7day fast blood glucose readings

[Troubled1]

I will log all my readings taken during the day as well as anything I had other than water. If for some reason I don't feel "normal" I'll add that as well.
Day 1
Fbg-7.1 6:09am
11:48am-6.7
2:36pm-6.5
5:07pm-5.8

This morning (7:30am) one large travel mug of coffee with 18% cream. (I never use any type of sweeteners).
During the day today. 2 takeout large green tea with just a splash of milk. 60+oz water.
My bedtime bg's will be posted the following day.

So far today I feel good. At 6:00pm I'm just over 22hrs in. Hunger pangs several times but nothing too bothersome. They only lasted a few minutes and I had my water with me to help quell them.

I realized that by the colour of my urine that I have been running partially dehydrated for quite some time. Maybe another reason for lack of weight loss and elevated bg's? Time will tell.

Cheers.

 

[Troubled1]

Day 2.
Fbg-6.5
1:55pm-6.1
4:47pm-6.7
7:25pm-5.6

My bedtime bg last night was 6.3

I have found that day two of fasting is always the worst in terms of hunger. Today was no exception. Oddly enough, I didn't feel hungry until after 1:00pm then it came in strong just after finishing up a job. I had a green tea and that helped a lot.
I have had a headache most of the afternoon but I'm attributing it to my lack of coffee. I usually have 4-6 large (18oz) takeout coffees during the day and another 1/2-3/4 of a pot in the evening and still sleep 7+ hours (soundly) according to my Fitbit.
The only thing that bothered me a bit was my desire to smoke today. I quit just over 7 months ago but today for some reason I wanted one. I didn't succumb to the urge but it was there and it was quite strong.
This morning was the same routine as yesterday coffee wise but I only had the one green tea during the day and 4-20oz cups of water I refill throughout the day.
I made more tea this evening but the headache still lingers. I may need to add some salt somehow.

 

[Goonergal]

Thanks for posting @Troubled1 I can't offer any insight as the longest fast I've done is 36 hours, but following this with interest.

 

[Looseboy]

Good luck
Will be an interesting read.
Not for me at this time , I still struggle with 16:8 IF

 

[bulkbiker]

I made more tea this evening but the headache still lingers. I may need to add some salt somehow.

I would definitely suggest this would be a good thing to do.. I add salt to coffee and tea when fasting. Sounds weird but tastes ok and I found easier than trying to drink salty water.
Your numbers are looking great so keep strong.

 

[Troubled1]

So day three has come to an end.

Fbg-6.4 at 6:09am.
9:52am-6.6
3:19pm-5.7
6:06pm-6.3
9:20pm-6.0
Bed time bg last night-6.7


I felt a few hunger pangs today with the worst being at 3 and then again at 6 hence the readings I took. I did have other feelings of hunger but they were rather inconsequential.

My energy levels seemed to be higher today and I was able to focus on things much easier. Only one coffee again today but upped my green tea by a few cups. I did start getting another headache so I had some store bought chicken broth but mixed it half strength and that did the trick. Water intake so far has been almost 100oz plus the coffee and tea so no worries about dehydration.

I Cannot check blood ketones but I did use ketostix before starting my fast and was showing negative. I am now showing a slight amount so I can only assume I'm burning fat at some level.

 

[bulkbiker]

Have you added some extra salt yet? I really would recommend it..

 

[BarbaraG]

If you stick with non-caloric liquids, trust me, you will use some fat.

Last week I did a 7-day sort of fast. The plan was to use a glass of kefir with a small amount of fruit blended in as a meal replacement, apart from the last day, when I would break the fast with a light meal in the evening. In the event I only stuck that for the first three days and had a small meal of nuts, olives and cheese on the next three days. I still lost 7.8lb over the week, and only 2lb of that came back when I resumed normal eating (keto, two meals a day)

I'm also hoping this will break the prolonged stall/ slight regain I had been on since January, having lost 4 stone over the previous 6 months.

I use the Freestyle Libre. BG patterns were already pretty good with keto eating. During the fast they went lower, with the device claiming I was technically hypo for some of every night.

 

[Chook]

@Troubled1

Thank you for this really interesting thread. I'm following it with a great deal of interest.

I find Bovril or bone broth helpful when fasting - probably the salt content.

 

[Troubled1]

Day 4
My fbg reading was 9.5!! I re-tested and got 7.1 and just to be sure I tested again and got a 7.3.
10:28am-7.4
1:57pm-6.0
6:17pm-6.1
8:56pm-5.6
My bedtime bg last night was 6.0

Last night I was feeling kind of weird so I sorta broke the fast. I had a small handful of walnuts and a cube of cheese. Maybe that's why today's fbg was higher. During the day today I felt hunger only once and it was very minimal in intensity. I seemed to have energy to spare but I did notice I was kind of irritable. I work alone so it wasn't noticed by anyone. It was just dumb little things that would set me off for some reason.
I just got back from a 1/2 hour walk and I feel much better. I think the reason I was feeling irritated is I have more energy but when working (painting) it isn't very physical so I have no release for it. Another reason is I'm sort of mad at myself for having that snack even though it made me feel better.

I did another ketostix check and am now at a moderate level. Again, it's not blood ketones but it is showing more than before I started fasting.

I am seriously considering extending my fast to 10 days to make up for the snack but I won't commit until day 7.

Besides the irritability, physically I felt great and I felt quite focused on my work. Water consumption was down a bit roadway but I'm still over 60oz plus my tea and coffee. I do find that not having to eat frees up a lot of time. If I don't keep busy, my mind wanders to food even though I'm not hungry. That makes me think that I was/am a boredom eater. That said, I better make a good list to keep myself busy.

 

[Troubled1]

Day 5 done and I feel great!!
My fbg was 6.6
11:03am-6.8
3:42pm-6.2
8:01pm-5.9
My bedtime bg last night was 6.0

Today was a really good day. Barely any hunger at all, lots of water and I have kept busy. Not much time to think about food. My energy level is still up and my mood is good. Nothing set me off today.
By the time I go to bed I should be very close to 10k steps. I will be going to lift weights first thing tomorrow so I'll see how I manage. In the past it was never an issue but things can change.
As I said in a previous post, I'll decide whether to extend my fast on day 7.

 

[Troubled1]

Day 6
Last nights bg 5.8
Fasting bg 6.3
10:15am-5.6
1:45pm-5.3
3:45pm-4.7
6:30pm-5.0

Overall a very busy day. I was only hungry a few times but not an issue.
My workout went fine and only a little down on energy but minimal. I worked overtime quite a bit (on call).

 

[Goonergal]

Day 6
Last nights bg 5.8
Fasting bg 6.3
10:15am-5.6
1:45pm-5.3
3:45pm-4.7
6:30pm-5.0

Overall a very busy day. I was only hungry a few times but not an issue.
My workout went fine and only a little down on energy but minimal. I worked overtime quite a bit (on call).

Your numbers are really coming down as the fast progresses.

 

[bulkbiker]

Great results hopefully exactly what you were hoping for. Well done for persevering!

 

[Chook]

Thank you for doing these daily updates. As @bulkbiker says, you are getting great results.

Does fasting like this disturb your sleep at all?

 

[Troubled1]

@Chook Having to get up once in 6 nights at 3am to go to the bathroom is my only disruption. I have actually slept more. I have always been a nighttime snacker. Since starting fasting, I have been going to bed earlier to avoid the temptation so I have been getting an extra 1-2hrs sleep nightly. That's a win in itself.

I have decided that 7 days is long enough. When I go to Vegas in September however I'll probably have to fast for at least 7 days when I get home. My biggest issue going forward will be staying in ketosis and eating less protein and upping the fats somehow.

 

[Troubled1]

@bulkbiker seeing how much my numbers have changed in just a week shows me that my diet definitely needs improvement and that 24 hour daily fasting isn't right for me. I may have to go to 24-36hr fasts during the week.

I still have roughly 10-15 lbs to lose but I'm hoping that a stricter adherence to lchf and smaller portions will keep my weight going in a downward direction.

 

[Troubled1]

Day 7.
I ended my fast today but will continue to intermittent fast weekly.
Last nights bedtime bg was 5.1
This morning my fbg was 5.4
10:23am-6.0
2:28pm-5.5
5:18pm-5.4
9:01pm-5.6(2hrs post prandial)

I am still passing a moderate amount of ketones almost 2hours after eating but will check again in the morning.
2hours before eating I had some cucumber slices, pepper slices,3 baby carrots, 3 snap peas and 3 cherry tomatoes as well as a few walnuts. Dinner was a small grilled steak, steamed asparagus with butter and a cruciferous salad with creamy poppyseed dressing.

I'm down 15lb over the 7 days but am sure more than half is water weight. Hopefully more and longer intermittent fasts will help with both my bg's and weight loss.

I felt good today keeping busy. I like the fact that my bg's were very steady all day even after my dinner.
Keeping my bg's below 6 is good but ultimately 4.5-5.5 with little variance would be optimal.

This was my easiest extended fast so far. One thing that did help was letting my wife know ahead of time so on the days she planned the meals, nothing was planned for me.

I hope this little diary of a fast helps anyone that isn't sure what to expect on a longer fast. My very first extended fast was 7 days just because I figured if I can go 7, 3-5 should be no problem.

I will follow up tomorrow with my fbg.

Cheers

 

[Chook]

Thanks @Troubled1 - I found your diary really interesting.

Could you do a follow up after a week to let us know how much (if any) of that 15lbs found its way back to you?

 

[Troubled1]

Last nights bedtime bg-5.8
Today's-fbg-5.2
Although my fast is over, I will be skipping breakfast everyday as I just never want to eat that early anyway.

@Chook I will update in a week. I hope no weight comes back but now that my digestive tract is filling back up, I'm sure I have already started to add weight.