Terry's 30 day + water fast journal

[Tenax]

Seems I’m on a plateau stuck at 236.6. I can’t panic, can’t get depressed, can’t give up, can’t give in. I’ve lost weight under worse conditions, I’m in ketosis firmly, I just need to trust the process.

Honestly my bigger concern today is I felt like crap yesterday and I’m trying to figure out why. This is day 6 of refeed after a 19 day fast. I felt pretty good on refeeding aside from struggling to eat a reasonable amount of calories or to avoid eating too much, due to OMAD. My feed was fine yesterday, full but not overfull…and then the day went down from there. Severe stomach ache all day, all evening. Leading to much introspection and some investigation last night on the cause. So I start with “additives” left in my daily habits.

-Swerve sweetener- keto friendly but some pple get nausea from it. Turns out those few with issues with it were ingesting 50g +. Well, I used 2 teaspoons in 2 cups of coffee. Total of 6gm. I highly doubt thats my issue.

-Laxative- For about 1.5 months I’ve been taking what I was led to believe was a gentler laxative. Now I know its habit forming and can eventually destroy your digestive systems ability to process waste by itself. So thats done. Plus the laxative can cause nausea. So was that it? Possibly in any case, I need to learn to live without it. Was I hooked on it? I believe so. I loved how it helped clean me out.

Processed food-Again, I’ve lost weight in worse conditions. I am eating very little processed now.

-Macros off? See the point above. I’ve lost weight long term eating worse.

The last thing…and its a big one, is eating this high fat amount over only one meal. At one point years ago, I was diagnosed with IBS. I never thought of it as much of an issue, but between that and my GERD, I have issues literally from top to bottom in my system. I suspect and fear I’m not able to deal with that much fat in one meal. It’s the one thing I started doing differently just a few days ago, hence my logic.

So today, I’m going to go to a 16:8 2 meal per day feed.

I have to remind myself that I started this process only 25 days ago and what a journey it has been mentally, emotionally and physically. I’ve lost 28 lb since I started this particular leg of weight loss. But i feel optimistic I’m in my best place ever to continue this journey. Journalling helps a lot. Putting down thoughts on paper, as it were is like chewing your food, appreciating the taste. It helps me be more thoughtful and respectful of the process. I will continue.

[Compdude]

Good deductive reasoning.

Look forward to seeing how changing your meal plan turns out.

[Tenax]

Sigh. Weight stuck another day. Not sure what’s going on. 2nd day no laxatives and only one small BM since then at this point so maybe holding some water weight here? Stomach felt pretty good all day yesterday. Sore at bed time that I attribute to some constipation. I’m going to try OMAD again today to try to shake things up a bit for my system. It’s a big salad only day today too so that will be a change from a bit of a routine. Hopefully that gets a party started in my digestive system! If I feel a big need to eat something later today I have some pre cooked bacon I can munch on. I had really good activity yesterday so certainly no issue there.

This is a really big bad point in my progress for me. 2 years ago when I got to 230 and stuck, I gave in to my worst eating habits, addictions and gained back 53 lb.

I will not let that happen again. I’ve affirmed I’m still in keto. I have not had a cheat meal or day of any kind. Sometimes from what I’ve read that can shake things up a bit. As it happens, on Friday I’m going to a bbq that may be a “mindful” cheat event for me. By that I mean I still intend to monitor my carbs as I don’t want to get kicked out of ketosis. My basic meal will be a strip loin, grilled asparagus and a salad, plus a few glasses of diluted red sangria. That puts me at about 40g of carbs, my highest since before my fast. If there is something potatoes or dessert, I have in moderation with a plan to stay below 80g of carbs for the meal. We’ll see how that rocks my boat!

Failing all that I am contemplating a 2 day fast but mentally I’m not ready for it. Maybe not physically either. Now, May 8th is my last day of work before I’m laid off and then I intend to take a much needed break. Between CV19, the will I be laid off or not stresses and the extended fasting I need a break for my mental well being and reflection. I feel I could go into a 2 or 3 day fast easier again if I wasn’t working.

Take it day by day.

[Compdude]

Yes, you need to shake things up a bit to keep the body off-balance, Its the downside of one our greatest traits: adaptability. The body gets more efficient over time at anything done consistently. This applies to everything: working out, fasting and eating patterns.

Your wise to take a break with all the incoming stress heading your way. Fasting, by its nature is a source of stress.

[Tenax]

Going on to day 5 of my weight sticking. A bit bewildered. I’ve pretty much always lost weight on workdays. Yesterday I loaded and unloaded 1200lb of product…twice. Then I did some good walking (not 10000 steps like I used to because of my knee but 4000 plus which is as good as I’ve done lately). I didn’t quite eat OMAD as I got an airfryer and had to sample about 1/2 a fried chicken breast (keto of course). So I have to think a bit further out of the box maybe to get things going again. I’m running at about 1100-1300 calories a day and I’m feeling basically back to normal physically. Yesterday moving all that weight felt like it used to. When I was fasting I was breathing harder, moving slower so my energy is good. I’ve confirmed this morning I’m still well into ketosis. Clearly I am in a plateau I need to break:

Options I see to consider:

Going into another brief fast (like 2 or day). My least favoured option at this point.

Starting a on/off day eating fasting pattern with 48 hours rather than 24 between feeds. Probably can get my head around that if necessary.

Something a bit radical maybe but considering trying that bacon only eating for a bit that I’ve read about. But I’m not convinced its not BS. I think it was claimed 20lb lost in 30 days? But the guy pushing it says he was eating 2lb of bacon per day!!! While it sounds like an interesting solution…god knows I love bacon, thats a lot of sodium. I need to read more from more sources before I go that route.

OMAD but severly limiting my calories until this kickstarts. At this point properly my preferred option. Logic being still keep up the ratios but severely limit all fat carb and protein forcing the body to feed off fat by way of it being the highest percentage macro.

Lastly, OMAD but a period of eating bacon and eggs only. Which actually had been my plan coming out of the fasting into solid foods but I got distracted by my excitement to learn keto cooking.

In any case whatever I try, not really point doing much different until I get past the BBQ “cheat meal” friday night. But the more I think about this the more I think I want to try the bacon & eggs idea. a) I can eat bacon & eggs for 1 week no problem b) i have to recheck the nutrition numbers, but I believe I’ll be at less than 10g of carbs per day thx to that “mix”. Worst case scenario? I don’t lose a lb next week, but I don’t gain and still well fed. My ex lost 50lb which for her was a lot (i think she started at 160) and she swears by “eat as much bacon and eggs as you like” as part of her strategy to get there. Note She was able to go to the gym and put a lot of miles on the treadmill almost every day of the week as well.

Otherwise, love my new little air fryer! Got it on sale for only 79 bucks canadian and for one person its just fine. I made a batch of fried chicken breasts and next I’m going to make keto coconut shrimp with it. And buffalo cauliflower florets!

Lastly, reallllyyyy want to have a satisfying BM. Every time I try since my last 2 days ago, all I’m getting is gas. Lol. Happy humpday!

[Compdude]

The body is a complicated organism. From what I’m reading you are doing what you are supposed to AND the weight scale is an imperfect measuring mechanism in this situation.

It could be your body is adding more lean muscle mass (LBM) and at the same time burning fat. LBM weighs more than fat and takes up less space. Maybe try on some old clothes?

A forum friend of mine @Rebecca_Hughes was getting discouraged at the apparent lack of weight loss and then she took pics:

Rebecca's journal

[20200311_223657] Left: 10/26/19 169 lbs middle: 1/21/20 164 lbs Right: 3/11/20 161.8 [IMG_2020-03-11_22-44-56] Left: 10/26/19 169lbs Right: 3/11/20 161.8 lbs Progress photo time! I am loving my progress!! Still slightly, just ever so slightly butthurt that I have not seen a 159 or 158 etc on the scale, still hanging out in the stinkin’ 160’s lol. But if I can literally be slightly thinner in the 160’s than I was before child #3 in the 150’s, I’LL TAKE IT! I am loving what fasting is doin…

You may be going through the same process.

[Tenax]

There is a possibility of that on the fat vs muscle situation. I found that intriguing when I heard it 4 or 5 years ago and while its true, the actual difference in weight is negligable. That being said I definitely buy an exchange of muscle weight for fat weight, but given how I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks on weight loss after day after day of weight loss since feb aside from a few days, I believe there’s something more going on. But I’m not deterred from my goal. I just don’t like not having the answer. Lol.

[Tenax]

Wasn’t going to eat more than OMAD today, but my feed was very early today. 230 am’ish and I’ve been hankering to make keto coconut shrimp in my new air fryer so I sampled 2. They are soooo good and turned out so well. About 2.5 carbs for 2 large shrimp and so easy to make…

[Tenax]

Well that went the wrong way:( Up one lb but…glass half full, I think it tells me what is going on with my weight right now. Here’s my logic…

-ketones meter measured- 3.8 so I’m in the zone.
-14g of carbs, fat & protein intake and percentages, right balance
-lots of weight lifted at work yesterday & then a good 4000 step walk.

So my thinking is at this point relatively early post fast…water weight added back on. This is the first time post fast I have gained anything. This is the only thing I can attribute a gain too. Today I’m giving myself an excuse for a good long walk. To buy seafood sauce & carbonated water at walmart. lol. (our city is so F’ing boring to walk around. Lol)

Otherwise, today is a 10g of carb today, tomorrow my calculated cheat meal, then to shake things up a bit, Saturday will be a 1 cup of coffee with cream day. Hopefully I will still be in ketosis after the feed tomorrow. i calculate under 40g of carbs, any food I haven’t planned to eat but eat that in moderation could bump me to 60-70 but I should still stick it, maybe just pink instead of purple on the stick for a few days.

Any weight gain when being so disciplined is disappointing. But, I’m going to thank my lucky stars if its just adding water fat. I also have to keep in mind I artificially was expelling water for weeks before and during my fast using a laxative. Hell, maybe that caused my stomach issues to. I’m proud of myself for giving them up. I will only use them in the future if I’m unnaturally constipated.

my new addiction is air fryer cooking! and keto recipes! its like hunting hidden treasure! Next week I’m to make a cauliflower grilled cheese sandwich. And maybe the week after a keto cheesecake:) I HATE cooking so this is a totally different me.

[Tenax]

An addendum to my daily journal entry.

-I struggle with drinking water. My family suggested carbonated plain water. I hate it. Picked up a bottle of walmart lemon flavour carbonated water. $1 for a big bottle & omg…I love it!

• Found a few more low carb spreads to add to my arsenal for dressings, dips! Sirachi mayo! Aftertaste has kick but sparingly I’ll use it.

• I like my chipotle mayo a bunch but its so strong I found it killed the flavour of my coconut shrimp versus augmenting it. So I bought a bottle of hellmans sesame ginger. OMG! Its a perfect compliment to the shrimp! I would it on salads as well!

-I made a big batch of the shrimp for appetizers at our family bbq this morning. And realized I had about 1 cup of this delicious toasted pork rind/coconut mix…hmmmm…what do with them? Salad toppers!!! So good!

[Yasemin]

Great Job!!! Love the consistency of your posting!!! You’re amazing! You got this Terry!!

[Tenax]

Thank you M’am. And I will keep tracking my journey in the hope it benefits others😄

[Yasemin]

It absolutely will!! Then you Will have a beautiful journal to share with others!!

[Tenax]

No weigh in today post my “controlled cheat meal” yesterday…my first post the fasting experience. It felt like I ate well but aside fr trying 1/2 a thick potato slice and some sangria, a relatively normal feed. So post feed observations…

-Still in ketosis, as I would expect but even though my diary shows my carbs well under a level that could kick me out, the sugar bomb still is on your mind. My plan to dilute the sangria was smart. 1/2 and 1/2 with sparkling water in a tall glass with ice as well was tasty & sweet enough. when I was offered/teased to have another, I had a glass of sparking water with a bit of my Swerve which I bought with me.

-The potato fry slice was…unsatisfying. As a friend used to say, the potato was filler. Nothing more.

I had a nice steak with a salt, pepper garlic rub. As my son in law to be bbq’d tt, I was reminded how I use to slather my steaks in bbq sauce. Now I completely appreciate the art of cooking a steak & just using seasoning to effect and tasting the meat.

Everyone else had burgers with buns, fries & salad. I love burgers, but didn’t miss them at all.

I finished eating 2nd last of 5 of us. And I started first! I usually finish first so…good for me!

My coconut shrimp was a hit with everyone. Out of 5 sauces, the sesame & sesame ginger were the clear favorites. They just nicely added to the coconut shrimp taste. The others were too overwhelming.

Had a glass of water when I got home. Good thing cause even so, wicked headache & dehydration on wake up. I chalk it up to the alcohol and possibly, disruption to my regular eating schedule. It felt weird to eat 3 times yesterday and that wasn’t my plan. I had my feed when I wake up as I do now but just 3 slices of bacon instead of my bigger OMAD because I was going to eat last night. But about 2pm I got quite hungry. i chalked it up to not having my early meal. As I was going to have a few coconut shrimp as part of dinner, I ate them then (which helped!) Then, we didn’t have dinner until I think about 7.

Even before the fast, eating late was not my thing. I was eating any meal no later than 3 or 4.

So, the combination of the things really honestly made me feel like crap when I woke up.

I was not going to eat today post the cheat but I don’t know…I had a strong feeling that was not a good idea today and needed routine. So I had leftover salad & steak from last night.

I realized in hindsight this may not have been the best choice as while low carb, not the high fat I will need to keep me feeling fed today. But, live & learn. That’s the choice I made & I want to get back on schedule today.

So for sure, yesterday was a shake up to my system from the routine, but the break in routine in the end is a good thing, I didn’t feel like odd man out or like I was being deprived over dinner. I was in interesting company as follows:

son in law-normal average eater
son- fast food eater
daughter-trying to cook a lot at home & cook healthy
kids mom-cooks and eats well at home, intermittent fasts, flirts with keto and her cheat is a real cheat. Eating bad, as I’m going to call it.

So I’ve just eaten, feeling a bit better overall, headache almost gone.

Looking forward to getting back to normal eating, a good walk today in the sun and making keto sweet pickles! I stole a mason jar from my daughters without telling her. A bit of a family joke as my daughter used to be notorious for visiting my house or her mothers when she was on her own and whatever she thought she needed would disappear and we always knew it was her. Now she’s in her own house, a bit of a turnaround. lol. I’ll give it back to her…with a sample of my keto pickles as payment for the “loan”.

Happy Saturday!

[Tenax]

My keto sweet pickles made this morning to go with another new recipe wed…cauliflower grilled cheese sandwich! Very simple to make, quick and almost zenlike:) The pickle juice is amber as I chose the apple cider vinegar option. Ready in one hour to eat, keep for 3 weeks. There’s 360 grams of pickles there. 3 are about 1 carb.

[Tenax]

Going to journal entry and did weigh in but its 1:06 am writing this and I’m not happy with my scale number against fridays, let’s put it that way. I’m am prepared to suck it up and put whatever it is down after I go back to bed for another 5 hours. I know for me that sleep time can bring a surprisingly better scale number to start my day so let’s do that shall we? If there is a curse, insomnia is mine. As I think I’ve said before, I’ve learned to survive by just giving in, getting up for an hour or 2, then go back to bed. This has gone on long enough that I know when I’m for awhile, this is better than a toss & turn for 2 hours in bed. But I totally believe my sleep does not help in my weight loss cause. I do what I have to do and won’t use sleeping pills.

Otherwise, a busy day. A decent walk, and some roaming around to grocery & hardware stories. my homemade pickles first, then next trip for things I needed to make keto cheesecake & a keto strawberry puree’. Cheesecake being cheesecake its still pretty high calories…and carbs quickly add up with any fruit but I figure in combination with a low carb salad or say chicken breast and veggies, its a doable and rare treat (Its freezable). So today my meal you’ll see will be 2 slices of bacon and cheesecake with strawberry puree and my coffee with cream. the bacon helps get my fat number up so I’m sated. If I just had cheesecake I don’t think I’d be comfortably satisfied until tomorrows OMAD. And I don’t want to cheat on my portion size of cheesecake.

I had 1 serving of my keto pickles! very interesting. More of a vinegar taste, less dill taste. sweetness level about the same. Over time they might get more dill tasting I suppose as they age. they are pretty intense in vinegry taste but not a bad way. i think the apple cider vinegar makes it the better way to go to add some flavour to that. these are definitely pickles to eat with something savory & smooth? And that’s where I like them for the purpose I made them…grilled cheese sandwich side. In any case, I have never had sweet pickles to eat by themselves like I would with a dill pickle. These are different, but still good. The recipe works.

Had a couple of excellent BMs Saturday. Lol. Keep going baby!!!

Might be ready to try a 48 or 72 hour fast soon. I’m going to wait until I am laid off next week. I just think it will be easier that way. I have removed all medicinal additives and have Swerve now so I can drink teas for the fast period along with water so I feel better equipped for this go. If I can keep my stomach aches at bay, I might go longer.

PS- I just tried my keto cheesecake! Recipe was pretty perfect inc baking times. The filling was creamy but firm. I now realize the walmart etc bought cheesecakes are overbaked (filling should jiggle a bit when its done & is starting to brown on edges of pan. Just a hint). The filling actually then “sets up” by a) leaving out on counter for 4 hours b) refridgerate overnight. (Mine was in fridge from 6pm to 1am and was fine).

The almond crust turned out great…but I didn’t “love it”, like graham cracker. The recipe does tell you that you can make it crustless. I did not for fear of wrecking the cake but I now have the confidence for next time to skip the crust and it will save some calories. I don’t think there’s much for carbs in it. But for me, its filler. The puree’ was a great success too. So fresh, low carb and a nice touch of sweetness without being too strong.

Lastly, the portion size (1/16th of a 9" round cake sound small) but its not! Especially as this is a deep cheesecake.

Delicious treat and I am able to freeze the rest.

[Tenax]

This is why you weigh in the morning after you get your night’s sleep. At 1am weigh in, I was still 237.6 after morning pee. Then I had a cup of coffee, 2 slices of bacon, keto cheesecake and strawberry puree’ and 5 hours later after another pee, I’m down 1 lb. lol.

[Compdude]

Thanks for sharing.

When people ask me how I stay motivated and disciplined in what I do I tell them of my “why”. My “why” is when T2 diabetes was deemed a chronic and progressive disease (medical jargon for “we have no cure”) you would end up in 1 of 4 fates: diabetes-related heart attack, diabetes-related blindness, diabetes-related kidney failure and/or foot/feet amputation. As a T2 diabetic, by August of last year I had experienced 2 of the 4: congestive heart failure and cataract surgery in the right eye. After my latest blood test, I was one step closer to the dialysis machine and with displaying symptoms of neuropathy in my feet, amputation was becoming an all too real fate.

So I took my destiny in my own hands and changed it. I’m just grateful that when I made the decision, the science has advanced to the point that it gave me the tools. I couldn’t have done it 15 years ago.

It’s what I tell everyone new to fasting. Weight loss is NOT a strong enough “why”. Instead think of as a means to an end. It’s the “end” that should be the “why”. My good friend Anna, her goal was to resolve her mental challenges and she completed a 30-day. Another person here did a 50-day and his “why” was reversing his T2 diabetes which he did.

Find your “why” and you’ll figure out the “what” and have the daily discipline to grind it out like all the successful fasters in this forum.

[Nakedearth]

So glad you took matters in your own hands and didnt give up on you

[Tenax]

236.6. I swear, I’m getting that on a custom car license plate. Contemplating again how I will break it. I do plan a good walk today. Yesterday was cold & wet but at least I got some walking & lifting work exercise. I struggled yesterday with eating. I chalk it up to 2 things. First, possibly my grams of fat way too low for me. About 72 grams, not so much attempting to go that low. Menu choices. Combined with eating very early in the morning (2am) which I’ve slid into lately. So by 4pm I felt like I just had to eat a salad.

So 2 things I’m thinking about that…

To do OMAD, I have to keep my fats in the suggested 110-120 range. Certainly above 100. Otherwise I’m just not going to feel sated to get through 24 hours.

Given I can’t seem to sleep more than 4 to 5 hours (aggravating cause I can then stay awake 1 to 2 hours then go back to sleep as I did last night for another 3-4 hours) I wonder if eating that soon is sabotaging the whole sleep/heal/lose weight cycle. So this morning when I woke up at 1am…Aside from a few swallows of water, I stuck to my guns to not eat until I woke at 6am. And boy did my body tell me it wanted something…now! Speaks to how quickly the body adapts to an eating pattern. I had eggs, cheese, bacon which is a quick easy meal to get my balanced macros in a satiated meal, hence an understanding why some people eating this combo many days in a row. Simple & tasty…and was originally my plan out of the fast. But I fear even so it could get boring and lead to bad eating habits.

As I put a 48 hour fast on my meal planner for Saturday, my stomach ache this morning until I ate reminded me of my extended fast again & whether I’m ready mentally for those inevitable 2 days of stomach ache. And if I’m going to do 3…should I push on to 4. or further?

I’m tempted to go longer because it may be what it takes to solidly get past 236.6. And I will be laid off after friday so if I need to laze on the couch for the first 3 or 4 days, I can. The other soldier I can bring to the fasting battlefield is this time, I am taking zero additives. Aside from my non insulin reactive sweetener that I might add to water and an electrolyte solution as necessary, I am not using laxatives, pain pills or sleep aids. My carbs are at a consistently good level going into it. (I don’t think I’ve gone higher than about 35g on my cheat meal last friday).

And I must admit to wondering if my stomach ache goes away after 3 or 4 days.

So, you’ll be the first to know when I know! I also read the suggestion yesterday to break up the length of fast goals to help keep motivated. I like that idea. Rather than saying I’m shooting for 30, shoot for 5. Then another 5…then another 5 for example.