See my previous post
Potential consideration: Listen to subs only after you pass the natriuresis of fasting.
I did that last year. Unfortunately since it was a 30-second walk to work, fasting was so easy that I went on for too long. Which led to an electrolyte crisis which in turn caused me to panic-eat. This year I’ve taken precautions.
Hair transplant?
The what?
And just when you think you can sleep, the aliens show up.
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Would you please comment more? My Ketonix seems like it’s not working and the replies I get from their customer service keep suggesting I need to do this-that-and-the-other to get the device working, rather than mentioning what you just said.
What’s your recipe?
Fasting Journal: Day 1
- Subliminals : None (Rest Day)
- Blood Pressure : 118/74 at a 72 HR. Looking better.
- Ketones: I tried, but either I have 0 ketones or something went wrong. At 2 bucks per test I’ll give it another shot tomorrow. Too bad, I am curious about the progression.
A bit of herbal tea to start off the day. Water after.
With the alien probing of the neighbors last night, I didn’t actually fall asleep until 4. And ended up staying almost 12 hours in bed. Like I predicted, I’m embarrassed to share.
The Muse only got the first bit because I woke up a few hours in and must have taken it off. Not that its battery can go for this long.
Surprisingly, the ring is so used by my erratic sleeping by now that it thinks I’m ready for anything:
And just to rub it in, it tells me my ideal sleeping time is around 02:40 which is based on a 3-week average I believe.
I did not like the rapid movement during one of the 3 part of my Pranayama. My arms are exhausted right now.
I miss eating. Normally the weekend is when I allow myself the guilty pleasure food while watching TV. I’m so used to it my body is asking me where the carbs are.
I don’t miss food though. I miss flavor, taste. Different explosions of taste on my palate.
My body doesn’t seem to care that there’s no food. Yet. Although I do have a slight headache.
Tomorrow begins Dragon & Alchemist Stage 4. Both containing the entirety of the previous stages. That’s gonna be a fun ride. Let’s find out if the last 6 months have done enough.
On to the comments:
From most accounts the human body becomes more efficient in processing ketones if it is consistently doing it. So there’s less and less ketones that get “leaked” from the body in the process.
While fasting, the ketone levels in urine and breath are pretty high in the beginning, but they usually go down as the fast progresses and the body optimizes itself to the new conditions. Making breath and urine analysis less effective as the ketones stay inside the body.
I can only guess that people who consistently live on a keto-diet or IF lifestyle will have gotten to the point where only blood-measurements are still effective.
There’s recipes? It’s lukewarm water and “healthy” salt. The variables are the temperature and volume of the water, the amount of salt and the time spent drinking.
The water should be a little over body temperature. I find the most common instructions of 1 quart/liter with a full tablespoon of salt drunk within 5 minutes to work well enough.
I’ve always used pink salt, which works quite well and tends to work even when the measurements are a bit off. Its taste is stronger though, making it harder to keep in.
Recently I’ve been using Celtic Sea salt, which has a far more neutral taste but is harder to get in the right proportions. Also seems to take a bit longer to kickstart the process.
When I get it wrong or if my body really wants the water or minerals the water disappears miraculously. Which is when I stay away from salty things for a bit.
I often do a flush on Saturday, an hour or so after drinking in the morning and a few hours before weighing myself. Since I usually fast on Fridays it makes my body all clean and shiny for the aforementioned guilty pleasure food.
Now on the fast I figured I would do one at the start of the fast. I’m not a fan of doing them during a fast since a SWF is like raw adrenaline for the intestines. Not something you want during a fast. I personally think the Master Cleanse has way too many of them.
Thanks! Is this what is meant by “fat adapted”?
Thank you for the salt flush recipe too!
What’s that?
Fasting Journal: Day 2
- Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon St4 (2x), Alchemist St4 (2x)
- Blood Pressure: 104/71 at a 67 HR
- Ketones: 0.2 mmol/L (anything below 0.6 is not considered ketosis but “normal” and above 1.6-2.0 it is important to also measure glucose which should be going down in a healthy person)
I guess yesterday’s error must have been so low there were no ketones in my blood at all?
The challenge with sleeping in is that I have so much to do that I end up going late again. Not that it would have mattered much, since I wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep anyway. Last time I tried I was l was lying awake in bed for 4 hours.
The ring pulls no punches. The Muse is a different story. It didn’t record everything and the part it did record tells me I barely slept. It may explain why I felt so groggy waking up this morning, but it’s still odd.
It is something to study, since supposedly during fasting the amount of healing deep delta sleep increases but REM sleep decreases. Does that mean less dreams and difficulty learning?
Since the ring doesn’t show absolute temperature I may start taking body temperature measurements myself upon waking. It does show another decrease in temperature and I’m definitely feeling colder today.
Oura sent an email saying that people with COVID should tag their data so Oura can study it. Getting sick affects temperature and heart, so the ring notices when you’re getting sick, usually before the wearer does.
I used the vibration plate in the morning for 10 minutes doing bicep curls while standing on it with bent knees. Took about 5 hours for my legs to get less shaky.
Also did 45 minutes of yin yoga, which reminded me how much I despise it. The reason they call asana yoga self-teaching is because it points out every single shortcoming you have. From endurance to muscular strength to lack of flexibility to being too flexible for your oversized midsection.
I’ve had a dull headache most of the day, barely noticeable in the morning but more so late evening. I drank about 2L/70oz of water spread throughout the day.
Spent the morning missing my latte. Also potato chips which I haven’t had in months. And in the evening pizza.
Now to give it my best shot to go to bed earlier. The sooner the days pass, the sooner I get that Hero custom…
Now the fan mail:
That’s what the keto-groupies call it. The big benefit is that at that point the body has switched to ketosis to such a degree that if you take carbs it’ll be harder to process and the body will “bounce” back to ketosis faster afterwards.
It leaves me with some questions:
- If people on the keto-diet go into this state after about 4 weeks of strictly following the keto-diet, how long would it take in a water-fast? I know the switch can be felt around 3-4 days, but does the faster already reach that state then?
- What about 16:8, 20:4 or OMAD people? Can they eat carbs and still reach this state? The supporters talk a lot about ketosis, so they would seem to think so. I don’t think I’ll be able to give up on carbs completely unless my next girlfriend is a keto-cook.
After paragraphs of talking about a Salt Water Flush, I felt a need to abbreviate it. My posts are long enough as is.
I’d say yes. I believe I reached fat-adaptation via OMAD back in 2018.
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This is why I didn’t listen to subs during my fast. I think dreams are important to assimilate the script.
Thanks for the explanation of fat adaptation.
And for what SWF is.
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Fasting Journal: Day 3
- Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (4x), Alchemist Stage 4 (4x)
- Blood Pressure: 109/83 at a 83 HR. Odd reading. The device also tells me it detected an irregular heart beat, which is why it does 3 readings in a row. Would explain why it has 83HR while my watch tells me 64. Nothing to be concerned about yet since I can make that happen by “forgetting” to breathe while it is measuring.
Yes, sometimes I stop breathing when I try and stay calm. Meditating while fasting has that occur more often as it’s easy to go deep. Blame it on a LOT of breathwork. I tell my body to be still and it takes it quite literally. - Ketones: 1.9 mmol/L. Well, that explains a lot. I’m all out of C6H12O6. Day 3 is when a male faster goes into ketosis (women usually on day 4), and that switch makes for a very weak day. Maybe I’ll try my glucose tomorrow as well. Quickly running out of fingers to prick.
By the way, the ketone in the blood is beta-hydroxybutyrate, which is the one (out of 3) that has all those brain-enhancing benefits. - Water: About 1.6L/56oz. Considering adding in a dry day once I’m a bit better.
Those ketone-levels are likely why I feel so messed up. It took me over an hour to fall asleep, 5 hours to wake up groggy only to take off the Muse and immediately fall asleep for another 6 hours. Another day gone. I’m considering staying up tonight to see if I get tired by tomorrow night.
I trust it will get better, hopefully not too distant from now.
I had a mild nightmare last night. I have it very rarely and the theme is always the same, being overwhelmed by bad things. In this case it was about me being part of the forces of light fighting a secret war with the forces of darkness. The darkness was winning and I spent most of the dream running and hiding, while evacuating the innocent and my fellow soldiers. Nobody in the world was aware of this secret war going on of course, people rarely notice what goes on beneath the surface.
I still remember the one I had in my teen years, one where I was running for my life while a giant boulder was rolling towards me. No surroundings, just neverending void, me and the boulder. All alone and it eventually caught up with me. Had it a lot back then. And yes, unlike in movies I did try running sideways.
I suppose I do feel a bit like my body is out of control right now, especially with the erratic sleeping. And without comfort food there’s little I can do to influence it. Even if all comfort food does is press pause.
The Oura is happy with me, registering me lying in bed for 13 hours. It tells me I’m doing well, don’t feel like it. The Muse is more judgmental.
Once again my body temperature has lowered, as well as the resting heart rate. And I did feel very slightly dizzy when finally jumping out of bed.
If past results are an indication I should be on top of the world by the end of the week. As well as bored out of my skull…
I hung upside down for a bit, like I do most days. Was a bit worried about my heart having to work extra hard, but I guess if it can get the blood from my feet up to my brain, it works the other way 'round as well.
Didn’t do the vibration plate today, my legs are tired as heck.
Headache still here, once again barely noticeable in the morning, a bit more in the evening.
During my pranayama for today the area around my navel got hot. Like, really hot. Quite remarkable.
Today’s food-longing: nuts. A wonderful blend of walnuts, cashews, almonds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts. Although I would like to throw in some pecans as well. I may have to order a big bag full of nuts for after the fast. Too bad they are calory-bombs and it is super-easy to overeat on nuts.
And Toblerone. 
My custom is ready, yay! Custom, until I can think of something better I dub thee: "Blueprint"
Now to figure out if I want to start listening to it tomorrow or wait a bit. Maybe starting Monday. Or maybe I’ll replace 1 loop of DR4 by it, since it contains DR4 Core.
It begs the question: if ketosis is what causes a decrease in dreaming and learning, would a keto-follower have a harder time learning? Or will an adaptation take place at some point, causing things to normalize?
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Fasting Journal: Day 4
- Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon ST4 (2x), Blueprint (1.5x), Alchemist (3x)
- Blood Pressure: 109/73 at a 72HR. Lookin’ better.
- Ketones: 2.7mmol/L. About to enter the point where the body starts actively recycling “bad” proteins.
- Water: 1.8L/63oz
Looks like the switch is done. No more headache and I feel good. I did finally go to bed at 5, rolled around for an hour before sleeping until about 11:30. But I woke up refreshed, finally.
Already yawning, good sign. Also a lot of grumbling and gurgling from the midsection and a brief bathroom visit.
Didn’t use the Muse this time. I wanted my sleep to feel like a little break instead of an experiment. Difference being that with an experiment I actively meditate myself to sleep, with a break I just daydream until I fall asleep. Plus I usually start on my side.
Ring is still happy with me. Apart from my sleeping, that is. Actually complimented my on my HRV.
Had one dream fragment of my mother (not my actual one) forcing me to do Reiki with her group instead of her. Really annoyed by her not giving me a choice. So I embarrassed her in front of the group by taking an extended shower right as they arrived. Afterwards, her Reiki teacher asked me all kinds of questions about my experience. That’s all I remember.
Feeling better, I did spend some time on the vibration plate. An hour later my legs feel like they are asleep but without the tingling. You know, that awkward feeling of putting them on the ground without the feedback confirming you put them there.
Listened to my first loop of Blueprint Terminus. Didn’t feel a thing. Don’t know if I should be proud or concerned.
One thing I always get while fasting is growing pains. Remember that annoying dull pain in your muscles around the joints when you were young? I get that when fasting, usually in the legs.
Today’s food-longing: Cupcakes!
And whipped cream.
Speaking of calories, I do like to enjoy a latte every day. Never in the morning since I don’t want to depend on the caffeine, but usually around lunch. If I were to go OMAD or IF, how can I still do my latte then? In most cases I would have to eat too early or drink coffee too late. Any ideas?
Okay, I just did an hour of yin yoga. My hips have hired a divorce attorney, but I’m at peace. Now to click Reply and go to bed, once again far too late.
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Make it a bulletproof latte?
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That question may need to keep begging, because I don’t know.
PS I’m enjoying this journal! Thank you for posting!
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Fasting Journal: Day 5
- Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (1x), Alchemist (3x)
- Blood Pressure: 110/67 at a 64HR. Another drop, in heart rate this time.
- Ketones: 2.5mmol/L. Now that’s interesting. I expected it to go between 3 and 5 which is where hardcore keto’s would be. Curious that the level remains static. I suppose I could do another test tomorrow and if it doesn’t change I could do a dry day on Saturday.
- Water: 2.4L/84oz.
I feel normal today, just your basic energized state.
Sleep was once again crappy. Spent an hour staring at my eyelids before falling asleep. The Oura has been happier, mainly because it doesn’t like laying awake in bed and less than 7 hours of sleep. The Muse is another story. It’s so messed up since I started this fast. Almost like my brainwaves have been different since day 1. I really don’t know why, it worked fine in the past.
Ring still tells me I’m okay to work out.
To explain a few things, like most reading on the Oura the temperature reading is based off a baseline of multiple weeks. So it is still reasonable accurate (as in -0.6 degrees since I started the fast) but the baseline will adapt as the weeks go by. I did get a thermometer to check my temperature just to see if I only feel colder or if I actually AM colder.
Second, the “Recovery Index” is based on how stable the resting heart rate is during the night. With so little sleep and the lying awake it is obviously not that high right now.
Had to go to the supermarket, came home with cookies. Don’t look at me like that, they are “healthy” cookies. 
I may not be disciplined enough to leave them at the store, but at least I can put them in the cabinet for later. Even checked the expiration date to make sure.
And no, cookies are not today’s food-longing. They come in at a close second. First is warm, freshly baked bread. Preferably white. I know, super unhealthy. But white bread usually has a crispier crust which is what I love the most. Don’t know why non-white bread doesn’t get as crispy.
The vibration plate left my legs less tired today. Also pointed out one of the benefits of fasting. It lowers inflammation while stimulating relaxation in the nerves. As a result I can stretch a lot deeper and I feel no ache the next day. The feeling of lactic acid in my biceps from the curls today was also gone in an hour.
I experience what is possibly a very peculiar form of reconciliation. I had it when I was on Dragon Stage 2 and now again as soon as I started running Blueprint. Tinnitus. Pops in as soon as the sub starts, stops soon after it ends. If I keep listening it will take longer and longer to go away. During Stage 2 it got to the point where I was afraid it was permanent, only to have it go away a few weeks into Stage 3.
Maybe it’s the Stage 2 instructions in Stage 4 that are kicking back in. I haven’t the faintest.
In completely random other news: my erections are back!
Not that I’m keen on losing those proteins.
It was a pretty productive day. Time for bed, a bit earlier this time. Please let me fall asleep…
I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I got one of those pad machines a while back for guests. With all the working from home I got a bunch of latte pads and I liked the taste. So I would stick with actual coffee with actual milk. Although if I got a milk frothier I could get decaf pads, I’m sure they exist.
For the time being however, I’ll be having the actual calorie-heavy stuff.
Thank you for reading. Writing a journal here makes me so self-conscious, constantly wondering if people are actually reading it or if everybody hates it. Like a teen girl on social media.
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I’m reading 
and I’m actually enjoying them 
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You’re working out when fasting. Is this for fat loss? Muscle retention? Other?
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Fasting Journal: Day 6
- Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (2x)
- Blood Pressure: 107/69 at a 67HR. Static, which I expected.
- Ketones: 4.2mmol/L. That’s better. The strips are only supposed to be accurate up to 3.1mmol/L though. Still, there’s progression. Next test on the 15th, together with a Glucose test.
- Temperature: 36.8C at 14:00. I will have to remember to take a reading in the morning as well.
- Water: 1.6L/56oz.
I feel exhausted. Once again I spent 2 hours lying awake in bed, after which I angrily figured I should just get up and go play a computer game until morning. Which is when I fell asleep.
It’s quite common for me to be unable to sleep or sleep for short periods of time while fasting, but I’m definitely starting to notice the sheer lack of sleep. Unless it’s the rise in ketones.
I experimented a bit more with the Muse. It is almost as if my brain is “radiating” less brainwaves. The ear-sensors of the Muse have difficulty picking anything up and the others have sporadic outages. Which is different from before the fast when it worked fine.
The Oura is not entirely happy with my sleep and told me to take it easy today. Advice which I will happily follow. I also think the exhaustion is why some factors haven’t slowed down any further. It may be putting a bit of extra stress on my body.
It does seem that deep sleep is a lot easier to come by while fasting. In contrast, if you have “sleep debt” by staying up a night or chronic lack of sleep, you get lots of REM and light sleep but barely any deep sleep. Since deep sleep is when the body heals it is not a good thing to have too little. Also explains why there’s more of it during a fast.
There’s actually some research theories that state how increased amounts of deep sleep reduce the effects of aging, basing it on the fact that we get less deep sleep as we grow older and if we use binaurals (and similar) and drugs to stimulate it, it actually helps us heal faster and stay younger. I have some of those sleep tracks, didn’t seem to change much in my pattern.
Whatever the case, I’m yawning like crazy. Which will likely be all over by the time I actually want to go to bed.
The ketone levels are good. Between 3 and 5 is the goldilocks zone where the body is at its highest recycling fervor. During fasting it’s possible to go up to 8 or even higher, but that doesn’t have any added benefits, except maybe a bit more rapid fat loss.
I actually fell asleep behind my desk. Not from physical but mental exhausting. I got to the point where it became impossible to do complex tasks. Which is of course the worst moment to be reminded I still need to do my income taxes.
So, with a very sore neck, I’m going to brush my teeth and go to bed now.
Phew, that’s 1.
Thanks!
I can’t work out normally while fasting, since it leads to intense food cravings. But my vibration plate has resistance bands, so I do bicep curls during the 10 minutes I’m standing on it.
Other than that, It’s just the yin yoga.
It won’t be for muscle loss, as that would barely be affected and minimal to begin with. If there are fat loss benefits I have no idea but I’d be curious. I do think doing as much movement as comfortable during a fast is good, and the vibration supposedly stimulates the lymph system which should have benefits for the fast as well.
But the only reason I’m doing it is because it’s all the movement/exercise I can get away with without the food cravings.
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I’m definitely going to run subs during my extended fast.
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I’m wondering if taking something such as KSM-66 or ashwaganda might help reduce your cortisol levels, thus promoting better sleep.
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