Re: day 8 and sooo tired :(

Hi menina, congrats on reaching day 8. when i fast i get a CBC done (complete blood count) mainly to monitor my iron because my HgB drops pretty quick when i fast and the lack of oxygen in the red blood cells gives a sensation of being out of breath and the body feels as heavy as stone. i just take it easy and as the fast progresses the body adjusts and my energy evens out.

sometimes i get an *annoying!* ache in the leg bones and knee joints, lower back etc during the first week or so of a fast which can keep me awake (as if the ketone insomnia isn't enough) and the doc says the dehydration of fasting can temporarily condense the uric acid crystals in the joints so its like a mild dose of gout pain but not as acute. it always goes away as the fast progresses. this is why gout sufferers avoid dehydration like the plague.

as for weight loss recently my elderly mother was diagnosed with high blood glucose so i brushed up on how the body utilizes insulin (think *fuel injector*). overeating/or under-eating fatigues the normal process until eventually the cells start to ignore insulin's door knock appeal :-) then one has whats called insulin resistance. so one can be eating hardly anything but not losing weight because the cells metabolism (the mitochondria) has slowed down its fat burning process detecting the cell membrane has shut its glucose doors. basically my mother cells aren't accepting glucose efficiently so she stays overweight now regardless of the small calorie consumption. just amazing how the cells work. this animation called the inner life of a cell is just awesome!
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/searchlist/6850.html


try researching 'hyperglycemia' and 'hypoglycemia' and see whether you recognize your symptoms pre and post fast.

have fun
and well done!