I’m currently doing a 72 hour fast which iv done a few times before. I mainly want to do the fasts for the health benefits physically and mentally but REALLY do not want to lose any more weight. I saw someone say fats don’t interrupt autophagy, is that true? Any advice to help me not lose weight but still get the other benefits ?
Weight loss is the direct result of consuming less calories than you burn. If you do a 72hour fast then there is no way to avoid weight loss, that’s just the unavoidable truth.
Putting your body into ketosis has been shown to help achieve autophagy, but it is not recommended without first discussing with a healthcare provider. Even though ketosis is pretty trendy right now, there are legitimate medical concerns that can arise from it depending on your body and your health history.
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2021.733607/full
Some forms of exercise have been shown to help induce autophagy, but it is not a consistent response across the board and is heavily dependent on your genes and male vs female, as well as type and duration of exercise.
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666149720300086
You could work out your TDEE, x by 7 then divide by 4 and eat that amount of calories on your eat days. That will slow down/stop fat loss but you will get a scale loss after the fast due to no food/losing water weight. However if you eat more after you can make it up.
I’m small and don’t have a lot of fat. I do 5 day fasts. Almost all the scale weight you drop returns when you start eating again. I have noticed a reduction of fat in the stubborn areas but not enough to be concerned about. Just make sure you are hitting all your nutrition goals when you are eating.