Looks like everyone’s dropped out except for me, and someone’s gotta finish this thing out, so that just leaves the responsibility on me! And you know what?! I might just be crazy enough to do it!
I’m on day 24 as of this post, just over a week left to go, 9 days to be exact. I’ve been taking my electrolytes and multivitamins daily so I’m feeling good. Just sort of lazy and slightly low energy as usual, but no real issues. I did actually throw up a few days ago after drinking some electrolytes and following it up an hour later with cardamom tea, which had me worried for a moment. I thought it was time to end the fast and was going to in the morning, as that incident occurred right before bed time, but I actually woke up feeling good and decided to keep at it. Just no more tea for now I guess, lol. But to be honest, after I gave up caffeine, I can only drink caffeinated tea on occasion anyways, and non-caffeinated tea isn’t as good, unfortunately. I personally love oolong tea and man do I miss it! But quitting caffeine was well worth it anyways!
Honestly, extended fasting is by far the most effective fasting I’ve ever done, but also the most grueling. I freaking hate taking electrolyte supplements and being lazy/bored all the time. Definitely makes it hard to recommend to anyone else, but like I said, the results are incredible. I’m losing at least a pound per day, even this late into the game! My body looks way different from how it looked at the start of the month, and my head looks big for my body, lmao.
I think what keeps me going is that I’m sort of a completionist, like the type of person who has to empty their plate, or finish out all the perishable foods in their fridge before committing to a fast. And I feel like I’m so close to being in great shape, that after this fast and the activities that follow, I’ll officially be done losing weight! So naturally I just gotta finish it out and it’ll just be maintenance from that point on. And in case you’re a new reader, my maintenance plan is to fast 1 day per week indefinitely.
Also, another point of clarification: No I don’t have a goal weight. My goal is to have a tight stomach with maybe a little bit of abs showing, as opposed to a belly. I feel like I’m close, and that’s somewhere around 195 lbs.
Stats:
I started Dec 4, currently day 18. I only set a 4.33 day goal and didn’t expect to come this far. Took it one day at a time and still feel good. Currently thinking I’ll be fasting on Christmas and that’ll be a fun conversation with family. 😬Electrolytes have really made a huge difference. Prior to this, I always stopped at 5 days because I felt horrible and worried about fainting.
This is inspiring. You and I are striving towards the same result for the end of December (M/23/6’0/205). I’m running mini fasts (24-72 hours) here and there this week to get down to 195-200 by the 1st as well. Keep going my dude, you’re almost there.
Hi Flatfishy,
You sound like me three years ago, when I did a series of 7- and 10-day fasts. I fasted for 70-days over 8 months, and reached my perfect weight again, after 20 years adrift. But it was hard!
What absolutely killed those fasts for me were the very high ketones (literally off the charts, beyond what my monitor could measure) and very low blood sugar that cut in at Day 5. These were ‘good’ results. They indicated that I was in the zone of therapeutic ketosis. Unfortunately they also led to the horrible sweet, sticky metallic taste of keto-mouth, and draggy low energy which I could only endure for a few more days
On this fast, I’ve gone way beyond Day 10. I will get to Day 42, stopping at Xmas. But I have ‘cheated’ to make it easier for me. I don’t even know whether to call it a fast or not. Maybe ‘starvation diet’ would be a better term. The big change, my absolute saviour, is lettuce! I often call what I do a ‘lettuce fast’ to distinguish it from a water fast
After Day 7, I have been eating up to a pound of lettuce a day. This is basically crunchy water, with almost no carbs or calories. The effect is fantastic. It lowers ketones just enough to make keto-mouth manageable, and it lifts blood sugar just enough to get me out of lethargy. Bowel movements were never a problem, but I am sure the fibre helps
I also have cream in my two coffees, so I am probably on 300 calories a day. I have not had a single bad day, not one, since I started. My exercise has faded a bit, although I still walk 2 hours a day
I know I have failed on the purity standards, and that many people on this site would be contemptuous of me. My ‘lettuce fast’ is certainly not a pure water fast, but the positives have been amazing
I’ve now been 30+ days (since Day 5) in the zone of therapeutic ketosis. I estimate that full keto-adaptation settled in about Day 14. It was wonderful when I finally felt that switch-over. I could feel my body start to sing
This ‘dirty fast’ has given me weeks of autophagy, neurogenesis, perfect blood glucose, perfect blood pressure, contentment (I call it keto-calm), mental clarity (mostly), and I’ve lost 10% of my body weight much faster than ever before.
In other words, on my starvation diet of lettuce and cream, I am achieving what people usually seek for on water fasts, but so much more easily
I know many people struggle enormously to get beyond Day 2 or Day 3, not to mention Day 5 or Day 7. I admire them. I know that struggle. But losing excess weight is so, so important for health in whatever way you do it. Maybe it is better to think laterally than to give up too soon. Autophagy and ketosis may be more important for long term health than spiritual purity
So, if people are willing to listen to a heretic, can I suggest:
Just try lettuce before you quit. It certainly won’t kill your progress towards ketosis (I know. I’ve been pricking my thumb every day)
Shoutout to ya! Wonderful job!
I’ve done fasts as long as 14 days, I’d love to try to go further, a 21 seems like my ultimate goal but a whole month seems it could be possible as well. Simialar stats to you, same age, 3 inches taller, and I weight 230. With that being said, I would be appreciative if you might share some extra information with me for your experience!
What’s your general activity level? As far as what you do during most days. Are you mostly sedentary, light exertion, moderate, heavy exertion? Have you done any exercises on any of the days? What amount of electrolytes do you take in most days/ What electrolytes do you take? And lastly what type of multi vitamin?
That’s incredible progress, the amount of mental fortitude you have is extremely commandable, I applaud your efforts and it seems to be paying off!
All the best on the remainder of your fast!