Anyone have any experience of fasting? I'm only working one day this week so I decided to give it a go. I've had no calories for 36 hours, and it's not been as bad as I thought it would be. Mealtimes are obviously a bit of a challenge, but I'm not experiencing gnawing hunger which has surprised me. The monotony of green tea has been the biggest challenge (although when I was doing Qigong outside yesterday and one of my neighbours was barbecuing steak was tough). I've lost half a stone/7lbs/3kg so far, although I assume much of that is reduced fluid retention. However I have definitely reduced "pinch". It'll be interesting to see how it goes.
The only true fasting i remember a lot of is Muslim fasting, and i dont think thats what you mean. Also not too sure about the rules of hindu fasting. But i have not eaten for a day at the time and when i went to school i didnt eat at lunch most of the time. For the most part 24hours or at least day until night on one day or for a set peoird time shouldn't do that much damage. the other fasting i know is only eating smoothies. XP needless to say the above is not to loose weight but as a form of worship. (also why i want to do Kung fu/Tai chi, it can be used for meditation purposes)
5 days is a lot, I'd be concerned about affecting gut flora and peristalsis. I used to fast a lot when I had a tropical gut disease, as it stopped the bacteria from being active and causing spams. Don't think I ever went past the three day mark though. Hunger wasn't a concern though, as it was just a relief to escape the pain for a while.
Not going to lie, today has been tough. I was lulled into a false sense of security by yesterday. Still I've powered through and am feeling better than I was. Apparently it's supposed to get better tomorrow.
Not done sustained fasts, but have done 24h without issues when looking into intermittent fasting. Obviously not the same thing, but some things may apply. An excellent look into it can be found here: All About Intermittent Fasting, in Under 10 Minutes | Precision Nutrition
So I'm 60+ hours without calories now. I don't feel physically great, but I'm mentally a lot more on the ball than I was yesterday. I'm really not sleeping well with it, and last night I had micturition syncope when I got up to pee which didn't help. I should be in ketosis this evening so hopefully my energy levels will pick up then.
So ketosis must have set in now as I feel very warm and have much greater energy levels. This is good as I have to go to work tomorrow, which will be make or break.
Very difficult to do the kinds of activities I'd normally do. I'm walking 1-2 hours a day (no mealtimes means time for exercise, and it gets me out of the house when my family are eating). I do a couple of sets of kettlebell squats and a couple of sets of EZ bar curls, and I do Taiji, Qigong and internal Choy Li Fut forms.
So work was extremely tough, although I suspect more due to tiredness than anything. Lack of carbs is ruining my sleep.
Will tell you how any of my fasting if i decide to do it goes. Would probbly be on relgious grouns but i may cosnider that smoothie only diet.
So I'm capable of much higher activity this morning, did my first walk of the day at a pace brisk enough to increase my work of breathing. I'm now under 16 stone for the first time in years. Less than a day to go.
I might have done 7 but it's my son's birthday this weekend. I've been fasting long enough that I need disciplined refeeding, so I'll be eating keto for a couple of days while already ketotic, so I'll probably still lose then.
Winding down now, just had a mug of black tea with skimmed milk and it was heavenly. I'm going to have some soup chicken soup in a bit, which again seems wonderful.
So refeeding now. I've lost 17lbs since Saturday, which I'm very pleased with. Eating keto today, so I may even lose a bit more, then eat a more normal (but not excessive) amount of carbs tomorrow.
So back on the food and now full of energy. One of the reasons I did this was because I'd come to suspect that my weight was holding me back from doing the things I needed to do to lose weight. I also realised I was finding things draining and an effort. Today I spent an hour in the gym, went for a 2 hour walk with my family, drilled forms hard for an hour in a way I've not done in years, then held Thai pads for an hour, and I feel great! Everything is just easier.
