Finishing a 7 Day Fast

Yes, I've worked Monday to Friday doing overtime each day (typically 07:00 - 18:00).

It's office-based so no serious exertion.

I've a 10 minute cycle into work every day and tend to walk home in the evening with the bike to get a bit of sun.

Other than that I haven't been exercising during lockdown.

I've not experienced fatigue or drop in mental faculties.

From what I've read many people in ketosis experience a sharpening of concentration and I'd say mine has very slightly improved.

I didn't start out intending to last this long, but when I went past day 2 I really became motivated to try for the supposed benifits beyond the insulin sensititivity conditioning, gut rest, and autophagy - which is said to be your immune system starts to rejuvinate itself beginning after day 3.

As I said, after day 2 the wilpower around food doesn't become so much of a factor so I set myself a challange for a week after day 3.

If I had felt any deterioration or ill effect during this I would have stopped it immediately.

As I've not ever suffered from any metabolic condition and being on and off in the gym as well as cardio I've never been chronically unhealthy but I have developed a bit of a gut, though not massive.

Hitting into my forties, and concious I'm entering into the age where heart disease, diabeties, cancer, metabolic syndromes ect start to increase in odds, I've dabbled with IF primarily as a small measure against the possibilty of these as I don't eat very clean and tend to resort to it during periods where I lay of exercise.

No, I've stuck to the intermittent fasting since. I find it easier to eat cleaner when I'm on this eating pattern as I generally finish eating by 15:00 at latest and don't suffer from the late evening snacking urges when you tend to target fast food or confectionary as handy and tasty gap-fillers due to being in wind-down or lazy mode.

The fast lasted almost eight days in the end. That was just over a month ago.

As recommended when following an intermittent fasting routine I try to vary the eating period anywhere from one meal a day (eating to full) to an eight hour window so my system doesn't become overly used to a pattern.

Weekdays in work is the easiest as the working day routine tends to shape everybody's eating habits and there's quite a varied menu served in the canteen.

A typical weekday is:

07:30 - Coffee x 2 (I occasionally fall into to this tasty habit but mostly avoid coffee as I develop a thumper of a headache within a couple of hours if I don't drink it at the regularly appointed time. I've slipped into drinking it again since finishing the mega-fast.

09:30 - Breakfast: Often fried/poached/scrambled eggs on toast with butter(depending on how the canteen is doing the eggs). Twice a week a full fry up.

13:30 - Dinner: I tend to leave the carb filler of spuds, chips or rice that pad out the dinners from the canteen and just eat the meat and veg, adding what I bring in - a couple of avocados, small bottle of olive oil to drizzle on the dinner, couple of fistfulls of walnuts/pistachios,macademias, a teaspoon of cod liver oil, collagen powder drink and a square of quality gigh cocoa pecentage dark chocolate.

Weekends I tend to eat one gut-busting meal a day with an occasional dessert.

I find it easy to maintain this routine when I'm in it. It's starting off which is most difficult.

I still haven't managed to weigh myself but the gut has decreased dramatically. However, it is in the initial stage you see the quickest improvements.

If I started back in the gym and maintained this habit I imagine it would accelerate results, but with Covid still lurking I'll be avoiding gyms.

I'll have to start doing bodyweight exercises in the apartment.

A five day fast is still an outstanding lenght and the result of tremendous determination.

I felt the same on day 5 as day 7 really, and felt no difference in energy or thinking about food.

I agree about recognizing tiggers being the first step to avoiding or pushing through a potential relapse. You could almost analogize craving junk food to be an addiction and the two crucial factors in overcoming any addiction are willpower and triggers.

I rarely drink and the older I become the rarer the occasion, so that's unlikely to catch me.

My triggers would be stress or feeling down. That's when food is a quick pick-me-up.

Were muscle building/bodybuilding your goal fasting is not a winning strategy due to the catabolic reliance for glucose requirements.

Neither do you have the available energy to maintain or endure any explosive training.

Strict training regimens nor bodybuilding are not ambitions of mine though. I dabble with it for the supposed benifits that accrue from giving the gut a break as outlined.