Magnificent May Fast!

rab5 said:

I just listened to Megan Ramos ( Dr Fungs' second in command for want of a better title) talking about that very subject. To paraphrase her she stated the following:-

That ketones tend to rise and spike then fall... she herself has reached 8.0. She stated that she felt great and if you are in the same position there is nothing worry about (unless your type 1 ). She also said that it is a sign that your body is in ketosis but is still working out what to do with the ketones, but that it will work with them and they should lower. However she did emphasise that high ketones are not something to worry about.

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I'm extremely comfortable that ketones + lower blood glucose is fine. Where I am perhaps a little less clear is how our bodies react in those circumstamces with continues valoric deficits. It's the starvation/metabolism thing that I'm not so sure about.

I don't fast, although having gone off yoghurt a bit, I'm pretty well skipping brekkers these days, so my eating window is relatively limited, one way or another.

Bearing in mind, I'm 160/48kg this morning, I'm continually skirting the lower end of the Healthy BMI range, and this morning diiped my toe lower. That'll probably blip up again in the morning, and I do know what I have to do to get that little bit of weight back on, so I'm not verly concerned. I already have to eat a lot (average just under 2500 calories a day) to maintain so the re-feeding phase, for me could be very tiresome. When I lost a couple of kilos, post surgically a couple of years ago, it took me two months to regain it.

Please don't think I'm raining on anyone's BBQ. I'm certainly not. I admire and support anyone doing this, provided they understand what they're doing and that, like all other approaches, it isn't a magic bullet.

Good luck with it all.

A mere amateur by comparison, I broke the fast I started on Wednesday after breakfast, with a cup of beef bone broth this afternoon. A total of 56 hours, during which my only nutrient consumption was water, (2.5 litres a day), black coffee, (4 cups a day) green tea with lemon, (2cups a day). In addition, 2 teaspoons of double cream each day. I ate a mushroom and cheese omelette at 7pm tonight.

I have had ketone readings of 0.5 both yesterday morning and this morning.
Had a fasting BG today of 6.7, then an hour later 8.3.
Yesterday I was quite happy doing 50 minutes of resistance exercises in the gym, followed by 20 minute swim. This morning did a 50 minute aquafit session.
Not felt hungry. No discernable difference in waist circumference. I weigh 3 kg less than I did on Tuesday. Not getting too excited about that, as I believe it has mainly been water from my legs which no longer have the pitting oedema I had earlier this week. That 3 kg loss has taken me back to the weight I was before the leg swelling. I am glad it has gone, though, so if this is all I am taking from this little experiment I am happy.

One slight difficulty, around midday today, I started to feel nauseous, and that was why I decided to refeed. I started with diarrhoea, which has continued through the afternoon and evening. Sorry if that is TMI.

Although my fasting levels are higher than I would like, I attribute that to the course of steroids I needed a few weeks ago. The numbers are no longer in double figures I was seeing immediately after the steroids. I would like to get the higher 'liver dump' an hour or so after waking sorted, though. Also to see a return to the 4s and 5s I am used to.

It has been an interesting experiment for me. I emphasise the feeling of wellbeing when fasting, and not feeling hungry at all. Will continue to monitor ketones for a few more days, and BG and weight, to see what happens. Will probably continue to fast for 24 hours once or twice a month. Longer than that, I am not sure.

Thanks for including me. Best of luck to all of you. I will follow progress with interest.

vanillapie said:

I am curious - when you eventually break your extended fasts, do these numbers stick around, or do you find you go back to 'normal' (i.e. before the fast)?

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My numbers have been far fro spectacular, but I will keep checking a bit longer and report back.