My 7 day extended fast: Day 1
For the next couple of days I am going to be sharing with you my 7 day extended fasting experience. I’ve been trying for a couple of weeks to share with you my extended fast but have only been able to do 48 hours and not more which led to a delay in bringing this content forward. However, things have changed! After gaining back more than a dress size… I wasn’t having it. I had relaxed a lot!! Yes, given the hormones from my depo provera shot that I got 3 months ago that also had me spotting for 2 months (hate it!), and leaving me with a high sugar and carb craving, It still wasn’t good enough a reason to gain 7 kilos back! 7!..
SO WHY NOW?
I’ve been doing extended fasts for as long as I’ve been intermittent fasting at least once every month. I mostly do a 48 to 72 hours fast and there’s 3 times where I have gone as long as 5 days. Anyway, so I weigh myself and I realise ive gained 6.9 kilos! F*#k that 0.1, it’s 7 kilos I’d gained back! From 62 kgs to 68.9. I never stopped Intermittent fasting, but I had gained a high sugar and carb craving; snacking on ice cream and fried foods, alongside my healthier options. I’d also been doing shorter 13 hr fasts to accomodate my need to eat more except I wasn’t eating as healthier as I’d been doing for months.
Today I started my 7 day extended fast to see how far I can push myself. I’ve already done 5 day fasts before so I do know what to expect. However, I want to share with you a week long experience of what to expect, hoping to kickstart my weight loss journey while healing and cleaning my body from the inside out. I will do a fasted workout all 7 days starting with intense and ending with low intensity workouts. I will then break my fast with a healthy meal and continue with 14 days of OMAD. If within this time, I have reached my goal weight of 59-60 kgs, then I will switch to a 16:8 fasting protocol to maintain my then weight without losing any more. However if not, then I'll ease out of the fast with OMAD until I reach my goal weight then switch to 16:8 making sure to maintain at my new weight. I’ll be sharing with you my daily OMAD recipes when that time comes.
I chose to do a zero to low calorie liquid fast BUT if you’re trying this out, you can opt for a low calorie food intake plan on your prolonged fast… consider plant based as long as it’s 500 calories or less a day especially if it is your first time doing an extended fast. look up the PROLON FAST MIMICKING DIET to understand why its okay to eat the right kinds of low calorie foods on long fasts without affecting your progress, breaking your fast and affecting ketosis and autophagy benefits.We will get more into a prolon fast mimicking diet in the near future.
So i will keep hydrated on sugar free low calorie beverages and electrolytes because I want to keep in a true fasted state. I’ll share with you my metabolic and physiological changes and what you can expect. Now getting started is usually the hardest part of any fasting experience. The thought of going 24 hrs without food can be scary but once those hours are completed, you will feel mentally rewarded and ready to keep pushing. If you’re new to an extended fast try to keep it short to 24, 36 or 48 hours and at a maximum of 72. I will tell you why at the end of my 7 day fast.
BREAK DOWN OF DAY 1
I began my fast at 8pm Sunday
On my first day I weighed myself at bedtime and I was 68.6 kgs / 151 Lbs. Now bear in mind my success with Intermittent fasting pushed me from 87.2 to 62 kgs in a span of 11 months. However, best time to weigh oneself is in the morning as I’d just had dinner at bedtime.
I did have a lot of bathroom visits as my body was cleansing itself out. Also, and ( sorry for the visualisation), I was a bag of farts and burps most of day 1 which was embarrassing but it really helped get rid of the bloating which I consider a win!
Next Morning (Monday) after 12 hours of fasting, I weigh in and my new start weight is 68.9 kgs / 152 Lbs. I want to hit my goal weight of 60 kgs / 132 Lbs so that means I have 9 kgs / 20 Lbs more to lose.
By 12 hrs, my body was in mild ketosis and my energy levels were up. This means that my body is now starting to burn fat. For breakfast, I had a cup of fresh ginger with green tea and kept hydrated throughout the day with that and plain water. I felt really good and energised, and found ways to keep busy and pass time.
By 16 hrs, my energy levels are increased, my body is generating significant ketones and also fat burning. I did my household chores and errands, did my HIIT workout and walked 3 hours around the lake in my neighbourhood. I did suffer mild cravings for food but replaced that with fluid intake. Also took a 2hr nap in the afternoon after my walk
24hrs later at 8pm, My glycogen levels were depleted and I had reached autophagy. This means that the cells in my body are getting recycled, a process that is also claimed to support longevity.
I was ready to hit the sheets.. some people at this time may feel cold and sweaty and if it happens, consult your doctor as you may be suffering low blood sugar. I didn’t feel this way at all and had a good night’s sleep.
I have shared below my HIIT workout video. Please remember to like, share and subscribe to my channel and tag me on any posts for which I may have inspired you, for a chance to be featured on my future posts.
CONCLUSION
I did keep my fasting plan to myself and only shared with my kids and my closest girlfriends. As a mother, I cannot avoid being in the kitchen and making meals for my family and grocery shopping everyday so this is usually a challenge as I have to control myself while surrounded by food. As a social person and a friend, saying NO to invites isn’t that hard any more. Sometimes I really have to show up and in that case, I’ll keep to sugar free beverages and I’m happy with that.
As difficult as that sounds, it has helped me have a mental relationship with my food and I am able to dismiss hunger thoughts by just keeping myself busy with something else and giving the hunger pangs a few minutes to pass.
I made use of my fasting apps (Zero and Life) to track my progress and see what changes are happening at certain hours during my fast.
On day 1, I was constantly tempted to snack but I reminded myself that it’s only a few days of this for a lifetime of happiness.
Look out for my next blog on all things extended fasting my my day 2 experience with it.
Much love!