Intermittent fasting tips and tricks

So what is it? Am I supposed to write my weight loss journey begins here? Im not the type of guy who is gonna do that

So esteemed ATS members if you have fasted before any tips or tricks would be appreciated

It's been a while since I did a serious fast atleast 15 years or more, not gonna lie it kinda hit me harder than I thought it would. It wasn't even cravings and they were there in full force but it was damn hard to concentrate, especially in the morning. These last 2 weeks Ive been doing the 36-48 hour fast then I have a sensible keto meal and go back to fasting. I wake up with a burst of energy but it is hard to center and focus it and it quickly fades.

The first week I just drank water for 36 hours and would have a small salad or tuna fish and I hit those low-energy moments where I want to do nothing but nap. I got one of those truly wonderful sisters who want to help, she bought one of those bone broth diets and she is doing it too. So the second week was definitely better but still that focus thing, and I'm sure most of this is just the "fasting flu" where you feel like crap till your body adjusts. The good news lost 8.3 lbs in 2 weeks it's enough to continue

Just looking for some tips ATS members have tried

a reply to: putnam6

Eat more fruit in the day. You need more protein which is why your energy is so low. Drink some high quality protein powder. Stop eating after 5pm.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: putnam6

Eat more fruit in the day. You need more protein which is why your energy is so low. Drink some high quality protein powder. Stop eating after 5pm.

So perhaps add fruit and more protein to my one meal every 36-48 hours? cause I definitely am not supposed to eat anything during the fast, hell even some sites say don't even drink bone broth, though Im doing that one more week because my sister bought it for me.

As for the protein powder, you are right about the high quality, Ive had my gallbladder removed and I got to find the right one for my digestion. Especially when I drink one in the morning, but those can be great meal substitutes.

Are you drinking a good amount of water? Water will help the detox process. Drinking water will also help curb your appetite. Spring water is ideal.

a reply to: putnam6

If you can’t concentrate I would definitely consider adding something else to your diet. Your fast is pretty intense. I eat in window period. I am very conscious of what goes in this body. I have unfortunately gotten to the point in my mid 40’s where I have become alcohol intolerant and don’t really drink much anymore.


I like this protein powder linky

originally posted by: putnam6
...Ive had my gallbladder removed...

Thanks for letting me know now, I probably could have saved you a few bucks.

originally posted by: cooperton
Are you drinking a good amount of water? Water will help the detox process. Drinking water will also help curb your appetite. Spring water is ideal.

Im drinking a lot more than usual but yea it's still probably not enough, and it's filtered tap water. I just have never been a big bottle spring water person, but I might have to try a case LOL just to get some variety if nothing else.

i do the 16- 8 rule.. You eat all your meals in an 8 hour window and fast for 16. For me it is easy because i dont care for breakfast. BUt what ever works for you. Eat fiber and good fats to keep you full. If you stay away from carbs and sugar you will lose the weight. a reply to: putnam6

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: putnam6
...Ive had my gallbladder removed...

Thanks for letting me know now, I probably could have saved you a few bucks.

Do you mean wake up in a tub filled with ice and my alcohol-damaged liver and kidneys removed and sold on the organ black market to the highest bidder?

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: putnam6

If you can’t concentrate I would definitely consider adding something else to your diet. Your fast is pretty intense. I eat in window period. I am very conscious of what goes in this body. I have unfortunately gotten to the point in my mid 40’s where I have become alcohol intolerant and don’t really drink much anymore.


I like this protein powder linky

Thanks for the link Im almost out, im gonna give this a shot, cause it's easier to drink the protein than find enough protein to eat for sure

A Keto diet is where you eat so few carbohydrates that your body stays in a ketogenic state.

Most people have a certain form of insulin resistance in the body. Insulin is the hormone that tells your cells to eat sugar for energy. The more carbohydrates, which are sugars, you eat the more insulin is produced by your body to tell your cells to use sugar for energy. Eating 3 meals a day and then snacks in-between keeps your blood sugar high, and thus your insulin high, so you are always using that sugar for energy. The more and longer you eat like this the more insulin resistance you get, thus making your body release more and more insulin. And if you have a surplus in caloric intake a day you will always be storing the extra sugar as fat.

Now you need to deplete your carbohydrate reserves in your body in order to burn fat. There are two ways to do this. One is exercise. When you do high intensity exercise, lift weights, anaerobics, (not aerobics!*, which you can do easily even on a prolonged fast, as long as you don't get your heart rate up toO high, usually over 110 or 120 BPM) etc, the sugar will be used up fast and then your body will stop producing insulin and will produce a hormone called Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This tells your body to convert your stored fat reserves into ketones. The ketones are used as energy. The same is true during a fast. Intermittent fasting, and prolonged fasting have the same affect as vigorous exercise.

A ketogenic diet is one that is high in proteins and vegetables and cuts out all of the carbohydrates so when you go into fasting for any length of time your body can transfer into a ketogenic state faster. You body always stores a certain amount of carbohydrates in your liver and your muscles to use as reserved energy. But as soon as all of the sugars from the carbohydrates are used up in your system HGH is triggered and insulin stops being produced.

After about 12 hours of eating, depending on how much carbohydrates were in your system, and how much exercise you have done to burn them up faster (they will burn up naturally even if you don't do any exercise), your body goes into a ketogenic state. So let's say you fasted 16 or 18 hours every day, as long as you do even moderate exercise, or even no exercise, as long as you have a high protein, high vegetable, low carbohydrate diet, you will burn a certain amount of fat.

HGH prevents your body from burning muscle or vital organs for fuel. It tells your body to use fat for fuel. A ketogentic diet combined with intermittent and/or prolonged fasting will help you shred weight like nothing else.

Hunger is a sensation produced by the hormone ghrelin, and this usually is according to a cycle. Nothing bad happens if you ignore hunger. If you are used to a high carbohydrate diet you can feel woozy and such when going on an intermittent fast to begin with. But your body will adapt. If you ignore hunger it will go away. And once you are on a ketogenic diet if you start doing prolonged fasting you will notice that hunger goes away*. In fact after 24-48 hours you will experience no hunger. And around the 24-48 hour mark in a prolonged fast your body goes into a pure ketonic state producing pure ketons to fuel your body. And your brain and your heart love ketones!

This is where some pretty amazing things start to happen. After around 48 hours, more or less, your body goes into a state of autophagy, which means self-eating. It will target damaged proteins, cancer cells, problems in your brain, and other things to repurpose them. After 72 hours of prolonged fasting your body produces a hormone, I forget the name, but it is an anti-aging hormone, it actually starts to reverse aging in the body, and you also start to produce stem cells.

In other words a prolonged fast has profound health benefits on the body. Not just to lose weight, which it can be used for very easily. It also starts to combat insulin resistance, so you begin to become more insulin sensitive. It can reverse type two diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and reverse them. It boosts your immune system, combats cancer, and helps prevents cancer. And in cancer patients going through chemotherapy, it has profound effects on helping the body by boosting the immune system.

If you're feeling woozy, dizzy, etc when first going on an intermittent fast, or prolonged fast, make sure you are getting enough electrolytes in your system. As your body starts burning fat in a ketonic state it will be getting rid of a lot of water in the system and as a result a lot of sodium. So you want to be sure to replace that sodium. Usually just take a little sodium, which will combat the effects of dizziness. That is take some salt, a little bit of salt in some water throughout the day for example. You also want to make sure you have enough magnesium, and potassium. Those are the minerals your body always needs a correct balance of to stay hydrated (you can have a lot of water but if you don't have the correct balance of electrolytes you will be in a dehydrated state).

I think a 3-5 day prolonged fast is no problem for anyone that is overweight. The only time you should be concerned about a prolonged fast is if you are underweight, a child that is growing, or pregnant, or have eating problems because of a mental illness. The rest of us have no problem fasting either intermittent, or prolonged. As you get rid of fat you will be getting rid of water. You can lose a lot of weight fast doing intermittent and prolonged fasting, not all of it is fat. You will probably burn between 0.2-0.6 pounds of fat per day, depending on your age, sex, and weight, and other factors, on a fast. The rest could be water, and fiber and such stored in the gut. So you could lose as much as 1-2 pounds per day in your first week of intermittent, or prolonged fasting.

If you go on a fast longer than 5 or 7 days you probably want to talk to a doctor about it, but you should probably be fine. Prolonged fasting reverses most of the chronic diseases that people are dying from, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol. It combats cancer, and prevents cancer. And it also has good effects on the brain, causing new connections, and combats dementia and Alzheimer's. It also combats aging.

EDITED TO CLARIFY SOME THINGS.

When I was working a lot, I would eat all my foods between seven and eleven at night mostly..only coffee the rest of the day unless my sugar dived to low, then I would grab a package of peanut butter cups from a store if I got the sugar shakes.

Did that for maybe fifteen years, it did dampen my ability to think pretty much though, but I was still able to think better than my workers and customers and actually being dumbed down made it so I could get along better with them. I didn't have a shortage of energy though, it actually kept me from working too fast and getting hurt from risky behavior somewhat. Still got hurt quite a few times...working construction is never completely safe...but you tend to be a little safer minded if you aren't going too fast.

a reply to: putnam6

I eat keto (closer to ketovore), IF, and have done a couple 3 day fasts. I've had great improvements in my weight, health and energy. Eating 16-8 rule is non negotiable for good health.

You are doing a very strenuous fast. Maybe it's time to eat more. If you ate healthy keto and did 16-8, the healing from your current fast in weeks to come will slowly and surprising improve your health, I predict. My advise to feel better now is eat more fat.

Especially since our plandemic I suffered wanting normal, comforting foods. It came to me that our need for normal, pleasing food is built into needs as people. Like the increased pleasure that natural comes using the correct glass for its beverages. It's a good and healthy part of us. Unfortunately our physical body functions differently, hence our unending struggle.

originally posted by: randomuser
A Keto diet is where you eat so few carbohydrates that your body stays in a ketogenic state.

Most people have a certain form of insulin resistance in the body. Insulin is the hormone that tells your cells to eat sugar for energy. The more carbohydrates, which are sugars, you eat the more insulin is produced by your body to tell your cells to use sugar for energy. Eating 3 meals a day and then snacks in-between keeps your blood sugar high, and thus your insulin high, so you are always using that sugar for energy. The more and longer you eat like this the more insulin resistance you get, thus making your body release more and more insulin. And if you have a surplus in caloric intake a day you will always be storing the extra sugar as fat.

Now you need to deplete your carbohydrate reserves in your body in order to burn fat. There are two ways to do this. One is exercise. When you do high intensity exercise, lift weights, anaerobics, (not aerobics!*, which you can do easily even on a prolonged fast, as long as you don't get your heart rate up toO high, usually over 110 or 120 BPM) etc, the sugar will be used up fast and then your body will stop producing insulin and will produce a hormone called Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This tells your body to convert your stored fat reserves into ketones. The ketones are used as energy. The same is true during a fast. Intermittent fasting, and prolonged fasting have the same affect as vigorous exercise.

A ketogenic diet is one that is high in proteins and vegetables and cuts out all of the carbohydrates so when you go into fasting for any length of time your body can transfer into a ketogenic state faster. You body always stores a certain amount of carbohydrates in your liver and your muscles to use as reserved energy. But as soon as all of the sugars from the carbohydrates are used up in your system HGH is triggered and insulin stops being produced.

After about 12 hours of eating, depending on how much carbohydrates were in your system, and how much exercise you have done to burn them up faster (they will burn up naturally even if you don't do any exercise), your body goes into a ketogenic state. So let's say you fasted 16 or 18 hours every day, as long as you do even moderate exercise, or even no exercise, as long as you have a high protein, high vegetable, low carbohydrate diet, you will burn a certain amount of fat.

HGH prevents your body from burning muscle or vital organs for fuel. It tells your body to use fat for fuel. A ketogentic diet combined with intermittent and/or prolonged fasting will help you shred weight like nothing else.

Hunger is a sensation produced by the hormone ghrelin, and this usually is according to a cycle. Nothing bad happens if you ignore hunger. If you are used to a high carbohydrate diet you can feel woozy and such when going on an intermittent fast to begin with. But your body will adapt. If you ignore hunger it will go away. And once you are on a ketogenic diet if you start doing prolonged fasting you will notice that hunger goes away*. In fact after 24-48 hours you will experience no hunger. And around the 24-48 hour mark in a prolonged fast your body goes into a pure ketonic state producing pure ketons to fuel your body. And your brain and your heart love ketones!

This is where some pretty amazing things start to happen. After around 48 hours, more or less, your body goes into a state of autophagy, which means self-eating. It will target damaged proteins, cancer cells, problems in your brain, and other things to repurpose them. After 72 hours of prolonged fasting your body produces a hormone, I forget the name, but it is an anti-aging hormone, it actually starts to reverse aging in the body, and you also start to produce stem cells.

In other words a prolonged fast has profound health benefits on the body. Not just to lose weight, which it can be used for very easily. It also starts to combat insulin resistance, so you begin to become more insulin sensitive. It can reverse type two diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and reverse them. It boosts your immune system, combats cancer, and helps prevents cancer. And in cancer patients going through chemotherapy, it has profound effects on helping the body by boosting the immune system.

If you're feeling woozy, dizzy, etc when first going on an intermittent fast, or prolonged fast, make sure you are getting enough electrolytes in your system. As your body starts burning fat in a ketonic state it will be getting rid of a lot of water in the system and as a result a lot of sodium. So you want to be sure to replace that sodium. Usually just take a little sodium, which will combat the effects of dizziness. That is take some salt, a little bit of salt in some water throughout the day for example. You also want to make sure you have enough magnesium, and potassium. Those are the minerals your body always needs a correct balance of to stay hydrated (you can have a lot of water but if you don't have the correct balance of electrolytes you will be in a dehydrated state).

I think a 3-5 day prolonged fast is no problem for anyone that is overweight. The only time you should be concerned about a prolonged fast is if you are underweight, a child that is growing, or pregnant, or have eating problems because of a mental illness. The rest of us have no problem fasting either intermittent, or prolonged. As you get rid of fat you will be getting rid of water. You can lose a lot of weight fast doing intermittent and prolonged fasting, not all of it is fat. You will probably burn between 0.2-0.6 pounds of fat per day, depending on your age, sex, and weight, and other factors, on a fast. The rest could be water, and fiber and such stored in the gut. So you could lose as much as 1-2 pounds per day in your first week of intermittent, or prolonged fasting.

If you go on a fast longer than 5 or 7 days you probably want to talk to a doctor about it, but you should probably be fine. Prolonged fasting reverses most of the chronic diseases that people are dying from, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol. It combats cancer, and prevents cancer. And it also has good effects on the brain, causing new connections, and combats dementia and Alzheimer's. It also combats aging.

EDITED TO CLARIFY SOME THINGS.

 Thanks for the information I copied it and put it in my notes, this is my understanding as well.

It's ironic because it was the surgeon who removed my gallbladder who suggested the Keto Diet. Once I get going I can really like it, and I enjoy cooking and there are some damn good KETO recipes, my problem is definitely that carb craving.

But hell Ive dropped nicotine, alcohol, most drugs, sugar, and caffeine it's pretty much my last vice

Yes, I take a magnesium supplement and got electrolyte stuff that I put in my water, I might need potassium though, I have been getting muscle cramps a little more frequently, or as my daughters used to call them fat cramps.

originally posted by: rickymouse
When I was working a lot, I would eat all my foods between seven and eleven at night mostly..only coffee the rest of the day unless my sugar dived to low, then I would grab a package of peanut butter cups from a store if I got the sugar shakes.

Did that for maybe fifteen years, it did dampen my ability to think pretty much though, but I was still able to think better than my workers and customers and actually being dumbed down made it so I could get along better with them. I didn't have a shortage of energy though, it actually kept me from working too fast and getting hurt from risky behavior somewhat. Still got hurt quite a few times...working construction is never completely safe...but you tend to be a little safer minded if you aren't going too fast.

I was hoping you would comment over the years Ive listened to some of your tips and advice and always had success,and yea you got to find what works for you.

originally posted by: BelleEpoque
a reply to: putnam6

I eat keto (closer to ketovore), IF, and have done a couple 3 day fasts. I've had great improvements in my weight, health and energy. Eating 16-8 rule is non negotiable for good health.

You are doing a very strenuous fast. Maybe it's time to eat more. If you ate healthy keto and did 16-8, the healing from your current fast in weeks to come will slowly and surprising improve your health, I predict. My advise to feel better now is eat more fat.

Especially since our plandemic I suffered wanting normal, comforting foods. It came to me that our need for normal, pleasing food is built into needs as people. Like the increased pleasure that natural comes using the correct glass for its beverages. It's a good and healthy part of us. Unfortunately our physical body functions differently, hence our unending struggle.

Thanks for your comments, so much better to get real-world tips

Im going hard here at first to kick ketosis into gear but don't get the wrong impression either Ive only fasted above 6 days once and it wasn't fun and I was 32 then. Either I can't remember, and/or I used to burn that nervous energy off better than I do 26 years later. The plan is to only do a 36-48 hour fast once every week then once every two weeks, depending on how I feel mostly. Mixed with 16-8 the rest of the time being KETO, but checking here I might be more of a Ketovore too.

ketovorish.com...

I feel much better this evening than I did this morning, I usually can burn through hours if I can concentrate and jump on Photoshop and work on some project or another. It was a bit frustrating that something that normally would have taken me 2-3 hours was 4-5 hours, Id have to stop and start again, would work on something for a while, and have to go back.

Maybe try adding a nootropic herbal stack to help your energy and focus. Here's a few examples that you could try....Panax Ginseng, Macha, Ashwagandha,...and my current favorite herbal supplement ~Cayenne Pepper, which is a very healthy stimulant, without the potential long term side effects of caffeine. All taken in capsules for convenience and getting them down.

If you do want to add in a little caffeine, I would highly recommend a tea by the brand "Yogi", called "Perfect Energy" in the Raspberry Passion flavor. Much healthier than caffeine from coffee

a reply to: putnam6

When you end your diet, would recommend going to several small or tiny meals during the day vice traditional sit-downs like dinner etc.

The demands of being part of the work force have trained our bodies to learn dysfunctional eating habits.

During your diet, cut WAY back on carbs. Eat some, but try eating like 1/3 to 1/4 of what you normally do. (Keto approach). I don't think completely cutting out carbs is good for your internals.

Cheers

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: BelleEpoque
a reply to: putnam6

I eat keto (closer to ketovore), IF, and have done a couple 3 day fasts. I've had great improvements in my weight, health and energy. Eating 16-8 rule is non negotiable for good health.

You are doing a very strenuous fast. Maybe it's time to eat more. If you ate healthy keto and did 16-8, the healing from your current fast in weeks to come will slowly and surprising improve your health, I predict. My advise to feel better now is eat more fat.

Especially since our plandemic I suffered wanting normal, comforting foods. It came to me that our need for normal, pleasing food is built into needs as people. Like the increased pleasure that natural comes using the correct glass for its beverages. It's a good and healthy part of us. Unfortunately our physical body functions differently, hence our unending struggle.

Thanks for your comments, so much better to get real-world tips

Im going hard here at first to kick ketosis into gear but don't get the wrong impression either Ive only fasted above 6 days once and it wasn't fun and I was 32 then. Either I can't remember, and/or I used to burn that nervous energy off better than I do 26 years later. The plan is to only do a 36-48 hour fast once every week then once every two weeks, depending on how I feel mostly. Mixed with 16-8 the rest of the time being KETO, but checking here I might be more of a Ketovore too.

ketovorish.com...

I feel much better this evening than I did this morning, I usually can burn through hours if I can concentrate and jump on Photoshop and work on some project or another. It was a bit frustrating that something that normally would have taken me 2-3 hours was 4-5 hours, Id have to stop and start again, would work on something for a while, and have to go back.

the last time I did a 3 day fast, I had been eating right and felt ready. after 28 hrs, I was throwing up for a couple hours. I won't go thru the whole fast but it wasn't a breeze. But weeks and months later there are improvements that I can't account for other than doing a fast. I'm ready to do it again. I hope I can.

the carnivore diet is such a radical idea. I don't want to hurt or upset the vegetable lovers, but they say vegetables are bad for you. Talk about a conspiracy.

One benefit of eating this way is it diminishes insulin spikes allowing the metabolic system to heal. Even for 6 months to 2 years I think people could benefit. Expensive way to eat, it's high quality protein and fat. indulge and enjoy. Your hunger disappears after a while so you can extend fasting.

If 36-48 hrs is too long right now, extend the time you don't eat per day. As you heal eating within a couple hour window is when you start humming. Bone broth only is fine if you tolerate it. Fasting is water and I guess coffee/tea.

Hey putnam6, I kept this tab open, but am only just now getting around to responding...

I'll try to keep my know-it-all attitude in check, but I have a whole lot of experience in this area, so there is that. The longest fast I've ever done is a 33 day water fast, but I've done a lot of shorter fasts of 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days..

Anyway...

originally posted by: putnam6
So what is it? Am I supposed to write my weight loss journey begins here? Im not the type of guy who is gonna do that

So first, to clarify, the purpose of your fasting is fat (not weight) loss? I'm just asking because there are a lot of other reasons to fast, weight loss is only one of them, and, without a permanent lifestyle change, any weight loss will be transitory, so just keep that in mind.

These last 2 weeks Ive been doing the 36-48 hour fast then I have a sensible keto meal and go back to fasting. I wake up with a burst of energy but it is hard to center and focus it and it quickly fades.

Define 'sensible keto meal'. That can mean very different things to different people.

The first week I just drank water for 36 hours and would have a small salad or tuna fish and I hit those low-energy moments where I want to do nothing but nap.

If thats all you're eating, no wonder...

Eat a LOT more fatty meats and fish, eggs, butter, etc - all the healthy saturated fats.

The fat is where the energy comes from.

I got one of those truly wonderful sisters who want to help, she bought one of those bone broth diets and she is doing it too.

Bone broth is amazing, and the absolute best way to break an extended fast.