Hey all,
I'm hoping to get some feedback on my fasting routine, to help me figure out where I've gone wrong.
I'm a 5'9 31 year old male, I started fasting last May around 211lbs and began fasting with this schedule: F-M eat / drink whatever (usually two meals and 1 or 2 late night snacks) 48hr fast, dinner on Wednesday, followed by another 48 hour fast, starting my weekend off with dinner on Friday.
By late July I was down to 194lbs - with 4 cheat weeks since then (not consecutive, and most days being only one meal a day) my weight has slowly crept back up to 207. To be fair my last week off was the holidays, and I was drinking and eating a lot more than I typically would... Nonetheless even with some weeks off here and there I would think 8-9 months of pretty consistent fasting should have produced better results?
I'm careful to only drink water and unsweetened coffee or tea, but I do take melatonin (its the chewable tablet and it does taste sweet). Is it possible that a few cheat weeks here or there are really that bad for me? Has my fasting routine tanked my metabolism? Is there a calorie limit I need to worry about on days where I am eating? Am I not drinking enough water? Is long term fasting just not healthy / sustainable?
Admittedly I am a lot less active in the winter vs summer so I'm sure that has some effect... I workout on my eating days but it's just lifting, vs summer where I'm biking and walking all the time. This week I'm kicking it up to a 72hr fast OMD on Wednesday followed by another 48hr fast in hopes of improving my results. It's frustrating to try so hard and spin my tires using a system that was working initially.
Looking forward to your insights! Thanks in advance.
Answer
with your 48 hour fasts it really depends what and how much you’re eating .
on average it takes 48 hours to get into ketosis . so if you’re eating the typical high carb meal you’re spinning your wheels .
you don’t have to be in ketosis to lose weight but it is a bonus.
calories still matter.
use this app for personalized tdee and to not go over calories
https://macrofactorapp.com/macrofactor/
Answer
On a normal day when you don’t plan to gain or lose weight, eat 3 or less times a day. No snacking. Everything with a calorie only goes in during a meal.
If you do that, along with adding in pure water fasts, it’s hard to see where you’d be going wrong. If you want to get past a sticking point you could do rolling 72’s or a longer fast. But you really shouldn’t be gaining weight as a normal thing. Weight gain is caused by insulin spikes generally. It’s why most people in the 70’s were thin. They just ate three times a day. Fasted for 14 hours. I don’t really like the idea of watching calories but eating whole natural foods is recommended. Like steak, hamburger, chicken, veggies etc.