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Fasting Update

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Back on February 15, I told you about a little change I had made in my Ketogenic eating style.  Instead of just doing Keto, I decided to also add Intermittent Fasting to my lifestyle.  This is fairly common in the Keto community, and I decided to give it a try.

As far as I recall, I had never fasted in my life until I started this on February 14, Valentine’s Day.  Today is March 5, so I have been doing daily Intermittent Fasting for the past 19 days.  When I started on this, I was doing a 19/5 schedule, meaning that I was fasting 19 hours per day, with a 5 hour “eating window”.  I only at between 2 PM and 7 PM each day.

Really, I was surprised at how easy it was!  I was simply not hungry!  There would be a few times during the morning, and especially around noon, when I would feel a bit hungry, but if I just rode it out, after 30 minutes or so, I felt fine again.  This was getting near to my normal eating time anyway (2 PM), so it was not a big problem, really it was not a problem at all.

I was really surprised that the fasting was and still is so easy!  To be honest, I even have extended my fast, I am now on a 20/4 schedule, eating between 3 PM and 7 PM daily.  Between 7 PM and 3 PM the next day, I do not eat anything at all.

Although I did not do this specifically as a weight loss thing, I consider any weight loss to be a great side benefit.  My goal in adding IF (Intermittent Fasting) to my Keto lifestyle was to accomplish a couple of things:

  1. Gain even better control of diabetes, keeping my blood sugar very low.
  2. Be able to accomplish my goal of eliminating all oral medications and insulin used to control diabetes.

I have already accomplished both goals!  In fact, it was only about 3 days after starting IF that I accomplished my goals!  I am very happy about that.

Energy

One thing that has greatly surprised me recently is the burst of energy that I am experiencing.  All day long, even when I have been fasting for a long, long time, I am really full of energy!  I also have a general feeling of well-being.  I am very happy.  The types of energy levels that I am experiencing are something that I do not recall feeling at any time in my life.  It is really fantastic.

Mental Clarity

Before starting the IF regimen, I had read a lot online and seen people mention in YouTube videos that while fasting you would experience periods of great mental clarity. For my first week or two, I never experienced this and was really unsure if it would really happen or not. But, in recent days, I have been experiencing this a lot.  My mind is very clear, my thought process is accelerated, streamlined, and just kicked up to a different level.

It is really a fantastic feeling!

Since starting the IF, 19 days ago, I have lost 9 pounds.  As I say, that is a side benefit and was never my goal.  It is a welcome side benefit, though.  I am feeling very healthy, energetic, mentally better, etc.  It is a great lifestyle, and I can’t imagine stopping this fasting.  I believe it will be my lifestyle for a long time to dome.

About Bob

Bob Martin is an American expat who lived in the Philippines from 2000 until 2019. Bob ins now back in the USA. Bob is an Internet Entrepreneur. Doing that kind of work is pretty sedentary, but Bob is making a big effort to be more active and moving toward better health!

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Bob Martin

      Hi Kate – I started using insulin about 2 years ago. Insulin encourages weight gain, and I was using 100 units of insulin per day. When I first started eating a keto diet about a year ago, got my insulin use down to 40 units per day, then down to 26 units. Now I am no longer using any insulin at all! It is really making me happy!

  2. Michael Heavrin

    Just wondering if during your meal hours if you experience dumping (low blood sugar while your body is processing the meal) or maybe the opposite which would be a spike in blood sugar.

    • Bob Martin

      I don’t get spikes or dips in my blood sugar levels. I only eat Keto during my eating window. My blood sugar stays between 120 to 150 all the time.

  4. AussieLee

    Good one, Bob.
    I saw a program on a 5/2 diet where you eat for five days and then not for two straight. I think you did three minutes intense exercise each day. The reporter who did it for the program had significant improvements in all indicators of health. I’m lucky nowadays in that I can go for a couple of days without getting hungry. If there is ever any sort of a pang then a quick sip of water eliminates it almost immediately. I think that diet was developed because it replicated what may have happened to ancient humans – feast or famine and intense exercise trying to spear a woolly mammoth!

    • Bob - Expat Answer Man

      Hi honey, how are you doing? I hope you’re well. I have also heard of that diet, right now I’m very happy with what I’m doing where I’m fasting 20 hours a day and eating for hours a day. It’s working very well for me, and I have eliminated many medications, and I’m using no insulin at all anymore. I’m open to trying different things, but for now I’m happy with what I’m doing.

  5. Bigp

    Way to go Bob, I am happy for you, keep up the good life. As for the energy you was packing equivalent of about 3 bags of cement with you. I bet it is much easier for you to get out of a chair now than it was.

    • Bob - Expat Answer Man

      Hi BigP – Well, my weight loss has not been significant enough to affect my energy, I think, but it is a plus. From what I have learned, once your body really gets deep into ketosis, where it is burning your body fat for energy, you really get a spike in energy, and I am really feeling that!

  11. Bigp

    That is my experience too. Has a lot to do with our systems begin working better as you discharge the toxins. All so don’t you sleep a lot better?. Before I would wake up tired and ready for a nap. When my body adjusts after no carbs I sleep much better and when I wake up I am instantly awake. Sugar carbs are a poison to our systems.

Quoteable

"Fitness is not about being better than someone else. It's about being better than you used to be.” --Unknown