Well, I just did my first 45 hour “Sugar Fast.” It was pretty enlightening. Similar in some ways to the “Intermittent Fasting” I used to do long ago.
One thing I noticed was that I felt much clearer and better, and seemed to be a bit more energetic afterwards. However, there was never a moment of ravenous hunger, as frequently could happen on IF back in the day. After the “Sugar Fast,” I seemed to have more energy, be more positive, and see a little clearer. Weirdly, the whites of my eyes looked the whitest in the mirror that I remember seeing them. The scale also dropped a couple pounds, might have dropped a few more if I had allowed the “Sugar Fast” to go to the normal time I weigh myself.
As for getting through the “sugar fast,” I pretty much came to the conclusion that it would be very difficult without smoothies. Which is fruit, fruit juice, and something like honey or simple syrup. This setup allowed me to go through the night without any real protein or fat.
Basically, I see three types of days with this-
Sugar Fast Days
“Super Peat” Days
Normal and Cheat Days
The Sugar Fast days are going to be just that…. pure sugar. I might do slight modifications like adding Glycine and Taurine to shakes, or adding some coconut milk to get a bit of fat in. But mostly, sugar. 95-99% sugary foods. Both protein will likely be under 10 grams, and fat under 5 these days (cronometer shows a bit of both fat and protein in most fruits).
The “Super Peat” Days are something I was kicking around in my head for a while. Based around a lot of sugar, but also using gelatin and collagen in higher amounts, and a lot of coconut oil. Like, A LOT, to point where it’s pretty much the only real fat there is. The more acceptable starched, like potatoes and rice, are allowed on these days. And also, and I know this is gonna sound weird….. vegan cheese. Ugh, why, you say? Because there are many that are made with only coconut oil, and those cheeses actually taste pretty good, and melt pretty good, as well. Kinda like Cheese Whiz. I know, this might be a bridge too far for some, but if you really want to try to up the coconut oil in your diet, it seems like a great way to do it. The collagen and potatoes usually make this a day of about 70-80 grams of protein, which is about what Ray Peat usually recommended on the low end, I may add low fat meats to these days over time.
Last is the normal and “cheat” days. These are the days I have dinner with family or friends, and can go out to restaurants. These are also the days where protein will likely be a lot higher. I usually eat about 140-150g of protein when I eat normally, and I could see these days being something like 140-200g fairly easily.
I get where Mike Fave is coming from with protein, but still not sure if the target needs to be that high. I think some of the benefits come from lowering the protein, and thus lowering serum BCAAs and the inflammatory aminos Peat talked about (if lowering these is part of the goal, getting 40-50 grams of gelatin or collagen might make a “complete” protein with the aminos floating around in your blood). Carbs spare muscle, preventing the need to break it down for gluconeogenesis, and Brad Marshall showed some studies that showed normal weight men can be in protein balance on as little as 44g of protein a day, or even just 7g of amino acids (as they are apparently absorbed better).
Next, I am going to try the 72 hour sugar fast that Cole recommends. I think I can do it, and want to see what happens. I think this could be an incredible “weight loss weapon,” as he says, and remember, Peat himself suggested that a 24 fast could be beneficial, and using sugar during that “fast” would probably be even healthier.
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