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Intermittent Fasting

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Good afternoon - it's still hot here in the UK.....
Fasting - I've read loads about it, and can sometimes for for up to 18 hours without food, but I always feel a bit 'empty'. I try and eat early in the evening, so I've got all night and can delay 'breakfast' if I want to.

I've heard that if you limit food during a fast, it doesn't break it as such.... if that's the case, could I eat a small amount to stop me feeling a bit queasy, but still say I'm fasting?

the alternative of course is to not bother, and keep meals smaller . I'm just not sure......
The Keto diet is working for me so far, and I've lost nearly 28 pounds (which is fantastic news for me)..... I just want a bit more information on fasting....

Thank you
 
There is a Jason Fung youtube video about what breaks a fast.
In my book eating is cheating (yourself mainly). I know the sensation you feel but it passes. Just drink some (read lots of) tea/black coffee. Believe it or not the sensation goes away, it normally is just your body telling "Hey, you normally give me something right about now" not real hunger or that your body really needs food.
I have been doing 3 day fasts and the second day (for me) the hunger goes away.

p.s. Search youtube for more of Jason Fung video's. He is something of the leading fasting guys to my knowledge. Currently reading one of his books too.
 
DianeSedd said:
The Keto diet is working for me so far, and I've lost nearly 28 pounds
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Sounds great well done

DianeSedd said:
I've heard that if you limit food during a fast, it doesn't break it as such
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In my mind any solid food will break a fast. My fasting crutch is coffee and double cream .

Is there any reason why you want to fast?
For full disclose I last ate last night and won't have anything solid until tomorrow evening.
 
I’d agree with the others that eating solid food breaks a fast, but I really don’t like the word ‘cheat’ in any context to do with diets or ways of eating. It’s far too loaded.

I think it’s a question of your aims and objectives in fasting. If it’s purely for weight loss, then yes, eating a small amount likely wouldn’t interfere with your aims. However, if you’re wanting to increase insulin sensitivity/induce autophagy then it’ll likely interfere with your aims.

An alternative way to look at it might be to understand where the ‘queasiness’ is coming from? Are you actually really hungry, or is it due to something else such as thirst or electrolyte imbalance? If the latter, additional fluids with salt/electrolytes may well solve the problem. As would some bone broth, which I understand is ‘allowed’ by Jason Fung.

One thing fasting has taught me - and I’ve never got beyond 48 hours - is to distinguish between real hunger and transient ‘hunger’ signals. I’d always advocate eating if real hunger is triggered.

Good luck figuring out what works for you - and well done on your progress so far.
 
I'm not going to quote most of what you guys have said here - I was hoping that fasting would increase my insulin resistance - so that was the first thing - second I thought it would be another way to healthy(er) life... I'm not sure that I'm actually really 'hungry' - example was this afternoon, I felt I needed to eat something but a cup of tea sent the sensations away - so I suppose in a roundabout way, I'm answering my own questions. I'll go watch the recommended video and see how I get on. thank you for all your input. Much appreciated.
 
Daibell said:
Any reason why you want to fast when you are having a good keto diet anyway?
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Most certainly, but mostly for type 2's and not so much if at all type 1/1.5. But the first question to ask is what are you trying to achieve?
Again, not an expert here but with keto you try to limit the number of carbs eaten which is good for your glucose levels. Depending on what and how much you eat it does not have to mean you loose weight. But is that one of your goals?

I'm at work atm so can't go too deep and don't have all info at hand. But with fasting you will(should) loose weight which can get you to a point that your insulin resistance is lowered and you are more or less curing yourself. Strongly put maybe, but there is a theory that if you can get rid of the organ fat around your liver and pancreas a type 2 can return to prediabetic levels (probably not for lada). Fasting also causes autophagy it basically means your body starts cleaning up, getting rid of damaged cells etc. But to reach that phase you need to do multiple day fasts, not 18 hour ones. Which for a type 1/1.5 probably is not a good idea.

Tonight I’ll try to find a good YouTube clip but the short answer is yes, depending on what you are trying to do and how far you are willing and able to take it.
 
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As we often say here: "we are all different". As a lifetime calorie-counter (until I learned about keto) I suffered appalling hunger. I was wracked with it, and I didn't "get past it". It just went on and on until I ate. Now using keto, I do still get hungry after what is normally a 16-20 hour fast, but it is nothing like as awful as the low-calorie diet pain, and it takes very little food to calm it. Therefore for me I can easily fast on a day basis for as long as it takes for me to feel hungry, which varies day by day. However, I could no way fast for longer.

I know a lot of people who say they never experience hunger. Some get migraines or light-headedness or become stroppy or just "forget to eat" (how in Hades can someone forget to eat???) So we each experience different bodily reactions to fasting. I'd say to anyone that they should make it easy on themselves and do whatever their body copes with best. What helps one person won't help all.
 
DianeSedd said:
I was hoping that fasting would increase my insulin resistance - so that was the first thing - second I thought it would be another way to healthy(er) life.
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And both are true.

Fasting helps to decrease insulin resistance and gives your pancreas a rest from insulin production. Also it will help to burn up your excess stored glucose which when combined with a ketogenic diet is a great way to lose weight as well as dramatically reduce blood sugar levels too.
 
I sometimes find that while I "don't forget to eat", it just seems too much bother to actually go to the kitchen and make something. This "accidental fasting" is really only eating when I feel hungry rather than at a designated mealtime.
 
Daibell said:
Any reason why you want to fast when you are having a good keto diet anyway?
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More about getting as much improvement as I can really. I'd like to try and see if it makes any further improvements.
 
I find that I can feel hungry but the hunger wears off so I am not hungry if you know what I mean. I get that after a work out and only eat about 3 hours later because I did not feel hungry. I have just polished off gravy with steak and a tiny dollop of cream mash though! Hope it will not spike me
 
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