My measurements during Fasting

I'll do a post with all my numbers and how they change during my prolonged fast. The body's measurements will be updated on a weekly basis or so, while weight and Fat % I'll check more often.


Dry Fasting Day #1
Weight = 75.4Kg (166lb)
FAT % = 33.1%
BMI = 27.4
Body's Measurements
Hips = 111cm
Waist = 92cm
Neck = 34cm
Upper Leg = 67cm right / 67cm left
Calf = 37.5cm right / 36cm left
Bicep = 29.5cm right / 29cm left
Under Arm = 92cm
Dry Fasting Day #3
Weight = 73.4Kg (162lb)
Dry Fasting Day #5
Weight = 71Kg (156.5lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
FAT % = 33.1%
BMI = 25.8
Water Fasting Day #6
Weight = 70.7Kg (156lb)
Ketosis = 80mg/dL
FAT % = 32.9%
BMI = 25.6
Water Fasting Day #7
Weight = 70.5Kg (155.8lb)
Ketosis = 80mg/dL
Water Fasting Day #8
Weight = 70.3Kg (155.3lb)
Ketosis = 80mg/dL
FAT % = 32.2%
BMI = 25.5
Water Fasting Day #9
Weight = 70Kg (154lb)
Ketosis = 80mg/dL
Fasting Day #10
Weight = 70Kg (154lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
Fasting Day #13
Weight = 69.2Kg (153lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
FAT % = 32.1%
BMI = 25.1
Fasting Day #14
Weight = 69Kg (152.5lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
Fasting Day #15
Weight = 69Kg (152.5lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
Fasting Day #16
Weight = 68.8Kg (152lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
FAT % = 31.5%
BMI = 25.0
Fasting Day #17
Weight = 68.5Kg (151.4lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
Fasting Day #19
Weight = 68.3Kg (151lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
Fasting Day #20
Weight = 68.3Kg (151lb)
Ketosis = 5mg/dL
Fasting Day #21
Weight = 68.3Kg (151lb)
Ketosis = 5mg/dL
FAT %= 30.6%
BMI = 24.7
Fasting Day #22
Weight = 68.1Kg (150.5lb)
Ketosis = 7mg/dL
Fasting Day #23
Weight = 67.9Kg (150lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
Fasting Day #24
Weight = 67.6Kg (149.35lb)
Ketosis = 40mg/dL
Fasting Day #26
Weight = 67.3Kg (148.7lb)
Ketosis = none
Fasting Day #27
Weight = 67.1Kg (148.25lb)
Ketosis = ?
Fasting Day #28
Weight = 67.1Kg (148.25lb)
Ketosis = ?
Fasting Day #29
Weight = 66.9Kg (147.8lb)
Ketosis = 12mg/dL
Fasting Day #30
Weight = 66.6Kg (147lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
Fasting Day #33
Weight = 67.1Kg (148.25lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
Fasting Day #34
Weight = 65.9Kg (145.6lb)
Ketosis = 15mg/dL
FAT %= 30.0%
BMI = 23.9
Fasting Day #35
Weight = 65.9Kg (145.6lb)
Ketosis = ?
Fasting Day #36
Weight = 66Kg (145.8lb)
Ketosis = ?
Fasting Day #37
Weight = 66Kg (145.8lb)
Ketosis = ?
Fasting Day #41
Weight = 65.1Kg (143.8lb)
Ketosis = 5mg/dL
FAT %= 29.4%
BMI = 23.7
Fasting Day #49
Weight = 64.1Kg (141.6lb)
Fasting Day #50
Weight = 63.9Kg (141.2lb)
Fasting Day #52
Weight = 63.8Kg (140.9lb)
Fasting Day #54
Weight = 63.4Kg (140.1lb)
Fasting Day #55
Weight = 63.8Kg (140.9lb)
Fasting Day #56
Weight = 63.5Kg (140.3lb)
Fasting Day #57
Weight = 63.7Kg (140.7lb)
Fasting Day #58
Weight = 63.4Kg (140.1lb)
Fasting Day #59
Weight = 63.6Kg (140.5lb)
Fasting Day #61
Weight = 63.4Kg (140.1lb)
Fasting Day #63
Weight = 63.2Kg (139.6lb)
Fasting Day #64
Weight = 63.2Kg (139.6lb)
Fasting Day #65
Weight = 63.1Kg (139.4lb)
Fasting Day #66
Weight = 62.8Kg (138.7lb)
Fasting Day #67
Weight = 63.2Kg (139.6lb)
Fasting Day #68
Weight = 63.2Kg (139.6lb)
Fasting Day #69
Weight = 62.7Kg (138.5lb)
Fasting Day #70
Weight = 63Kg (139.2lb)
Fasting Day #71
Weight = 62.3Kg (137.6lb)
Fasting Day #72
Weight = 62.8Kg (138.7lb)
Fasting Day #77
Weight = 62.7Kg (138.5lb)

Electrolytes and Fasting - How much do we need?

Electrolytes are minerals in human body that have an electric charge. Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium are all electrolytes.
Levels of electrolytes in the body can become too low or too high. That can happen when the amount of water in the body changes, causing dehydration or over hydration.

• Potassium recommendation is around 4700 mg per day.
• Magnesium intake for males should be between 330-350 mg per day, and females should intake about 255-265 mg per day.
• Calcium is essential; the suggested intake is 800 mg per day for both males and females.
• For both males and females it is recommended to keep Sodium intake below 2,000 mg.

Fortunately, strict water-fasting is associated with very few and rare complications and the fast is well tolerated in most cases, but I read somewhere that after 3+ weeks there have been reported cases of low electrolytes levels, but often can depends on the before-Fasting diet rather than the Fast itself. In this matter seems that Dry Fasting is actually safer than Water Fasting when comes on preserving healthy electrolytes levels. These are all my thoughts but be sure to do some researches if you suspect a imbalance on your electrolytes.

 

How to stay motivated during a Water Fast?

When approaching Water Fasting most of us struggle on being disciplined and continue the fast till the planned time or the hunger signal. The most difficult part of a fast is going through the first 2/3 days, till the body enters into Ketosis. Those days are the toughest one usually - since hunger, detoxing symptoms and headaches are a common thing. Desire of food and general unwell being can be hard on anyone. I myself experienced these difficulties too and gave up many times!

So how do we stay motivated and keep on going? Although I don't have a magic formula for that – since most of it can be self-motivation; I believe that knowing exactly that we just need to reach Day #4 and feel better, great - can be helpful in motivation. I suggest planning the first 3 days out of the house, busy with something; plan exactly what you are going to do in these days, set your mind to reach this goal no matter what. Once those days are gone you won't feel anymore hungry; temptations for food will always be there, we're humans at the end, but the chances to give up and indulge on eating will be definitely less.

How do I feel after 2^nd/3^rd day? I personally reach Ketosis around >48 hours into a fast, I can usually see some traces of Ketosis after this time, some people need more time, and apparently men take something like 72 hours to reach this stage. Once into Ketosis I feel always cold, energy is very good and the weight loss changes a bit, I can see reducing fat on my body. Maybe not in a single day but during extended fasts the excess fat tends to get down rather than muscles. I believe this is also another reason why I lose much more in the first days rather than when in Ketosis. Of course there is water retention, GI tract cleaning up but there's also muscle loss unfortunately. Muscles are heavier than fat and even a small muscle loss can show up on the scale more than losing unwanted fat. I would suggest being happy for the weight loss only once into Ketosis, that's the real deal!

Researches have shown that the Ketosis phase can also give a pseudo high sensation, and I believe it. Once few days into a Water Fast I usually feel way better with my mood and motivation. I suffer of anxiety and this is definitely improved after few days into a Water Fast. If you're struggling with anxiety and depression, definitely a prolonged Water Fast could give you some relief for that.

So don't give up in the first 2/3 days! I know it's hard like hell but the way you'll feel after will help you keep going with minimum effort. I personally don't have any problem between Day #4 and Day #21 really, but I noticed that if I set my mind with a Water Fast deadline, I cannot go longer than that. That's why I always suggest to Think BIG! Set for yourself an extended Water Fast, at the minimum 7 Days (if it's your first time), in this way there will be less chances for you to give up at Day #5 or #6 since you will be almost achieving your goal. May the force be with you!

Incorporating Water Fasting as part of my life

As a result of my Water Fast experience I lost lots of weight, which it was one of the main reasons why I wanted to do this fast – as well as getting rid of my Candida Albicans, my Binge Eating Disorder and understanding my underlying issues with food. All things that I believe I achieved so far; I do think sometimes that I will ended up binging again one day, but better staying positive for now and thinking that the path to a healthy lifestyle and better relationship with food is a long way with highs and lows but that I should never lose track on what I'm gaining staying straight.

In any case I'm absolutely loving my new weight, I feel a completely different person, I feel younger, detoxed and with a different type of desire when thinking about food. I can say no, I'm full to myself and I have no issues on waiting a bit when meal time is coming; I try to concentrate and understand what my body is telling me, if I'm hungry, I'm bored or simply craving anything - but so far I did not have any craving, apart from healthy salads and fruits, which it feels very different compared the type of craving I used to have before for sugar.

Since I don't want to lose this Nirvana status between my weights, my new whole wardrobe, the way I relate to food, I decided to incorporate in my life Water Fasting from now on. I already planned my next Water Fast, it will be only a 10-Days Water Fast and I'm planning on starting on December 5^th till the 15^th or so, as usual it would be also driven on how my body is feeling so far for that days.

The reason why I planned this 10-Days Water Fast is because I believe my healing and cleansing process didn't get completed with my 23-Days Water Fast, I still have so much to give to my body, give it time to heal and rest. Doing a Water Fast that does not reach Ketogenic status is not much worth the stress really, at least not from a cleansing perspective, that's why a minimum of 10-Days Water Fast will be the best solution for me going forward. I'm thinking on having an n-Days Water Fast here and there during the year coming up, for the prolonged Fast I don't think I will do it more than 2/3 times a year, but let's see how it goes.

Apart from this 10-Days Water Fast I think I will use a sort of IF – Intermitting Fasting strategy as well, but not exactly as IF is supposed to work. I found that IF doesn't really work for me, I like having breakfast or something during my mornings so I don't think I can keep on avoiding this thing for too long without feeling frustrated about it. So I decided to do a 2-Days Water Fast during the weekend, not all weekends but I might start this one if my weight is getting unmanageable, for me maintenance is a delicate period that have to last at least a month so I need to prepare a backup plan in case my weight goes up too much, too soon. So I planned on starting the Water Fast on Friday evening, I will try to have an early dinner, light with no fruits so I can try to get into ketosis if I can, and continue with the Water Fasting till basically Monday morning, when I will have again a regular breakfast – without eating too much to avoid upsetting my stomach after the short Fast. I hope I can find the strengths to do it, but in general doing my prolonged Water Fast didn't bother me at all, I actually enjoyed the whole experience, but it's also true that I just completed one and going back on only drinking water can be annoying, let's see I might have a busy day on Saturday so I will not mind staying just on water for a couple of days.

My Kitchen tools Ideas for a Raw Food Diet

Yesterday after watching few videos of some deliciously looking raw vegan recipes, I decided to purchase online a spiralizer; I found one for $24 at Walmart so I thought I will give it a try, the zucchini noodles look very cool to prepare with it and the cucumbers too. I'm planning to create some fun in my salads, especially for my dressings, since this type of diet is something I want to continue for long time, so I need to love it 100%, and for an Italian how food looks like is really a key part of the cooking process.

Another thing I did today is my grocery shopping online, with a long list of organic fruits and vegetables that I'll start consuming very soon. So I got my basic vegetables with high water contents, as well as some sweet fruits that I can add to smoothies or – in small quantities – in my green salads. I got a bunch of bananas, my favourite fruit I think, but I have to promise myself to eat it only in smoothies, I can get too carried on with them otherwise and definitely I don't want to go back on binging on food, even if healthy and organic.

Another kitchen tool that I would love to have is the Vitamix, but $500 are way too over my budget for any kitchen tool whatsoever, so I will keep on using my regular blender, even for dressing sauces, at the end it has a pulse button too, I hope it works ok when doing dressing sauces, they usually are supposed to be a bit more thick than what a blender does….of course, without burning the blender.

In my fruits & vegetables list I got some avocados and some basil, what I really look forward to is a dressing with these 2 ingredients, not necessary together but I love them both in anything, I'm sure they will taste amazing, maybe too blended but who cares!

Water Fast - Refeeding Process and my second meal of the day

Ok, so my second meal of the day is done; I just had again 2 ounces of watermelon and so far so good. This piece was cold, it was in the fridge since this morning but I was eating it in very small pieces, chewing slowly so it did not affect me much, in other circumstances I wouldn't be happy to eat cold fruit while I'm freezing here in the office. It took me another 10 to 15 minutes to eat it all, so I will resume my water around noon; I'm estimating another meal around 1:30pm and the next one I might have at home – since I'm supposed to eat every 2 hours between 9:00am and 5:00pm; not sure if I might ended up eating another 2 pieces of watermelon home or not….let's see.

Again, I wasn't blown away from the eating experience really, it was not even tasty, I'm wondering if I just bought a bad watermelon since it's almost November here. But for tomorrow I planned to buy some papaya and continue my refeeding process with another fruit, I'm not even sure I can find papaya in Toronto! I wish I was living in a tropical country…mostly because I would be on the beach right now.

I'm somehow getting impatient for this refeeding process, it feels so slow and boring, thinking that I'm not able to eat whatever I want it's frustrating. Not that I'm thinking on bingeing or anything, I'm actually fine but I would prefer staying an extra couple of days with just water than eating this tiny small piece of watermelon; but I guess I have no choice, I need to let my digestion system wake up again gently without attacking it with lots of food or anything hard to digest.

Tomorrow my papaya meals will be every 2.5 hours, so basically I will start at 9:00am ending at around 6:00pm, depending on how the eating process goes, I'm not sure I like papaya so it will be a new experience for me, I hope I will, or my frustration will be greater than today! Wish me luck!

Ending my Fast - Coconut Water disappointment!

It's officially started somehow my refeeding process after 23 days with water only, so today I had a can of coconut water. I have to say I was expecting a more engaging experience from it but in the contrary: I was disappointed. I really don't like coconut, even less the water; it was like feeling forced to drink down some sort of disgusting medicine, I'm here thinking that I should have the second can but I would rather fast for another week instead!

My original plan was to drink coconut water for the first two days then during the weekend to go on real food, 2 and 4 ounces of watermelon, but…hey plans can change, especially when the experience is the first ever. So tomorrow I will have my three meals with 2 ounces of watermelon; I'll stop by to a grocery store on my way home this afternoon, I hope I can find some organic one, not easy in this time of the year in Toronto though. I will prepare 3 portions of 2 ounces each, I'm supposed to start the first meal at 10:00am and from there every 2 hours another meal, counting by the end of my meal I guess, since it might take some time for me to carefully chew and eat my fruit, that's all I will have for the day.

This morning my ketosis was still very high, I believe more than 80mg/dL, the Ketostix was extremely dark, that's a sign that I'm still burning fat, and I can believe it since I still have lots of fat to lose anyway.  I know I might go longer on this fast but I really feel it's time for me to end it, I'm getting bored of drinking only water and some days my energy levels are not great, so I don't feel doing much, mostly I feel slow in whatever I do, especially when I walk. I want to be able to go back to the gym, I lost lots of weight so quickly and my body shape is terrible at the moment, so a good exercise routine now is really needed.

Water Fasting - Refeeding Plan Observations

For the refeeding process I have a specific plan that I'm supposed to follow, in summary I have the following two basic rules (on top of some others of course):

• Avoid drinking water 30 minutes before eating
• Avoid drinking water 45 minutes after eating

Also it's important to handle the food that I'm eating in the best way possible:

• Cut the food in small pieces
• Chew the food until is completely dissolved into the mouth

One thing I planned for my refeeding days – at least the first 2 full days – is to stay home and dedicate the days to the process, since I will basically: drink, eat and rest in between; the digestion phase will take a lot of energy from me that I'm used to anymore since days now, so my body will need for sure.

So I will stop drinking 30 minutes before my first meal starts, I'm supposed to take my time to eat my 2 ounces of water melon, so it might take up to one hour, I don't want to rush it and I really want to enjoy the experience, enjoy the re-discovered taste of the fruit that I'll be having.

After my water melon I will take a rest, just trying to sleep or just watching TV on the couch, to let my digestion system wake up gently. After 2 hours or so I should have my second meal – another 2 ounces of water melon – but let's see how I feel; I read of people sleeping more than expected or just not feeling eating much, so I will just listen to my body and see how it goes. I'm not planning to have more than 2/3 meals anyway, but only if I'm hungry.

The coconut water that I planned to use for breaking my fast I actually thought I could drink it the Friday before my refeeding weekend, so I sort of prepare my body for the fast. A read a lot of contradictory suggestions on what food can be the best one to break the fast; some people suggest juice instead of fresh fruit, some other even vegetables or bone broth.

I personally don't want to start with nothing complicated, I think a small piece of well chewed water melon should not harm my digestion system, so I'll take this path for now; I am also thinking on checking out some juice-maker places to see what are my options out there, just in case I change my mind.

My emotional issue behind my binge episodes

Believe it or not my Water Fast journey helped me so much to understand my issues with food, my binge episodes and the reason why food became such an uncontrollable dependency for me in the past years. Thanks to my Water Fast my mind is now able to see things clearly, to have the whole picture of my eating disorder, the emotional reasons underlying my BED, amazing right?

So I analyzed why in the past I was bingeing, my usual answer was because of my very restrictive diet, which could be the triggering factor yes, but the persistence of the episodes made me wondering if there was more, a subconscious reason that I was not dealing with, mostly because unknown to me.

So I found it. It goes back in my past, in my family, my mother is an amazing cook, she cooks to express her love to her children, she is happy knowing that everyone is always well fed, that the fridge is full of all kind of things that we love, and always in abundance. Since I moved to Canada few years ago my family is not with me anymore, I'm alone in this country, no relative, no family of my own; sure lots of friends and acquaintances but nothing compared family relations. My subconscious started to miss all the love that my family used to give me, my mother's attentions, and the dinner table full of her way to give us love, so I binged. Binging is my way to compensate for what I miss: affections from my parents, from my sisters, closeness from what is my most important thing in my life: my family. Every time I binge I feel a sense of happiness, gratification, is my way to give love to myself that otherwise I will not receive.

I hope this Water Fasting journey will help me to understand that food is just food, that cannot substitute emotions, cannot replace the love of my family, I need to deal with the fact that I am here in this country alone, that my family is always there for me when I need, just not here physically. 

Water Fast Day #14 - Amazing Water Fast!

I've been fasting for fourteen days so far, and time really flies. I'm doing well, today my Ketostix registered only moderate traces of ketosis but I'm feeling good. I had a black bowel movement this morning, as predicted by other water-fasting-fellows. I had this feeling of heaviness in my abdomen since a couple of days, I wasn't sure what it was, this morning I had this confirmation, my body was just trying to get rid of those toxins I guess, I feel different now….I had a sort of low-pressure feeling this morning.

For my Water Fast Day #11 was my "revelation day"! I felt as never before, my energy and my motivation was over the moon, I accomplished so much in few hours and on Saturday (my birthday) I woke up smiling and happy to complete everything I had on my TO-DO list. So I did, I ran around all day, I was happy, tired, thirsty, in love with my life and my body. I have been experiencing what is the life all about: not food, enjoying everything else. Food changes our minds, the way we live; we are focused on things that are not important instead of enjoying what so precious we have in our hands: the life.

My mind is opening up, I feel that all my thoughts can wire between each other way better, I'm more creative, my English is getting better, I'm more focused, my OCD is drastically increased, I'm always smiling. I don't want to complete this Water Fast until my body healed itself properly, it's unbelievable to me the way I feel, I can't even explain exactly, it's like everything has a meaningful sense now. I still recall the advice of the Church on fasting, I always thought was absurd, but now I can see why it was the real way to go; an advice on how to actually live our life in the fullest.  

Today I don't care much anymore about my weight, not denying that I love the way I look today, but I'm looking forward to enjoy this experience, to see where my mind can bring me. I feel I'm more productive at work, in general in all my things. I have so many projects in my head that I want to accomplish and I cannot wait to start.

If you are looking to get your life back try Water Fasting for at least two weeks, it's a life change I promise.

Water Fasting - For the most intense fasting experience

Today I read this article and I wanted to add some extract to my blog, to explain how powerful can be a Water Fast: 

"Water fasting offers the quickest detox and strongest therapeutic effect. It is also the most challenging fast to perform in the first few days.

Some call water fasting the only "true" fast and believe that any food allowed into the bodily system prevents the complete resting state desired, compromising the level of cleansing and detox attained. While it is true that water fasting is the most intense path to detoxification and therapeutic benefit, other types of fasting, and even cleansing diets, detox and heal as well.

The speed at which old conditions can right themselves during a water fast is incredible.

It's amazing the little health "issues" that just go away--the mole that just drops off, the shoulder that's been achy for years suddenly feels well again, that little patch of "weird" skin you've grown accustomed to vanish without a trace...and those are just the little things.

Besides the emotional challenge of going without food, these first days may have the most intense and uncomfortable symptoms of detoxification. After that, the body adjusts to the new fasting state, and most individuals feel little further discomfort, even hunger disappears. After 2-3 days, the body goes into a state called ketosis, where it begins to fuel itself internally by burning fat cells. Ketosis occurs around 48 hours for women and 72 hours for men according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Fasting and Eating for Health.

The length of time one can safely operate in ketosis varies from person to person. When hunger returns, often called "true hunger", it will be an unmistakable call of the body for nourishment, and is a signal to end the fast.

Fasting is a personal journey--you are not competing with anyone. Your body dictates how long you can safely fast, not your head.

Trust yourself."