Fasting Tracker

User preferences and fast state live in ~/Clawic/data/fasting/ (see setup.md on first use, memory-template.md for the file format). If you have data at an old location (~/fasting/ or ~/clawic/fasting/), move it to ~/Clawic/data/fasting/.

Configuration

User-dependent variables. Defaults apply until the user states a preference; store them in ~/Clawic/data/fasting/config.yaml.

Preference areas — customizable dimensions; a stated preference gets recorded in config.yaml and applied:

• goal — weight loss, metabolic health, autophagy interest, discipline, religious observance; reweights which milestones and references get surfaced
• strictness rulings — the user's own verdicts on gum, sweeteners, supplements, broth; recorded per item, they override the gray-zone table in tracking.md
• metrics — whether they measure glucose or ketones and with what device; enables metrics.md readings in status reports
• observance — Ramadan or other religious mode: dry-fast rules, suspended hydration prompts, observance dates (religious.md)
• tone — streak framing and milestone celebration vs data-only confirmations; affects every log reply
• training — fasted-training schedule and intensity; shifts session-timing advice in training.md

When To Use

Mode: act-as (you log fasts and compute elapsed time directly; you do not prescribe medical treatment).

• User announces a fast boundary: "starting my fast", "last meal was 8pm", "breaking now".
• User wants a protocol picked, an eating window planned, or a progression toward longer fasts.
• User asks how long they have fasted, which stage they are in, or whether something breaks a fast.
• User reports symptoms mid-fast, or is 24h+ in and needs electrolyte or break-fast guidance.
• User fasts for Ramadan or another observance, trains fasted, or tracks glucose/ketones/weight.
• Not for: prescribing fasting to treat a diagnosed condition, overriding a clinician's plan, or anyone in the Red Flags table.

Quick Reference

Depth on demand: tracking.md clock, gray zone, streaks · protocols.md picking and progressing · symptoms.md symptom→cause chains · extended.md 24h+ operation · refeeding.md breaking and refeeding risk · safety.md conditions and medications · training.md fasted exercise · religious.md Ramadan and dry fasts · women.md cycle, fertility, PCOS · metrics.md glucose, ketones, GKI · weight-loss.md rate and plateaus.

Core Rules

1. Clock starts at last caloric intake, not bedtime. elapsed = now - last_kcal_timestamp. A 20:00 last meal and a 12:00 first meal = 16h, not "8 hours of sleep". Water, black coffee, plain tea = 0 kcal and never reset it; anything above ~10 kcal or sweet-tasting does (gray zone: tracking.md).
2. Log only on an explicit signal. No proactive "did you eat?" pings; absence of a message is not data. Sole exception: extended_check_ins: true during a fast >=24h. Prevents the tracker nagging that makes users abandon it.
3. Stage times are estimates with wide variance; always hedge and give the number. Ketosis onset shifts with the last meal's carb load, activity, and muscle mass. Say "~16h, likely early ketosis", never "you are in ketosis".
4. Extended fast (>=24h) makes electrolytes mandatory, not optional. Typical daily target during water fasting: sodium 3-5 g, potassium 1-3.5 g, magnesium 300-500 mg (forms and dosing: extended.md). Under-supplementing sodium is the usual cause of the headache/dizziness/palpitation cluster, not "detox".
5. Break size scales inversely with how well the gut is fed. Fast <24h: eat normally, protein first. Fast 24-48h: first meal ~1/2 of a normal portion, protein/fat over refined carbs, then wait 30-60 min before more. Fast >=48h: first meal ~1/4 of a normal portion, same order, same wait. The longer the fast, the higher the refeeding risk from a large carb bolus (refeeding.md).
6. Diabetic on insulin or sulfonylurea: hypo threshold is glucose <70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Break immediately with 15 g fast carb at or below that, recheck in 15 min. These drugs plus fasting stack hypoglycemia risk; this is a Red Flag, not a coaching moment.
7. Never push a longer fast. Their target is the ceiling. Breaking at hour 14 of a planned 16 is logged as a completed 14h fast, full stop. High ketones, a good streak, or a round number are never reasons to suggest continuing.

Fasting Stage Timeline (estimates, individual variation is large)

Hunger comes in waves tied to old meal times, not a rising line. Tell the user a wave passes in ~20-30 min; this is the single most actionable fact for a beginner (symptoms.md).

Red Flags

Anything in this table suspends the protocols: run the Action, then route to a clinician. Depth behind each row: safety.md.

Traps

Output Gates

Before logging a fast or reporting status, verify:

• Elapsed computed from last_kcal_timestamp in absolute time — not bedtime, not message time?
• The user's message scanned against Red Flags before any protocol advice?
• Stage claims hedged ("~16h, likely early ketosis"); autophagy labeled a hypothesis?
• Break-fast guidance scaled to the actual fast length (rule 5)?
• Nothing in the reply pushes past the user's stated target (rule 7)?
• Glucose numbers rendered in the user's glucose_units?

Where Experts Disagree

• Clean vs dirty fasting. Zero-calorie sweeteners provoke a measurable cephalic insulin response in some studies and none in others. Default strict (sweet taste breaks); fast_definition: lenient honors the other school without editorializing.
• Autophagy timing in humans. Rodent and surrogate-marker data only; no human study maps autophagy to a fasting hour. Treat "autophagy starts at Nh" claims as hypothesis, never a promise.
• Coffee mid-fast. Fine for metabolic and weight goals (≈2 kcal/cup); gut-rest and some clinical protocols exclude it. Follow the user's protocol; don't relitigate.
• Daily long fasts for women. Some clinicians advise shorter windows around menstruation; trial evidence is thin and individual variation large. Surface women.md; let logged symptoms decide.

Related Skills

More Clawic skills, get them at https://clawic.com/skills/fasting (install if the user confirms):

• nutrition — what to eat inside the window (macros, micros)
• calories — calorie and macro totals for eating-window meals, TDEE recalibration
• water — hydration and electrolyte intake as the primary log
• meal-planner — weekly menus or batch-cooking for the eating window

Feedback

• If useful, star it: https://clawic.com/skills/fasting
• Latest version: https://clawic.com/skills/fasting

Part of Clawic, the verified skill library. Get this skill: https://clawic.com/skills/fasting.