18 hours into my first 7 (maybe 10) day fast

**FINAL UPDATE:** Made it 19 days! I really really wanted to go till 21-25 but the nausea just got to be waaaaay too bad after Day 14 or so. No matter how much I chug electrolyte water I was perpetually ready to hurl. And any weird smell set off my stomach. It was at the point where if someone had ketones on their breath I could smell it from feet away and my stomach would turn. I felt so ill I didn't even have an appetite to break my fast initially. I broke my fast with some olives and broth, then had pork rinds, brie, and lots of provolone wrapped in salami. The nausea stuck with me so I ordered a veggie packed pita and a cookie. All in all I got down to 189.9 from a start of 216. I have eaten mostly protein but have treated myself and since Saturday am at 197 as of this morning. I know this is mostly water weight from the carbs. I'm currently trying to decide if want to jump right back in, or take a few days off and eat strict low carb. I am going out of state to visit family this weekend and am prepared for the possibility of treats and temptations, so I know I'll jump right into fasting when I get back. I still have 30-40lbs I'd like to lose, so I am eager to get my head back in the game :) Overall it wasn't awful, but I probably can't go beyond 10-15 days due to the nausea that kicks in. ​ **EDIT: HIT DAY 10 AND PLAN TO KEEP GOING--SHOOTING FOR 15-20 DAYS!** ​ ​ ​ 5'11 33 year old female here. Been lurking for a month or so and I figured we could use more tall women on the board :) I have been a bit of a yo-yo dieter most of my life (topped out at nearly 300 10 years ago) but for the past couple of years got myself down to a steady 200. After a couple bad/toxic relationships, my bad eating habits crept in and I went from around 210 in August to 240 by Christmas 2018. I'm now back to about 210 but really want to push through and get to 150-160. Since Christmas I've experimented with alternate day fasting and now feel prepared for an extended. I'm supplementing with LyteShow, drinking only water/coffee, and will be trying to do some light lifting. I set the goal at 7 days but may go for 10 depending on my body's reaction. Long term I would like to do 5-7 day fasts with 2-3 day keto OMAD in-between. I figured, "hey, you're single with no major obligations on the horizon and the time is gonna pass whether you lose this weight or not." Anyway, here's my accountability post! **3/11: 216** (I had a pizza last night)-Drank a gallon of water and feel hungry but it's nothing extreme. By the end of the day I am smoking pot to distract myself. At first I was thought, "you fool now you're going to order Chinese" but I survived by crawling into bed at 8:30pm and reading fasting forums till late. I know the initial hump is the worst and just need to get through it. Drank nearly a gallon of water at work but probably should have kept going once I got home. **3/12: 212.6** Did not want to get out of bed. Not because I'm feeling awful, just drained and desiring to be lazy. I figure it was probably a bad idea to start this the day after we lost an hour to Daylight Savings time. A little sad my loss wasn't more since I'd already been hovering around 211 prior to the pizza incident on Sunday but it's a \*process\*. I know that I was also hovering because I was drinking heavily (yay temporary dehydration) and eating OMAD for a few days before that. Today my goal is mentally preparing to get through the next day since that is rumored to be the WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. EDIT: the hanger has started, **3/13: 210.00** Spent A LOT of time looking at keto food porn last night, but the cravings were just as (if not better) than the previous. Woke up with WAY more energy this morning, which I figured was just excitement to weigh in, though it has yet to go away. Down 6lbs even on the 3rd day, which I am completely happy with but am \*fingers-crossed\* hoping to hit 10 by Saturday. Physically, my face is thinner and my pants feel a bit looser. My tongue has felt weird and thick and like it's made of cotton. The muscle cramping definitely kicked in as I tried to fall asleep. Historically I have a bad history of toe and leg cramps due to wearing heels too often and probably some neurological whatever that I've never cared about enough to see a specialist for. I'm supplementing and even had a small pinch of pink salt yesterday, but pray that they don't worsen, since nothing tops jolting awake at 2am because your left foot has decided to curl into a hook. Afternoon Edit: nearly 70 hours in! Cravings aren't too bad but my focus and energy levels are definitely flagging. Calves are tingling with pre-cramp feelings so I'm considering a bit of salt to help pull myself together. The tragedy is that it's near 60 degrees and my neighbor has decided to grill while I have my windows open. The smell of steak is so agonizing it's beautiful. **3/14 207.6** Very impressed by the weight drop but was so wiped I took a sick day. I think the 6ish hours of sleep combined with fasting was sucking me dry. Slept till about 1 and now going to chug cold brew and electrolytes. Evening edit: Definitely haven't have enough water today since I woke late and ran errands. No cramping though! Physically fine aside from desperately eye-fucking some white cheddar popcorn at a friend's house out of sheer hunger. It's definitely easier to do this when you're isolating haha **3/15: 205** The weight loss has stayed at a steady 2.5-.6 a day which is awesome since I thought once the pizza-water weight was off, it'd slow down. I assume it likely will, though I won't be mad if this trend continues. Energy is great this morning and my mood feels really buoyant. Last night I tried on a pair of size 10 jeans I bought in the fall that, at the time, wouldn't even get over my upper thighs. They totally fit in a "I don't feel like an overfilled muffin tin" when i tuck my shirt in. Also, last night my friend (who I saw only last Saturday) mentioned that I looked great and gave me a decided up and down. I am still absolutely thinking about delicious food. **3/16: 202.5** I haven't been at this weight since 2 summers ago when I was carless and biked 12 miles to work in the heat of summer. Really tired but I was up till 2 or 3 looking at food pics :/ Tonight I'm abstaining as much as possible to see if it keeps the cravings at bay. I might also give ACV a whirl. TMI: Finally experienced a more liquid #2. Not a lot, but enough to have me wonder where it came from. The body is so good at hiding. To celebrate 5 days (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I am going to get pedicures with a couple of friends. **3/17: 201.8** Oooh looks like things are slowing down. Which is expected since I have lost nearly 15lbs in a week. I also know that I recorded the 202.5 weight after sleeping in until noon, so I'm sure dehydration drove it down more than it was at my normal 7am weigh-in time. I feel great though! No wild thoughts about food today and I feel pretty focused and not constantly weak. Took a long long drive today around the city and country roads, which was extremely relaxing and gave me something to do outside of looking at food pictures or sitting in 3-4 scalding showers. I did have a giant diet coke and a giant iced coffee (I had a lot of school work to plow through today). With 3 days left I am definitely toying with the idea of prolonging this to a 14 or 20 day fast. Fingers crossed I sit at a lb loss from here on out. My hope is to be at 190 by the end and shoot for a 5lb regain, refeed for a few days, and then go into another 5 day fast. **3/18: 200!** The scale flipped to 199.8 and I got SO EXCITED FOR ONEDERLAND. Then it kept settling on 200. It's fine, scale. Really. Tease me. Feeling incredibly alert and energized but a little queasy on occasion (probably due to too much coffee). I forgot how much easier this is when I have work to distract myself, so I'm hoping to plow right through the week so long as this continues. I'm flirting with the idea of doing some weight lifting tonight to see how it goes. **3/19: 199.** Wow, I haven't under 200 in a few years so this is awesome. I'm at the point where I definitely want to keep going till at least Sunday or Monday. The following Friday I have a fancy work event that I should probably attend (but am sure I can order keto) so I'm toying with the idea of breaking at 14 or 15 days or till I at least get to 190-193. I honestly don't want to and wouldn't mind rolling right into 20. I know things are slowing down but wouldn't mind another 2 lb whoosh. **3/20: 198.6** Quite the slow-down but my period came in like a wrecking ball yesterday, so I'm just going to grind through this week and keep my fingers crossed for the whoosh. Energy is fantastic though I do keep thinking about mac & cheese and bbq. I'll continue my updates in the comments! **3/21: 198.4** Periods are a fucking bitch. I'm really grateful I read through this sub and r/fasting beforehand about periods and fasting, because I would have otherwise lost my mind to get 10 days into an otherwise banging fast and have the weight loss crawl to a near halt. It doesn't help that I also feel weirdly puffy and bloated, but I know this is a mental game at this point since it is physically impossible to go without eating and not lose fat. Just need to hold out for the red tide to end and the whoosh to come. The exhaustion is REAL though. I know I have really been slacking on water intake (because all I want to do is sleep) so I'm dedicated to getting a gallon today to see if that helps some of the fatigue and queasiness. **3/22: 196.6** Ooooh the whoosh I was waiting for arrived! We're now at the 20lb mark from where I started 11 days ago and nearly 45lbs from what I weighed at the start of the year. I always felt pretty "normal" around 200-210, but this is really showing me just how much fat I can keep shoveling off. I've been feeling generally queasy for the past few days, and my sleep suuuuuuuuuucks, but otherwise I'm doing alright! I'm really hopeful I can make it to day 20--it would be amazing to get under 190 by the time I'm done. People are starting to comment that I look great, my skin looks awesome, and that I'm glowing. **3/23: 195.5** I won't lie, the nausea sucked yesterday. Like, nearly puked 2x (including on stage during karaoke). I know I messed up and had a giant iced coffee and a giant diet coke. I think my body was not a fan at all of the artificial sugar, because I feel much better today. I'm going to avoid doing that again and keep things a bit cleaner. I was extremely worried about having to break my fast early due to how I felt. My period is also basically done after 4 days, which is insane because i have a copper IUD and that thing gives me crazy flow for a week at a time. Energy is otherwise okay--the queasiness has kept me from thinking about food too much. I am really excited about the weight loss but am considering definitely ending next week since people are really starting to comment on how much I've lost in under 2 weeks. Nothing bad, I just hate being the center of attention haha. **3/24: 194.8** Whoops! Forgot to log today! Still a little queasy and I know I'm not getting enough water (I know, it's probably connected). Not really hungry in that I notice I'm not eating, but I definitely feel my stomach growling. My energy would probably be amazing if I could just fall asleep at night! **3/25: 194.4** I feel like I'm hitting another stall but want to stick with it till I reach 190 or less. I'm recommitting to water today and making sure I get at least 3 L and plenty of electrolytes. Now that I'm in the final stretch I'm starting to plan out my diet once I break the fast. Not even in a "I cannot wait to eat these things" way, since I don't even have much of an appetite at this point. I think for so long I focused on the fast I didn't think about my weight loss plan once I finished. Now I'm excited to keep things going (but with food!). I am mostly excited to eat again so I can get back to sleeping normally. **3/26: 193.4** Missed check-in, again. Granted these are real boring now that I have settled into this routine. Not eating but being really aware of food is the new normal and I feel like I could go on forever. Queasiness was okay today. **3/27: 193.2** Things are certainly slowing down and the queasiness is back with a vengeance. I'm holding out for one final whoosh before I break with some bone broth. I have a work dinner Friday, but it's a buffet and I think I can pull the "I'm on a strict eating schedule and have a friend's birthday party after this" excuse to avoid eating. If I hold out till Sunday that will put me at 21 days!