Prolonged Fasting according to Dr Fung Obesity Code
So, i am starting this thread to keep myself accountable to my weight loss. A few years ago, I was quite heavy and lost 20Kg, from 88kg to 68kg consuming about 800 to 1000 cal a day on a 40-40-20 plan and also doing a lot of exercises (HIIT and Weights). I wasn't happy at the end, though i could see my stomach muscles already. The diet really kicked me. It was not something i can do for long time. I got fat again after 6 years and am now back at 88.3kg. I am now 52 years old. Male, Asian, 1.73m tall.
I watched Dr Fung on YouTube and thought i will give this a try. Basically, it is to Fast for prolonged time (like 36 hours etc) to reduce insulin level and initiate ketosis.
I started at 88.3 Kg
I started to reduce my calorie intake for week 1,2 and 3 but weight went down a bit to 86.5kg.
I started to reduce to OMAD for a week 4 and 5 and weight went back up actually to 86.9 Kg. After this, i resolved to start prolonged fasting. I wanted to jump straight into 3 or 5 days fast but i know this is really really tough. I started on the 22nd May 2022 evening (Sunday) when i had my last meal at 8pm.
[B]1st Stint Sunday 8pm to Wed Morning 8am (60 hours) :[/B]
The 1st day Monday was a bit tough to skip breakfast but resolve got me through. I had 2 cups of coffee with a bit creamer and sugar. Lunch hunger wasn't too bad - I had 2 cups of coffee with a bit creamer and sugar. Dinner was also a bit tough but resolve is strong, so i could skip it. I had a coffee with creamer and sugar at 5pm.
Tuesday was tough, hunger pangs comes and goes. It doesn't stay long. When i comes, i have a bit of coffee and mostly drank water. I started to replace coffee with tea as well. For BF, I had 2 cups of coffee with a bit creamer and sugar. Then it was tea throughout till evening 5pm when i had 1 cup of coffee with a bit creamer and sugar. Late evening was very tough. I had headaches and felt a little weak and dizzy. I took an aspirin with my 5pm coffee - it helped a lot. Resolve is definitely low now.
Wednesday is a tough work day, a lot of physical work to be done, i knew i cannot get through this day without some nutrition.
I decided to stop my fast at 60 hours. Took my weight and to my pleasant surprise i came in at 85.4 kg. So it was 86.9 to 85.4. No matter what it was, i am surprised and happy. Resolve is up, i wanted to lose more and planned 2nd stint.
I took 1 cups of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of sliced almonds and 3 cups of soya bean milk as breakfast with 2 cups of coffee. I also had a normal lunch of rice and soup. Very surprisingly, i couldn't finish the food. It wasn't a lot but i could only eat about 3/4 of it. Lunch was 1pm. I had coffee with milk and sugar at 5pm. Nothing after that. So 2nd Stint starts now, 85.4 and i plan to fast 44 hours at least till Friday lunch (because i have appointments for lunch and dinner).
[B]2nd Stint (Wed 5pm - Friday 1pm - 44 hours)[/B]
Thursday was a really mixed. I had my usual 2 2 cups of coffee with a bit creamer and sugar for BF, no problem, no hunger. Lunch came and i was a bit hungry. I kept a picture of my fat tummy in my phone and also i remembered my results from stint 1. Resolve is high, lunch was skipped. The rest of the day, i only had black tea. Evening I was a bit hungry and at 8pm i was thinking of food all the time and the hunger pangs keeps coming though it was not really very bad. I think it is because my social media kept showing me food all the time. A lesson : Don't look at food! It worsen the hunger pangs.
Friday morning, though i do not plan to break my fast, i took my weight 1st before my 2 coffee. Lo and behold, i came in at 84.5 kg. So it was 85.4Kg to 84.5Kg. I noted that this 40 hour fast is a lot easier also. I took 2 cups of coffee. It is 12pm now, and hunger pang is medium now cos i am looking forward to breaking fast.
I don't plan to fast on weekends, but i will watch what i eat, and probably stick to 1 meal a day and a small dinner meal. I will start Stint 3 on Sunday evening at 8pm and will probably do a 40 hours fast thereabouts. I will weigh in on Monday morning to get my begining weight. 60 hours Fast is tough.
Lessons from Stint 1 and 2 :
1) Don't look at food!
2) Its ok to take a bit of drinks, my cup of coffees are really small cups, like 250 ml only, and it is very little sugar and creamer (just for a bit of taste). It helped me think that i am having food, not really starving myself. It helps a lot with the mental side of things.
3) 60 hours is very tough - i wanted to go 72 hours but it is tough mentally. I hope it is because i am a beginner, i think i will need to do longer periods in the future.
4) I did not exercise, i am quite sedentary as mentally, i feel like i need to keep my energy. Caveat - i actually exercise quite regularly even when overweight. 4Km runs everyday.
5) Hunger pangs seems to come more often (not just meal times), i noted it comes whenever i think of food and when i see food. But the hunger comes and goes.
6) I drank a lot of water. And with that comes a lot of urine. So having a schedule which allows you to piss often helps a lot.
I will update this thread every time i do a fasting stint. Currently I plan:
Sunday 8pm - Tues 1pm (41 hours)
Tuesday 6pm - Thursday 1pm (43 Hours)
Thursday 5pm - Friday 5pm (24 hours - I think this is too short maybe...but friday evening is always a family dinner time which I look forward to).
I know my loss in stint1 and 2 is probably just beginning and it will taper off in the weeks to come. But I know, this will work and am doable.
Wish me luck guys, and always, i welcome any suggestions and views and if you have done this before, please share with me your success so that i can share your resolve!