Healing on the Fast Lane

Journals - Major Programs
#122

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 38

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (4x)
  • Blood Pressure: 112/74 at a 74HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

I can honestly say that my sleep experience has changed. Maybe it’s subs, maybe it’s temperature, maybe it’s fasting. Whatever the case, I often find myself sleeping so soundly it would take a bomb going off for me to wonder why the neighbors are awake in the middle of the night.

I’m also noticing that I feel like exercising a lot. Well, maybe not exercise, but I do feel like moving around more and turning that into exercise is easy. I’m trying to get into the habit of doing a single chin-up every time I walk through the door opening to my office.

Unless I’m carrying something. As you can imagine, I have an arsenal of reasons to be carrying something.

I’ve been drinking more water. I find that it’s easier to drink filtered as it is to drink mineral water. Interesting, since people have always advised against drinking mineral water during fasts. I may not be fasting anymore, but it’s still interesting how I can taste the minerals.

One of the things that have been occurring since I started running subs that I like is… how to put it? You know how you can be walking by or noticing something every day and even though it annoys you, you keep walking? Well, maybe I’m the only one.

However, every so often I have one of those things, and since I started running subs I sometimes suddenly go and do something about it, no matter whatever else I’m doing. Can be something as simple as picking up some thrash from the street. Could also be what happened today. I got so annoyed by the fact that my keyboard is in the way and can get crumbs in it that I got a piece of leftover wood and built a little platform for my monitor that I can put my keyboard under.

So out of nowhere I got out a workbench, electric saw and drill and built myself that little platform. Ended up taking quite some time to make it solid and neat, but it is so worth it.

I don’t know if it’s the subs, but that attitude of getting sudden bursts of productivity to make my world a bit better has been happening since I first started running Khan.

As such things go, I immediately jumped on another thing that I’ve been meaning to get around to.


As you might expect, it’s in my usual short and to the point style of writing. No gilding of lilies. :slight_smile:

Going to bed late again. Some habits are improving after the fast, some are regressing.

I know, I’m so embarrassed. Next time I’ll regale you with the wondrous tales of Windows Updates, which is how I spent most of my evening yesterday. They always go faster than we think they will but slower than we hope they will.

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#123

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 39

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (4x)
  • Blood Pressure: 105/77 at a 70HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

Blood pressure seems to be stabilizing even though my heart rate isn’t in the low 60’s yet. I’ve also noticed I no longer crash after eating. I do have a very light headache this morning. Come on, they were only a few chocolate chip cookies yesterday. :slight_smile:

I actually think that once the cookies are gone I won’t be buying new ones for the same reason I don’t buy candy. If I only get one meal a day and I need to have at least one healthy meal a day, there’s no more room for snacks.

I do wonder… when it’s really hot out, would OMAD followers eat ice cubes instead of popsicles? What would keto-people get, a frozen block of butter? Sorry, grass-fed butter. Because you should always let your butter graze.

I saw a documentary about keto today. It’s still so restrictive for me. I suppose if I find a handful of recipes I can make easy without needing a pan I might go for it. Eat like that for a while.

I’m still doing my best to exercise in short bursts throughout the day, which admittedly is quite hard. Not only because I don’t have the habit, but also because of the temperature. On the other hand, doing a Wim Hof cold shower is easy when the water gets pre-heated by the sun before it enters my house. It’s not cheating, it’s a loophole.

3 Likes
#124

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 40

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (4x)
  • Blood Pressure: 115/79 at a 73HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

Sleep is starting to skew the other way. I sleep so deep I wake up groggy. My guess is I should spend more time in bed. One of those bad habits which has returned…

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Surprisingly, my deep sleep has increased again. I am still listening to theta waves when falling asleep, so that could be a factor.

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The ring is definitely starting to complain about my constant exercise I think. I can only hope that is the cause for the still elevated heart rate and low HRV.

Remember way back when I did a very short raw EEG scan to see which waves were dominant during my fasted state? It came up with theta and gamma. Relaxation and focus.

So… I did another one today.

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Theta is still around. Gamma is down at the bottom, to be replaced by alpha. So alpha/theta. That’s a nice and relaxed place to be.

The surprise here is the red one. Delta. My brain has dominant delta-waves? Say what now?

I did just come out of a 10 minute meditation, but this is still a very surprising one. I feel wide awake. Another reason could be bad reception, but it picked up the signal quite fast.

Another thing which I already theorized about last time is that my brainwaves during a fast would be “dimmed”. Well, I just found the graphs I captured during my fast. The dB strength of my brainwaves ranged between 20 and 100, with the average being around 75.

Now look at today’s graph. 75-120 dB.

Makes me wish once more I had one of those aura photo-cameras. I would expect a severely diminished electromagnetic field during the fast as well.

It’s been a while since all those pretty pictures, hasn’t it? :slight_smile:

I found out that the pictures apparently are so big that for some people this thread won’t load. If that is the case but you can still read this, remove the post number from the end of the URL. The thread loads just fine then, and you can then click back to the last post.

While having my dinner I realized it’s kind of liberating to stop worrying about eating low fat. I mean, I still try to consider the total calories, but I now only try to limit my carbs. And since carbs are a lot easier to identify than fats and proteins, it feels easier to mind my diet.

That combined with how easy it is to stay away from snack foods because of the IF, gives me a good feeling. I’ll actually be glad once I run out of cookies.

And that’s it for today.

#125

@DarkPhilosopher about Gamma brain waves.

At one point, I heard they were controversial. In other words, some people were alleging they were “measurement error” or the EEGs weren’t sensitive enough to measure them. Do you know if this debate was settled?

#126

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 41

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (1x), Dragon Stage 4 (1x), Blueprint (1x), Alchemist Stage 4 (2x)
  • Blood Pressure: 106/82 at a 71HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

I fully expect this Saturday’s measurements will show an increase in fat. That’s not to say there won’t be some increase in muscle density and/or mass, but I think the gains will favor fat. Too many cookies this week and my OMAD turned into 16:8 because of them. I’m debating if I should throw in a fast day today. That would, however, mean that those cookies will last me into next week as well…

I think the ring is telling me I should shorten that eating window as well, since digestion is still going when I go to bed. According to the ring, that (and exercise) can be the reason why my heart rate slowly decreases during the night and my HRV slowly increases. My body is still busy.

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I also did another raw EEG scan, this time between coffee and meditation. Have to be alert and awake then, right?

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Nope…hello Delta.

This one’s also fun:

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The left hemisphere is the rational one, correct?

I’m starting to get used to the doing chin-ups habit. Not just that, but I’ve started doing 1.5 hands chin-ups. Using primarily one hand in the center with the second one off to the side for support. My shoulders are not grateful.

I have no idea to be honest, sorry.

#127

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 42

  • Subliminals: None (Rest Day)
  • Blood Pressure: 100/73 at a 80HR
  • Temperature: 37C/99F
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz
  • Ketones: Below measurable range.
  • Glucose: 3.7 mmol/l
  • Weight: +1.9KG/+4.1lbs weight, +0.7KG/+1.5lbs fat, +0.5KG/+1.2lbs lean, +25 calories BMR
  • Body Measurements: Hips +1cm/+0.4", Waist -1cm/-0.4", Chest +3cm/+1.2"

The ring tells me that as long as I sleep, my sleep is fine, although it continues to complain about an above average heart rate, which I continue to agree with.

My ketones have dropped below measurable range. Thank you cookies. A 16/8 or better could not fight the amount of carbs in the liver-tank. Ironically, my blood glucose is nice and low, at a who-needs-insulin-anyway level.

The weight gain was expected, with the sheer amount of cookies I ate this week. Add the nuts, a meal and some diary and I’m not surprised.

Still, doing a pullup/chinup every time I cross the threshold into my home office definitely had some effect as I did also gain lean body mass and there is an increase in the chest area and a decrease in the waist.

As a punishment wrapped in an experiment I will do ADF during the coming week. Meaning I will fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while eating a normal amount on Tuesday and Thursday. In theory, this would mean that any excess carbs stored in the tank will be incrementally removed and I would expect to see some ketones by Saturday.

I’m still considering if I should do a second ADF week after that, then go on juices the last few days of the month and start full-blown fasting again in July. It would be difficult to explain at the company lunch, but it’s also a test of willpower and resistance to social pressure when I can go to a company lunch for the social aspects but refuse the food.

What do you guys think? Should I do another month long fast in July? I’m fully refed and I now have electrolyte powder to supplement it. I noticed they also have a multivitamin supplement in powder-form which I could take as well.

Those combined with the fact that I’ve been eating largely healthy make me believe a new fast will not be as hard as the last one. Even if it coincides with a new subliminal stack.

#128

Either way, I support you.

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#129

Intermittent Fasting Journal: Day 43

  • Subliminals: None (Rest Day)
  • Blood Pressure: 104/75 at a 73HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

After my morning routine I went to the DIY store to get some wood to build some improvised shelves. All that wood turned out to be a lot heavier than I anticipated and it took me a while to carry it home. It was quite the workout.

Afterwards I dropped by an ex-neighbor who moved a few streets. It’s his birthday. As much as I love most of the things COVID has brought into my life, it felt good to do a social event again.

Plus, one of the young women there was paying me way more attention than was required, which was fun as well. Also made me even more determined to lose the rest of that excess body fat.

Unfortunately the above things pretty much consumed my day.

So, other than enjoying Fire telling somebody to snap out of it, I’m done for the day.

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#130

Have you done two fasts back to back in such rapid succession before? What kind of considerations need to be kept in mind/taken into consideration? Seems like your ongoing monitoring and measurement are pretty good. But I don’t know what the most important factors are.

#131

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 44

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (1x), Alchemist Stage 4 (3x)
  • Blood Pressure: 107/71 at a 69HR
  • Water: 3.2L/112oz

It’s shaping up to be another uneventful day. Barely a gust of wind, still high temperatures and it is quiet everywhere. I’m considering taking a long walk in the afternoon to feel peaceful and forget that this is a fasting day.

Also, I am particularly interested in finding out if my HRV and resting HR drop this coming night after a day of not eating. Last night’s HRV average was 14ms, which is not exactly a good thing. All it took was 1 beer.

I had a few bursts of productivity, but nothing special. I rarely do well in hot biomes. On the plus side, I’m drinking a lot more water. Must be my body telling me to imbibe something with substance, only to become annoyed at yet another glass of water.

Still doing my pullups whenever I walk in and out of my home office. If I’m not metabolically flexible enough that my body can easily switch to ketosis, I’ll probably notice a drop in power and enthusiasm tomorrow.

I also ordered a 30K/66lbs weighted vest in order to get the most out of low-rep bodyweight exercises. That way, if I do add things like pushups and dips, it’ll take a while before it becomes easy. By now I’ve come to realize low-reps is usually better when going for muscle density and strength.

I took a few hours nap after work. Didn’t feel like doing much. I’m now finishing up my day and should finally be able to go to bed before midnight again. Tomorrow I can eat. :slight_smile:

If we’re talking about extended fasts I don’t think I have. Once I get used to eating again it’s hard to let it go. I blame the leptin wanting to fatten me up again.

The human body should have an emergency store of all the essentials (proteins, lipids/fats but especially micro-nutrients) to survive on for about 30 days. That’s why on a water-fast without supplementation 30 days is the healthy limit, with 60 being the hard limit. Provided there is body fat to burn of course. The world record of 300+ days was done with daily supplementation if I’m not mistaken.

So the important factor is that the body has replenished those stores. Which should be prioritized as soon as the fast breaks.

Without more extensive testing I can’t be certain of course, so I go on how I feel and how my body is behaving. The initial energy rushes and crashes from refeeding are gone. Regular bathroom visits are back. No physical symptoms of anything. Muscle strength is increasing with exercise.

I’ve also made sure that even on days where I did eat some bad stuff I always ate a good meal containing the essential fats and proteins (even if that caused excess calories). And I’ve been taking electrolytes, vitamin and mineral supplements and probiotic supplements (in smaller amounts compared to their daily recommended levels since too much of a good thing is still too much).

Generally refeeding should be done in about half the time of the fast. If done well enough, the assumption is that the body is then fully replenished and capable of handling another fast.

So, keeping all the above in mind, I feel confident that I can go into another fast already, but will finish up this month anyway, experimenting with different forms of IF. Besides, I have 20 eggs and 5 eating days left before they hit their expiration date. Looking forward to my 4 eggs tomorrow already.

Another thing that happens upon breaking the fast is replenishing the white blood cells. Without fasting, they live forever (in theory) but do get less efficient with age. As a result, during a fast the body “retires” those old cells mafia-style, leading to a drop in white blood cells. Strangely enough this does not seem to coincide with a decrease in immune system efficiency.

As long as there are enough white blood cells left for normal operation, no new cells are created. The body prefers not to have to create new cells while fasting. At least not until you start leaking.

But as soon as the first food enters the body, all these regeneration processes are triggered and using stem cells to regenerate white blood cells is at the top of that list. And so we end up with clean, efficient, young white blood cells.

For some science-babble there’s this (the non-sciency version is here). They were primarily focused on how prolonged fasting (2-5 days) could help the body resist the damage caused by chemo-therapy while enhancing its cancer-killing effect. But the above tidbit is somewhere in there.

It’s interesting how most medical professionals which support fasting promote a prolonged fast of 72 hours, intermittent fasting with a short eating window, but not extended fasting. I can think of 2 reasons.

First, an extended fast is stressful on the body and not something you’d recommend to somebody over the Internet without knowing them.

Second, provided you’re not so carb-loaded that you’re practically Type 2, all fasting benefits are active after three days. So monthly 72 hour fasts combined with (keto) OMAD may very well be the best way to go long term, as it will gradually and incrementally heal and detoxify the body.

2 Likes
#132

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 45

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (1x), Alchemist Stage 4 (3x)
  • Blood Pressure: 103/68 at a 68HR
  • Water: 2.4L/84oz

Today is an eating day, yay!

Yes, that was pretty much the first thing on my mind today.

I slept for almost 10 hours, the heat is really getting to me. I am so happy that I can still work from home so I can wear cool clothes. But getting out of bed remains a challenge. It may be time to start cooling my bedroom.

The ring is pretty happy with me. I have to wonder if it is the fasting or the not-eating-right-before-bed that did the trick, but my resting HR dropped quite a bit. My HRV is still low though. At least it’s higher than it was yesterday. Blood pressure’s looking good.

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Since it’s been at least 36 hours since my last meal I figured I should see if a ketone urine stick would show anything. No such luck. Could have many reasons, but it would have been nice.

I’m getting more and more used to the pullup/chinup every time I’m walking through the door opening. Last week I was still making excuses why I could skip one, now I’m doing the opposite. And with having fasted for a bit, the complaints by my shoulders are gone as well. So I added in some pushups.

I’ve been clearing out my freezer with the intent of eventually taking out meat altogether and replacing those proteins with eggs. It would also make some room for extra vegetables.

There was a time when everybody thought eggs would raise cholesterol. Now I’m eating 4 eggs in a day and know that it’s a good thing.

I’m also starting to look forward to more fasting next month, although I’m still conflicted about that company lunch. It’s hard to turn down free food. :slight_smile:

But knowing that I’m working on growing my muscles now and will be losing fat again next month, getting another step closer to where I want to be, that feels good. And no worries, I’m aware frequent extended fasting is not a long-term lifestyle thing.

Ugh, I chipped a tiny piece of a tooth while eating. One of the signs of aging, those things never improve, only erode. And the healthiest foods tend to do most damage. I really wish I knew a way of repairing and restoring teeth and gums.

1 Like
#133

I’m getting the sense that apparently it involves buying them.

#134

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 46

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (4x)
  • Blood Pressure: 103/73 at a 71HR
  • Water: 2.4L/84oz

Eating day, RHR goes up again. This should in theory get better once I make my eating window smaller.

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Also once again a really low HRV. I took 3 separate measurements with my watch just now and got 117, 105 and 86ms. I may have to ask Oura why their reading is so different. Maybe it’s only measuring during sleep?

Chest and shoulders are a bit painful from all the pushes and pulls yesterday. I’ll have to remember to stop doing those on time so they can recover and grow before the next fast. I’m guessing by the 26th I should stop.

Today is a fasting day. I don’t feel any different. I can still exercise normally. I’m also not longing for food as much as I did two days ago.

I’m still not feeling very productive though. Can’t say if it’s the temperature, lack of motivation due to lack of nutritious reward or the fasting.

I figured with it being so hot, I could get away with taking a cold shower. My shower didn’t agree.

At least everything else feels nice and warm after that…

Okay, I did everything on my list. No more, no less. Time for bed.

Teeth? Well, there’s all kinds of artificial ways. I’m hoping for a natural way. Same for baldness, but that I can live with, even if it does make me look older. Teeth and gums on the other hand… kind of essential. And they degrade at about the same pace as the world population’s average IQ.

#135

You may already know this but high quality K2 or D3/K2 absolutely helps your teeth. I remember reading that on Amazon reviews only to experience it from the lips of my dentist and assistant. They said if more people had teeth like me they would lose work… I never heard this till after supplementing.

1 Like
#136

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 47

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (2x), Blueprint (2x), Alchemist Stage 4 (3x)
  • Blood Pressure: 108/67 at a 74HR
  • Water: 2.4L/84oz

A bit of a messy day today. I had to start early to finish some time-sensitive stuff at work and then go to the dentist. Which of course made me come home with a headache and feeling very unproductive.

And completely off-topic, I’ve always wondered when a female dentist moves around her patient, does her body respond to the constant rubbing of the patient’s head against her bosom? Sometimes I wonder if they do it on purpose. :slight_smile:

Anyway, I’m not expecting much right now. The painful irony is that I can eat now but it hurts to chew…

The ring is happy with me. My RHR went down to low 60’s (finally) even if my HRV isn’t quite there yet.

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I’ll consider an hour of walking outside to be my exercise for the day. My upper body will be happy, I’m still feeling my triceps and pecs from those 30 pushups I did 2 days ago.

And somehow I did manage to get all my stuff done, even if I’m late to bed again.

Another completely random question, but do people really notice the difference between Qv1 and Qv2 so much?

Really? I haven’t been able to find any conclusive findings on that. I’ll have to look into it more.

1 Like
#137

Definitely worth a shot. It is not the most touted benefit- the power is in how it puts calcium where it is needed in the body. I use TheraPro Rx Vegan D3+K2.

#138

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 48

  • Subliminals: Paragon Complete (2x), Dragon Stage 4 (1x), Blueprint (1x), Alchemist Stage 4 (2x)
  • Blood Pressure: 99/65 at a 71HR
  • Water: 2.4L/84oz

Yay, my blood pressure is nice and low!

Heart rate and HRV went bad again. There’s a definite correlation with eating days it would seem. I’m curious about tomorrow.

Today’s been a very active day. There was work going on during a double systems migration that I’m running, getting swamped with developers and their questions.

After that I figured it was time to do some woodworking. I’m primitive at it, but getting better. I try and find corners in the house where normal cabinets won’t fit and build a custom cabinet for them. Right now I’m building one for the toilet area. Lots of sawing, lots of sweating. Glad the wood is water-resistant. It’s 29C/84F in the house right now and I’m not happy. Then again, I’m also not as affected as I normally would be.

Anyways, after that it was cleaning time. Still need to do the kitchen. But it’s early evening now and I really want to sit down for a little bit. And drink half a gallon of lukewarm water…

Considering I’m doing all this on a fasting day, I’m doing quite well. I don’t feel tired at all. Haven’t done any exercising either, maybe I’ll do some later once I can fully and finally stay seated.

Wow, I just finally crashed. Oh well, it will make falling asleep all the nicer.

3 Likes
#139

That’s QV2?

#140

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 49

  • Subliminals: None (Rest Day)
  • Blood Pressure: 117/84 at a 66HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz
  • Ketones: 1.7 mmol/l
  • Glucose: 4.1 mmol/l
  • Weight: -1.5KG/-3.3lbs weight, -0.8KG/-1.9lbs fat, -0.2KG/+0.5lbs lean, -19 calories BMR
  • Body Measurements: Hips -1cm/-0.4", Waist +1cm/+0.4", Chest -1cm/-0.4"

Something about my body switching between fasting and not-fasting causes me to sleep so deep it’s ridiculous.

As I had hoped, I gots my ketones back. And I’ll let you in on a little “secret”. On the 4 days that I could eat since last Saturday, I’ve had pasta, pizza, a ludicrous amount of vegetables, chicken, cheese, noodles, beef, potatoes, eggs, nuts, ice tea and Pepsi. And I’m ashamed to admit I even chowed down on licorice and winegum. So, lots and lots and lots of carbs. But those three fasting days managed to keep my glucose levels low enough that ketones were needed still.

The big surprise then is that according to two scales (I have a Mi Scale for fun) I actually lost body fat but definitely lost weight. They also tell me I lost some lean body mass but a visual inspection tells me I did pretty well. Imagine if I’d eaten better this past week…

I also felt the rush from fasting with the energy from eating this week, so for me the best way to go long term may very well be ADF & 16:8 to OMAD.

One more week of ADF coming up, then… we’ll figure that out next Saturday. :slight_smile:

Other than that, today was a very very lazy day…

I switched to Qv2 as soon as it became available.

3 Likes
#141

Alternate Day Fasting Journal: Day 50

  • Subliminals: None (Rest Day)
  • Blood Pressure: 101/62 at a 74HR
  • Water: 1.6L/56oz

Another lazy day, I didn’t feel 100%. I got all my stuff done though.

I do want to share something which made me smile.

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This is where you can see how messed up my daily schedule gets on eating days, compared with a desire to go to bed early on fasting days. Not to mention what it does for my heart. Almost makes me happy tomorrow is a fasting day.

One more week of ADF to go, followed by a few days on juice and leftovers. After that, it’s back to extended fasting I think. And it will be the end of the healing stack and the beginning of the wealth stack.

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