Your Opinions/experiences with fasting/keto diets

I've been on keto since April. I was on strict keto for the first 8 weeks and saw a lot of improvements in mobility and digestion and even lost some weight. I started implementing cheat meals on the weekends and my improvements have backslid a little bit which makes sense. I've tried intermittent fasting intentionally and unintentionally and it just does not agree with my body but I think that's just me. My body seems to think it is perpetually under threat of being starved for some reason and holds onto weight like no other.

If anyone wants to fast I'd say get fat-adapted first, which takes about 4-6 weeks of eating very low carb, 30g net carbs or less a day. It makes the hunger vastly easier to manage as there are no blood sugar swings because you're running on fat, and insulin is low (which I believe affects hunger indirectly).

There is good literature supporting fasting and intermittent fasting. An issue that could arise like you mentioned is nutrient negligence. Almost all of us do not meet our RDA on nutrients now and fasting would decrease our nutrient intake. With that said, our bodies were designed to eat much less calories than we do now. Lyme greatly accelerates nutrient loss so it is a slippery slope. I've done 16/8 splits before as part of various eating protocols. They key to better health is to lower insulin spikes. One issue with a 16/8 split is you often over compensate calories for the neglected meal. That increases your insulin spike. I currently eat 5 meals a day with the intent of lowering insulin spikes. I eat a very carb rich diet with very little methionine based protein. On average, I eat about 50 grams of fiber per day. This helps promote an anti-inflammatory GI tract rich with lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.

In humans, it has been shown that our GI tract is so long that eating a keto diet high in protein causes TMAO production through putrefaction of protein. This is detrimental to long term health and promotes an inflammatory based GI tract rich in Proteobacteria. This lowers our peripheral immune response which is why so many people feel better on a keto diet. It greatly increases one's chances of getting cancer, especially in Lyme patients because of polyamine turnover.

Thank you guys for all the interesting responses! nice to hear that some of you have had good experiences with fasting and keto diet.

And appreciate your response as well Georgia! It's so hard to untangle what might be going on in each patient's situation. I've always been a fan of trying to understand whatever research is out there, then trial and erroring it to gauge my personal response. Dr Fung has some interesting (and very accessible) lectures where he mentions with fasting your insulin goes down, and that the fasting cycles help retrigger insulin sensitivity via the low troughs you are able to achieve in the extended windows you don't eat.

Walkingbyfaith, I came across some different observations in regards to what it feels like with ketosis. A lot of people note flu-like symptoms initially when transitioning to ketosis during a fast (but if you supply proper electrolytes should be avoidable), and overall better energy and mental clarity. How much carbs do you get from the yogurt do you think? I don't know #s, but I think to achieve ketosis on average want to keep carbs under 30grams... does that sound right? Are you taking any antihistamines, quercetin, etc for the MCAS issues? You might have seen me mention it, but I have MCAS issues related to the pathogens and their toxins/die-off, has proved very helpful in tolerating effective therapies (like disulfiram).

Jb1994, thanks for the great advice and suggestions. My vibe is that my body is slowly adapting and getting more comfortable via the practice of intermittent fasting. So I do suspect body will be better prepped and able to better tolerate longer fasts. Before I did any of the fasting, it all seemed rather superhuman and scary. Now the prospect of longer fasting still seems challenging, but much more feasible and I'm rather excited to try it! I also feel like I'm learning the dos and don't to attempt a proper longer fast.

Sandyfeet, I do love the fact that IF has helped me feel less hungry and also much better able to mentally and physically deal hunger when it does come on. I feel like I'm much less of a slave to food and my desires for it. I still really enjoy eating, but it feels a little more on my terms and less... maybe purely Pavlovian?