Will fat fast harm my metabolism?
 

I am thinking of trying this. But won't staying at 1000 cal/day cause my metabolism to slow down? I thought we were supposed to avoid low cal? Is it better to simply stick it out?

Hi,

According to Dr. A in DANDR, the fat fast is a technique only for those who do not lose weight on the ordinary LC diet. I am one of those kind of people. Fat fasts are what take the weight off me, and after that, remaining on induction keeps my weight stable. Whether or not I will ever be able to increase carbs for maintenance is something I'll just have to wait and see.

I do observe that as I am progressing on my weight loss in this way, the amount I am losing in each fat fast is slowly decreasing. In one sense, I am not surprised at this. I notice that everyone around here -- not just the Fat Fasters -- experiences a decline in the rate of weight loss as they approach their target weight. Makes me wonder, sometimes, if our bodies don't have their own ideas about what they're supposed to weigh!

At any rate, if you are losing weight anyway, even slowly, I don't know that a Fat Fast is the right thing to try.

Homesar

Hi Homesar,

Thanks for sharing. I've been bouncing between 146 and 148 for months on induction-level carbs, I've spent quite a few years at this weight and was wondering if this is one of my "set points". I'm completely fed-up, if I could only lose a few more pounds an entire set of old clothes would fit well and I think I could live with that for awhile. I'm glad to hear you maintain your losses on induction afterwards - I guess that means it hasn't slowed your metabolism. I've been eating around 1800 cals on my induction, so I can't understand why my body is so freaking afraid of famine and clings to all that fat! :cry:

Anyway, I'm trying it for a few days, so far it's not really so bad except that my energy has sure dropped.

Hi, Grimalkin,

I really don't think you're going to be in any major danger to give it a try and see what happens. I mean, my brother -- who is a poster child for the kind of person who should NOT do the fat fast (with the results to prove it!), had a loss of energy, but other than that nothing bad happened to him. As I said, he went on ordinary induction, and he's been dropping about 8 pounds a month with monotonous regularity ever since.

I think your conclusion is correct in my case -- the fat fasts (all of them lasting seven days) don't seem to have actually lowered my metabolism, since my post-fast weight remains stable when I return to induction. And, those newly fitting clothes are really a boost! I tried on some jeans I hadn't worn in years and they fit. Wow. What an upper that was!

Let us know how it goes when you finish.

Homesar

argh, didn't work too well
 

Hi Homesar,

Well, that didn't go too well. I stayed on the fat fast for three days, during which I just felt more and more apathetic and chilly. Then I had to go do some fairly intense hiking, so that morning I broke the fast: had a good breakfast of eggs and bacon and brought some beef jerky (protein and a few carbs) for trail food - I was hoping with the extra exercise the higher protein would keep me going. Unfortunately by the end of the day I was feeling very weak, and I felt compelled to eat a nice cheeseburger (in a lettuce leaf of course) with some grilled onions. I was starting to have serious carb cravings - this is a first for me! I wonder if this had something to do with low blood sugar levels? So, back to induction! Now I feel normal again, but it took a few days.

I didn't lose any weight, btw. Isn't that weird? So I guess I'd better resign myself to just waiting this one out. My body is clearly refusing to lose right now. I'm thinking of trying to increase my carbs a little since I'm maintaining anyway, maybe my body is perceiving some kind of crisis happening.


BTW, as for my stats, I haven't lost 14 lbs since September - I actually started LC a year ago, and was 150 or so in September when I registered. I've been stalled since the end of September! Sheesh.

Overall there are other ways to up your metabloism than to maybe slow it by fat fast and the abuse of fat fast. Wake up early in the morning and go on a jog, drink green tea. Most people on fat fasts have reported weight gain. Remember your body holds on to your fat as a protection agaist starvation by stalling it shows your really losing weight switch up your cardio it makes all the difference.

Hi kats, I actually just ended up going back to my regular habits and my stall broke by itself after a couple of weeks. I'm down about 4 lbs and a pant size since then.

Maybe we just can't force these things sometimes, patience did the trick for me :yay:

I think a better alternative to the fat fast is going KIS: no artificial sweeteners, dairy, nuts, caffeine, or alcohol. Just unprocessed meats, eggs and veggies. Then you can gradually add those things back in. It's no fun, but it can help you weed out what might be stalling you.

That sounds like a good idea Kristine. Im going to look into that.. It may be just what I myself need to do.. Thank you.

1800 calories is alot for someone your weight, unless you work out hard at least 5 days a week. Try cutting calories, I simply do not lose on atkins of i eat more then 1400 calories, sometimes I actually gain weight.

I tried it a while back. Its really hard to stay on. Alls i ate were macadamia nuts and egg yolks. Yuck!!! I ended my three days by over eating on some Atkins bars ( about 4 of them in one sitting) and then i felt guilty. I lost 2 lbs but i didnt think it was worth it. Hunger makes one very irritable, tired and slow.

I know, I'll never do that again. A few pounds isn't worth how badly I felt (and I didn't even lose).

Skibunnie, I haven't eaten that much for months now and I'm still crawling/stalling. I actually find it difficult to eat enough - that appetite reduction thingy - altho I do try to get at least 1200 - 1400 spread thru the day. I think there is something else going on for me. Maybe I'm very insulin resistant, have high cortisol, or a sluggish thyroid. Or maybe its that cup of coffee in the morning. At the moment I'm not interested in obsessing over percentages and whatnot, I'm not gaining, I just have a lot to do and I want to just live my life for now. I'll scrutinize it later again when I have some energy for that. But it is perplexing and a little frustrating that I'm doing most things correctly and the fat bits evidently just won't go away without a ton of thought and work.

It might just be this. If it is, just relax and stick to plan until spring.

Wow, that's a brand new one to me. It would fit though, not only do I get out less in the winter, but the way my house is situated the sun doesn't even shine into the windows during those months. So I'll give it some more time before I start anything drastic, and see. I should find out soon.