I’ve been trying keto and intermittent fasting (IF) to loose weight. But I’ve stalled, and I’m tired of being the same weight since the 30th of June 2018. So my plan is to do a 120 hours or longer extended clean, water, tea and coffee only fast (EF) to break the deadlock and get my body into fat burning mode.
I’ve tried two other fat fasts but they didn’t work. You can read about both here and here.
I closed my last eating window at 21.11 on the 19th of August. My last meal was at 15.15, but from 15.15 to 21.11 I tried to eat 4 tbsp of peanut butter and 2 tbsp of butter. I failed, I only managed 3 tbsp of the mixed paste. But, I’m counting the point when I closed the window late in the evening and gave up the attempt of eating the peanut butter mixture as my starting point so that my 120 hour fast is as clean as possible.
Weight this morning, 20th August 2018: 175 1/2 lbs.
Today, I’ve finished my 24 hours. Its currently 21.43 and I’m 24.32 hours into the fast. I shall use this one blog to keep posting updates so you can read how I get on and how long I managed to fast for.
So far the first 24 hours has been very easy. I normally follow an OMAD (one meal a day) protocol, so I got a little peckish at about 20 hours into the fast, but I just sipped some water and it passed without issue.
Other than for water, today I’ve had two 250 ml cups of fairly weak black tea, a lovely English Breakfast from Whittard. My OH and I made a pot and we steeped it for 3 minutes. I then added some water to top off each of my mugs to weaken the tea a bit before drinking it plain and black. Being on the fast definitely cleanses your palette. I found the tea sweet and tasty without the need for milk or sweetening.
My 120 hours is up at 21.11 on Friday. I shall post how I get on tomorrow here too.
08.54: 21st August 2018, 35.42 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning 172 3/8 lbs. Yes, that’s right, I’m 3 whole lbs down. I’ve had a whoosh effect overnight. Its explained really well here, so I won’t go into much detail, but what it means in brief is that your fat cells that were slowly emptying out of fat filled with water, got squishy, and then, when there was so much water in each cell that there was no more fat in them, they just emptied out and there was a whoosh.
I did drink a lot of water last night, but I had to get up to go to the loo twice as well and had a really restless, mostly awake night. Not good, but I guess it was because my body was doing its thing. Standing on the scale and seeing the whoosh and the weight loss was marvelous. I’m definitely going to continue with the clean EF today. After a result like this, I can’t not keep going. I don’t think I’ll have another whoosh over these 120 hours, but I can live in hope.
09.25: 22nd August 2018, 60.13 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning is 171 lbs. This means I’m down 4.5 lbs since I began this fast 60 hours or so ago. I’m at the half way point, so I’m definitely going to keep on going on the EF. I will see how I feel, and perhaps I won’t break it on Friday night but keep going onto Saturday morning. We shall see. But with results like this, I am so excited and don’t want to stop.
Just to add though, yesterday’s clean fast on water and tea turned dirty. I had 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp clotted cream, 1 tbsp cream cheese and 1 tbsp extra thick double cream to give me plenty of fats to keep feeling good. About to have coffee now.
09.17: 23rd August 2018, 84.05 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning is 169 7/8 lbs, which is 1 1/8 lbs down from yesterday. I am so over the moon. Not been in the 160s zone for years and years. The last I think was in 2010 ten whole years ago.
I truly feel this weight loss is partly a triumph of EF, but also all the work I’ve done in the past year through excellent counselling and my current ongoing coaching. The person centred counselling allowed me to set my past to rest. I worked really hard with a marvellous counsellor and we really dug deep and tackled so many issues. Most times I was weeping, and came out of the sessions totally drained and unable to talk to anyone. But then, my OH would come home in the evening from work, and we’d go over what had happened, and I’d gain more perspective and over the next week I’d implement, mull and be ready for the next session.
The coaching on the other hand has allowed me to look to the future. And of course, for healing you need both, to settle the past but to figure out who you are going to be next. Coaching is such a great tool because you are the one in the driving seat, you are the one who gets to choose your path.
Things I consumed yesterday: 2 mugs coffee, the first with 1 tsp extra thick double cream and 1/2 tsp Stevia, the second black; 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter and 1 tbsp grass-fed butter mixed together into a paste; 1 tbsp clotted cream, 1 tbsp cream cheese, another 1 tsp extra think double cream, 1/2 Polish skinny sausage dipped in full fat mayo and 1 tsp of the minced beef I cooked for my OH’s dinner to taste spices etc. I also had 1 mug of Slovakian herbal metabolic tea which is caffeine free and just a lovely aromatic combination herbs and flowers.
22.26: 97.24 hours in. Today I ate a little too much fat/keto. 3 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 skinny Polish sausage with mayo, 1 tbsp clotted cream, 3 tbsp full fat yogurt, 2 tbsp cream cheese, 1 tbsp hard Beaufort cheese, 11 whole almonds and 2 walnuts. The reason was that I was at a loose end, not real hunger, which is very naughty. But I stopped and I’m continuing with my dirty fast. I’m pleased that I did stop, so that even if I may have broken it, I have gone back on it immediately, so that it becomes a continuous intermittent fast with a very small keto meal. I’m going to try and do a much cleaner fast tomorrow, and extend this to 168 hours, so that it is a 7 day fast. The one thing I worry about it what will happen to my weight release rate on the scales tomorrow.
13.07: 24th August 2018. 111:56 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning is 169 1/2 lbs. Another 3/8 lbs down since yesterday. Really pleased given that I ate so much food yesterday. But I was reading somewhere that having a bit of food will ensure that the refeed will be easier. But today I’m going to clean fast completely so that tomorrow that’s another bigger weight loss to record.
I have changed the title of this blog from 120 hours + to 168 hours + because I’m definitely going to try to do a week, and if possible extend this to 240 hours and get 10 days of EF done. The health benefits and the weight loss is so good that I just don’t want to stop. I don’t feel deprived and today I have woken up with so much energy. I feel like dancing and bouncing off the walls.
Another reason that I am excited and motivated to keep going is that we’ve got two holidays coming up in September. One to see my OHs extended family and the other to see mine. I’d love to go to those feeling fitter, healthier and more svelte.
So far I’ve consumed 1 mug of coffee and water. I shall now stick to lots of water and possibly have some black tea in the afternoon.
16.25: 25th August 2018. 139.15 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning was 168 1/4 lbs. Another 1 1/4 lbs
down. Clean fasting is definitely the ticket if you want to maximise weight
release. Feeling really good.
Things consumed today, 1 mug fruit tea, 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter, 1 tbsp
smooth peanut butter, 2 tbsp avocado oil mixed into a paste; 2 tsp cream
cheese, 3 tbsp full fat Greek yogurt, 1 tsp extra thick double cream, 1 tsp
clotted cream, 1 inch square hard Beaufort cheese. My food intake window for
the day is now shut once more and I’m back on nothing but water.
I’m definitely going to keep going on this EF. In fact, I must admit that
I’m afraid of food now. I don’t want to break the fast and eat a proper meal,
even if it is keto. This bite-size nibbling for a very restricted period so
that my body can go back into refeed mode easily feels like lots of food all on
its own.
15.28: 26th August 2018. 162.17 hours into the fast.
Weight this morning was 168 1/8 lbs. Another 1/8 lbs down. Its not much because of all that I had yesterday, but it means its not going to go up massively either when I refeed. Today is a much cleaner fast day with very little food. Feeling good and definitely going to extend this to 240 hours of EF.
19.00: I’ve done some research, and I’m going to have a keto meal of turkey breast steak, mushrooms, cauliflower and white onion before going back on my EF. This is so that there’s no problem with me going on for another week or so. I’m really enjoying the weight loss, but I am feeling a little less energetic today. I felt tired going up the stairs with the laundry basket and I took that as a sign to introduce some food before continuing. I don’t know whether that means this fast is over, or if it is just a meal within the structure of the EF. I’m currently seeing as within.
13.26: 27th August 2018. 184.14 hours into the fast.
Yesterday’s small keto meal, less than half of what was on my plate, means I’ve gone up 1/2 lb to 168 3/4 lbs. But this is a good thing, because it means when I eventually break this fast (today I’ve done a clean fast) the refeed will not cause major weight gain. Feeling a lot better today. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.
15.53: Today’s clean fast has been super easy. I’m surprised how much actually because I struggled a bit yesterday, hence all the nibbling and then the small keto meal. I think it means that my body is back into fat burning and that it had been having too much carbs, possibly through the peanut butter and the cream cheese. The pure keto meal changed that, allowed my body to feel like it did have access to fat and protein so that today I’ve just sailed through the fast. As you can imagine this is a really good feeling. I am now really confident that I will get to 240 hours at least. I never knew that I could go for so long on so little food. But I’m doing what I thought I couldn’t and I’m so proud of myself.
22.08: Really happy with how today’s fast has gone. A very successful day.
10.23: 28th August 2018. 205.12 hours fasting.
Weight this morning is 168 1/4 lbs. This means I’ve lost the 1/2 lb I’d gone up due to my eating. I’m feeling good, definitely going to have another super clean day and hope there’s a whoosh in my very near future.
I come to the end of 10 days of fasting tomorrow night. But now I think I’m just going to keep on going. This is working for me. I feel good.
09.49: 29th August 2018. 228.38 hours into my fast. This means I’ve just begun my 10th day. I am definitely going to extend this EF. I feel great.
Weight this morning, 167 1/4 lbs, which means that since I started I’ve lost/released 8 1/4 lbs. This for me is a fantastic result. I’m over the moon. Especially because throughout these days I’ve been dirty fat fasting, had a small keto meal and have been nibbling. My energy levels are really high, my mood is excellent and I feel vibrant, up-beat and productive. I’m definitely going to continue in this manner until I’m out of the obese weight category and into the over-weight one.
My reason for doing IF and EF after all is to be healthy and get off my high blood pressure medication. For this, being a healthy weight is essential according to my doctor. Now, getting into the healthy weight range is a fair distance away, and I don’t think I’m going to get there on this round of EF. That’s my goal for November, when I have my next review of medication appointment with my GP.
My next NSV (non-scale victory) goal is to fit into size 12 jeans. I’m going to buy myself a pair and use it to gauge how much I am shrinking. At the moment I’m wearing a size 14 comfortably.
20.10: Its 238.59 hours into the fast. I’m definitely not going to end it at 240 hours. I shall weight myself tomorrow morning and just keep going. Still feeling really positive, motivated and energised. This is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. So glad I was directed towards EF and IF by one of my childhood friends.
23.05: I had a real wave of hunger this evening. I’m doing my best to distract myself online and by crocheting. But now it is approaching bedtime so I’m safe. Looking forward to what the scales say tomorrow.
08.58: 30th August 2018: I am not going to record the hours – but today is my 11th day on this plan.
I’m doing a combination of clean fasting and having small keto meals that are under 500 kcal. I’m at present loosing weight steadily.
Weight this morning: 166 1/4 lbs. Since the day I began I’ve lost 9.25 lbs which is about a lb a day. For me, given that I used to really struggle on plans like Slimming World to even loose 1 lb a week, much less a day, this is phenomenon and I’m not going to stop until I physically can’t and my body truly tells me it is hungry and in need of food. This hasn’t happened yet. The small keto meals are keeping me satiated and I’ve never had a real wave of hunger. Just a pang that passes when I ignore it and do something else.
18.08: I’ve eaten a fair amount today, mainly because I don’t want the metabolism to shut down. Feeling good. Planning on doing totally clean fasts over Saturday and Sunday.
22.09: I just ended my fast. I didn’t eat anything to end the fast. Instead, it was entirely on a whim, but I ended it because the long duration was messing with my head. What I did was, I ended my fast and immediately started the countdown so that I know from now until Sunday night I will be doing a completely clean, water, tea and coffee only 72 hour fast. I’m therefore going to stop the blog here because that is now just my usual IF/EF journey. Though when I resume another longer EF, which I hope to do once the 72 hour clean fast is done (or continues) I may blog on this topic again.
Thank you for reading.