Day 1 of a planned 5 day fast
The 'unthinkable' happened this weekend. I actually LOST WEIGHT on a 'refeed' (the three days of eating after my previous 5 day fast).
Fri 7/27/2018 - 170 lbs (fast ends that evening - eating day)
Sat 7/28/2018 - 169 lbs (eating day)
Sun 7/29/2018 - 169 lbs (eating day - fast restarts that evening)
Mon 7/30/2018 - 167 lbs (fasting day)
In the past I have gained up to 8 lbs after losing 5 lbs (1 pound a day) during the fast.
The difference this time appears to be my carbs. Even though my calorie deficit was the same as it has been for months, this time, I kept my carbs below 20 carbs a day on Saturday and Sunday (I still went up to 30 carbs on Friday, however, I had also fasted most of that day).
Here are the key things (in order of importance) that I think made this weekend different:
** My wife (@PrincessValerie on FatSecret.com) started Keto - My wife manages the shopping and the food in the house. Everything now fits with her Keto diet. So, when I do eat, I am now eating Keto. I know a lot of people complain that the diet is hard because their significant other is not doing their diet, but, as the saying goes, "be careful what you wish for, you might just get it" :) There are no carbs in my house! The best you can get is a bag of low carb protein chips. I will say that when my wife and I team up on anything we are not 2x as strong, we are 10x as strong! - - I could ask for more carbs but I don't want to mess her up with the temptation in the house. This causes the 'feedback loop' that can be so beneficial when it is moving in a positive direction :)
** @chesgreen made me run 7 miles - Long story that I am not sure I quite understand myself... but, @chesgreen (on FatSecret.com) and I will page each other with the occasional encouragement / kick in the A$$. Anyway, I did a run, then he did a longer one, so I was somehow committed to a 7 mile run...
I then did the 7 mile run in the 91 degrees SoCal heat (average heart rate 160 for 01:18 for 1,371 calories burned). I get home and jump on the scale and see I dropped 4 pounds of water weight!
The key to not having this 'kill me' I think was that I took a MASSIVE (and I mean MASSIVE) amount of "Hi-Lyte Electrolyte Concentrate". So much that my stomach hurt after I took it, and I had to wait 1/2 an hour for my stomach to settle down before I did the run. I also did the run 16 hours fasted (a run like this is not a time to have food in the stomach!). However, with the "Hi-Lyte Electrolyte Concentrate" I had no ill effects and felt fine the entire time.
For me, I can't say enough about using an 'electrolyte concentrate'. I have found for me simply drinking a lot of water could not prevent the effects of dehydration on an extended fast (or an extended run in the heat!). Dehydration can kill you, and by the time you 'feel thirsty' you are already dehydrated!
** I looked at my numbers - There is a lot of information out there and a lot of advice from well meaning people. The only way for me to cut through the noise, and make decisions for myself, is to look-at-my-own-numbers! (However, I first must record everything!)
I then periodically make an excel spreadsheet with my calories taken in, calories expended, carbs, protein, fat, and the next days weight loss (FatSecret.com will not create this chart for you, you have to do this manually). I then look at the numbers grouped in 3, 5 and 7 day totals to 'average out the water weight'.
In my case, my numbers clearly show, my weight loss is in direct proportion to my carb intake. This allowed me to go from a 30 day 'plateau' last month, to a 12 pound loss in 12 days (179lbs on 7/18/2018 to 167lbs on 7/30/2018).
I try not to give advice on this site, just offer my own experience. If you made it this far into this long post, that's for letting me 'spout off' :)
Have a great week everyone!
