I'm seeking to lose weight for both weight loss and health. I'll disagree in that I am not experiencing "a lot" of hunger. Really not hungry at all, believe it or not. How old are you? I'm 72. I work out 3 times a week, a combination of swimming and gym mat work and weights.
Long gone are the days where just exercise would make me drop weight quickly. Now it's all about calorie intake, although exercise is still very beneficial. For one thing, when fasting exercise forces your body into ketosis faster. I used to be slim and trim, but as I've aged, what I used to do is not enough because my metabolism has slowed. When I was young, running 5 miles, 3 times a week, and I could eat whatever I wanted, at my prime weighted 165lb, @ 5'10", but a month ago I clocked in at 230 dressed. I was 185lb in high school before going out for football. In college I started putting on weight, playing cards in the common room at night with a personal fridge to eat cheese, pepperoni, or ordering a Pizza from Little Caesars and eating the whole thing myself! In college I picked up dedicated running and dropped down to 165-170 lb as described above. This was my routine, but when in my late 30s, my metabolism slowed, and I slowly started adding weight, gaining a couple lbs a year adds up over 4 decades. Plus my knees and back bothered me so running was out, walking was in for a while, but it did not control my weight.
I swear I'm not a big eater, but I have a sweet tooth. I've been dieting off and on for decades and this has failed due to what I attribute as my sweet tooth. Back around 2005ish, I dropped 20 lbs with Atkens diet, but then I slowly gained it back. It's a horrible diet for long term. I have discipline for a while, but then I slip into old habits, and it's not like I'm eating half a cake or a pie, or a bag of cookies. One measly piece of cake, daily seems to put me over. I skipped breakfast for a while, and that did not seem to do it.
While fasting, I currently have lost 10 lb with 3 weeks of fasting twice a week. It's taken me no discipline to speak of to follow the fast. I start it after a high protein breakfast, and I was eating again, breakfast the next morning, a 24 hr fast. But the last 2 times, I eat breakfast and then don't eat until dinner the next day, about a 30 hr fast.
I drink a lot of liquid. On the first day, I drink red roboos tea, water, coffee which works great as an appetite suppressant, and electrolyte drinks from powder and water, and so far, I've had no issues with being tempted to break my fast. For me this is really easier than dieting, which is a 24/7 watch your calories. With fasting I go without, and then can eat normally on my non-fast days.
But the very interesting thing is that this is working so well, that that I've been motivated to "be good" on my normal days. I'm shunning sweets for the most part, except for choices between a couple of small ginger snaps, a small cup of prepackaged pudding, or just 15 calorie peppermint life savers, no more than a couple. This is a huge reduction in calories from eating pie, or cake, 400-500 calories a piece.
So this is where I'm at. So far so good! 😁 I'm using the Body Fast App, it has a free version and a paid coached version that promises you'll lose weight 30% faster. But for now I'm satisfied with trying this on my own. I think you can subscribe for the coached version for a year for about $70 or a month for a couple of $, which is not bad. After I've done it myself for 2 months, I'll consider enrolling.
Here are some links I've acumulated for anyone who is interested:
Links
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/migrating-motor-complex
- https://perfectketo.com/the-5-stages-of-fasting/
- https://perfectketo.com/how-to-get-fiber-on******
- https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/g19900206/what-to-do-after-you-reach-your-goal-weight/
- https://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/food-nutrition/is-oatmeal-high-in-fiber/
- https://intermittentdieter.com/what-will-and-will-not-break-a-fast-a-complete-guide/
- https://liquidinsider.com/does-rooibos-tea-break-a-fast/
- https://myteavault.com/worrying-about-the-teas-that-will-break-your-fast-dont/
- https://kitchensurfers.com/does-chicory-coffee-break-a-fast/
- https://shop.perfectketo.com/products/electrolytes-A precise, doctor-formulated 4:2:1:1 ratio of sodium to potassium to calcium and magnesium that replenish and recover your electrolytes on the keto diet.
