm still losing weight - slowly but surely - and have a way to go but this is more about blood sugar levels at this point.

Appreciate your advice, thanks.

 

[bulkbiker]

Good luck with it and if you need any help drop me a PM if you want

 

[Goonergal]

Good luck with it and if you need any help drop me a PM if you want

Thank you.

 

[Goonergal]

Successfully completed 24 hour fast from dinner last night to dinner tonight.

Hunger was up and down but overall not too bad. Got a bit light headed around 1.45 so had a couple of spoons of cream. Also tried a cup of bovril but didn't like it at all so reverted to tea.

No headaches so definitely something I can try again.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

There is a lot of advice on intermittent fasting here ... https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting

 

[Goonergal]

There is a lot of advice on intermittent fasting here ... https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting

Thanks. I will have a read.