The fat fast is a technique brought by Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution – used by people who are metabolically resistant and have trouble with their induction. Let me first say that fat fasting should be used in 2 situations and 2 situations only:
- Breaking through a 2 week or longer plateau.
- Inducing yourself into ketosis quicker, whether you are just starting keto or you had a cheat day.
It is important to stress that a fat fast should only be followed for a few days maximum as it does not provide sufficient protein and other nutrients. It is also not recommended when you are very slim and don’t have significant fat stores.
To be clear: You should not fat fast consistently. It is only for people starting a ketogenic diet and want to be inducted into ketosis faster, or for people that are on a long (2 weeks or more) plateau.
Understanding the Fat Fast
The lack of carbohydrates and protein will allow your body to depreciate your glycogen stores quicker, also allowing your body to go after the fat stores, like we want it to, to use as fuel.
Fat fasting will force the body to undergo lipolysis so that it burns up fat that is stored in the body.
Lipolysis is a process involved in the breakdown of fats, converting triglycerides into glycerol and free fatty acids. The longer you fast, the more of these free fatty acids will be released. Why is this important? Well, fatty acids are used by the liver to create small amounts of ketone bodies and used as fuel.
Lipolysis cannot happen if there is a significant amount of glucose coming in, but since 80% – 90% of what you will be eating are fats, you don’t need to worry about excess protein or carbs converting into glucose.
What is Fat Fasting?
So, what exactly is a fat fast? It’s eating between 1000 and 1200 calories a day, where between 80% and 90% of your calories come from fat, and fat alone. You break these 1000-1200 calories into 4 or 5 meals a day, eating in blocks of 200-250 calories per meal.
It is normally done for 2-4 days but is never recommended to go for more than 5 days. Going longer than this will start to put your body in a real “starvation mode” and your muscle mass will begin to be metabolized as energy at a faster rate – the exact opposite of what you want.
Hungry? You most likely will be at first, but once your body starts adapting to the way you are eating, you will notice a drop in your hunger. This is because you will be eating your meals in frequent intervals with high amounts of fat, which increases satiety levels.
If you’re doing a fat fast, I recommend doing a 3 day fast. This normally drops about 5-8 pounds of body fat and water weight. When you enter back into a normal diet, expect to put back 2-3 pounds of that weight.
Should You Do a Fat Fast? The Potential Benefits
The fat fasting technique is essentially an accelerated version of the keto diet. This is because it requires you to restrict calories, carbs, and protein to lower levels than you would with a long-term ketogenic approach.
By eating in this way for a few days, you can speed up the pace of experiencing the benefits of keto, including:
- Rapid weight loss. The combination of carb and calorie restriction usually leads to a weight loss of 1-2 pounds per day (of body fat + water weight).
- Breaking through weight loss plateaus. If you have been experiencing a weight loss stall for two weeks or longer, following a fat fast may be an effective strategy. To learn more about how to bust through plateaus on keto, follow this link.
- Increasing ketone levels. Whether you are transitioning into ketosis or trying to achieve deeper levels of ketosis, fat fasting is one of the fastest ways to do this.
However, as with other highly restrictive weight loss approaches, the fat fast can come with a few downsides as well. This is why it is not recommended nor sustainable for long-term dieting.
What are the Side Effects? Fat Fast Drawbacks
Along with the potential for rapid weight loss and ketosis, the fat fast can come with a few side effects. The most common drawback is called the “keto flu” — a collection of flu-like symptoms that we may experience as we adapt to the keto diet.
Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to remedy these symptoms, such as maintaining proper hydration, increasing electrolyte intake, and taking MCT oil. To learn more about the keto flu and how to avoid it, follow this link.
Other than the keto flu, the fat fasting technique can also cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar, blood pressure, hormones, and weight. For this reason, it is best for anyone who has diabetes, heart disease, endocrine-related issues, or an eating disorder to consult with their healthcare practitioner before implementing a fat fast.
What to Eat
So let’s get to it. What should you be eating? That’s up to you.
There’s not all that much choice you have, as you have to keep the calories relatively low and the fat very high. Try to aim for foods that are almost pure fat: avocado, macadamia nuts, cream cheese, fat bombs.
Feel free to mix meat in there, but be careful about the amount of meat you actually eat. As most of it will have a good amount of protein, you want to be sparing.
Chicken, tuna, turkey, bacon, prosciutto, etc. will be a nice addition to get a bit of protein in your system and add some extra flavor to your dishes.
Below, you can see some options for single meals:
- 2 tablespoons of Raw Coconut Butter (this is blended coconut meat, not the same as coconut oil)
- 1 serving of Spiced Bacon Deviled Eggs
- 1-2 servings of your favorite Fat Bomb
- 1 serving of Cheesy Creamed Spinach
- 1 serving of Egg Salad Stuffed Avocado
- ½ medium avocado mashed with 1 tbsp. of mayonnaise (home-made if possible)
- 2 oz of mackerel, salmon or sardines (cooked or tinned) mashed with 2 tbsp. mayo (serve on 1-2 small lettuce leaves to make keto-friendly fish tacos)
- ½ serving of Keto Mocha Mousse
- 1 cup of Keto Proof Coffee
- ½ cup of Iced Ketoproof Green Tea
- 1 oz. Macadamia Nuts
- Macadamia nut butter with 2 oz. cream cheese
- 1 oz. chicken with 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 2 egg yolks with 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 1 cup Coffee with ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4 slices bacon (be careful with this, as it dwindles under 80% calories from fat)
- ¼ cup heavy cream whipped with Da Vinci Flavored Syrup
- 2 oz. sour cream with ½ cup cucumber
- ½ serving of sugar-free Jell-O with ½ cup whipped cream
Three Day Fat Fasting Meal Plan For Keto
Day 1
- 1 cup of Keto Proof Coffee
- 1 serving of Spiced Bacon Deviled Eggs
- 2 servings of Savory Pizza Fat Bombs
- 1 serving of Cheesy Creamed Spinach
Day 1 Macronutrient Breakdown
- Total Calories: 1,076
- Total Carbs: 10.98 g
- Net Carbs: 6.54 g
- Total Protein: 30.76 g
- Toal Fat: 102.59 g
- Percentage of Calories from Fat: 85.8%
Day 2
- ½ cup of Iced Ketoproof Green Tea
- 2 servings of Jalapeno Popper Fat Bombs
- 1 serving of Egg Salad Stuffed Avocado
- ½ serving of Keto Mocha Mousse
Day 2 Macronutrient Breakdown
- Total Calories: 1,036.95
- Total Carbs: 17.39 g
- Net Carbs: 10.79 g
- Total Protein: 21.21 g
- Toal Fat: 100.1 g
- Percentage of Calories from Fat: 86.9%
Day 3
- 1 cup of Keto Proof Coffee
- 1 serving of Salmon Benny Breakfast Bombs
- 2 servings of Savory Pizza Fat Bombs
- 1 serving of Cheesy Creamed Spinach
- 4 servings of Coconut Peanut Butter Balls
Day 3 Macronutrient Breakdown
- Total Calories: 1,196.68
- Total Carbs: 17.04 g
- Net Carbs: 12.02 g
- Total Protein: 40.33 g
- Toal Fat: 110.39 g
- Percentage of Calories from Fat: 83%
How to Implement The 3 Day Fat Fasting Meal Plan
By making the recipes in this meal plan, you’ll have plenty of extra servings that you can use to kick-start your regular ketogenic diet or extend your fat fast for another day or two. Feel free to substitute any fat bomb recipes for the fat bombs recommended in this meal plan (you can find some more fat bomb ideas here).
If you would rather keep your fat fast as easy as possible, then simply pick a couple suggestions from the list of suggestions above and eat between 1000 and 1200 calories of them during your fat fast. Just make sure you are getting 80- 90% of your calories coming from fat. You’ll find the perfect example of how to keep your fat fast as simple as possible below — no need for fat fasting meal plans or food prep.
Making It Easy
If you’re unlike me and just love cream cheese, then you can snack on a full 8 oz. block of cream cheese for the day along with a cup of coffee with 2 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil in the morning.
A block of cream cheese with a ketoproof coffee is one of the best ways to do a fat fast, as it is:
- 1020 Calories
- 97g fat (86% calories from fat for the day)
- 8g Carbs (3% calories from carbs for the day)
- 16g Protein (6% calories from protein for the day)
- Easy – one of the most important factors.
Key Takeaways for a Successful Fat Fast: Quick FAQs
Let’s trim the fat from the fat fast technique with these simple questions and answers. For more detail, scroll back up to the relevant section or click the links provided.
Who is the Fat Fast Helpful For?
Anyone who is looking to:
- Enter deeper levels of ketosis quickly
- Break their long-term weight loss stall
What are the Benefits and Side Effects?
The benefits include rapid weight loss and significantly higher ketone levels. The primary side effect is the keto flu (which you can learn how to remedy in our keto flu guide).
Who Shouldn’t Implement a Fat Fast?
Anyone with the following conditions should consult their healthcare practitioner before trying a fat fast:
- Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
- Heart disease
- An endocrine-related condition
- An eating disorder
How Do I Follow a Fat Fast?
Follow these three rules:
- Eat around 1000 to 1200 calories a day
- 80-90% of those calories should come from fat
- Consume 4-5 meals a day with roughly 200-250 calories in each meal
For some fat fast meal ideas, check out the keto recipes and foods listed above.
What Should I Do After the Fat Fast?
The best way to maintain and build on your weight loss results is by following a sustainable and healthy diet for you.
To learn more, read through our guide to maintaining keto results for life.
Sources:
I have been fat fasting for a day and a half now, my metabolism is already speeding up, but I have a headache that does not seem to go away and I do in fact feel hungry every now and then. I don’t want that to be an excuse for me to stop, but I also don’t want to cause any harm. Should I maybe continue the way I am for two more days, or simply stop today? Also how much carbs should be added after this not to start gaining again? HELP please!
PS- I am about 10kg overweight. I have PCOS and losing even with low carb seems to be very slow.
Alesha,
You shouldn’t be adding carbs in at all after a fat fast. You can continue if you’d like, but the headache may be from “keto flu” (you can search the website to see what this means). You may need to increase salt/magnesium/potassium to help combat that. It could also be from lack of fluids – which I suggest you intake at least 100oz. of water a day.
Hey Craig, thanks for the info, your site is a great one and a God sent for me. I have been overweight all my life. I started losing weight with diet and exercise and I was able to go from 187lbs to 167lbs in a year. I’m 31, female, 5ft6″, body fat% 29%, 167lbs, currently started keto diet three days ago. 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carb. Net carbs 15g while I fast for religious purposes but it’s a 16/8hrs fast. I have been on Low carb( then I still used to eat rice and oats) before now but I struggle with constipation and haemorrhage, so I decided to try something that could help me lose weight with less effort and faster. For the record, I do HIIT 5days a week. I want to go down to 147lbs. I have not lost any weight so far but I think everything seems promising. I don’t have problem with what and what to eat. I track everything I eat with my fitness pal. I want to go on a religious pilgrimage in two weeks time and I fear I might lose the benefit of ketosis if I go there and I can’t track everything I put in my mouth like I do now . I will be there for 10days. Can I do the fat fast on just eggs, coconut oil, ghee, olive oil and almonds , coffee, black tea, and green tea for 10days. I was thinking that will be better than just going there and eating without tracking.
Thank you! I think you could do this, but you could also make sure that you intake more than 1,000 calories a day. With the fat fast, you are lowering your calories for a few days and upping the fat. If you were to just up the amount of fats and keep the calories high, then 10 days would be a fine number to do it. You could also pack some dried meats or something similar with a high protein content to try to get some protein in while you are there. Good luck on your pilgrimage!
Would it be problematic to put a whole lot of cream cheese on celery for a bit of crunch if doing the cream cheese only method? Would I need to modify anything?
I suppose not Amanda. Just be weary of how many sticks of celery you do in fact eat, because the carbs can add up if you’re planning to eat quite a lot.
Hi there! I’m currently doing the Keto Fat Fast but I’m also looking over your Rule Me Keto 7 Day Diet Plan. The recipes look awesome! However, I’m wondering how I determine portion size. There isn’t any info given about the total calories/nutrition info for the *whole* recipe (this would help me know how to divide it up into portions). Is this something that’s available or is this something I need to get a calculator out and figure out myself? Thanks in advance and I’m excited to experiment with these recipes!
Hey Auds,
I recommend you get the 30 day plan. The 7 day plan is more of a guideline, while the 30 day plan pretty much breaks everything down for you so you can portion it yourself (and is somewhat portioned as it is for the average woman). You can see it under “Keto Diet” in the main menu on the site. As long as you put in $0 in the amount to pay, you can get it for free 🙂
My best!
I am now well into day two of the fat fast, using the cream cheese method, and my blood ketone levels are still not above 0.4mM. I was already eating 20g of net carbs before this, and exercise hard in the mornings, so I can’t understand why I can’t get into nutritional ketosis. Any ideas?
How long were you keto previously? That makes a big difference also.
What about a tin of mackeral in olive oil?
For fat fasting, Steve? If so, then that wouldn’t really work. It is an oily fish, but you’re looking at a good chunk of protein there, too. You have to watch your protein and keep fats very high.
Not understanding your comment about bacon dwindles under 80% calories from fat???
Susan, this post is about the fat fast. Normally on fat fasting, you are consuming almost all fats – over 80% of your calories come from fat. Bacon has protein in it, and usually is under the 70% calories from fat region (unless it’s pork belly), so I usually don’t recommend it for fat fasting.
i’ve seen fat bombs where people roll cream cheese into balls, then roll in sf jello. would rolling cream cheese in the sf jello work for the fat fast, if thats all you ate, or does the artificial-ness of the jello ruin it?
Yeah I mean you could if you wanted to. I think staying as close to “real” food as possible would be best, but if you’re doing fat fasting there’s usually a good reason for it. There has to be some sort of balance between do-ability and functionality.
Hello Craig!
I have enjoyed the content on your website and found you had some information about a fat fast. I have heard about it, but never looked into it until now. I have been on a ketogenic plan for about 2 months now, maybe a little longer, and have not seen the scale move in about 3 weeks. I have been playing with my macros, as in had to take my protein WAY down (I was eating between 180-208g a day!), so I think I was getting an insulinogenic effect. At any rate, perhaps my body has not caught up since I find myself only at .3 for blood ketones STILL, and the scale isn’t budging. My TDEE is roughly about 2000 kcals/day, and I range between 1400-1700 kcals a day (I try to mix it up). Oh, and my BMR is 1600, just in case.
I have a question about the fat fast – why would it be necessary for the kcals to be at 1000 kcals/day? I hesitate to do the fast at that calorie level because the last time I did that, and then increased my calorie level by 200 kcals, I immediately gained 4lbs, even though I kept my carbs below 25 grams. Since the scale easily psychs me (and a lot of others out), how can this be managed metabolically without a rebound weight gain?
I wouldn’t be so concerned, but I was told (by a weight loss clinic) to eat between 800-1000 kcals/day back in July, and I did that for almost 2 months, while I was kickboxing. I didn’t realize the implications of a VLCD or a PSMF, for that matter, until I finally hit a brick wall due to the rather large deficit I was inflicting. Needless to say, metabolically, I don’t want to go through that again, but I do need to heat things up. What would be wrong with keeping the kcals at, say, 1300 or 1400 kcals, and just changing up the macros to 90% fat? (My macros have been P/F/C at 20/65/5.) I am guessing you would not “lose” as much weight, then again, perhaps that would avoid the rebound at the same time??
Thanks!
~Rebecca
Rebecca,
I would work on getting those blood ketones up further before trying a fat fast. You can do small periods of fasting that usually help with metabolic response, but if your metabolism is already damage, then it may not work as well for you. It’s also used for people that have problems with their insulin levels. It is kind of a “reset” button for insulin resistance.
Anyway, I’d start looking at the other foods you’re eating, and at how much quantity you’re eating at. Try to balance your fats/proteins in every meal and not do a really fatty breakfast and then a really protein filled dinner. That should help most likely.
Hello Craig –
Thank you so much for the response. Since I had been on keto for more than 3 months and playing with the macros, I think I had a couple of things going on. My ketones were only .1 – .3 , so it was like having one foot in the door, if you will. At least that is how I saw it. I was losing weight consistently every week, but then nothing was happening for more than 3 weeks no matter how much I exercised (or didn’t!), only TBW moving up and down. I decided that I either needed to be IN or OUT of ketosis, but not straddling the fence, and I was not willing to reduce my caloric intake (again) down to 1000 kcals a day.
I actually did do the fat fast, but I decided to not really do the “fasting” part, just did the “fat” part. I ate about 1400 kcals/day for two days, except for 1 day I ate about 1050 because I just couldn’t do any more of that coffee with butter in it. haha I was not looking for quick weight loss, although I did lose 2lbs of fat and 4lbs of water in those 3 days, but I was looking to get into nutritional ketosis and stay there.
Since that time, my blood ketones run anywhere from 1.5 to 3.2, and I have been losing steadily since. It really did work for me, and gave me a basis with which to start burning fat (again), and I can return to my macros. Since I kept my calories at 1400 kcals, I did not have any rebound weight gain, water or otherwise, and once I was done, I felt this amazing energy. It is an energy that has continued since that weekend, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if I needed to. I returned to my macros as before, which was P/F/C at 20/75/5, which seem to work well for me. I think the protein threshold for each person is different, and I swear, my body can make insulin out of anything!! haha
Thanks again for your help!
Rebecca
Sure thing Rebecca, sounds to me like your protein might have been out of whack also. Glad to hear you were able to get past the stall, though 🙂
Rebecca try lowering your carbs and that is very high protein which too much will turn to sugar. I do 20g of carbs a day. If still hwving issues I suggest going down to 10 g a day for a week or 2 till you hit your numbers .
Hi Annette –
Thanks for the reply. My carbs were already low, and at most averaged between 15 and 20g/day. And my protein was at 15 or 20% of my caloric intake, I can’t remember…but eating almost pure fat (coffee with butter and MCT oil!!) for 3 days did the trick. It forced my body to go into nutritional ketosis, and the fat burning began again. Also, I felt a tremendous amount of energy after the 3 days. Anyway, I sort of already addressed this above, but I just wanted to respond to your comment since you were kind of enough to post something.
Cheers!
Rebecca
Okay, so this comment DID post. My apologies for the duplicate. I wrote the other one from my iPad, and the browser crashed the moment I sent it. When I went back in, the post was not there…sorry!
No worries – I usually approve one comment and delete the other one if they are double posted 😉 I always have to approve a comment before it shows up.
Hi Craig-
Although losing weight is something that I need to do, my original reason for looking at this site is because I have seizures brought on by a tumor, and I read that this diet helps prevent them. I recently had tumor debulking surgery, but I have more seizures than I did before, and they’re not able to control it with medicine. Doctors say that after surgery I could have seizures up to 6 months. I have a few questions that may or may not have been answered. With this diet plan, can someone with a tumor do the fasting? Can you have candy or sweets ( including chocolate)? Should I have half and half with my coffee and elminate sugar?
Thank you,
Chris
Chris, I’d suggest reading up a bit more on this diet if you’re asking about candies and sugar. This diet will not allow for any of that and it’s best you have a full understanding of it if you are doing this for medical reasons. As far as the fasting is concerned, I’d definitely ask your doctor and get their permissions on anything before starting any dietary treatment.
Hi, i have a nut allergy and don’t do dairy due to lactose intolerance. What can I eat on the fat fast? Many thanks
You’d probably have to get pretty creative with eggs and oil. Unfortunately there’s not going to be a ton of options if you’re both nut and dairy free.
Thanks Craig, it’s a pain being nut and dairy intolerant. I really struggle with healthy fats on keto, I am eating too much protein at the moment. Can you suggest some egg recipes on the fat fast please? If i’m only doing the fast for a few days, I can probably put up with eating the same stuff. Many thanks.
Goldie, there’s tons of recipes around the site you can get ideas from 🙂
Thanks Craig, i’ll have a look. This is a great site. Thank you.
Sure thing 🙂
Hey Craig – great site! I have few questions for you regarding the fat fast. I started two days ago in an attempt to break a 2 month plateau.
1. How important is 80%? Many sites list 90%, and I’m just barely hitting 80%. I’m trying to appear fairly normal to my coworkers at lunch with my zucchini noodle “alfredo” (cream cheese, butter, zucchini, and broccoli), but the veggies brings my fat % down.
2. How important are carb counts here? My net carbs from the veggies and cream cheese (2 per oz) are putting me slightly over 20g. Is it possible to get knocked out of ketosis on this diet? Despite that lack of weight loss, I’m pretty sure I was in ketosis going into it.
3. Is it ok to go over 1200 calories on days I exercise? I’m not doing my normal gym routine, but for example, today I burned an estimated 200 calories doing some extra walking after dinner. I was pretty hungry when I got back and ended up giving in and eating some cream cheese. Is that going to mess things up?
Thanks!
Ashley, thanks!
1. It’s pretty important, otherwise it’s not really a fat fast. I suggest staying as close to 90% as you can, so it would be best to cut back on some of the vegetables.
2. Carbs are important to keep down, also. Going over 20% is not ideal at all. Although it probably won’t knock you out of ketosis, it is a high carb count since you reduced the intake of your food.
3. It is. You can do an increased calorie fat fast and that normally works for many as long as your fat percentage stays high.
Hope that helps,
Craig
I apologize in advance if this question was asked:
In other fasts, there’s always a “safe” way to come out of them. Is there a certain or a right way to come out of the fat fast? Or just go right back to your ketogenic diet like before? Thanks and, p.s.- love the site.
Hey Jane – thanks! When you finish a fat fast, you can just return to a normal ketogenic diet. Normally fats that require a way to come out of them are severely reduced in calories (some 500 calories or less) – so returning to your normal state is not as big of a shock on the body/metabolism.
Why are macadamia nuts allowed on the fat fast and not on induction phase of Atkins? Any clue?
I’m not 100% familiar with the Atkins induction philosophy, but my guess is that they disallow all nuts. This is (I’m guessing) normally because people overeat on nuts, and find it difficult to portion them. Nuts can also cause stalls in many people if they’re over eaten on, so that is my main assumption on why.
You’re correct. It’s too easy to overindulge on nuts and someone going into ketosis is particularly vulnerable to being triggered off into eating more carbs again. Dr. Atkins also mentioned the stalling potential.
Not sure exactly why, but most nuts have a higher omega 6 to omega 3 ratio but macadamia nuts have even ratio. Maybe this is a factor?
Hi, I’m 5’6 and Im 24% body fat. I weigh 113lbs. Can I do the fat fast to lose the body fat and get leaner? I was already doing a low carb diet,with too much protein (105 g) and 10 g carbs ….,but I’m a bit flabby still. Would doing the fat fast you listed above for 3 days set me into ketosis and help with the excess body fat? Thank you!!!
Jules, I’d suggest doing a proper SKD then before you try a fat fast. If you haven’t been following keto correctly in the first place it may be best to try to conquer that before pushing more extreme measures on yourself.
Is exercise a good idea while doing the fat fast or should I take a break?
If you’re exercising then I don’t see a point in a fat fast. If you’ve hit a weight loss stall then it’s most likely going to be something else.
This article mentions cheat days. Shouldn’t I fat fast after if I want to keep on track? Also, should I stop after my body gets back to ketosis or is it safe to continue 3-5 days?
Well since you exercise you could just do fasted exercise in the morning instead and that would most likely use up a good chunk of the glycogen. You shouldn’t really need a fat fast for this.
I followed keto for 2 weeks and lose some weight, I don’t know how much exactly because I didn’t weighed myself but my clothes fit me a lot better and my belly size decreased a lot… for personal reasons I have to return to my normal (high carb) diet 10 days ago and I feel like I almost gained all the weigh back. The bad new here is that I’m going to the beach in only 15 days and I want (NEED) to loose 6 or 7 lb in this short period of time, I’m not that fat I’m 126 lb and 5,25 ft. Could fat fast for 5 days would help me? And then I can return to the keto diet I was following? I’m desperate, thank you
It sounds like you may do what you think is best regardless of the advice I give, but fasting for 5 days (fat fast) is going to be unhealthy. Wanting to lose weight in such a short period of time at your current weight is pretty unhealthy as it is. I’d suggest eating a full diet and working out a little more.
So, I am looking for a total zero carb diet for 30 days only but i can´t seem to find ideas. According to the keto calculator this is what I am supposed to follow: 1260 kcal Daily Calorie Intake 0g Net Carbs (0%, 0 kcal) 65g Protein (20%, 258 kcal) 111g Fat (80%, 1002 kcal)
Any suggestions? By the way, I can´t seem to be able to buy your membership
Carlos,
It’s going to be nearly impossible to find an actual zero carb solution. You have to have some carbs (mainly from vegetables) for the micronutrients, unless of course you just want to eat meat, fat, and organ meats all day. I don’t know what you mean by buying my membership, though. I sell e-books, meal plans and cookbooks.
Well, what I mean is how I can get from you a meal plan that is very low on carbs, 80% fats and 20% protein? I have tried to find something like this but I am not able to do it. I tried this diet many many years ago when I was in a dance company, but after I moved to the US, everytyhing changed and I want to get back to what I used to look like before.
Carlos, my meal plans generally keep macros in check of 80%+ fats and 20% or so of protein (sometimes a little less). So if you work out, you may need to adjust slightly depending on your work out sessions and what you’re doing (endurance exercise vs. strength training). As far as carbs go, I generally don’t exceed 30 ever, but usually averages around 20g a day.
I had 2 glasses of wine few days ago and it kicked me of keto, now it has been few days and I am I craving sugary foods and I am snaking too much.I love cream cheese and coconut oil, so I will give fat fast tomorrow a try.
Sounds good Diana. If you drink wine, try to aim for the dry red wine or dry white wine – typically has < 5g carbs per glass.
What can you replace with a coffee assuming u don’t take tea or coffee, can you do the fat fast without them and still get results?
Diana, the one alcohol that you can drink and will not kick you out of Ketosis is Gin.
It’s quite refreshing with Tonic and a splash of Lime .
I was doing the Atkins before and had a wedding to go to and had 1 glass of dry white and was shocked the next day that after all my hard work of getting into ketosis and eating properly that 1 glass completely kicked me put of Ketosis.
After some research I discovered gin was a Zero sugar, and it didn’t take me long to adapt to it when I had a social event and was surprised that it didn’t effect my Keto level at all.
Any alcohol’s going to bork up your metabolism. You know how glucose is referred to as a preferred fuel? Alcohol is more preferred than glucose. That’s because alcohol is the more dangerous to leave circulating in your body between the two, followed by glucose, so your body’s going to get rid of the more dangerous stuff first.
Doesn’t matter if sugar rides along. You will still cause a hitch in your process until the alcohol clears.
Best left alone til you have made some significant progress. Nowhere is it written that you must drink alcohol at a wedding or anywhere else.
I thought tonic has quite a few carbs in it? I just bought some diet tonic. Soda water is another choice.
I dont know what you mean by be careful with bacon
During a fat fast you want to keep your fat percentages very high, so bacon can off-set the fat with protein.
During a fat fast you want to keep your fat percentages very high, so bacon can off-set the fat with protein.
Does it have to be coffee or could I use green tea in the morning?
Thanks
You can definitely use green tea in the morning. Actually, green tea and coffee both have their respective benefits in weight loss.
You can definitely use green tea in the morning. Actually, green tea and coffee both have their respective benefits in weight loss.
This is my first time here. I did the fat fast and dropped 5 pounds in 2 days and for the first time ever was able to see a reading of ketotis on my keto strips. I have been following a low carbs, low fat diet for almost a year and did well. Had too much to eat at Xmas and gained 10 pounds. Trying to get back at it in January hit a stall for over 2 weeks. Looking at is fat fast I decided to try it and man did it work. I did the coffee with coconut oil and cream cheese for 2 1/2 days. I wasn’t hungry either which surprised me. Now back at it and trying to figure out. Keto way now to see if I can reach my goal now. Have to admit, I was very surprised at the results.
Happy to hear it Blondi! Good luck with the macro calculations (I have a calculator on the website to help out) 🙂
Thanks for getting back to me. I calculate my macros and will see how to keep to it. Yesterday I had pork tenderloin for dinner and logged my proteins and realized I was higher than calculated and this morning I measured for ketosis and it now says trace. That was very frustrating to see. Trying to work on the fats to get them up and try to keep in the range. Went up 1 pounds but you noted it would go up so wondering if I should have done the fat fast for a longer time.
Also love the bullet coffee.
Yep – just stick with it for some time and you’ll find that it gets easier every day.
Now to figure out my macros
Happy to hear it Blondi! Good luck with the macro calculations (I have a calculator on the website to help out) 🙂
Hi Craig,
I started my fat fast yesterday and it went pretty well – got to 1090 calories, 14.18g net carbs, 99.65 fat, 34.27g protein. Howeve, I went to Bikram Yoga this morning and literally BREATHED in 2 x 290ml bottles of coconut water (unsweetened) but which sent my net carbs for the day up to 43,85g… I’ve taken in 46.87g of fat, 32.5g protein and 707 cals. Do I need to start all over again?
Thanks for your BRILLIANT SITE and books!
I’d say not to fat fast for too much longer. You can fat fast for an additional 1-2 days if you feel it’s needed, but you could just stick to a standard ketogenic diet and be fine I’d think 🙂
I’d say not to fat fast for too much longer. You can fat fast for an additional 1-2 days if you feel it’s needed, but you could just stick to a standard ketogenic diet and be fine I’d think 🙂
Yep – just stick with it for some time and you’ll find that it gets easier every day.
Can i eat avacado since its high in fat for the fat fast ?
Hi Craig
I’m just getting started today on the fat fast. I’m really psyched thanks to your awesome site! I have weighed 130 lbs my whole adult life. I had to start taking medication and in the last year have gained about 70 pounds. This morning I weigh 203 pounds, the heaviest I’ve ever weighed.
I’m not as hungry as I thought I would be. But I was wondering if green olives would be good for the fat fast. They are all fat, but I didn’t know about the salt in the juice.
thank you
Amber
Hey Amber – good luck on the weight loss! Olives are certainly fine for the fat fast 🙂
Well did the fat fast for three days and lost 8 lbs… I did gain two back, but 6 lbs in a week? I can handle that.
Thank you so much for all your support!
I found this website and I love it ! I’m little scared but I want to try this at least two or three days… Cream cheese sound good , but I have a doubt regarding oil coconut, I need to pu inside of m y coffee? Another doubt, When I do this, Can I do exercise or not? Thank you in advance 🙂
HI! Awesome site! I am wanting to do the fat fast to break a stall but I have a question. I have taken ALL dairy out of my diet ( simply because it caused me to crave carbs), by doing the fat fast and eating all dairy ( I would mainly eat cream cheese and HWC on my fast) what will that do to me? I can handle if it creates craving but I am more worried about it actually causing me to GAIN weight. What do you think?
I’ve been stuck for weeks, just 2-3 lbs shy of my 100 lbs lost mark.
Been eating LCHF for a year now, aiming to stay in ketosis the whole time. Hope this gets me moving again.
Thank you for the fat fasting tips! I had my first cheat day (okay, cheat weekend) this past weekend since I started keto and intermittent fasting 6 weeks ago. I kicked off the week with a 44-hour fast, which I usually initiate at the end of each weekend. I broke my fast last night with a nice, solid keto-friendly meal, and have started day 1 of a 3-day fat fast. So far, I feel fine. Just trying to get back on track since I gained just a couple ounces shy of 8 pounds in less than 48 hours. Huge lesson learned and looking forward to seeing how my body handles that fat fast. Ketosis here I come!
Hi Craig,
I mainly just wanted to thank you so much for such a thoughtfully put together site. I appreciate how thoroughly you respond to every potential question raised in each of your posts and especially with responding with everyone’s questions.
As a side comment, today was the first day I attempted the fat fast with cream cheese. I thought I was a fan of cream cheese, but I realize that I needed it paired with other food. Eating it by the spoonful was causing somewhat of a gag reflex. I barely got through a third of it before throwing in the towel with this method. I was pretty tempted to just stop eating for the rest of the day (I don’t really have a desire to since the cream cheese was grossing me out so much).
Instead, I decided to go ahead and skim through all your recipes for another means of accomplishing the macro requirements for a fat fast and decided to use the buns from your “Keto Bites: Grilled Ham & Cheese” post to eat with a generous amount of butter. This was mainly to avoid having too much of a calorie deficit. Otherwise, with your bulletproof coffee and a third of the cream cheese, I was basically only half of the calorie requirement. I remember in one of your responses to another question was to “balance out do-ability and functionality.” Since the buns are all real ingredients, I hope this will be acceptable for my fat fast.
Thanks for sharing all your hard work and research!
Side note: For anyone looking for an alternative fat fast “meal plan,” here is what I came up for myself.
With 2.5 Tb of coconut oil in the bulletproof coffee, 4 “Keto Snack” buns (using a 12-muffin pan or 2 buns using a 6-muffin pan) and 2 Tb of butter, my macros are as follow:
Calories: 1017
Fat: 106.2 g (91%)
Net Carb: 4.8 g (<3%)
Protein: 15.4 g (6%)
Would drinking a diet soda (no carbs, no protein, just artificial sweetener) mess up my fat fast and my efforts to go into or stay in ketosis?
It really depends on the person. From people that I’ve talked to, diet soda can have a slowing/stalling effect on weight loss. Others experience no problem at all consuming diet soda. It’s more of a person by person basis.
Was wondering about the cream cheese. Philadelphia cream cheese regular has 16 carbs for 250 grams which is a block Is that carb count still ok to do a fat fast?
That’s true Lidia but it’s still a relatively small amount. Philadelphia actually changed their formula after this article was written (it used to be half the carbs). I recommend a brand like Organic Valley now that only have 1g carbs per 1oz.
Hi Craig thanks for the response. I actually just finished t
he cream cheese fat fast for 4 days and lost 8 pounds. So I finally made it to my goal weight of 140 pounds. Thanks for all the wonderful advice and articles. I actually really enjoyed the cream cheese it was so satisfying.
Glad to hear – and sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I came down with some food poisoning so I haven’t been online much.
Geez that is not pleasant. I hope you feel better really soon 🙂
Organic Valley makes a cream cheese that is Organic and from Pasture raised (grass fed) cows that has on 1 carb and less than 1g of sugar. I use this as my “fat bombs” during the day. It is healthier than Philadelphia. They sell this at Publix.
I did maybe half a day Saturday and am in my fifth full day today (Thursday).
I’ve FINALLY gone from 139 (EEK!) to 130: I was stalled at 136.8 on Sunday, Monday, AND Tuesday and starting to freak out.
I’d always wondered about exercising; I see your response to someone else about that. I ended up taking a short ride (eight miles) at a leisurely pace (12 mph) on Monday (and my continued stall on Tuesday was therefore even MORE frustrating!).
What I have started doing on longer and more vigorous rides is carry and eat as much high-fat stuff as possible, usually lots of cashews and macadamias but also sometimes chunks of macaroni and cheese made with Dreamfield’s and heavy cream. It keeps me bonk-free and pleasantly-full for hours.
Neither cashews nor Dreamfields are low carb, btw. Exercise won’t help you lose weight, and certainly won’t help a stall. These are HFLC basics.
I have been keto since January 16, was paleo since Dec. 22. No alcohol. Tracking my macros and have not seen more than 4 lbs. come off (less than 20 g carbs total per day and averaging about 70 g protein). Could a fat fast be beneficial for this? I’ve been doing kickboxing 4-5 days a week and followed your free menu plan and then bought the accelerated weight loss plan and still only lost about a pound after week 1. I have lost an inch but I am not seeing the results I expected. I am now 151 down from 155 and want to lose about 25 lbs. I’m getting frustrated.
Hey Vicky – depending on your body fat % that could be a normal loss. You’re relatively low body weight compared to a lot of people that lose tens of pounds in the first week. It’s definitely a slow and steady race, but it seems like you’re on track. A fat fast could help some, though I wouldn’t suggest more than 2 days if you’re doing to kickboxing 4-5 days a week.
Help!! I want to do this…well i need to do this but i cant handle eating cream cheese. I put hwc in my coffee but i need something to “eat” apart from a few nuts. Even just 1 small meal over the day is enough for me
Hey Natalie – a fat fast isn’t needed if you just want to do keto long term. I would suggest if you can’t do something like this, to just follow a strict ketogenic diet to a tee.
I use Kerrygold butter for my bullet proof coffee so I could do that but I’m curious about cream fresh–I live in europe and its full full fat and everywhere! The full fat cream cheese I can get has 1 g of carbs/1 oz. while the neufchatel (low fat cream cheese) has no carbs. It’s perplexing. I can have 70 grams of fohgurt ala cream fresh for 250 cal and a trace carb with 1.6 g protein.
I have a family event at the end of the week and I want to slim down as much as possible before then. Is the fat fast a good idea to speed weight loss up temporarily, or is this not safe? are there other options?
You could definitely do a fat fast, though I never recommend doing it for longer than 3 days.
You could do that. I’m not sure why the low fat cream cheese would have no carbs, it may just be the labeling system there (here you are allowed to round up or down, so it’s more of a manufacturer discrepancy). The cream is probably trace, but they may have chosen to round up.
Ready to try the fat fast but I have a question about the cream cheese. Do I mix it with anything when I eat it? I started Keto back in November but I’m still not to goal and I’ve cheated too many times. I’m ready to get back on it 100 %.
It’s not necessary to do a fat fast. Consistent results will come from simple, strict eating over the long run. You could add some small spices and whatnot to the cream cheese, just make sure that you find an organic cream cheese with 1g carbs per 1 oz. (the Philadelphia recipe was changed and is now much higher in carbs).