Five-day fast

[S11m]

I have to eat no fibre for an investigation tomorrow - and, as I now do a 68 hour fast every month - why not just eat nothing?

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME (I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THIS DIFFICULT IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN IN FAT BURNING MODE FOR MONTHS)

I last ate Monday lunchtime, and the procedure is tomorrow, Thursday afternoon. I am planning to not eat till Friday (edit Saturday).

I am not just feeling OK - I am feeling invigorated (even tho' it is Update: now 34 Centigrade out there).

[Hidden]

This seems a very long fast S11m so good luck it seems a very long time without food to me.

I also hope that your procedure goes alright tomorrow and I wish you well with it and please do let us know how you get on. 👍

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, Hidden ... fasting is no problem when you are in fat-burning mode.

I have no scheduled meals until Tuesday... so I am wondering when to break my fast.

Eating cost money and takes time - mostly entertainment!

[Cosmo501]

Best wishes. I hope all goes well for you at your appointment tomorrow. - very impressed by your 4 day fast. I hope you’ll post again to let us know how you are feeling as you progress through to the end of your fast.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Cosmo501]

The laxatives really “take 'it out of you”, and I write this “enthroned”…

I am feeling fine.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Cosmo501]

Had the procedure - they think it is all OK.

I am still feeling fine 76 hours in.

I have no scheduled meals until Tuesday - so why eat?

[Cosmo501 in reply to S11m]

Glad to hear you had good results. I know it’s a rhetorical question... but, Eat if you fancy eating! Eat if you need the nourishment! Laxatives probably take a lot of good stuff out of your system as well as the waste, I guess?! Take it easy 😊

[Vale57]

I am pleased to hear the procedure went well and you are feeling so exhilarated!

I have read the 4-5 day fasts are really great for resetting the body (as long as you have plenty of unloved body fat to burn laying around!) Once a month for four days sounds hard.

Keep us posted.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Vale57]

Many experts say that you get most of the benefits of a fast in the first 72 hours... but, I think, it depends on why you fast.

I am 15% fat - so I think I do not need to lose any more weight.

I was thinking that, If I needed to lose more weight, I would fast 20:4 most days but eat nothing for two consecutive days a week... which would be a 68 hour fast... (and, I think, very much more beneficial than the Mosely 5:2: eating little or nothing on two non-consecutive days a week - but not so easy to do.)

I think that to get the benefits of weight loss, autophagy, longevity etc. an Alternate Week Fast (AWF) might be effective, fasting 7 days a fortnight... but you could fast any number of days a fortnight.

I do not feel too good today - but I do not know if that is due to lack of sleep, the heat, the procedure yesterday, or what.

I ate a bit more last week, to get my glycogen reserve up, and I have, so far, lost seven pounds in four days. I had to take laxatives - so my gut is totally empty... I will see where my weight stabilises next week. I think that one tends to lose half to one pound of fat per day on a water fast.

I still have not eaten since Monday Lunchtime... but I have done some shopping today, and I plan to start eating tomorrow. That will be 116 hours... or nearly five days.

[Vale57 in reply to S11m]

Well done you! I hope you are feeling better today!

Sorry if I'm missing something, but, when we fast and are stable in ketosis, I do understand that the body goes right to burning excess body fat as fuel, and makes the feeling of hunger unnecessary for survival. But if you have so little fat to burn, what does it use as fuel?

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Vale57]

I am 15% body-fat, and the minimum "essential fat" for a male over 60 is about 12%, so I do have a little in reserve.

The body uses autophagy to "eat" or recycle old cells, and rubbish, decreasing the requirement for food or fat reserves.

I need to work out if I want to be "fit" or "athletic"... and having a little more fat reserves helps all-cause morbidity in the old or elderly (I am 70).

If you run out of fat you start to burn muscle.

I have known four ladies who were very slim (three were about 6 stone) who, I think, starved to death when they became ill. They all knew that they were underweight, but could not gain weight.

[Vale57 in reply to S11m]

Thank you. I have a lot of weight to lose yet, so not a thing I need to worry about for quite some time!!

[Stoozie Administrator]

As you've had to take the laxatives, do you have planned to take some probiotics to build up your microbiome again?

Iirc you like a little plain yoghurt with your buckwheat muesli? Perhaps if that were a 'live' yoghurt this time that would help?

Take care and glad all looked good from the procedure

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Stoozie]

Hi, Stoozie .

Yes… I eat live yoghurt every morning (when I am eating), partly because I think I might have Candida.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20]

I walked 5.7km yesterday (about 97 hours into the fast). I had a good night's sleep last night, but do not feel very energetic this morning.

As carbs spike insulin, "They" recommend not breaking a fast with carbs, so...

I had 500ml of Onken full-fat live yoghurt for breakfast - and I will be having a "keto" toast-free brunch at a local pub.

I have now lost eight pounds in 5 days... when my weight stabilises I will have some idea of how much fat I lost.

[Cosmo501 in reply to S11m]

That’s an impressive walk on such a long fast, and your choice of food for breaking the fast sounds great. Hope you enjoyed your brunch today.

Eight pounds sounds like a huge amount for someone of only 15% body fat. I’ll be interested to hear how things stabilise.

How do you feel now, after putting food into your system after the longer fast?

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Cosmo501]

I feel better having eaten today… but I only had two meals in four hours as usual.

If my weight drops much more I might even start eating in the afternoon or evening.

Tomorrow I will eat my normal breakfast with muesli, followed by a large carvery.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to Cosmo501]

I have stabilised only two pounds below my weight before the fast.