7-day water only fast :-)

Hello Keto Heads! You asked for a blog, here it is! Here I will be sharing the findings of my various food & exercise experiments as well as better answer many of your great questions.

Let’s start with what I experimented with in January. I started the year off with a 7-day water only fast. This was my second time doing an extended fast. I had such an amazing and positive experience last time, that this time I chose to maintain my regular weight training regimen through the fast. I tracked my blood glucose and blood ketones both mornings and nights. I used both the Precision Xtra and the Keto Mojo to measure my blood response. The only other thing I consumed besides water/mineral water was pink Himalayan salt.

Just as with the first time I did a 7-day fast, the first two days are the most difficult. I am a regular coffee drinker, so the caffeine withdrawal headaches on day one are not fun. On day two, the head aches subside, but the hunger sets in. By day three, my ketone levels were above 4.0mmol/L and I was feeling great. Energy was surging. Enhanced mental clarity. No hunger. Great weight training workouts. By day five, I reached an all time high on my ketone readings of 7.0mmol/L with blood glucose readings of 65mg/dL. My average ketone readings on this fast, were 3x higher than the prior fast. The only significant variable was weight training.

In terms of training during the fast, my strength levels were about 90% of normal. I used the same weights but got a few less reps. However, I was able to do a lot more volume, as I felt amazing and full of energy.

With regard to body composition, not surprisingly I lost a good amount of body fat. My overall weight loss was 16lbs. However, most of that was likely water and stored glycogen. Based on how I looked and my strength levels, I don’t feel I lost any muscle.

The first time I did a 7-day fast, on the 7th day I felt very full of energy and I wanted to keep going. I stopped, only because I wanted to get back to training. This time, on the 7th day, I felt good but I was ready to stop. I think that while I was able to maintain normal workouts, they took their toll and my body was ready to be nourished.

I came out of the fast by eating a high fat, moderate protein, low carb meal consisting of whole eggs, avocados and grilled steak. You can see my IG post on it here.

For the remainder of January, I decided to take advantage of my clean fasted state to test various foods I normally eat, in order to better understand their metabolic response. I also decided to avoid caffeine and dairy all month, while remaining in therapeutic ketosis. In future blog posts I will share my findings on the metabolic response of various foods including a variety of meats, bacon, avocados, whole eggs, macadamia nuts, almonds, coconut milk/cream, various nut butters, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spaghetti squash, kale, broccoli and cabbage.

Please feel free to ask/comment below. I’m happy to share anything I might have missed in my recap :-)

Ketone readings over two separate 7-day water only fasts comparing fasting with and without weight training.