My Four Day Fasting Results

The results are in!

Here are the results of my ketosis experiment. This post will detail my four-day fast ketosis kickoff period. So… if you think I’m going nuts and wondering why the hell I would fast, well, one, I can assure you I’m not and two, I suggest you read my highly informational article on why I am choosing to fast.

Truth-be-told, I’ve tracked body composition, lab work, ketone levels and other important data, so I could become more knowledgeable about them. Some of the questions I had were: Does fasting lead to massive lean tissue losses? Does it destroy your metabolism? Is it unbearable? Does it sap your energy? The good news is that all of these pressing questions and much more are answered in this life-changing article.

Okay…caught you! I bet you didn’t read the linked article about fasting, did you? Well, it’s okay; I’ll touch on it really quick. Well, this fast is NOT a water-fast. Honestly, I can name a few reasons, why you should not commit to a water-fast, but I won’t get into them right now. But, what I will get into is the types of fasts that I am practicing regularly and why.

So, my fast is similar to what Valter Longo, a renowned researcher, deems to be the “better” than water-fasts in so many ways. According to Longo, the preferential diet is the “fasting-mimicking diet.” In fact, much of his research heavily focuses on reaping all of the benefits (and sometimes more) of a water-fast, while minimizing many of the “negatives” commonly associated with these types of fasts.

Even more exciting is that a lot of Longo’s, official “fasting-mimicking diet” involves fat, as a macronutrient, with only about 40% of the total calories of other “diets.” This type of diet is amazing because it resembles the Mediterranean diet macro-distribution. It is important to understand that I like maximizing my transition into a ketogenic state, so I  use roughly the same calorie load Longo (500-750 kcal) with a ketogenic distribution of macro-nutrients (85% fat, 10% protein, and 5% carbs).

Okay, now that we have a grasp of the advantages of the “fast-mimicking diet,” I think it’s important to do a quick recap of why it is important. As I mentioned above, there is a longer post on this, however, I still wanted to add some of the top benefits of fasting, or at least the ones that lead me to incorporating a modified fast, as a regular part of my life:

– Removal of cancerous or precancerous cells
– Increased immune system functioning
– Increased lean tissue mass (possibly from vastly increased HGH secretions)
– Decreased in fat tissue
– Rapid shifting into nutritional ketosis
– Increased gene expression for long periods of time
– Autophagy and apoptotic cellular clearing/repair
– Decreased oxidative stress and inflammation
– Increased mental performance and BDNF (brain stem cells that create new neurons)
– Psychological benefits
Originally, I was just going to commit to a three-day, modified fast, but after researching Dr. Thomas Seyfried, I was motivated to continue until I reached a glucose ketone index (GKI) of 1.0 or under. Why? Well, because much of Dr. Seyfried’s research indicates that most of the therapeutic effects of fasting hinge on lowering the ratio between glucose and ketones, so that it is under a specific level.

So, if you want to measure the glucose ketone index, it’s actually pretty simple. First, get your glucose readings (usually in mg/dL, if you are in the US), and divide them by 18 (to get the mmol glucose number). Then, divide the mmol glucose number by the ketone (mmol) number you obtained from your blood BHB ketone reading. And, there you go! According to Dr. Seyfried, the lower the number, the better your glucose level, as shown through the current data. 

My goal was to track glucose/ketone levels multiple times per day, and body composition and lab values (to see changes in lipid panel, inflammation, and immune response) at baseline, the last day of fasting, and five-days later. I decided to do this because  some benefits aren’t really benefits at all; rather they are “rebound” effects from fasting. So, my aim was to see how much I could bounce back and at what velocity. The results are listed below:

Here we go!

day one of my fasting results

Day One of My Fast

On the first morning, I clocked in surprisingly low on the ketones, even though I went pretty “keto” early in the week or so leading up to the fast. I wanted to make the transition, as easy as possible. I hypothesized that I was probably eating too much protein. Well, needless to say, “keto” level rebounded fairly quickly. Note: I’ve been using the Precision Xtra Ketone Meter  to perform the readings. FYI: The machine works fine, but the strips are ridiculously expensive. You’ve been warned.

AM Fasted Measurements:

Ketone levels – 0.2 mmol
Glucose levels – 85 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 23.6

It’s also important to note that the average American’s GKI is at about 50-75. I, on the other hand, was aiming for 1.0 or under. Long way to go. But, thankfully, I was able to reduce it within 8 weeks. So, after I took my initial measurements I went to LabCorps, and had a boatload of blood work done, so I could get the baseline for this experiment. Well, after got my labs done, I got my body composition scanned with a DEXA machine.

The results and analysis are listed below:

Food Intake: 

I drank coffee and shot of espresso shortly after I did the blood work. I love coffee just like everyone else, but still contemplated eliminating it and switching to tea for a while to see how I would respond without it, but decided against it, because damn it, I’m keeping my coffee! It’s those little things in life, you know?

Well, anyways, after working for about an hour or so, I consumed about 5 grams of BCAA with 1 scoop exogenous ketones and one tablespoon of raw organic coconut oil. The 5 grams of BCAA and exogenous ketones provided me with some easily accessible energy, which helped me transition into ketosis. And, after another 4-5 hours of work, I had ¾ can of coconut milk and ¾ container of Kettle and Fire bone broth, so I could get some extra fat. That’s all the food for day one, folks.

Macros:

20g protein / 80 kcals / 10%
70g fat / 630 kcals / 85%
10g carb / 40 kcals / 5%
Total / 750 kcal

Mood/Mental:

So, I felt pretty mentally normal on day one. I was able to better focus (than ever before) without distractions. Truthfully, I normally eat a keto/high fat diet, so this was nothing new to me. I also wasn’t hungry or distracted at any point, but then again, I also didn’t do much activity during that time.

Physical Output:

 I had relatively little physical output. I went on a few walks, but other than that I only did four rounds of movement, and some light band work. I must say I intentionally kept movement level down to minimize the lack of energy, as the body goes from massive energy input and burning glycogen to burning stored body fat.

PM Fasted Measurements:

Ketone levels – 0.4 mmol
Glucose levels – 84 mg/dL
Glucose ketone index – 11.6

These measurements were taken at about 5:00 pm. My baseline glucose held steady, however, my ketone level rose steadily. Unfortunately, I still wasn’t in a state of ketosis. Honestly, I was curious to see the AM Day Two measurements. And, again, I looked for a decrease in glucose and an increase in ketones.

Other:

I participated in a cyro-therapy session, followed by some time in an isolation tank session mid-day. It was a very low-stress day overall. In addition, my activities were intentional.

So to sum it up, I had a pretty normal day. Oh, and I saved a ton of time, which was actually more productive than spending my day cooking, eating, and cleaning.

day two of my fasting results

Day Two of My Fast

 Sleep:

On night one, I was surprisingly more tired than usual. I went to bed around 8:30pm. and woke up around 7:30am. As a comparison, my usual sleep time is about 9:30pm – 5:30am. The sleep quality was on par with having taken NyQuil to sleep. In other words, I slept deeply and was very groggy, when I woke up to go to the bathroom, etc. However, upon waking, I didn’t feel hungry, which is shocking to me actually. Already running on ketones? Hmm… Let’s see…

AM Fasted Measurements:

Ketone levels – 0.9 mmol
Glucose levels – 74 mg/dL
Glucose ketone index –  4.56

A huge jump in ketones and a huge drop in baseline glucose measurements. Definitely trending the right direction here.

 Food Intake:

Food intake was pretty much the exact same as the day before, except I had black tea, then went on to my cold brew that I so desperately needed. Seriously, the little things when you can’t have real food for days on end matter. Or I’m addicted to caffeine and coffee. What do I know? The only difference on day two is that I had the coconut oil with the coffee, and the exogenous ketones and BCAAs while I was doing a mini working out. The ¾ Kettle and Fire Bone Broth and ¾ coconut milk were at about 3:30pm.

Macros:

Ketone levels – 1.7 mmol
Glucose levels – 73 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 2.38

Food intake was the exact same.

Physical Output:

I didn’t want to push things too much, but felt so energized in the morning (that’s ketosis for you) that I decided to do a quick 45-minute movement routine/kettle-bell-loaded session. I engaged in pressing and pulling, which was good for my upper body. I also did some kettle-bell RDL and Cossack squats. Afterwards, I was definitely hungry, which lasted about an hour after the workout. I usually notice a gigantic increase in hunger on the days I work out, so the hunger wasn’t anything out of ordinary. Fasting and working out intensely doesn’t seem like the best of ideas, but maybe, I need to test it out, instead of holding onto “untested” beliefs.

PM Fasted Measurements:

Ketone levels – 1.7 mmol
Glucose levels – 73 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 2.38

Here come the ketones! Everything is tracking in the right direction during the PM on Day Two.

Mood/Mental:

During Day Two of my fast, I noticed the hunger, but it wasn’t extreme or anything that I couldn’t solve by using my brain or drinking some water. What was profound was the level of mental clarity, once I dove deeper into ketosis, and started noticing that I was at 1.5 mmol and above (I would assume), and as a result, I developed a sustained focus that only comes, once I’m at my peak (AM) and after I’ve experience a lot  stimulants and a state of flow. That wasn’t the case here!

I was also, thankfully, in a super positive mood for most of the day. There was nothing out of the refinery, and I wasn’t in a negative mood, even though I hadn’t really eaten in two days. No hanger. Yet. 

day three of my fasting results

Day Three of My Fast

Sleep:

Admittedly, sleep was not so great on night two either. No cramping or anything weird, just very tired at night and woke up a bunch of times. This led to quality of sleep being diminished and overall feeling super tired when I woke up. My biggest annoyance in life is feeling tired. 

AM Measurements:

Ketones – 2.1 mmol
Glucose – 71 mg/dL
Glucose ketone index – 1.87

Cranking along as expected here. Nice to see that glucose ketone index continue to drop.

Food Intake:

Since I was feeling relatively normal and still not hungry at all, I started with my scoop of coconut oil on this day three of my fast but didn’t add anything else in. Wasn’t going to have the “soup” that I had been having unless I felt hungry, and I didn’t. Time to speed this train up. 

Physical Output:

My fasted workout ended up being the same intensity as the day before, some light lower body kettle-bell work, around 40 minutes or so. There was a mix of kettle-bell swings, one leg RDL, goblet squats, Cossack squats, and lunges. Sipped on exogenous ketones and BCAA throughout.

Same as the day before with hunger after the workout but went away once I drank water and started working.

Mood/Mental:

A little slower/foggier today than usual but had some work stuff blow up in my face so that may have been the distraction and lack of wanting to do any work more than anything else. No real changes in hunger for day three and I had a realization that fasting is NOT A BIG DEAL.

PM Measurements:

Ketones – 4.1 mmol
Glucose – 69 mg/dL
Glucose ketone index – 0.93

First time hitting below 1.0! This means I’m in prime therapeutic mode, and only have to ride the fast out through day four to sleep overnight in this state as well as wait to collect some markers (more blood work, DEXA scan, etc.).

day four of my fasting results

Day Four of My Fast

 AM Fasted Measurements:

Ketones – 2.9 mmol
Glucose – 68 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 1.3

I was a little slower during the AM than PM, but it is normal to have higher PM ketone readings, than AM ones, due to counter-regulatory hormones, like cortisol. The thing that stands out here is just how crazy low blood glucose levels can be. So, drum roll, please – I call this day a success! I am now ready to get my blood work done… so, off I go to LabCorps for some data. You won’t believe how ready I am to get back to eating.

Well, I had to wait (as usual) to get my 7:30am blood drawn on Day Four of my fast. But, while I was waiting, I realized just how utterly ridiculous some people can be. For example, a woman kept pacing around furiously. Truthfully, I was concerned… until she screamed at the lab tech, who, by the way, was trying to tell her that there was an issue with her lab paperwork. She was supposed to be having an important (very important) lipid panel, and there was a chance she wouldn’t be getting it that day. I get it, but the woman could not hear the tech because she kept talking over her, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Are you saying I can’t get my blood drawn? I haven’t eaten since 6pm, the night before, and have been fasting since then! I’m SO hungry!”

Wow! If she only knew…

Anyways, on a more positive note, the lab tech learned a very valuable lesson that day – don’t mess with San Francisco yoga moms and their morning quinoa bowls.

AM Post Meal Measurements:

Ketones – 1.5 mmol
Glucose – 88 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 3.25

So, when I got back home from having my labs drawn, I had 3 eggs, 3 bacons (I call them bacons, not strips), half an avocado, and two cups of sauerkraut. Sounds awesome coming off a four-day fast, but, honestly, it’s WAY too much food. And, yes, you are right – I felt miserable afterwards. Yeah, I will definitely ease back into eating after my next fast.

My glucose level was a little higher, but that is perfectly normal. Although, I’m hoping to keep post-prandial ketones a bit higher. See the graph below for more information.

Physical Output:

All I did was a lot of walking. I intentionally didn’t want to push my body, because it already had a bunch of new stuff (food) to deal with. Otherwise, I felt perfectly fine.

Mood/Mental:

In between meals I definitely felt a little bit slower energy-wise,  and it was slightly harder for me to focus for a decent amount of time. I’m not sure if this is normal for me coming off a fast, or if it was the result of the length of the fast. Either way, it wasn’t reasonable and it was still 100x better, than if I would have eaten a bagel.

Food Intake:

After breakfast, I was so damn full that I didn’t want to eat anything else until dinner. And, truthfully, I wasn’t even hungry then, but I knew I had to have some nourishment, so I ate something. I wanted to stay in ketosis, so my dinner consisted of a grass-fed rib eye topped with Dungeness crab meat that was topped with hollandaise sauce, along with a side of kale cooked in butter. Not bad, but man was I full.

PM Pre-Dinner Measurements:

Ketones – 2.5 mmol
Glucose – 76 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 1.68

PM Post-Dinner Measurements:

Ketones – 2.0 mmol
Glucose – 88 mg/dL
Glucose Ketone Index – 2.44

This was a pretty good before/after measurement, considering how much protein I ate, and how my body was void of protein for a while. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain these numbers, and even, maybe, increase them in the next 7-8 weeks.

my four day fast results

MY FOUR DAY FAST RESULTS

Main data here is split into three sections: ketone/glucose measurements, lab work, and body composition.

Most of these measurements were taken from Day 0 through to Day 4, and then again at Day 9. Why track after the fast? Well, a lot of the benefits come in the “rebound” effect of fasting. Just like when you are working out and breaking down muscle fibers. Well, when the “going gets tough,” and you become sore, your body says, “Hey, let’s not go through this again!” To prevent this from happening again, your body becomes stronger (by building new tissue), so you can fight off any perceived threats. Well, the same thing happens with fasting. You start clearing out the old and defective cells and by doing so; you turn on genes that normally aren’t active. Your body then experiences a super-compensation effect afterwards, where it stores nutrients, fearing that you won’t have food again.

So, since the whole point of this type of fast is to primarily get into ketosis as fast as possible, let’s start with an overview of the relationship between fasts and your ketone and glucose levels.

Ketone and glucose measurements

ketone and glucose results from fasting

 

Okay, this is pretty self-explanatory, but the blue line my glucose level, the red line is my ketone level, and the orange one is my glucose ketone index.

You can see how high my glucose ketone index is on Day One. Again, the lower this is, the better the overall benefits, when looking at ketosis and especially when fasting. I experienced the most ketosis benefits on Day Three. I was accustomed to sticking to “low carbs” and keto, which took me up into the 20s – that is why you MUST TEST YOURSELF, when fasting. If you don’t get your measurements, you aren’t going to know what’s going on. Plain and simple.

From Day One to Day Four look for a lower blood sugar level and a high ketone level. It is important to remember that the goal of the fast is to achieve deep ketosis quickly. I achieved this by using the glucose ketone index (GKI) and >3.0 mmol, as a good indication of where I was and where I wanted to be. Note: I will prioritize spending time in the therapeutic range of <1.0 GKI the next time I fast.

Post Meal A – This was the egg, bacon, avocado, and (way too much) sauerkraut meal. It was great to see my blood sugar stay super low without my ketones taking too much of a hit. I definitely had enough fat to hold the ketosis.

Post Meal B – This was a little overkill and definitely too much protein. I had half of a ribeye and about ¼ pound Dungeness crab with hollandaise sauce and kale. Crab is essentially all protein, and it shows by a 0.5 decrease in ketones, but most importantly, there was an overnight drop (from 2.0 to 1.1). My waking measurements were expected to be low.

FYI: When you see this type of drop, you ate too much protein. Even though, I’m pretty sure it was worth it.

Post Meal C – This was another example of eating way too much protein. My dinner consisted of two lamb chops. And, although this was definitely less, than the night before, and the pre- to post-dinner moved my ketones up a smidge, I could still see the overnight drop (from 1.9 to 1.3).

Lab results

I had a whole workup of lab values on Day One, Day Four (last day of the fast), and Day Nine to see how my body responded to re-introduction of food. There didn’t appear to be any huge changes overall, but there did appear to be some inflammation, immune and lipid changes (exhibited below) that I found interesting. Each dot corresponds to Day One, Four and Nine.I got my blood drawn by ordering myself and paying for the labs. Truthfully, doing it this way saved me a lot of money on expensive tests. I also didn’t have to ask a tech to run all of these markers; whih was a major plus for me. But, if you would rather a tech perform and analyze the results, you can always use companies like: WellnessFX, however the costs will be 10-12x then what I paid for them.

I tracked a ton of lab values, and most of them were not affected. Two markers did stand out, in regards to inflammation and immune function, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and white blood cell count (WBC). It is important to understand that hsCRP is an overall measure of inflammation levels in the body. As you can see in the graph below, I had a pretty marked decrease in this value, over the course of the fast. In fact, my starting point of 0.52 was already fairly low, and for it to decrease to 0.42 in the course of nine days is pretty drastic. I would love to see the data of someone else, who had a reasonably high hsCRP, and high levels of inflammation both pre- and post-fasting.

The WBC count is a general reflection of immune activity. The higher levels, the more active your immune system. For example, if you’re incredibly sick, you’ll see these numbers significantly increase, as your immune system ramps up. Interestingly, it will decrease, then rebound past the baseline post-fasting. This is likely due to the hormetic effect of fasting. In other words, fasting stresses the body, but it is a positive stress that makes you stronger over time.

 

inflammation and immune results from fasting

Next, take a peek at the  lipid panel. The result was definitely not what I wanted to see, but a few things make sense. For example, my LDL stayed fairly constant – my level for the past few years. And, contrary to what your general physician may say, this level isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Focus on the large, fluffy LDL instead of the small, dense LDL. The large, fluffy LDL is associated with heart disease, while the arterial inflammation is associated with small, dense LDL. The panel below highlights my fractionated lipid panel, or an NMR lipid profile. It also shows the “particle numbers,” which is the most important measurement. For me, this LDL level isn’t high, as my small LDL particle amount typically reads around 400, and at Day One it was at 424.

My HDL cholesterol dropped a bit, but this was to be expected, as HDL is linked to what you eat. So, it should be lower, when you don’t eat. I had hoped that this level would rebound nicely after fasting. But, it didn’t. It will be interesting to examine this value in a few weeks, after I measure again. My triglyceride levels went from a fantastic 78 to almost double at 143, which is not something you want to see. My hypothesis is that my fat was being metabolized for energy, as I was burning body fat for energy (look at my ketone on the body composition graph). It was, however, nice to see it trending back down after the fast. But again, I would like this response to be a little better. I’ll be tracking this again in the next few weeks to see how it has leveled off.

lipid results from fasting

Body Composition

Truth-be-told, I came into this fast about 10 pounds underweight. I had been traveling for over three weeks in Europe about a week before I started, and was deathly ill for about 10 days during that time. Combine that with eating a lot less, and not lifting heavy weights, and I lost about 8-10 lbs. As a result, I expected that it would be a confounder for at least the first four weeks of my experiment. Anyways, to track my body composition, I relied on the DEXA scan with the company Body Spec. This method is the gold standard for accurately localizing where your fat/lean/bone tissue is distributed and changing.

If you’ve never used a DEXA scan before, please note that your body fat will be about 5-7% higher, than with other methods. So, if you have 20% body fat on a DEXA readout, you’ll be about 13-15% on the calipers, for instance. So, don’t freak out. Raw numbers don’t really matter, anyways. What matters is that you track consistently and accurately, and trend in the way you want. Also, if you are going for body composition, who cares if 5%, 12%, or 20% spits out of the machine, the mirror test should be your biggest tracking tool.

body composition changes with fasting

 

what I'm going to do for my next fast

Things I Learned 

Whoa! Thank goodness, I didn’t wither away into an emaciated heap of skin and bones, after fasting for two days. In fact, I actually gained lean mass, while losing fat as compared to my baseline measurements. What?! Shocking! Note the Day One to Day Four drop in lean mass. However, it’s important to understand that a good portion of that was located in the trunk, aka intestines, aka food. That’s the beauty of the DEXA scan –  you can’t get that precision from other measurements. And, the gain of lean mass, above baseline, was actually body-wide.

So, what caused me to gain lean mass from fasting? Well, I assume it stemmed from a massive surge of the human growth hormone (HGH) – the hormone you get from fasting, coupled with the hormetic response that your body exhibits, when preparing for another bout without food. The increase in fat of 0.3 lbs. from Day One to Day Four is negligible, but the reduction of 1.1 lbs., as compared to the baseline over four days. The mechanism here is clear – my body had energy demands, and I was in ketosis, so I used my stored body fat to keep me humming along.

During four days of fasting, I gained 2.4 lbs. lean mass and lost 1.1 lbs. fat mass.

This was a huge finding for me, as I wanted to protect the lean mass I worked hard to maintain. The belief that fasting leads to lean mass reduction is completely wrong, at least it was for me. If I can gain 2.4 lb. muscle and lose 1.1 lb. fat every time I fast, well, sign me up! It may, however, be true for beginner fasting gains…maybe.

Modifications for Next Fast

Fasting is NOT THAT BAD

I’ve done 1-2 days of fasting in the past, so this was by far the longest fast I’ve done, well, in my life. That’s pretty silly when you think about it. I haven’t gone more than four days without food in my entire life. Humans probably did this on the regular for much longer periods of time, for millions of years of our history. The silliest part? It wasn’t even bad. I basically felt like I feel on normal eating days, with more mental clarity and focus than I otherwise would have. I was hungry a handful of times and hangry zero times. 

A friend pointed out that I’m already pretty healthy and eat a pretty low-carb diet to begin with, so this transition for me was probably not the same as someone coming from a standard American diet. I agree 100%. This isn’t going to be a cakewalk if you are addicted to sugar. And not to toot my own horn, but speeding up the transition from burning sugar to burning fat is another fantastic application of the exogenous ketone product I made. These four days psychologically help me with fasting moving forward. Also, with so many reported benefits and the results I had, I think it is insane to NOT fast with how unaffected I was during the fast.

I’ve not been in ketosis as much as I thought.

I’ve used my Precision Xtra machine to test the effectiveness of my ketone supplements a good amount, but this is the first time I’ve obsessively tracked WITHOUT the supplements about 4-6 times per day. What I learned here is that even though I assumed I was in ketosis when I was low carb before, there’s no way I was actually as deep into ketosis as much as I thought. I will not stop saying it — test, don’t guess.  I’ll be tied to the Precision Xtra through my little ketosis experiment to really see how I respond.

Track IGF-1, citrate synthase, GH and RMR next time.

One of the things I completely forgot to put on my initial lab work was insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1. IGF-1 is linked with aging and pushing a few different disease processes forward. That being said, some research points to IGF-1 dipping considerably during a fast, then rising up after a fast, but lower than baseline. What this means is that you giving your body to clear out old cells as you are not making any new ones. It’s also probably pretty good if you want to live longer.

Citrate synthase is an enzyme that indirectly measures mitochondrial health. This is also an area of interest to me that I’ll get into in another post since this one is already about 5000 words long. HGH, or human growth hormone, will be measured to see if this was the cause of the increased lean tissue. A drastic spike in HGH has been reported as a response to fasting, but I want to see it for myself. RMR is resting metabolic rate, or how much energy (calories) you are burning without exercise in a day. Did this go up or down? Did it not change? I’m interested.

Reduce calories even more, optimize for GKI.

The day where I only had coconut wasn’t that bad and my ketones rocketed up to space, so I’m going to start the next fast I do with much lower calories. I know what to expect so it won’t be super uncomfortable and if it is unbearable I will add up to the 750 kcal I was getting in days one and two here.
Also, the biggest goal here for me on this fast was just to get into nutritional ketosis quickly and test the waters to see how I function under fast. The goals of the next fast will be to maximize the time spent in a glucose ketone index under 1.0. My hypothesis is if I eat less calories, that will happen quicker. Time will tell.

Don’t mess with yoga moms.

Enough said.

Alright, so there you go, there’s the data from the first fast. I’m going to be doing this again in a month or so and will be tracking and posting everything from then as well. Before then I’ll hopefully get a protocol of how I plan to execute this that anyone can view, download and share. Until then, any thought or questions? I’m not that crazy, am I?

Disclaimer: This type of modified fast is safe for most people, but not all people. For example, this wouldn’t be a great choice for someone with super low lean tissue, or in a compromised immune status. Don’t do this if you are pregnant, nursing, or are a child. But if you’re a child and you got this far in this article, I’m probably not going to talk you out of fasting, am I? I’m a doctor but I’m not your doctor. Check with someone in your area who can help you out before you do something silly.