# Fasting to lose fat fast. 4 week log, + Math!



## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Posting to help keep myself accountable and motivated, and hoping someone else might benefit.

I'm 42 and in pretty good shape for my age, and have a goal to lose 10 more pounds of fat in 4 weeks. I lost 4 lb in a week at the end of January and have been maintaining all February (well, eating to bulk but basically no change). Now I've decided to lighten up for a sporting event. And because I've been bulking for the past 18 months so I can afford to cut.

Math! I like math and find it very useful. Couple background formulas I use:

Body fact calc: Body Fat Formula
Men have it easy with just a scale and waste measurement. Results may not be perfectly accurate but the information is very useful. Women store fat differently so more measurements are required.


*Body Fat Formula* For MenFactor 1(Total body weight x 1.082) + 94.42Factor 2Waist measurement x 4.15Lean Body MassFactor 1 - Factor 2Body Fat WeightTotal bodyweight - Lean Body Mass*Body Fat Percentage*(Body Fat Weight x 100) / total bodyweight

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): TDEE Calculator: Learn Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
This estimates how many calories you burn in a day. TDEE - (calories eaten in a day) = daily calorie deficit. If strict fasting you're eating 0 calories.
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat.

Do I have 10 lb of fat to lose?
I started (2/28) at 184 lb., and a 34" waste. This calculates to 17.2% body fat, 31.6 lb body fat (BF), and 152.4 lean body mass (LBM). If I maintain LBM and reduce BF to 21.6 I'll be at 12.4% BF. This is well within the healthy range for men. I've struggled getting lower, but I should be able to hit this.

How much fasting will this require?
TDEE calc for me shows 2897. 2897/3500 = 0.83 lb/day strict fasting. I'll round to 0.8.
10 lb/0.8 lb/day = 12.5 fast days.
I could do that in 2 weeks but that would really suck. Longest I've done is 6 days, and it takes me a week or two to recover. So if I spread it out over 4 weeks: 12.5 days / 4 weeks = 3.125 days/week. I should be able to maintain this.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Why Fasting?
Losing weight sucks. I like to eat. With fasting I can suck it up and get it over quickly, and go back to eating my fill. 
Plus it fits my personality. I'd rather work hard, get a lot done, and relax, instead of slowly slog through.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

I am not fond of fasting. I do it because the Bible says to, but man! The challenge is to be cheerful so no one knows I'm fasting (despite my growling tummy).


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I hate fasting! I know it works for some people but it makes my stomach hurt so much and after more than 12 hours I get very irritable and woozy. 

I'm not counting pounds to lose. I'm counting inches since my weight has been going up while my waist has been shrinking. I spent too many years eating like I was still very active while not moving around and working hard like I used to.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

At least losing those 5 pounds has taken me from obese to simply overweight.

Is it too early for breakfast? My tummy is growling.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Pony said:


> I am not fond of fasting. I do it because the Bible says to, but man! The challenge is to be cheerful so no one knows I'm fasting (despite my growling tummy).


I'm Jewish and we have religious fast days as well. These are all "dry" fasts, so no water either!
For weight loss I find that water does a pretty good job of quieting the tummy.

I'm very schedule oriented and when I expect to eat at a certain time I get very hungry and if there's any delay I get irritated and hangry. But when I decided to fast it's not so bad. Kinda amazing how psychological hunger is.



Danaus29 said:


> I hate fasting! I know it works for some people but it makes my stomach hurt so much and after more than 12 hours I get very irritable and woozy.
> 
> I'm not counting pounds to lose. I'm counting inches since my weight has been going up while my waist has been shrinking. I spent too many years eating like I was still very active while not moving around and working hard like I used to.


+1 on counting inches instead of pounds! It's a much better metric!

I think of fasting kinda like running. Everyone (with working legs) can run. The question is how far. Some people can barely run 50 feet, and the idea of running a mile feels insurmountable. But with regular practice they can expand their abilities. Just like the human body was designed to run, we were designed to function without food at times.

BTW I hate distance running even more than fasting!


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

I actually enjoy fasting, but, have a pretty decent handle on my metabolism, how to do keto, electrolytes, etc. 
I enjoyed fasting in order to do Judo more effectively, and get into a lower weight class and such which retaining muscle. It's easier to fast if you're already in ketosis when you start, and drink electrolytes!


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

DisasterCupcake said:


> I actually enjoy fasting, but, have a pretty decent handle on my metabolism, how to do keto, electrolytes, etc.
> I enjoyed fasting in order to do Judo more effectively, and get into a lower weight class and such which retaining muscle. It's easier to fast if you're already in ketosis when you start, and drink electrolytes!


Heyyy! Very cool! I'm doing this for BJJ! I'm just a beginner so it isn't a major factor at my level, but every little bit helps, right? I can stand to lose a few anyways...

Agreed that electrolytes are critical! Can be tricky to get it right. Too much is no fun either lol

My strategy this time is to not go into deep ketosis (>2.5-3 days for me). Typically don't feel great, energy drops (still need to train!), I hate the keto taste and my wife is not a fan of how I smell when I go that long. I've heard it'll go away as your body adjusts but the most I've done is 6 days and it never did. I have no interest in going longer than that.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

DisasterCupcake said:


> I actually enjoy fasting, but, have a pretty decent handle on my metabolism, how to do keto, electrolytes, etc.
> I enjoyed fasting in order to do Judo more effectively, and get into a lower weight class and such which retaining muscle. It's easier to fast if you're already in ketosis when you start, and drink electrolytes!


I am not sure what a disaster cupcake is, but reading a thread about fasting, then my sister called me about a bakery back in Chicago, and then I see the word CUPCAKE...

I want a bakery creation with loads of frosting!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

@Digitalis, I've been trying for over 30 years. It hasn't improved. If it wasn't too hard on artificial joints I would take the long distance running over fasting.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

2/28: 184 lb. Fast day.
3/1: 182 lb. Broke fast around 1p w/ 16oz full-fat cottage cheese and mandarin orange fruit cup. Dinner was beef and rice stir fry (1/2 the rice I normally use to reduce calories).
3/2: 181 lb. Fast day.
3/3: 179 lb. Planning to eat this afternoon.

There's a saying in business, "What you track you manage." I'm a visual person and like data displayed graphically so I'm keeping a chart. It really helps me see through the noise as weight can jump around quite a bit day-to-day.

This goes back to capture my last fast from 1/30 to 2/4. This fast started 2/28, and I set a "target weight" loss 0.4 lb/day, or 2.8 lb/week. This is a "crash" diet best done in short spurts. The plan is to reach my goal a week before competition so I can stabilize and fully recover.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

We live a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. We also fast for around 18 hours/day. Been doing this for more than four years. I've lost over 80 pounds and have a BMI of 25. This lifestyle is simple and sustainable for a lifetime.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Cabin Fever said:


> We live a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. We also fast for around 18 hours/day. Been doing this for more than four years. I've lost over 80 pounds and have a BMI of 25. This lifestyle is simple and sustainable for a lifetime.


In all seriousness, 25 is still quite high, especially for a male, and is technically still overweight.
Are you worried that after 4 years you're still overweight?


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Digitalis said:


> Heyyy! Very cool! I'm doing this for BJJ! I'm just a beginner so it isn't a major factor at my level, but every little bit helps, right? I can stand to lose a few anyways...
> 
> Agreed that electrolytes are critical! Can be tricky to get it right. Too much is no fun either lol
> 
> My strategy this time is to not go into deep ketosis (>2.5-3 days for me). Typically don't feel great, energy drops (still need to train!), I hate the keto taste and my wife is not a fan of how I smell when I go that long. I've heard it'll go away as your body adjusts but the most I've done is 6 days and it never did. I have no interest in going longer than that.


That's awesome! It's a fun sport. Probably the most fun I've had as an adult! 
Of course Judo/BJJ are technically the same thing- but we call BJJ ground techniques or "ne waza". And the formality is a bit different usually.
I was particularly good at it, not bragging lol, but it's about technique, physics and _timing_. A bit more balance required for Judo, but the principles remain the same. 
I only did 2.5 day fasts bc my balance would start to suffer after that, and doing sessions 4x a week there wasn't much time to avoid some fasted. Also I'm female which does impact metabolism quite a lot.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

DisasterCupcake said:


> In all seriousness, 25 is still quite high, especially for a male, and is technically still overweight.
> Are you worried that after 4 years you're still overweight?


Wow, aren't we splitting hairs. A BMI of 24.9 is considered "normal" and a BMI of 25.0 is considered overweight. I am 6'2" and weigh 195 pounds (BMI=25). I am sure there are many days that I weight one pound less or 194 pounds (BMI=24.9). 

At 68 years of age, I feel great. Due to my change to a WFPB lifestyle, my doctor took me off of the five prescribed meds that I was taking for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. I was med free after less than a year of WFPB.

To answer your question, "NO" I am not worried that I am one pound overweight.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Cabin Fever said:


> Wow, aren't we splitting hairs. A BMI of 24.9 is considered "normal" and a BMI of 25.0 is considered overweight. I am 6'2" and weigh 195 pounds (BMI=25). I am sure there are many days that I weight one pound less or 194 pounds (BMI=24.9).
> 
> At 68 years of age, I feel great. Due to my change to a WFPB lifestyle, my doctor took me off of the five prescribed meds that I was taking for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. I was med free after less than a year of WFPB.
> 
> To answer your question, "NO" I am not worried that I am one pound overweight.


Good for you 
PS, you didn't share specifics and I am sorry if the question did come off as "splitting hairs". A BMI of 25 does cover a lot of ground.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Cabin Fever said:


> Wow, aren't we splitting hairs. A BMI of 24.9 is considered "normal" and a BMI of 25.0 is considered overweight. I am 6'2" and weigh 195 pounds (BMI=25). I am sure there are many days that I weight one pound less or 194 pounds (BMI=24.9).
> 
> At 68 years of age, I feel great. Due to my change to a WFPB lifestyle, my doctor took me off of the five prescribed meds that I was taking for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. I was med free after less than a year of WFPB.
> 
> To answer your question, "NO" I am not worried that I am one pound overweight.


BMI is a pretty worthless measurement, IMHO. Many have a good BMI and excess visceral fat (ie, "skinny fat"), or have more muscle than average and a high BMI. My BMI is well into the "overweight" category and I don't think anyone would say I have an unhealthy amount of fat.

It's also important to recognize that the ideal amount of fat increases some with age. For many the real battle is maintaining muscle mass, and it's easier to maintain muscle with a little extra fat.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Digitalis said:


> BMI is a pretty worthless measurement, IMHO. Many have a good BMI and excess visceral fat (ie, "skinny fat"), or have more muscle than average and a high BMI. My BMI is well into the "overweight" category and I don't think anyone would say I have an unhealthy amount of fat.
> 
> It's also important to recognize that the ideal amount of fat increases some with age. For many the real battle is maintaining muscle mass, and it's easier to maintain muscle with a little extra fat.


Good point! That is probably why my BMI is at the intersection between "normal" and "overweight." I get a lot of exercise (we gather our own firewood and heat with it) and walk 2 to 3 miles almost everyday (unless the temps are cooler than 15ºF.) My body is hard all over. I suppose the same person who works an office job and goes home and watches TV and is also 6'2" and 195 lbs would have more fat than myself.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Making progress and feeling good. Water weight jumps around like crazy when fasting but I believe I'm on track. Changing weight is a like bending metal, you have to go past the target to account for spring-back.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Settling in on my target weight! My routine has been to fast Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, and having reduced meals on other days. I'm not counting cals but eating only 1-2 meals. Exception is Shabbat (Friday night-Saturday), where I'll eat whatever I want. You can see the regular weight spike every Sunday morning! Nice thing about fasting is you can celebrate and go out to eat like a normal person!










As I'm now "close enough" to make weight I'm not planning to do any more full day fasting, just IF/TRE and somewhat reduced carbs/cals while my weight stabilizes.


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

I've been eating more and more and my weight keeps dropping  ! I've experienced this before with fasting: weight bounces back after the fast, then continues dropping. I'm trying not to lose any more now.

I'll make weight by a comfortable margin at the tourny this weekend.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I am impressed!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

What software do you use for the graph?


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## Digitalis (Aug 20, 2021)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I am impressed!


Thanks!



Alice In TX/MO said:


> What software do you use for the graph?


Google Drive (Sheets). Not as nice as Excel, but it works and is free.


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