The fasting journal · matched to fast day 51
Day 51. Vegetables Come Next
Day 51 is a Sunday and John opens with a happy Sunday to everybody. The update is short and calm. The refeed is doing what he said it would do and he wants to walk you through it.
Numbers first. 187.3 pounds this morning. That is 2.8 pounds up overnight. Total change is 41.3 pounds in 51 days from the 228.6 start on August 1. BMI 28.4, body fat 30.9 percent, muscle 37.5 percent, 1970 calories burned. Ketone strip at zero for the third day in a row.
Filling out
I continue taking the broth, the beef broth, which is great. Starting to replenish all that. I am starting to fill out in certain areas, around the face and stuff like that.
He calls it expected and he means it. After 45 days of water his body is taking back what the fast pulled out of it. He sees it in his face first.
The strip tells the same story from the other side. It read 16 on the last days of the fast. Now it sits at zero. Cleveland Clinic explains that ketosis is the state where the body burns fat for fuel when it runs short of glucose. With food coming back in he is out of it. That was the plan all along. You can read how the strip came down on day 49.
Nine pounds of water
I gained basically nine pounds of water back into my body. That fills me out. That starts filling in the inside organs and stuff like that. So everything is working the way it should.
He counts from 9/15, the first morning after the fast ended. The scale read 178.4 that day. Today it reads 187.3. That is 8.9 pounds, so his nine is honest. MedlinePlus describes how tightly the body manages its fluid and electrolyte balance. A long fast drains it and a refeed refills it. John does not dress it up. It is water going back where it belongs.
The jumps are getting smaller
He lays out the pattern in his own words. A little dribs and drabs at first. Then 2.6 pounds. Then 2.9. Now 2.8 and starting to come down.
So I expect as we go further, the next couple of days are gonna be maybe just a one point change or a 1.5 change until it levels off somewhere around 190 pounds to 195 pounds.
That is a small update to his guess from two days ago, when he said 185 to 190. He is fine with either one. Even 195 would leave him more than 30 pounds below where he started. We are just gonna keep monitoring it and see how it goes, he says.
Vegetables come next
This is the part he is excited about.
I am really looking forward to Monday, tomorrow, Tuesday and going forward. Now we start introducing some vegetables into the broth. Soft vegetables.
Soft vegetables cooked into the beef broth this week. Hopefully some protein by this time next week. One rung at a time. Cleveland Clinic warns that bringing food back too fast after a long stretch without it can cause refeeding syndrome, which is why the ladder is slow on purpose. John is doing it the way he did on his last long fast, with his doctor watching the bloodwork.
The whole story of why the fast ended is in the day 45 post.
The count
Day 51 of the 90 day calendar. The water fast ended on day 45 and the refeed is six days old. There are 39 days left on the calendar. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, he says. Until next time. Cheers.
Quick answers
How much water weight has John gained back since the fast ended?
About nine pounds by his count on day 51. He says it in the video in plain words. Since 9/15 I gained basically nine pounds of water back into my body. The scale backs him up. He weighed 178.4 pounds on day 46, the first morning after the fast ended. He weighed 187.3 on day 51. That is 8.9 pounds in five days on beef broth. MedlinePlus explains that the body keeps a tight balance of fluid and electrolytes and a long fast drains it. Food coming back lets the body hold water again. John calls it filling in the inside organs and he is not worried about it.
Why is John's face filling out during the refeed?
Because the water is coming back first. After 45 days on water his body is refilling. On day 51 John says he is starting to fill out in certain areas, around the face and stuff like that. He calls it expected. He notices it in his face first. It is not the same as fat coming back. He is living on beef broth, which is nowhere near enough to rebuild fat that quickly. His doctor tracks the real picture through the monthly bloodwork.
Why are John's daily refeed gains getting smaller?
Because the tanks are close to full. John walks through the pattern himself on day 51. A little dribs and drabs at first. Then 2.6 pounds on day 49, 2.9 on day 50 and 2.8 on day 51. He expects the next couple of days to show one pound or one and a half and then the line goes flat. On day 49 he guessed the level would be 185 to 190. Two days later he moved that guess up to somewhere around 190 to 195. Both are his own estimates, not a doctor's target. Either way he would still stand more than 30 pounds below his 228.6 start.
Why does John add soft vegetables before protein?
Because a gut that was empty for 45 days needs to be woken up in small steps. The plan he describes on day 51 is beef broth now, soft vegetables cooked into the broth this week and hopefully some protein by the following week. Cleveland Clinic describes refeeding syndrome as the danger of bringing food back too fast after a long stretch without it, which is why the pace matters more than the menu. Soft cooked vegetables are gentle and easy to watch. John says he wants to see how the body takes them in and processes them before he goes further.