obesecret's Journal, 03 December 2018

Yummy last meal! 

Can you tell me more about your journey. What is yours. Very interested in fasting  

Hi Ralph48, I've been working on getting down from obese (110+ kg) to a healthier weight (70 kg) for about 2 years now. Originally I started out by determining my TDEE and reducing it by 20% then using intermittent fasting to control intake, so I would eat anything within the hours of 12pm and 8pm using my calorie deficit to prevent over-eating within that time. Then I would commit to no calories outside of those hours, just drinking water or coffee (16/8 intermittent fasting). I was happy with that for about 6 months then relaxed for about a year just staying within my calorie deficit day to day, then hit a plateau at 80 kg about 9 months ago as my eating habits ended up coming out to essentially maintenance. After 6 months of sitting around that weight I decided to give fasting a shot to kickstart another effort to lose weight. I had actually put four 4-day fasts in my 2018 calendar the year before out of general interest after reading about the health benefits such as autophagy but never ended up doing them when the dates came around. The third one popped so I thought "screw it, let's give it a go" and had dinner that night then "opened the fast" right after. It was what I'd consider a soft fast however as I still consumed 3 miso soups (sodium as well as potassium and magnesium are important on prolonged fasts as you need to keep your electrolytes in check) and 2 whey protein shakes (was worried about muscle loss but this isn't a problem if fasting for less than 7 days) every day for the 3 day fast which I'm glad I did just to get a feeling for it. Have slowly worked my way towards a more strict water fast and completed my fourth fast a few days ago. I decided last fast to cut it from 4 days down to 3 though as I'd like to discuss fasting with my doctor next month before I go longer. For the average healthy person fasting for up to a few days is perfectly safe. However, I can't recommend prolonged fasting in general as it can be dangerous or even lethal for diabetics and other people that have blood sugar issues. Definitely look into if you're interested though and maybe get sign-off from your doc if you have concerns.