That sounds great Bob! Sounds like your body is starting to re-adapt to digesting food.
How did you feel about your post-fast weight?
My Water Fast Journal
It seems that it varies from person to person. Before lockdown, my morning routine was usually skating between 6am to 8.30am, during which I would perform different jumps and spins and other manoeuvres. I found myself perform better when I donât eat prior to skating. After that, it would be an hour and a half train ride home with a lot of interchanges. On the days I had to go to school after skating, I wouldnât have time to rest and eat until 5pm, as it was usually packed with lectures, tutorials and studying in the library. Consequently, in those days, I found it easier to make my eating window between 6pm and 10pm - a way to pat myself on the back for a dayâs hard work.
1 Like
So sorry to hear that Bob. Everyone of us has our own trials and tribulations, and I hope that you would be able to find peace, comfort and support from your friends, family and people on this forum! For all the times I face an insurmountable mountain of trials and obstacles, I do not know how I could ever survive it. But when I pray, I was provided with a sense of peace that God will provide a way. It may not be the way I wanted, but there would be a way.
1 Like
The most important consideration is whatever eating pattern you use it best fits your lifestyle as that has the greatest chance of making it sustainable long-term.
1 Like
Day 8 completed.
Brushing off from the fact that I had miso yesterday, I decided to persevere on. I realised that what one can and cannot have on a fast all depends on what oneâs primary objective of the fast is. In his interview, Dr Jason Fung said that if your goal is weight loss, then bone broth is absolutely fine and it will help you break through the tough times without compromising your result for weight loss. On the other hand, if your goal is healing, cleansing and renewing the cells, then you would probably want to avoid bone broth as it affects autophagy.
My primary goal on this fast is to lose weight and to develop a healthy relationship with food and break my pattern of bingeing and emotional eating. Day 7 was a difficult day for me as I was struggling to concentrate on my dissertation, I would not have had the strength and power to carry on had I not had that miso.
Does having miso impair my achieving my primary goals? Probably not, and the benefits, I would argue, possibly outweigh the alleged detriment, for the alternative was for me to stop fasting without it.
But did I break the water fast protocol? Yes I did, for miso has calories and water fast protocol specifically stipulated no calories intake is allowed.
So at this point, I should probably change my title to âMy Fasting Journalâ 
Day 8 - went to do some grocery shopping for my husband. I had to go to several different shops on different sites, which involved climbing up 40 something stairs. When I reached the top (whilst carrying heavy groceries), I could not believe just how weak and breathless I was, as climbing these stairs was not a problem for me before. I had to put down my bag and allow myself to breathe properly before I could proceed to the next shop. This just made me realise how draining it was for me to even carry out daily activities, as I found myself wanting to lie down and nap after I got home.
As the shopping was more taxing on my energy, it was even more difficult for me to work on my dissertation and studying. I shall refrain from grocery shopping or any taxing activities from here on. Perhaps jump-roping on the balcony would be sufficient for my daily exercise now.
My husband cooked some BBQ lamb ribs in the evening, it smelled so good and looked so tastyâŠ
1 Like
Very true indeed!
My goal was to get much lower by the end of the fast, but, it is what it is. Just going to be slow and steady. As long as its going down!
1 Like
That is a very positive perspective @Tenax ! The way you acknowledge and accept the underlying health issues and find ways to adjust and adapt to reach your ultimate goal is amazing !
1 Like
Following @Tenaxâs advice, my keto test strips arrived this morning, and I ran the test for the very first time. Happy to report that I am dark purple in ketosis!
2 Likes
Excellent. And it was only a few days since you has miso so there! Lol. The reason why the sticks are considered ballmark measure is because they read whats coming out of your system not whats in it, is the theory. And you donât get an exact number. But unless you have a health issue requiring something more precise i donât see the issue. And thereâs a big diff between a not ketosis color on the stick and moderate to dark purple! Good for you.
1 Like
Day 9 completed yesterday. As I was working on my dissertation, I did not have time or energy to check in.
I felt the desire to eat something, but realised that was because I wanted to reward myself after working so hard for the entire day. Glad that I did not give in. But overall it was horrible - extreme dizziness even just slowly getting up from a sitting position to get a cup of water.
I read that by this time some people would have gone to a stage where everything would just be on auto-pilot mode - I certainly did not feel that way. My stomach still growled from time to time, and even more so when my husband is cooking and eating. He was having chicken wings, crisps, ramen and PB&J sandwich. I donât specifically crave those, as I donât even eat those I can eat. But the fragrant smell surely was playing mind tricks with me now that I have developed a heightened sense of smell - can even smell what the neighbour was cooking. 
Felt extremely tired but knew that I had to keep working. So I worked until 6am before I finally got to sleep. Sometimes I wonder why I voluntarily chose to put myself through this ordealâŠonly hoping that I could achieve the desired results - both academically and physically - at the end of his dark tunnel.
Thanks @Tenax! It is very strange though. I had miso on day 7, achieved dark purple on day 8 morning.
This morning when I took it, the purple was not as dark as it was the previous day, but I did not have miso the night before. 
IMHO, I think you should go into refeed. I think the miso soup reset your fasting clock and would explain why youâre not getting the expected benefits at this stage of the fast.
3-to-4 day refeed and you can start a new longer fast. Also the first 3-day transition period becomes easier.
1 Like
Yeah thats why i use the sticks simply to make sure I am still in ketosis vs a measure of how deep. I think the intake of fluids before testing, your degree of dehydration for example, will change the level. I always test when i wake up in the morning. Now, that can vary from 3am to 5am on weekdays for example. Same goes for last time I drink water in the day. 8pm? 10pm?
I wouldnât be concerned about it. For me anyway, I could eat a burger fries and large one day and still be in ketosis the next day but probably less purple or pink on the pee stick. But for you, one day may kick you out of it. Everyone, everyday is a bit different.
1 Like
Thanks Alipio for providing your insight. I do not really feel the desire to eat, also now I am working on my exams and dissertation, cooking to break my fast would be far too stressful and time consuming for me. I simply donât have the time and capacity to think about what to eat.
I read a fasting diary of a Singaporean girl, it seems that she had the same issue with me, to the point that she felt the worst on day 14. She did a pure water fast for 21 days, but so far I found that her description with regard to the physical energy level matched mine somewhat.
Of course it could also be that I am under extreme stress from my final (even my doctor friend told me that law is the most difficult subject, even compared to medicine) that I am feeling this way. Last time I felt a whole lot better was after I submitted my formative.
Stressful environment is one of the main causes of university students to over stress their bodies with fasting. Since the founding of this forum, I only know of 1 graduate student who was successful as she is working on her Masters in Public Health.
Iâm just concerned long-term for your health. But, you know your body best.
Let me know how else I can support you then.
2 Likes
Thank you Alipio, really appreciate it! I promise I will stop if I observe some warning signs (I donât know what they might be at the moment, but the body might know?).
Just submitted my draft dissertation to my supervisor (15424 words of legal stuff) - suddenly felt a whole lot better, physically and mentally. That was a big mountain removed. Still needs polishing and perfect citation, but that j can worry about after the exams. Come tomorrow morning, it will start all over again as now I have to concentrate on my exams prep.
Yes I read @Annaâs journal, she is amazing! I hope I could also achieve my goal of fasting whilst dealing with the exams and stress.
1 Like
Day 10 completed! Wow, going to pat myself on the back.
Despite going to sleep at 6am due to my dissertation, I woke up at 9am to prepare to teach gospel lessons over a virtual church meeting. The lesson was well received, and I am grateful that the Holy Spirit was with me teaching me what to say to make the lesson uplifting, even though I had only 3 hoursâ sleep and was still feeling tired.
After the lesson, I resumed on working on my dissertation until midnight. Sent my draft dissertation to my supervisor, and I suddenly felt a whole lot better physically and mentally, as if a big mountain had been moved out of my way.
Now I feel I can further extend my fast to 14 days. Incremental extension, hope I will make it.
I had a racing heart beat (not panic attack though) on Day 9, but that wasnât an issue for today. My husband had pizza today, yet I had no desire to eat that. Either that pizza was no good, or the smell of food had stopped making me to want to eat. Either way, that was improvement. 
2 Likes
Day 11 completed.
Felt sluggish, more tired and hungrier than usual, which might be attributed to my upcoming cycle. From past experiences, I always felt extremely tired and much hungrier in the week before my cycle, then I would be back to normal when the period starts. Not sure if other female fasters noticed any pattern in relation to how their cycle affects their fastâŠ
Did the test this morning, still dark purple in ketosis.
I wonder what people do when they get bored of drinking water and herbal tea?
2 Likes
On the subject of water and tea, some add a little lemonâŠor try different tea flavours? I struggled with that too.
2 Likes