cherylemtman's Journal, 12 September 2021

How long was your fast? How do you feel about the experience? 

I fast for 2 days. I was very nervous about going so long with out solid foods, but I did not feel sick or in a lot of pain from my RA. I did use Ensure that was high in protein - I think this helped. I do plan to do it again. Have you tried fasting? 

Yes, I do intermittent fasting many days a week (skip breakfast), and occasional longer fasts - recently 42 hours and over the summer I did a 7 day fast. It definitely breaks plateaus for me. I often bounce back up, but it paves the way for further weight loss. I lost 10 lbs on the 7 day fast, and gained it all back, but now I'm marching through that 10 lbs fairly unobstructed. When I get stuck again, I'll fast to open the next phase. 

I fast totally by accident because I don’t eat past 6pm at night and then nothing before 10am the next morning. I have plateaued after loosing 31 pounds (over 2 years) and can’t seem to jumpstart my weight loss. I have another 9 pounds to go. I don’t know if fasting will help…..any thoughts? 

Try lengthening your daily fast until lunch. Have a coffee with cream to tide you over and don't eat until a bit later. The cream won't trigger a blood sugar/insulin release, so you'll be burning fat for that extra time each day. You're on a 16:8 pattern, you could try an 18:6 pattern. That might move things along. Or you could try an occasional longer fast. There are a ton of YouTube videos and books about it. It's a useful tool and fun to explore. 

Erika, thx so much for the advice. I think I’ll try extending my fast to 18 hours. That may help. Have a great week! 😎 

@ Wiamscpa; Let us know how your experiment pans out. @Cheryl; I haven't tried ensure for a liquid fast. I've had some bad gastro symptoms from protein drinks, so I'd have to read the label. I cant do mallitol. or maltodextron. I made bone broth for my long fast for the last couple of days and that was a good option. 

Thank you for the great advice on fasting. I will be giving these a go. You do have to watch the type of ensure, some have caffeine in them. Those really keep you hyper. I have to read the labels. I do like Muscle Milk as well.