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Dawn of the intermittent faster!

ringi said:
Personally I question the benfits of fasting when eating "food" like baguettes between fasts.
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That was a wrong choice for sure. As I said, I did not do well that day, but I do think fasting is bringing me benefits. I have a long history of disordered eating - the recent lapses are by far less impactful than before beginning lchf/IF. I am hoping I can eliminate lapses altogether, and perhaps extended fasting will help, since 24 hour fasts have had a very positive effect so far. But I am fallible - I am posting honestly to track and share my experiences and progress.

I have so far only achieved mild ketosis, and of course will not be in ketosis at the moment, but when around 1.4 ketones, I experienced a calmness and clarity that is usually lacking in my daily life. I intend to try extended fasts in an effort to spend more time in ketosis, maybe ultimately all the time if I can. That's a big if, though.
 
I'm back in the addict mindset today. I've already had to stop myself going to a drive through, then the shop for bread. I'm craving toast, but I don't want to make a low-carb alternative, even though I have the ingredients in, because I think it might lead to a binge. I'm not even hungry.

I felt quite unwell last night, so went to bed around 7.30pm and slept for 12 hours straight. Feeling better this morning but I'm worried about the addict frame of mind asserting itself again.

I'm having coffee with cream now, and will make this a 24 hour fast day.
 
I've had a weird flu bug and have been in bed for a few days but feeling better now. I didn't lapse with the low carbing but didn't fast as planned. I'll try 48hrs or 3 days from last night and see how that goes.

Fasting bg was 5.2 and I'm at 1.9 ketones so I'm hopeful I'll get burning through some fat. Waist has gone down 1.5 inches this month. I am still very happy fasting, it still seems so strange for me to say that!
 
Wow great results.. I need to get back into some fasting.. maybe March when (if) it warms up a bit..
 
bulkbiker said:
Wow great results.. I need to get back into some fasting.. maybe March when (if) it warms up a bit..
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Thanks @bulkbiker, I just hope I will stay the distance like you did! I have much further to go than you did too, I think. So far this has worked better than any other diet adjustment I've ever tried - just two lapses in a month is unheard of for me. They were very small lapses by my usual standards as well.

I had given up hope and although one of my medications was helpful for appetite control, that had begun to wear off so this is really my last hope to get my life back. Weight loss surgery is still on the table but I'll do everything I can to avoid that.
 

Very well done; I am sure you will do it without the surgery. So much better for you as not everyone wins even after surgery. We are all rooting for you so keep it up.
 
Arab Horse said:
Very well done; I am sure you will do it without the surgery. So much better for you as not everyone wins even after surgery. We are all rooting for you so keep it up.
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Thanks so much for that!
 
Welcome, keep letting us know of your success, there is nothing like encouragement to keep you going
 
Ok, so today I've decided to go longer than 24 hours fasting for the first time. I'm feeling fine, bg was 4.2 and ketones 1.3 at midday. I wasn't sure if I could get past dinner time (I go to bed early, get up very early, so dinner time is now!) but it's all good and I'm enjoying coffee with a little cream. Not hungry, either.

I'll do some readings at bedtime and have something on the bedside table to bring my bg up if it goes too low in the night. Hoping it stays steady, though. I usually wake up to go to the loo at least once so will do readings then, as it's my first time fasting longer than 24 hours.
 
Extended fast update - I had some very mild hunger pangs in the early hours but otherwise I feel great. Fasting bg is 5.0 with 0.6 ketones this morning. Last night's bg readings were in the low 4s so I need to keep an eye on that today.

I'm having coffee with cream, green tea and water through the day. If I struggle I might have some bovril.

One of the oddest things about this is that I had a 2-pack of chocolate biscuits by the bed just in case of a hypo and they could just as well have been made of cardboard for all the interest I had in them. Not sure if that will be forever though! I actually stuck a note on them saying "eat me" in case I was confused!

There is no reason I should have hypos as none of my medications cause them but I'm mindful of the possibility and promised my Dr I would take every precaution.
 
Well done you’re doing amazingly well hope you have a good day enjoy
 
Very well done. You are unlikely to have a hypo as T2s rarely do when not on medication.

Keep up the good work, I might try a fast after my hip op next week but need to be careful as I am underweight as it is, just the glucose isn't too good.
 
Thanks @ArabHorse, I am on three meds for blood sugar, but they are not known to cause hypos. I stopped metformin for a week but restarted as I thought my readings were going up a bit. I also lapsed so I thought I'd better stay with the meds until I'm a bit more secure in the new way of eating. I'm also on several other meds, including ones for blood pressure, which I also monitor.

I spoke with my Dr last Friday to ask about extending fasting over more than 24 hours so am following his advice. It certainly looks like I won't go too low, today's readings range from 5.0 to 4.6 and ketones from 0.6 to 1.2 - they seem to vary quite a lot, and not necessarily in line with bg. I did expect to see higher ketone readings today but there we are!

I'm going for three days now, so will have "breakfast" tomorrow evening.

Very best of luck for your op, will be thinking of you.
 
Thanks, it will be nice to have it over and done with.

Hope the fasting goes well, don't do it for too long as it slows the metabolism and weight loss.
 
Arab Horse said:
Thanks, it will be nice to have it over and done with.

Hope the fasting goes well, don't do it for too long as it slows the metabolism and weight loss.
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Well the theory behind intermittent fasting as I understand it so far is that unlike calorie restriction over several meals a day, it doesn't cause a slowdown in metabolism. Extended fasts actually cause the metabolism to speed up apparently. Who knew!

Someone like me who has been morbidly obese for more than 20 years and is seriously insulin resistant may need to use extended fasts of up to 3 weeks at a time - with 16:8 in between to help increase insulin sensitivity.

I need to credit Dr Jason Fung here, I'm basing this on my reading of his books. I started by low carbing for a couple of weeks, then went to 16:8 and 24 hour fasts, and this is my first 3 day fast.

Please don't be alarmed when I try a five day fast in a few weeks' time!
 
I might even keep you company on that one... let me know when..!
 
bulkbiker said:
I might even keep you company on that one... let me know when..!
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I'd like that very much! You, @Jim Lahey and some others pointed my nose at what I really hope is a way for me to get healthy. I can't thank you and the continued encouragement and support on the forum enough. Hugs for you all.
 
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