hi all, so a couple years back i lost a bunch of weight extended fasting. Now i’ve put back on around 15-20lbs in the last 2 years, my lifestyle has totally changed due to covid, instead of rushing about all day being super busy i’m working from home, everything is a few steps nearby and my motivation is at rock bottom
I’ve tried to get into extended fasts again but i just can’t do it! I can do OMAD but its not enough for me to get any decent weight loss (prob my portion size is messed up tbh) , I really need like a good 48-72 hour rolling fasts! I keep telling myself the next day I can just skip one meal but it rolls around, and i’m like meh i’ll just have something little, which ends up with somethings else and then a snack!
Give me your best tips for getting back into it! also any support very welcome! I need to try and get as much of this extra weight off before April!
I run 1-2 a week, I do a daily walk, I also swim, paddleboard and generally keep active so I think i’m good on that front other than I can’t get into my home HIIT at the mo either, lost all my mojo!
thanks in advance!
If OMAD is more sustainable at the moment, why can’t you keep doing that? You can still achieve a decent amount of weight loss in four months as long as you’re tracking calories and managing portion sizes.
Same thing happened to me. Lost weight 2 years ago pre-pandemic due to extended fasts but gained some of it back from not fasting and generally being crappy about my diet and lifestyle. Tried to ease back into it by doing 16:8, 20:4 but the urge to binge on snacks did me in. So I decided to choose a date and jump into a 96h fast. That was the 4th of Jan. Completed that and rolled into a 48. Now on my third 96h fast. I find that, for me, I need to set a date and just do it. Still a long way to go before I’m truly disciplined in maintaining the 96/72 weekly regime but I got the ball rolling.
I had issues with snacking too! It’s a shitty habit to eat when I’m bored loll I just switch out my snacks now. Yogurt, hummus, fruits, and smoothie. I make my own smoothie at home. I hope this helps with the snacking lolll
Fasting is like a muscle.
You should start smaller. Instead of trying to immediately jump back into a 2 or 3 day fast. Try a 36 hour fast, see if you can do that. Then the following week try a 48 hour fast perhaps. Or even smaller.
Do what you can do, and then build from there.
Stick to OMAD, then do KETO OMAD for a while, maybe a week or two, then start a fast.
SO much easier to start a fast when already in ketosis. You do have to just do it though, just say, start on a Monday and do 48-72hrs and see how you feel after, go further if you wish/can.
Also its a lot harder to over eat on OMAD if that meal is keto, lots of fat and some protein is extremely filling.
I only eat eggs, cheese, avocado and butter 4-5 days leading up to my fast. Two reasons: one, to get me into ketosis and two, because the OMAD I have for those days is boring as hell and it trains me to eat because of hunger and not emotional reasons. I usually have a hard time getting into fasting because get bored/stressed/whatever and eat and this helps breaks me of that.
Same boat. One day at a time, fam. It took me several goes before I actually did a 48 hour fast. I was elated and I felt so much better. One, I drank loads of water. I also took a hot hot bath at night when I began to get all “hungry” ( not real hunger, emotional hunger). Hot baths take my hunger away. Then I went to bed early. Also, on day one I did have a mid day coffee with 1 TBS of heavy cream( Do not eyeball, MEASURE!).
I know purist will freak out, but this helped me get past the first 24 hours. It literally took my hunger away. I have made it past the post holiday slump where my will power was zilch. A good 45-70 hour fast has always set me straight. Also, I do test for ketosis ( controversial I know) but it mentally keeps me on track. Once I made it to 40 hours it was a breeze to make it to 48. I felt so good. My head was clear, my mood lifted. I so understand where you are at! Where I once could bang out a 48, I could not even make it to 19 hours! Plus the few extra holiday kilos and COVID crap. I did it tho, and so can you. Get your tools. Clean your kitchen and put all your saucepans away. Shut the light and only go in there for water/coffee/tea whatever. You can do it. Trust me.
Take a good hard look not only at how much you’re eating, but also the quality of what you’re eating. Be especially mindful of processed carbs (and perhaps carbs in general) and the quality of the fats (ie avoid seed oils). Your body might simply be lacking some nutrients, causing you to get ravenously hungry.
One trick that you could consider to get back into fat adaptation, is do an egg-fast for a couple of days. Basically just eat eggs, cheese and butter for two meals a day.
Lol same, I was planning on doing a 36h fast but I broke my fast at 16h and ate 3 KitKats 2 bowls of cereal and 2 (bunless) hamburgers lol, hunger was so strong, I’m trying tomorrow again, for me personally to keep going the goal needs to be more important than the comfort food gives I guess
I am having this exact problem. I figured out that it comes down to motivation and being busy. When I was able to do 3-4 day fasts, i was super busy with work, now I look forward to what to do in evening.. and EATING comes up as an option.
I’m just back at fasting after 6 months without doing it, and it was really hard indeed. I used to roll 72s, and i tried doing it again but failed miserably. Had to start slow and build up. Now i’m rolling 96s with some difficulty and intend on keeping at that, but yeah, i didn’t expect it to be that hard to do it again.