Modified Fat Fast
 

I'm calling this a "modified" fat fast because I don't consider myself an adherent of Atkins per se (although what I eat is darn close to his plan). Atkins lays out very strict rules for when to do a fat fast - my weight has been stagnant for 21 days which doesn't (or barely) qualifies per his rules. But I was going crazy and starting to Google all kinds of crash diets and fantasizing about cheating due to the frustration, so for me personally doing this makes sense. In other words, big disclaimer, don't try this at home...

The goal is to get 5 meals of about 200 calories each for 1000 calories a day, with 75-90% of calories coming from fat.

I'm doing it dairy free, too, because I keep wondering if that will help me lose at a more motivating pace. (And yes, I'm aware that I'd probably serve myself best at accepting to lose at a pace of a pound or two a month, but that's not going to happen right now...)

I've made a simple list of dairy-free fat fast "meals" (some call them "feedings" because they are pretty skimpy), and I spent a few minutes on Sunday weighing out macadamia nuts and making fat bombs.

My husband is out of town for the week and so I'm going to try to do 5 days of this (recommended is 3-5, and if I feel yucky I'll stop early)

Starting weight 202.4 after 21 days of weight between 203.6-201.6 (mostly at 203)

Day 1 : Monday Jan 27th

weight 202.4

8:15 Hot lemon water, black tea
11:45 Meal One : DFBPC (coconut oil & MCT) (diary free bulletproof coffee)
14:30 meal 2 : 1 egg + 1 yolk in chicken fat
18:00 still not hungry
19:00 avocado w 1 tsp oil salt lime
23:00 1 fat bomb

Surprised to not be hungry, and I think I'll be glad to have one meal in the bank later this week!

Total calories : 886

Ratios : 86% fat, 9% carb, 6% protein
(total carb grams 20g, 10g fiber of which 9 from the avocado)

Day 2 : Tuesday Jan 28th

weight 200.6 (-1.8)

8:30 hot lemon water, black tea
9:45 DFBPC
12:30 Macadamia nuts
14:30 bouillon
18:30 crab w mayo (avocado oil) ick
19:15 1/2 avocado w evoo
21:00 2 fat bombs

Total calories : 1139

Ratios : 90% fat, 5% carb, 5% protein
(total carb grams 16g, 9g fiber)

Sarah I am looking forward to your continuing posts on this! I have to ask... how are you feeling? Do you notice anything different? (Jitters, calmness, clearer brain?!) This is really interesting to read.. Thank you!

Same here! Great Job!!

I am also very interested in hearing what your results look like and how you are feeling. I am not "stalled" but my weight loss has slowed dramatically and my blood ketones have dropped to nearly nil on my ketone monitor.

I have decreased my dietary protein and increased my fat intake to see if I can get back into ketosis that way, since I am already at <20 carbs (<15 if you take my JUDDD eating pattern into consideration). But if my weight loss doesn't show signs of picking back up in the next week or so, I was also considering a 3-5 day fat fast.

Hi Sarah, it's exciting to read how well you're doing. I'm glad that this is working for you. Please update even after you stop so that we see if the weight loss maintains.

Day 3 : Wednesday Jan 29th

weight 198.6

9:15 hot lemon water, black tea
10:30 DFBPC
12:30 1 egg + 1 yolk in chicken fat 1T
15:30 macadamia nuts
18:30 salad w coconut oil avocado vinaigrette
20:00 bouillon
21:00 2 DF fat bombs

Total calories : 1173
Ratios : 90% fat, 5% carb, 5% protein (total carb grams 16g, 7g fiber)

Feeling cranky. When hunger strikes now, it's urgent. No waiting for 30 min to see if it passes. I think I'll make 5 days but certainly wouldn't want to go beyond. It's also a good thing my husband is traveling this week - not in a great mood and making meals for him would be hard. My toddler is getting toddler food this week, LOL.

In the past when I've done a fat fast I've maintained most of the loss, sometimes added a pound - and often the scale is stuck for a week or so. I post regularly in the Lose 5 Pounds challenge so you'll be able to see how I do longer term, no worries!

Thanks Sarah! Big big congratulations on being firmly in Onederland!

Day 4 : Thursday Jan 30th

weight 199.0 (-3.4 for fat fast)

8:30 hot lemon water
10:00 DFBPC
12:00 Grumbling tummy! But out and about no option until after doctors appointment!
13:30 macadamia nuts - but still really hungry
13:30 bouillon, chia nut pudding (blech. but seems really filling.)
19:00 sausages (2 meals worth)

Was really intensely hungry around noon, and the macadamias barely made a dent. I was really glad I'd gone low on day 1 (had one less meal than planned because I wasn't hungry) because I was pretty sure I'd go over today. I ate my crazy concoction of chia pudding, which I don't exactly recommend as it was yucky tasting, but on the other hand between that and a giant mug of bouillon the hunger was sated and I didn't think about food again until 7. Then I fried up some Polish sausages (from actual Poland, mind you!) and had a bunch of that - two meals worth really but more because it was delicious and I wanted to feel "fed" not just that I'd consumed my minimum. And then to my surprise wasn't hungry the rest of the night so I didn't actually end up going over. And today I'm feeling like I could go on for several more days (but I won't - although I might try this again next time my husband travels).

Total calories : 1121
Ratios : 84% fat, 7% carb, 9% protein (total carb grams 20g, 8g fiber - actually carbs was probably lower because my sausages had no filler or sugars, but the ones I selected on my software did have some so I've gone with the counts from the software)

Day 5 : Friday Jan 31st

weight 198.4

8:15 hot lemon water
10:00 DFBPC
12:30 macadamia nuts
16:30 bacon (precooked) - not the best choice but I was on the run
20:30 salad with coconut oil green goddess dressing
21:15 bouillon
22:00 DF fat bomb

Total calories : 1224
Ratios : 85% fat, 5% carb, 10% protein (total carb grams 15g, 7g fiber)

Wrap up and final weigh in

Start weight : 202.4 (after 21 day stall around 203)
Day 1 202.4
Day 2 200.6
Day 3 198.6
Day 4 199.0
Day 5 198.4
Final : 197.8 (morning after Day 5) --> now return to regular low carb eating
Total loss : -4.6 (almost a pound a day)

Now, we'll see if it sticks.

I'll come by in a week or two and show the daily weights, which I expect will be a slight blip up and then stable (I don't expect I'd lose any weigh the week after this). It's quite frequent for my weight to hover at a number for almost a week before dropping anyway...

Raises questions :
- is it the fat?
- does it speed or deepen ketosis?
- is it just the very low calories?

Tips for others :
-plan the foods you'll eat and have them ready (measure nuts, make mayo, etc -but plan out your menus)
-eat at home, on your own - this is very antisocial and being around others eating normal foods and normal volumes would be really challenging
-track meticulously, even if you're not a tracker, because hitting target fat percentage is not intuitive (there are tons of free sites and apps)

Sarah... this was such an educational post. I thank you so much for sharing your Fat Fast journey with us! It just proves that it will work (hopefully for us all) if a stall occurs. It is a short duration which is nice.....

I have to ask.. How is your mood now after the cranky 2nd day? How about hormone feelings (warm flashes, coldness etc) Any muscle pain ? or just feel GREAT?!

Thank you!!

Thanks for journaling your experience Sarah!

I raised my fat and lowered my protein and WOW has it made a huge difference. My blood ketones are up significantly and consistently, my blood sugar is down, and the weight loss is no longer semi-stalled.

I have a had a few moments of low-carb flu, though, when my body was in rebellion against burning ketones and my brain felt very foggy. When that happened, I ate a hard-boiled egg and I was fine afterward.

My mood the other days was still somewhat cranky - I think it would be hard on my marriage to try to do 5 days of this with my husband home (plus I think it would be hard on me to have to sit with others eating real food while I had my fatty mini-meals). No hormone feelings, or muscle pain. I wouldn't say I felt great, although I think I did have a lot of ketosis energy and maybe some difficulty sleeping (hard to tell about that as I have a 7 month old baby daughter who is not a good sleeper, so I'm not sure I can blame the diet on sleep problems!)

Shrinkingme : This time on low carb that's what I'm doing too - protein in check and capped at around 65-70g per day, and calories limited to around 1500. Carbs under 30 total (not net). When I do all that I've been losing at a pretty consistent rate overall during the 4 1/2 months. But the fat fast knocked off 5 pounds very quickly...

Fat fast weights and following 2 weeks daily weights

202.4 Jan 27 fat fast
200.6 Jan 28 fat fast
198.6 Jan 29 fat fast
199.0 Jan 30 fat fast
198.4 Jan 31 fat fast
197.8 Feb 1
197.2 Feb 2
197.0 Feb 3
197.6 Feb 4
199.0 Feb 5
198.6 Feb 6
199.0 Feb 7
199.0 Feb 8
199.8 Feb 9
197.4 Feb 10
198.6 Feb 11
198.2 Feb 12
197.6 Feb 13
196.6 Feb 14
196.8 Feb 15

Basically it worked to knock off several pounds, followed by a small bounce up and stable period before moving slightly downward again. These stay-stay-stay-drop patterns are typical for me though.

Bravo Sarah!

I'm just updating this thread with my current thoughts on Fat Fasts.

Which is : shirt term benefit, long term HARM

I believe the months I spent eating high fat, low protein low carb forced my body to use skeletal muscle for its protein needs, eroding my already meager muscles. The Fat Fasts did this to an even greater extent. So while each time I'd lose a couple of pounds, I think at least as much of that loss was lean body mass (the stuff that powers your metabolism & that we want more of!) as was actual fat loss.

I've been back on low carb for about 2 months now, carbs around 20-25g, but protein much much higher than in the past, and I think it's really helping. My body is tighter and smaller, I can do a lot of daily living activities more easily, and energy is great. I'm basically eating a "normal" serving of protein 3 meals a day, nothing insane, but since I now think lower protein harmed me (and it's quite trendy with the "keto" movement) I wanted to update.