Philipe's Journal - open-ended fast

Hello there, welcome to my very first journal! I’m Philipe from Brazil. I’m a 25yo dude who is very familiar with extended fasting and an adept of the Snake Diet (eat big, fast long, no food restrictions, plus hitting the gym).

Here’s my story: I discovered fasting in late 2018 after doing keto and PSMF for a while, and at that time I was semi-lean due to eating one meal a day using keto macros and doing a few PSMF bouts (it’s the dumbest thing ever looking back now). I didn’t have much muscle mass on my frame, but I was slowly reaching my desired physique back then without losing lean tissue. Because I was keto-adapted, I went straight for a 3-day fast drinking mostly Snake Juice and some mineral water. It was a piece of cake. I was instantly sold and I did back-to-back fasts. My refeeds weren’t optimal (sometimes I would eat 2 large pizzas, or go to a buffet and eat pretty much what I wanted) and still I had crazy results, I was getting leaner every day. Most importantly I felt amazing the whole time. The biggest motivator was that I was going to take a trip with some friends that I didn’t see for a while, so I wanted to make a good impression. Therefore, I kept fasting and drinking my delicious Snake Juice :slight_smile:

When I got back home after the trip, I fell off the wagon and got back to my old routine. My weight was creeping up, but I was oblivious to this fact. Things went south when I fell for an MLM pyramid scheme and the only thing I cared about were those goddamned meetings and “workshops”. I didn’t pay attention to my diet, sleep or fasting routine. I got fat again really quick. It was a painful experience, and on top of being fat I lost like $4.000 after a few months. I quit the “company” shortly after and decided I had to do something about my situation. After some research, I stumbled upon the carnivore thing, and decided to give it a shot. I didn’t see much result in terms of body composition, but it helped me with eating OMAD again and putting decent food on my plate. Also, I regained my mental clarity and well-being. I decided I wanted and needed to fast again, but I had no success. Anything beyond 24hrs was a struggle, even though I ate steak and eggs for breakfast. I started feeling discouraged and got back to my old routine AGAIN (basically carbs like pizza, burgers etc), but this time I developed a mild alcohol addiction too. I’d drink after getting back from university until late afternoon and then stuff my face until I had a carb coma. This was my life during most of 2019. Pretty miserable. I really hit rock bottom. I hated myself and I couldn’t even look to the mirror.

Around August, I decided enough was enough and that I was going to make a definitive change. I started meditating again, reading self-development material and studying Japanese (one of the things I wanted to do since my childhood). I was regaining the control over my life. Not only that, but I stopped day drinking and had pretty much the same meal every day (beef, eggs, some rice and veggies). I was just trying to stay disciplined.

Fast-forward to 2020: I moved to the countryside and maintained this new healthier routine, but I still couldn’t break the 24-hour mark. Life was much more pleasant, balanced, and I felt joy after being miserable for months on end. Throughout last year I did my best to go for 2-3 day fasts but to no avail. My stomach would grumble badly in the evening, and I couldn’t fall asleep. Or I’d wake up feeling very cold in the early hours of the morning and losing sleep. After many failed attempts I did some tweaking to see if things would improve. I increased the amount of ACV and lemon juice in my Snake Juice, started taking a potassium supplement, warm baths before bed, turning off the fan before going to sleep (or cover myself with a thick blanket), getting more exercise done. I tried everything. Still no results.

After a while, it occurred to me two things: there was too much rice in my meal, and I was eating in the evening which is completely stupid. So the solution was simple: get back to keto macros and eat lunch or breakfast. And voilà, I was able to fast for 48hrs feeling decent after doing that.

I did back-to-back 48’s but still wasn’t losing fat, just water weight. Some people say they lose weight with 48’s or even ADFs, I call BS on this, but probably they have a better metabolism than mine. After much experimentation, I can say I only burn fat after 96 hours. So now my minimum is 4 days.

Anyway, I realized it helps to pay close attention to what works for you and what doesn’t. I wasted a few months doing 48’s and getting nowhere. After retracing my steps I was able to do exactly what I did to have the best results back in 2018. It sure took me a long time, but I’m glad I got back on track.

Also, I forgot how it gets much easier after day 3. The first 3 days are the hardest, definitely. After that you’re on autopilot and the experience is much smoother.

Sorry about the wall of text, I felt I needed to do this.

And welp, I’m close to 48hrs now. I’m feeling slightly light-headed, but if I take a nap and drink more snake juice I’ll feel like a million bucks. By the way, some people tend to forget how important electrolytes are. The more you get in the better. Too little makes you feel weak and fatigued. Been there done that.

See you tomorrow!

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Wow! @vinilzord,

I enjoyed reading your story. It is very motivating for me man, I so glad you worked out what works for you.
I am also on day 2, trying to go as long as possible, lots of weight to lose about 100lbs.
Are you able to list your snake juice ingredients and measurements, please?
I would like to try the exact one to see if there is a difference.
We are very supportive here, so just reach out if you need support or even just a chat.
Welcome to our fasting community.
You can do this for sure. :muscle:t5:

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I love a wall of text. Pleased to meet you and know where your coming from :blush: well done hitting 48 I hope you make it to 72 :wink:

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Thank you! Well, to be honest I don’t measure it. My SJ version is basically mineral water, pink salt and lemon juice. I haven’t found potassium chloride in powder form so I take 1 tablet of a good quality multivitamin (GNC Mega Men) once in a while to make sure I’m getting the stuff I need, on top of lots of sodium.

I prefer to make it as concentrated as possible and sip slowly throughout the day. The taste is disgusting but it’s a good kick in the ass lol

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Thanks Cate! Nice to meet you as well. Yeah it has been a journey hehe. I made many mistakes in the past but I learned a lot with them. The cool thing about fasting is that it’ll always work like a charm, it’s free, and somewhat easy. I thought I had broken my metabolism after yo-yoing and everything, but nope, I was just overlooking the basics.

It’s 6pm here and I spent the whole afternoon feeling hungry. I did my best to stay busy and it faded away. Now the most important thing is to get a good night of sleep so I can function properly tomorrow.

Other than that I’m doing good. Thanks for reading!

I’ll update the journal tomorrow around noon. :smiley:

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Hi, thanks for your response, I’m not sure where you are based but try Amazon for the potassium chloride. All the best, check-in tomorrow.

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Brazil :slight_smile:

I’ve checked Amazon already and there’s none available. I’ve got some potassium chloride in lozenges form just in case. But from my vast experience with fasting, as long as your sodium intake is high, you don’t really need potassium. It turns out potassium binds to sodium, so if you’re high in sodium you’re also high in potassium. To assess how good you are in terms of electrolytes you can either taste your piss or pay attention to its colour. If it’s bland you’re low on the salts, if it’s got a darker colour then you’re good. Also energy levels and general well-being are good indicators as well.

Anyways, I woke up fairly early today (5am) feeling a bit groggy. Took a shower, brushed my teeth, then had around 100ml of SJ. After an hour I felt much much better.

One funny thing I forgot about fasting is how white your tongue gets because of the detox. I had to thoroughly brush it to scrape off the white plaque. Now it’s back to normal hehe

I might make another post in the evening! Take care

Btw, weight 24hrs fasted was 83.1kg, today I’m weighing 81kg

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You are well versed in the snake diet and juice. I followed cole Robinson for a few months, he is a funny guy. My electrolyte drink (SJ) is similar to your yours apart from the added potassium, some even add Epsom salts. I need to drink more of the juice and I should be okay.

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There is a common product called “NoSalt” that you can find in most grocery stores in the states

it is potassium chloride. That was suggested on the snake diet website. Also, magnesium sulfate is an ingredient as well. I’ll post the recipe in a bit.

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image

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Day 4

Thank you Esbyrose for your comment! I’m not from the US so no “NoSalt” for me :stuck_out_tongue:
But like I said, I stick with a recipe that works perfectly (in my case). Adding magnesium and everything else would only make it taste worse. They’re completely optional as Cole says.

By the way, I broke the fast 24hrs ago with avocado, cashews, grilled chicken breast and scrambled eggs. I was feeling sick and had a headache. So I guess I’ll consume an entire bottle of SJ pretty much every day. It’s somewhat hot here, so more SJ helps.

Anyways, I successfully completed a 72, this time I’ll go for a minimum of 96 and a maximum of 240hrs. The longer I fast, the easier it gets. I’m keeping it stupid simple: drinking lots of SJ, doing mild exercise, making sure I have a good night of sleep and completely forgetting about my next meal. Food will ALWAYS be available, so delaying the gratification of eating is no big deal. In the meantime I’ll feast on my own fat.

Have a great day!

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Hey there! I was a bit busy and forgot to post here heh :slight_smile:

So, today is day 7. Last Friday I felt terribly sick and fatigued the entire day, it was pretty rough honestly.

Yesterday I spent half of the day organizing my place and doing some house chores. It was pretty damn hot! Taking a cold shower and then chilling at the living room with the AC turned on felt amazing. Around 6pm I had 1 liter of water in one sitting. It was very refreshing and a nice change from the usual SJ. Throughout the day I felt amazing despite the weather and sweating like crazy, because I had slept like a baby.

Last night I slept well too. I woke up today around 6am, went to the bathroom and got back to bed. Slept another 2 hours and woke up feeling refreshed and pretty happy! I think I’m not adapted yet to this prolonged fasting routine. Back in the day I’d sleep 7 hours straight and wake up feeling like a champ. Anyways, if my body needs rest, then I’ll rest.

I still am waking up with a white tongue and funny breath. I wonder when it’ll go away.

It’s 11:30am right now and I took a quick break from studying to make this post. I’ll get back at it. Today I think I’ll dry fast. If I feel thirsty I’ll have SJ and mineral water though.

Have a great Sunday you all!

Day 8

Morning to you, afternoon and evening too!

I woke up an hour ago feeling pretty good. Took me a while to get out of bed though.

Since I got back to the Snake Diet my weight went from ~85kg to 79.3kg as of this morning.

The results speak for themselves. I’m thrilled to keep fasting hard and reach my goal weight until my birthday.

Have a great day!

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So far so good! I’m burning around 600g of fat per day, and a bit more if I do some exercise.

I’m still sticking with 96’s, but I may fast harder if I’m feeling good and functional.

I had planned to go to a BBQ restaurant this Friday, but I’ll either break my fast at home or keep fasting. My #1 priority is to sleep well and stay mentally sharp because I have some important stuff to do.

Anyway, today I’m going to do some mild exercise at 4pm and call it a day.

Thinking of it I think it’s a good idea to set a few milestones until I get to ripped levels of body fat. Like, having a refeed when I reach ‘x’ amount of weight.

Yeah, sounds good! So, I’ll break my fast when I get to 76kg :slight_smile:

If you’re reading this, I wish you a great day!

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Hey, I’m a bit late. My bad!

So, for the past days I did mostly 48’s because I was feeling a bit sick. I had carbs this Thursday to keep me sane and it was freaking delicious lol.

Last time I stepped on the scale I was weighing around 77.6kg

I’m probably burning jackshit with these 48’s but I don’t care, I just want to stay disciplined. Therefore, I’ll keep fasting for as long as I feel decent and only weigh myself once a week or so. It’s not worth it to stress over what the scale says. If I’m not eating then I’m in full blown ketosis and burning fat.

My clothes are fitting better and I look way less bloated and fat :smiley:

Next goal is 74kg. When I get there I’ll go to a Japanese restaurant or to a BBQ to celebrate!

If you’re reading this, have a great weekend and keep fasting!

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Hey :slight_smile:

Yesterday I had painful gas and bloating. It was a bit weird, and it made sleeping early more difficult. I dozed off around midnight or so.

Anyway, I woke up today feeling pretty decent. I must have farted like crazy during my sleep hehe.

I’m in deep ketosis right now, my mind is sharp like a 鮪包丁 (tuna cutter).

Gonna workout soon and bike ride a bit so I can sleep earlier today and burn extra calories!

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In case you are wondering, I’m well and alive.

I was fairly stressed out because of my final paper, and I was focused on that and other stuff these days. Now I’m putting more hours into my hobbies and exercising. I got back to the gym recently, so I’m sticking with OMAD and an occasional 48 or 72.

Just gotta give time to time and stay at it, with diligence and discipline. I’m more focused on building strength and lean tissue over the next 365 days while burning fat (but this is not my primary goal anymore). I’m weighing 78kg but my frame has been changing for best.

Take care of yourselves, eat accordingly to your goals and lift! It’s pretty simple.

So far things are going well! I’m increasing my numbers at the gym and the weight on the scale is pretty much the same. Some shirts are slightly tighter though. I’d like to say that I have been eating clean the whole time, but that’s not the case. I have my refeed right after lifting and sometimes I have a big glass of chocolate milk while preparing the meal. Other than that it’s a pretty good meal. I’m sticking with ground beef, some veggies, eggs, butter and olive oil. At times it gets boring but it’s very easy and quick to prep.

As for workouts I’m doing a upper/lower split to focus on my weakest body parts to get a more balanced physique. It’s important to do compound exercises first and then go for isolation. Even though I don’t have optimal nights of sleep, I’m able to recover just fine. I’m dealing with sleep apnea since several years ago but never got it fixed. I’ll handle that during winter break after being miserable for a long time lol.

Cheers!

Relax guys, I’m alive! I actually had COVID-19 around late April, but I recovered just fine. So, I’ve always had sleep apnea and that really impaired everything I was trying to do: fasting, being more active and productive, lifting etc. I’d fast for 2-3 days and basically lose a few grams. That’s not an exaggeration.

Anyways, I had corrective surgery recently and since then I’ve burned 10kg of fat. Went from 85.6kg to 75.6kg as of today.

Doing everything is almost effortless lol. Life is good. I’ll continue to fast for a minimum of 48hrs, never eating two days in a row. I’ve noticed that’s a trap which you can easily fall for.

That’s pretty much it I guess. Snake on!

Still fasting and dropping body fat like crazy! I’m going for a long SJ + dry fast this week, I want to break by Saturday, but I feel decent I’ll make it to Monday.

Get that fat in ya