News: I have decided to triple up on exercise in hopes of kickstarting things.

And good news, 2 lbs of that weight I was complaining about is ALREADY gone.

Plus, I've added bacon and eggs back in the morning...that keeps me full ALL DAY!

just 4 days. That is all it took.
I was amazed at how it jogged my metabolism. In fact, am thinking of doing it again since I have been in a mini-stall.
I cannot eat nuts so I modified it a great deal, basically trying to stay under 1,000 calories and under 10 carbs which is why I ended up eating a lot of bacon. I also do a lettuce wrap in which I use 2 oz. of cream cheese and 2 oz of Nova salmon. I basically divide a package of each into 4 portions (to use for 4 meals), then spread the cream cheese on a lettuce leaf (Boston works great), and top with a slice of Nova. Roll it up and you have a delicious snack (231 calories, 17 fat, 4 carbs, 14 protein).

No, I wasn't hungry, but I was probably over 1000 calories. I did not exercise during the fast. If you think about it-you really aren't getting enough calories to put your body through any extremes.

OMG I am in the EXACT same boat as you!!! 2 pounds that keep going up and down up and down. It is very frustrating!!! I have always been interested in trying the fat fast but for some reason I am chicken. I have a reunion in about one week and this is something I have been thinking about trying.

Today was Day Three.

I think I do qualify as metabolically resistant - I lost around 12 pounds early on this year but really haven't lost since, just put on and taken off water weight, even though I trained for and did a triathlon. I have a hypothyroid and PCOS, so it does make sense that it's hard for me to lose.

This morning I was down three pounds from yesterday, we'll see what Mr.Scale has to say tomorrow. Perhaps this will prove to me that I can lose weight, maybe it'll even throw the switch and help me continue to lose as I add things back in.

Hey_Neener, thanks for sharing your view on it, it is inspiring to me. If I need to do this periodically to get loss happening, I can live with that.

Hi, All,

After being away from these forums for about six weeks, I'm back for a while. Most of my previous posts have been in this tips/stalls subforum, and most of those were in a thread entitled "oil fast."

My doctor says I'm genuinely metabolically resistent. I've lost about 30 pounds since the end of May, and all of that (excepting an initial 8 pounds) has come off with fat fasts. Here's a couple of things I've observed, both by doing FFs and by reading about those who do them ...

1. I'm convinced that there is a gender dimension to how FFs work. In general, a fat fast appears to work best for men, and often not so well for women. Yes, I read about women who lose weight on a FF, but not as much as the guys, and definately not as easily.

2. By "easily" I'm talking about the side-effects of a FF -- pronounced fatique, general achiness and not-good feelings, hunger, etc. Far, far more women report this than men.

3. Concerning exercise, I keep it up during a FF, but reduce the intensity somewhat. My exercise is walking/jogging. During a FF, I usually will not jog very much, or maybe I'll jog for the first few days, but not on the last half, opting for a fast walk (swinging arms, that kind of thing). When not FF-ing, I'll jog enough to keep my heart rate up to around 150 until I'm winded. At current level of fitness, I'm exercising at least 60 minutes, 5 days a week. When FF-ing, my pulse will be around 125 for 50 of those minutes; when not FF-ing, it'll be around 150 for 30 of those minutes.

4. Rate of weight loss -- I notice that the amount of weight I lose on a FF has steadily diminished over time, though it is still respectable enough to keep me at it. My first FF, I lost 8 pounds. In the "worst" FF, I lost only 3. But, hey, if I lose ONLY 3 pounds in a FF, and do two of them a month, that's 6 pounds a month, and I'll be happy with that.

5. When not FF-ing, I'm on induction, period. For me, that's not a problem. I'm easy to feed, don't need a lot of variety, and am a happy camper with rich omelets (filled with locarb stuff and cheese) and bacon for breakfast, meat/salad for supper, and a light lunch in between.

Duration and Frequency: this is probably something everyone's going to have to work out for themselves. I have settled on a seven day FF alternating with a week of induction. I'm going to complete two of those cycles before thanksgiving day, and plan to keep on doing them more or less indefinately until:

A. I get to my target weight; or,
B. Something develops to make me change my mind.

So far, I'm still on course, and things are percolating nicely along.

Again, I think what I'm doing is justified by a bona fide metabolic resistence (confirmed by my doctor, who's cheering me on).

Homesar

Hi there,

I didn't know there was info on the "Fat Fast" in the Atkins' website. Thanks for the info. I hope to try it out since my weight has been going up and down between .5 to 1 lb every few days.

Thanks again. Cindy Q

I started the FF yesterday and I broke my stall this afternoon. I'm going to keep it up another 3 days, then go on the modified FF 5-7days. It is true, the FF really works. I know I have to be careful because it is a very low-carb and low-calorie plan, but only for a very short time.

Thanks lasert,

Cindy Q

How does it work if there is sugar in the nuts and cream cheese? Eating cream cheese kicks me out of ketosis along with nuts. Is that unusual? It is so hard for me to get into ketosis that after four days with little to no carbs I give up. I mean I don't put an unnatural thing in my mouth except one coffee in the morning. Last week I got into deep ketosis for the fist time and it was because I wasn't eating much (didn't mean to do that I was just running my daughter back a forth to the doctor and had no time). I was in it for a few days than I ate very little cream cheese on celery and bam I was out! Is anyone else like that or maybe have a medical reason that I'm like that?

This seems to be an old thread, but just stumbled upon it so thought I would post. I'm looking to shake things up. Lowering carbs doesn't seem to get my weight loss rolling. adding fat/protein doesn't help. I seem to fluctuate over the same few pounds. I've lost 7lbs this month which is great, but my weight loss is nothing like it was during the first few months of induction. I lost almost 30lbs in the first 8 weeks. I would like to shake up my body. I don't think that the fat fast is necessarily unhealthy as long as it isn't taken to an extreme. A 1,000 calorie limit does seem like a very limited amount especially if you're exercising as well but I suppose your body will draw the energy needed from somewhere else. Let's hope it's fat stores and not muscles or vital fluids. I am not interested in dropping weight, I want to lose fat and gain muscle. I want a thinner leaner stronger body and I know that Atkin's and all the LC approaches are the gateway to success for me. I think the fat fast is just another nutritional avenue for people to explore and develop their own personal design for weight loss.


~ Cori ~

Another things. Is there a water quota ya gotta fill each day or do you just chug H2O all day long? I'd like to flush my body as much as possible during this time to keep toxins and all that other nasty stuff from building up. Keeping my body hydrated and moving as well as possible during this strenuous time of limited nutrients I feel is important. How much water do you usually drink while on the fat fast?

~ Cori ~

Atkins calls for a minimum of 64 oz of water a day and I know that you really do have to take in at least that much. Now that cooler weather has arrived, I have not been as diligent in getting that amount of water, because I'm rarely as thirsty as I was all summer.
This past week I gained 6 lbs. and was having a fit until yesterday when I purposefully drank the amount of water recommended, ate only 1200+ calories and 14 carbs, and just shed 4 1/2 lbs. in 24 hours so it was merely water retention.
I don't know if I buy all the verbiage about your body entering a starvation mode, or thinking it needs to hang on to water, but whatever it is........you do need to take in lots and lots of water.

for the second time since 5/17/04 that I started Atkins. The first time I did it for 5 days, I lost 9 lbs. So, I do not think that it has anything to do with gender. I think it has to do with how closely you follow it. I did exercise while on the FF. It did not afect me energy wise. I started it today again because I gained 5 lbs while on induction and eating 5 small meals a day. I have not figured out what is making me gain, but I am sure strict on both the WOE and exercise. So, besides the freaking out when I gain, I try not to do it if I am just stuck for a few days or a week. I only feel that I have to doit when there is a gain. I cannot tolerate gain. I've come to far to go back! I am never going back!

Well I tried the fat fast yesterday and hunger was a huge issue for me. Then again it was my day off and I spent it cooking mac and cheese for the kids and grilled cheese for the hubby. That doesn't help when all you can have is a Tbls of pb and an ounce of cream cheese every 4 hours. Sooo, of course when we went to the store I chowed down on a LC snickers bar. Great LC choice, huh? LOL! Anyhow, today I have work and just won't have the time to think about food. I whipped up my pb and cream cheese concotion for breakfast at 5 a.m and will eat every 4 hours until my 5 servings are up then I'm goin' to bed. After the LC bar incident I was up 1.4lbs dang it! I was still under 1500 cals yesterday and a high percentage of fat. I would say at least 80%. I'll see how today goes... YO YO H2O!! That's my mantra for the day



~Cori ~

Maybe I'm just making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be, but the fat fast seemed to be pretty tough for me. I salute all of you that made it 5 days without batting an eye. I made it two days before giving it up and going back to my LC ways. I felt dizzy at times, hungry quite often, tired. My body just didn't feel right. It was hard at work which for me is alot of moving around. Sooo, I have a week off at the beginning of October, maybe I'll try it then when I don't have so much going on where I need that energy. I understand the deprivation but man, my cravings were huge!! I just wanted to gorge on everything in sight. I did lose 2lbs so it was worth it but dang that was tough!

~ Cori ~