(Part 2) Top products from r/fasting

To share my personal experience, I recently completed a 10 day fast; the early days were the easiest for me, and then my energy started to decline significantly on the 5th. Days 6 - 10 were a downward trend of lethargy, weakness, lighthead/dizziness, and constant nausea. I was disappointed that I couldn't stick it out for the full 21 days that I had intended, but going through that experience and feeling like it wasn't going to turn around was enough to tell me that it was time to stop. What helped was knowing that it wasn't derailed by the desire to eat, and it wasn't psychological (like a lack of willpower). It just happened that my body wasn't coping well and I didn't feel that it was in my best interest to endure for much longer. So for me, that was the best indicator of knowing when it's time to stop - and to that end, I recommend that people start off by doing shorter fasts first to see how their body adapts, particularly because the benefits of fasting tend to peak around the 72 hour mark.

To try to mitigate any potential issues or side effects from the fast, try supplementing electrolytes - particularly sodium. What works best for me is to either dissolve Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue, or take small sips of Pickle Juice. For potassium, NoSalt has a good amount per serving and can be mixed with water and taken as a shot. For magnesium, you can take it in pill form, a lotion/spray, or by soaking your feet in Epsom Salt. The latter two will be most beneficial on longer fasts. But supplementing sodium starting on the 2nd day of my own fasts has made me feel better (less brain fog, improved mood). The most beneficial amount, based on a recommendation provided on the Fasting Talk podcast, was discussed here.

HTH!

I can rec this, all I take outside of water -> https://www.amazon.com/Lyte-Balance-Electrolyte-Concentrate-re-hydrating/dp/B009I4H25U?th=1

little pricey as far as these types of products go, but I really like it.

Outside of that general tips that have worked for me -

1. if you can, eat a keto diet for a few weeks prior to the fast. This primes your body perfectly. Also if you can eat keto for a few weeks + intermittent fasting that's a promising indicator you can can mentally handle a longer fast
   
2. try to stay as busy as you can, even in leisure do something fairly engrossing to distract you from thinking about how weird it is you haven't eaten for x amount of days. If I'm hungry or thinking about breaking the fast I realize I'm just not staying busy enough usually.
   
3. mornings are the worse for me, I make sure to drink water and go for a short walk asap
   
4. that said don't drink too much water, you'll flush out your body of minerals and have a bad time. If you are a big coffee drinker this is especially easy to do.
   
5. hungry? go for a walk. bored? go for a walk. low energy? the trend continues. I think it is important to maintain light-moderate physical activity...helps you get to sleep at night, which isn't that easy if you're fighting off pangs before passing out.
   
6. don't obsesses about breaking the fast perfectly, it doesn't matter that much. Use common sense, don't binge on 5 Rotisserie Chickens. I do think it helps planning on what that light meal will be as a reward prior to the fast is useful as it helps take food off your mind while you are fasting, just another thing you don't have to think about.
   
   But yeah In general I would say the most important preparation is the prefast diet + mentality. If your body is already well adjusted to running off fat it will be 10x easier.
   
   good luck!
   
   

Your low weight is probably due to your fructose malabsorption which is similar to irritable bowel syndrome. I would still recommend a water fast for two to three weeks. Yes, you will lose weight but you will quickly gain it all back plus more. Dr Furhman when he fasted weighed less than you and his weight eventually went down to 89 lbs and he still had some fat stores in his body. I would also recommend you do a supervised fast at a fasting clinic. There are probably several in Europe. The only one here in the US is True North. I have fasted for several weeks at their clinic and can vouch for it being among the best. People from all over world go there to fast and often have amazing results. You can call Dr Goldhammer at the clinic and ask him about how fasting can help your condition. He and his staff have supervised thousands of fasts including people with your same problem. I also recommend reading Shelton's book. Best of luck.

Well I'm not a doctor so I will first give that as a disclaimer!

For electrolytes, your main concerns are sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. One benefit of fasting is that the body does a better job of recycling these nutrients during a fast so you usually need much less in your diet than the full 100% RDA. Some people say they get 'keto flu' when they don't have large doses of sodium during their keto or fasting phases, but that hasn't been shown in the research literature yet. I would personally start out shooting for 25-50% of the RDA for all of those electrolytes and seeing how you do. If you end up going to 100% RDA, that won't be harmful. For my fasts I use 'lite salt' since that contains a 50/50 blend of sodium and potassium, but you could easily use the potassium supplement you have and eat some regular table salt separately.

I don't know anything about your specific potassium supplement but the reviews appear legitimate, which is promising. I usually go for Bulk Supplements products since they are usually rated well and it's a well-known brand.

For some supplement rankings, Labdoor.com is a good site. Here is their magnesium page and here is their calcium page. You can sort by quality or value. If you create an account (free) if you want to see a full breakdown of how they came up with their score for each product. Also not that many of the calcium supplements also include magnesium (and sometimes other nutrients), much like the NOW product that you bought.

As far as the different forms you can buy and use, Examine.com has info for magnesium here. For calcium, the various forms are generally all well tolerated and absorbed, so it's not much of an issue. It really upsets me that magnesium oxide is included in so many products since it's so useless from a nutritional perspective, but it's a cheap form and there isn't any government regulation when it comes to the absorption of supplements, so there isn't much to be done.

We need more trials but there's definitely some promising research and case studies. Here are some resources I have bookmarked that may be useful to you:

• Case report of water fasting and diet changes bringing follicular lymphoma into remission.
  
• Case report of water fasting and diet changes bringing brain tumor into remission.
  
• Cancer as a Metabolic Disease by Thomas Seyfried. According to the author this is quite technical because it was written for other academics but check it out if you're into that sort of thing. He also does a lot of podcasts (like this one) if you want to get an easier to understand overview.
  
• Tripping Over the Truth by Travis Christofferson. A book on the same subject that's intended for the general public.
  
  Best of luck to you <3

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401324932/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0399534903&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1P46HJFJ31DCS7RNW4RP This is a great book on the subject and Krista Verady is an expert. In a nutshell 500 on fast days, eat what you want on up days. https://www.facebook.com/groups/alternatedayfasting This facebook group is friendly, funny and very knowledgeable. The group tends to skew middle age mostly because it works pretty brilliantly for us in the perimenopausal/menopausal crowd.

I started at 425lbs in July 2017. I am now sitting at 260lbs. My first 100lbs came off in 7 months of keto (no fasting at all). I took my foot off the gas pedal when we had a baby in June of 2018 but I'm getting back in gear now. You can absolutely do this but you need to take it easy to start. This is only going to work if you are willing to change the way that you eat forever.

I read Dr. Fung's The Obesity Code in the beginning and it helped me to understand why I was so damn hungry all the time before I went low carb. My advice to you would be to start with keto and just eat bacon and eggs (or some other super low carb food that you like) until you're not hungry anymore.

Once you get your body used to burning fat instead of glucose, you will feel like a bear in hibernation, living off your stored energy supply.

Here are a couple of helpful links. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions at all.

https://idmprogram.com/blog/

https://www.amazon.com/Obesity-Code-Unlocking-Secrets-Weight/dp/1536682187

yeah pickle juice for the win. I've ordered https://www.amazon.com/Best-Maid-Dill-Juice-Gal/dp/B00PYM8VLE/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1492688380&sr=8-3&keywords=pickle+juice

Dilute it 1 oz in sparkling water 1:10 ratio and its like a treat for me :)

Yes, I will take all the information you can spare! I know so little about this and I really just want to make sure I'm being safe above all else.

This is my potassium supplement, is it okay? It gives me diarrhea as well but I didn't know if that was just to be expected and nothing to worry about. Is it okay to take this and the magnesium/calcium supplement while I look for something else or should I just hold off until I have the right thing?

Also, is there anything else that I absolutely should be putting in my body in order to not die or have any other substantial negative consequences? My current plan was just the potassium, calcium, and magnesium. If you have links to the exact supplements I should buy, not just for these things, but for any and everything, I would very much appreciate it!

I based my electrolyte soup on the Snake Juice guy's recepie as posted on the front page of his website. Changed it to suit me better. the sodium coems from Chicken boullion

Added curry powder for taste

I also add some nutritional yeast, for no real reason other than giving me some low low calorie nutrition and a tiny amount of protein. Plus it's what that world record fasting guy was taking for a year of fasting.

Then also like to add cayan peper or hot sause. Then I add all the stuff in the reciepie like Lemon, lime juice, baking soda, apple cider vinager, potasium (no salt)

It ends up tasting like spicey soup. I heat it to 140 degrees in a water kettle before drinking.

Fuck it, here's my detailed instructions:

Start with 3qt of water

Add all this:

2 or 3 tbs Chicken/Tomato Boullion (start w 2 and add more if you want or don't get the shits, also consider the amount of water or diet drinks that you drink and make you piss out your salts)

1 tbs Baking soda

1 tbs No salt/Potasium

2 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

4 TBSP Lime Juice

4 TBSP Lemon Juice

6 TBSP Apple cider vinager

1 TBSP Curry powder

Spicy shit to taste.

heat it to 140 degrees. Drink slowly and as much as you feel like. I end up drinking all of it like every 2 days and a half. It does seem to cause me to retain water weight, but who cares. Remeber if the scale stops moving it's probably water and it will catch up, just go by how your body feels and how your clothes fit. The scale is not a good short term measure of success.

I was skeptical when I first heard about fasting and even intermittent fasting. I thought that the main benefit was discipline from the restriction and had not idea about the hormonal effects that make it successful. Someone recommended I read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist in Canada who runs a practice that treats obese diabetics through fasting.

In the book, he provides a breakdown of every aspect of how fasting works, with cited studies and also discusses why fasting produces better results for his patients than the current standard nutritional advice.

https://www.amazon.com/Obesity-Code-Unlocking-Secrets-Weight/dp/1536682187

While reading the whole book would answer all your questions about safety and optimal nutrition while fasting, there is a summarized version available on Blinkist that you can read if you sign up for a free trial (I don’t get any referral rewards but it’s an option).

https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-obesity-code-en

He also wrote this extended guide, which goes over fasting in detail (totally free with no trial):

https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting

1. I took New Ultima Hydrating Electrolyte Powder, Orange, 90 Servings https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IIGUTEY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xC3dBb14Z5AXH And Natural Vitality Natural Calm Diet Supplement, Raspberry Lemon, 16 Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BPUY3W0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iD3dBbNJA2BBC
   
2. haha not at all. I have bulimia and was bingeing and purging like crazy for almost 2 months prior. Just went cold turkey
   

I'm 40/F and I just did an 80-ish day fast. Vitamins/minerals/electrolytes only for the first 20 days, and then just enough dietary fat to stave off the hunger pangs (about 200 calories twice a day).

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment revealed that there's a rate limit to how quickly body fat can be converted to calories, and it's a function of how many pounds of body fat you still have. So if you've been on a total fast and suddenly get blindsided by an all-consuming hunger pang that won't go away, that may be your problem. Both carbs and protein raise your insulin, which inhibits fat-burning, so you'll still want to keep your calories during the social events to a minimum, even if they're keto calories. It won't be difficult; your stomach will probably be the size of a marble. LOL.

The sex difference may be a difference in the muscle tone of the heart, since elevated adrenaline after day 5 makes your heart work harder, so if you're not in the best cardiovascular shape, you'll feel fatigued all the time, similar to heat exhaustion, until your heart adapts. I started feeling amazing on day 20 or so, just before I had to start supplementing dietary fat.

Guys... Stop blaming our periods for everything! LOL. I had three totally normal periods during the fast. Zero changes in my menstrual cycle the whole time.

No Worries, Happy to share,

No-Salt contains, Ingredients: Potassium Chloride, Potassium Bitartrate, Adipic Acid, Silicon Dioxide, Mineral Oil and Fumaric Acid. < feel free to click this link for photos of the label of the product for sale at Walmart,

On the other hand, this product on Amazon, is Pure Potassium Chloride, < feel free to click this link

I have no affiliate links, and only picked these two products as examples,

I can echo that getting a little magnesium powder at night before bed has made a huge difference in how I feel and my level of energy during fasting. I take a powder called Calm https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OQ2DJQ/ I take one teaspoon in water before bed. I would recommend it purely on my own experience.

Thanks, I'm walking between 3 and 12 miles each day. The most difficult part was definitely managing bodily function--the first week or two nothing was guaranteed. Best advice I can give: trust no fart.

I also re-read the audio book of Mark Divine's "Way of the SEAL" -- it gives a bunch of exercises to build mental toughness and resilience. I've had little to no hunger/cravings and have cooked several highly aromatic meals for others: homemade pizza, seafood marinara, shrimp and dirty rice, etc.

Overall this has been an exceedingly positive experience my BP has dropped from 140/96 @ 78 bpm to 121/81 @ 74 bmp. I've gone from sleeping 4-5 hours per night with snoring interrupted breathing/semi-apnea (no mask or anything) to 8-10 hours sleeping like a baby. I'm waking up at 5 am before my alarm.

I can't give you the specifics on the nutrients/micronutrients. Here's my complete shopping list--I'm taking electrolyte pills and not using drops--these were recommended in another thread. It's good to keep those on hand, in case you feel any cramps or light-headedness.

YMMV.



https://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Light-Prenatal-Multivitamin-150-Count/dp/B00115BJ30

https://www.amazon.com/Nutribiotic-Essential-Electrolytes-Caps-Count/dp/B000OP252C

https://www.amazon.com/Posture-d-Calcium-Vitamin-Magnesium-Caplets/dp/B007AHK1EG

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UI9F01C/

https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Magnesium-Citrate-Softgels/dp/B00CU3SX4K

https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Complex-Strength-Packaging/dp/B008PQDCG0

Thanks! I already have a couple boxes of sugar-free Nuun so it would be easy for me to pop a couple of those on fasting days.

• The Every-Other Day Diet^TM (modified)
  
• When 16th Sep - 3rd Oct
  
• Why? Fat loss and self care
  
  Notes
  
  The Every-Other Day Diet^TM isn't seen much around here but the summary is eat normally one day, eat only 500 Cal the next. The 500Cal is preferably a single meal but it's OK to spread it out. It's Alternate Day Fasting with a meal thrown in on the fasting day. The author of the book on it has plenty of research articles on it.
  
  I'm doing a modified version to match my needs. For the "fast" day meal I'm having a 6 egg scramble with garlic and salt. On the other day I don't have a calorie limit but am only having middle bacon and high fat minced/ground beef.
  
  So so far it's been:
  
  

• 16th Sept: 6 eggs, 444Cal
  
• 17th Sept: 81g middle bacon, 460g "regular" beef mince, 1,229Cal
  
• 18th Sept: 6 eggs, 444Cal
  
  So it's a keto/carnivore factor but even then narrowing it down much further to just eggs, bacon & mince. This is mostly to help further limit my calorie intake (it's hard to eat even 1,200Cal of mostly mince) but also to keep my blood glucose & insulin as low as possible.

Hopping on this comment as it's the most important in the thread.

Despite emergentketo's demeanor, this is the truth. You don't need to worry about supplements unless you're going over a week.

I've found this Ultima Electrolyte Supplement and it's changed my world. No sugar, natural sweetener, 0 calories, and I've been taking 4 servings a day with water (basically 2 servings = 1 liter).

Compared to my first water fast, this one has been a breeze, thanks to supplementing with electrolytes.

If you're going over a week, or you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or sore- than you need to get some electrolytes. Case closed.

I bought a huge bag from amazon for $15!! It’s gonna last forever and it’s easier bc I didn’t have to worry about going out specifically to get it. I bought this one:





BulkSupplements Pure Magnesium... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GW5NX8I?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I use these:

​

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00GW5NX8I/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00ENSA93S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00HGUR4J2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

And Sea Salt.

​

In 16 oz of water (I like carbonated water) and a little lemon juice (for kidney stones), I add the following:

• 1/4 tsp potassium

• 1/8 tsp magnesium

• 1/8 tsp calcium

• 1/8 tsp seal salt.

​

I drink a few of these a day, one for breakfast, one for lunch, one in the evening, sometimes more.

I’m taking this. It’s easy to dissolve in a water bottle every morning!

This is a good summary of the research.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470584920/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8SNG250K6BUQ

Read the reviews on this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-over-Binge-Conventional-Recovered/dp/0984481702

Just know that there is hope.

Would something like this work?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00V7ATUD0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526482704&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=electolytes

I say go for it. I recently bought some Solgar's Brewers Yeast under the same logic, but now realize I goofed. It's much more sugary than these nutritional yeasts. Personally I'd probably go with Now (most affordable) or Bob's Red Mill. They are both cheaper on Amazon than the one you linked, although Red Star is a well-known brand to home bakers.

Holy B vitamins, batman!

I'll eat this when I'm refeeding on the weekends, and maybe Wed/Thurs of my fast. (I fast Mon-Fri.)

I bought this Sherpa Himalayan Pink Salt, and Potassium and Magnesium from Bulk Supplements on Amazon. All powdered and I just weigh it out into my water a few times a day. On day 2 of my first extended fast!

https://www.amazon.ca/Natural-Vitality-Supplement-Raspberry-Lemon/dp/B000OQ2DJQ

if you like pop try this

Yeah, I just take this as electrolytes instead:
https://www.amazon.ca/Vega-Sport-Electrolyte-Hydrator-Servings/dp/B00V7ATUD0/

Hey! Your post is a bit old, but I just wanted to throw this out there. I use a capful of this daily every time I do a fast since potassium and magnesium are the main things I worry about. It's a little expensive but easier to get down than the tabs or a ton of different supplements. It also lasts for ages since you have to use so little.

https://www.amazon.com/Lyte-Balance-Electrolyte-Concentrate-re-hydrating/dp/B009I4H25U/ref=sr_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1491253642&sr=8-7&keywords=electrolyte+liquid

I find it helps keep me from getting shaky or light-headed.

Here's a few brands:

https://www.amazon.com/SaltStick-Electrolyte-Replacement-Capsules-Supplement/dp/B005I6DA5S/

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Nuun-Active-Hydrating-Electrolyte/dp/B001QW1L72

https://www.amazon.com/LyteShow-Electrolyte-Concentrate-Rehydration-Magnesium/dp/B00EISFBYA

here it is....

https://www.amazon.com/Fasting-Bathing-Hygienic-System-Book-ebook/dp/B005R2LVL8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=fasting+and+sunbathing+%28the+hygienic+system+book+3%29&qid=1554497387&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

let me know if it opened ok...thanks

I like Natural Calm for mag.
You can also get mag from adding Epsom salt to a bath and soaking for a bit(great for sore muscles).

Not sure why no one has mentioned electrolyte intake. That's the ticket. Drink a cup of broth or two (way more tasty then adding salt to your water) when you feel a headache coming on.

You will eventually get tired of this though. You can go with gatorade G2 or I really like this stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydration--Electrolyte-Enhanced-Original-Tri-berry/dp/B001QW1L72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368192241&sr=8-1&keywords=nuun

The approach is not a calorie thing- it is a mental rewiring and GI tract normalizing thing and weight loss follows.

https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Important-Solving-Problem-Obesity-ebook/dp/B00GX0ZIA8

When the NoSalt I ordered arrived damaged, I got a refund and then found BulkSupplements potassium chloride powder. Turned out 1kg of that stuff was much cheaper than the 2 pack of 11oz canisters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ENS39XK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Z41ACb7FEYZH2

I only have a very basic understanding of Dr. Seyfried's observations and analysis but the general gist is that extended fasting promotes cell autophagy and starves many tumorous growths (iirc most malignant tumors metabolize glucose).

edit: Looked into it more. HGH affects certain types of cancer. Not sure what this means from a preventive standpoint.

I seriously think it's a terrible idea. It just leads to even worse binges when you do break the fast.

I used to have a serious binge eating problem myself, what helping me tremendously was this book.

This is misleading.
Maximum lifespan is not extended.
The AVERAGE lifespan is extended because of a less-toxic diet.

In humans, it is well-documented in ancient history that people who fasted and practiced temperance could live well beyond 100, a fact which is unchanged today. But people die earlier usually due to the accumulation of damage and toxicities associated with a poor diet. I suggest reading Dr. Hagan.

https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Important-Solving-Problem-Obesity-ebook/dp/B00GX0ZIA8