I am becoming increasingly interested in fasting to lose weight (about 40-50lbs) but I want to do it safely without harming my body or passing out, because I do get woosy when I don’t eat. How do I prevent that? I’ve looked through some posts, but I haven’t really seen any that really explain things. I’ve seen something about electrolytes, I have no idea where to even get those? Pedialyte? What kind of foods do I eat to break the fast? Salad? Meat? How long do I fast to actually see weight loss? I’ve seen some really great success stories here and it’s really inspiring. I just want someone to tell me what to do lol I’ve tried google but didn’t really find what I was looking for. So, can someone who has lost weight with fasting just literally tell me everything you did? 😅
I’m sort of new and have always done keto OMAD but I’m on a 3 day fast now. You can start by doing one meal a day, typically fasting 23 hours at a time. Then move on to 36 hour fasts, 48 hour fasts. What helps me is being keto when eating, too. Idk the science behind it but it was recommended and that was my plan anyhow. I hope you get more help and advice from other redditors because I’m too much of a newb!
Buy the book The Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr. Fung (or any other broad book on the subject). You’ll get a, well; complete view of what fasting is for optimal health and weight loss. Trying to piecemeal the information form reading forum posts can be frustrating.
Electrolytes; if you are doing short fasts under 3 days you don’t need them.
Hunger is a funny thing: most of it is from insulin whiplash after meals, or from our deep rooted habits. In a few hours I’m gonna be wrapping up day 3 of 4; I can honestly say I’m no hungrier today than I was on day one and will not be any hungrier tomorrow than I am today. It takes a bit to internalize that reality which then helps you fast with minimal cravings.
Start with the basic I like to call “I’m a grown up fast”; 3 meals a day, no consuming calories (no juice, not a piece of bubble gum, not a mint) between meals, specially between dinner and breakfast. Sound stupid but most people don’t realize how much grazing they do between meals. If you eliminate snacking (of any kind) it will tremendously help eliminate a ton of your food cravings during fast.
From there graduate to 16/8, or what I like to call “I just skipped breakfast fast”. You go to bed, and by the time you wake up you are already 2/3rds of the way there.
By this point you should have read the book and browsed the forums some more. The above can get you going today if you like.