Author Topic: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity  (Read 14407 times)

kisserofsinners

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Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« on: August 25, 2012, 09:51:25 AM »
As someone with chronic stomach issues i've been fasting/detoxing at least once a year since 2009.

I'm curious about the example in the article about water intake. It's not mentioned at all. Did the guy there go three days without water, too?

My (nutritionist facilitated) fast/detox is 8-10 days. 2 days master cleanse. 6-8 days steamed/baked veggies and whole grain rice or quinua.
Lots of beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes to curb sugar cravings.
Olive oil and rice protein smoothies to curb meat cravings.

**no**
Meat
Dairy
Nuts
Sweeteners of any kind
Beans (except mung beans)
Stimulants of any kind

For your first time the reason it's important to work with a doctor or nutritionist is that it's really east to get sick, dehydrated, severely constipated, etc. Basically all te crapp that makes it easy to have a hard time and never try it again. Get help! :)

I have to say after the 3rd time it got really easy. crazy easy. I could feel my eating awareness software being over written. I can now go hours without food and i don't get panic. I barely remember that panic now, but know it directed many unhelpful actions. Now i simply acknowledge the hunger and know that i will get food eventually.

It does help to viscerally have a sense of empathy for the concept of the very poor who simply go with out. I can stop this game at any time. They can't.

Great topic. Glad we're all here learning together. :)

Yabusame

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My First Fast
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2012, 02:11:37 PM »
Note: I just posted the following in the comments on the blog but wanted to put it here too...

I completed my 2 nights/1 day fast today.

So how did things go this first time round? Well, I last ate anything at around 21:00 on Saturday 25th August. I weighed myself before going to bed that night and I was 71.2kg (157 lbs). Naturally, I slept well, as it was just an ordinary night’s sleep.

The day of the fast (Sunday) started with a weigh-in where I was 70.6 kg (156 lbs) and some work on the laptop. Also that morning I did a 3 mile run and a 3 mile cycle ride. Nothing too strenuous, but it felt good. I wasn’t hungry at all in the morning but I started to feel the hunger in the afternoon. I think that was because I was just sitting in front of the TV for the afternoon, thinking about fasting and food in general. My mouth was constantly salivating. As evening drew in, I really started feeling hungry. I went for a couple of short walks but felt restless. The hunger pains started to diminish as the evening passed. I weighed myself again that evening before going to bed and I was 70.7 kg (156 lbs). I had gained 100 grams (3.5 oz) in one day of fasting. I can only guess that this was because of the water I was drinking because I wanted to stay hydrated to prevent headaches and I also drank water whenever I wanted something to eat. Sleep last night included a strange dream in which I was eating a couple of biscuits and as I bit into them I felt guilty because I’d forgotten I was fasting. Dreams are weird ;-)

Woke up this morning feeling good. No hunger pangs. Weighed myself and I was 69.9 kg (154 lbs). That’s a total weight loss of 1.3 kg (2.8 lbs). I broke my fast, at 10:00, with a bowl of porridge and a bacon sandwich; just like in the Horizon video that Dave posted about earlier in these comments.
Now I know what to expect from my first day of a fast, I will try 3 nights/2 days later in September. I’ll try to remember to report back here on how that turns out.

Russ

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2012, 06:50:30 PM »
I just ran out of leftovers so rather than cook myself something, I've decided to try a little fast of my own. Everyone says the real benefits kick in on day three, so I'm going for at least that. The interesting part for me will be my daily 5-mile-each-way bike commute. It's not too difficult terrain-wise, but I have a thing for racing against the cars which might get me in trouble. I'll be carrying around one of those little 100 calorie pure-sugar "energy gel" packets just in case, but I don't expect to need it.

Day 1 has been going well so far. No different from a regular day really, since I started after lunch - free Fazoli's lasagna for going to a lunch meeting, which was so nasty I really wouldn't have the stomach to eat anything else today if I wanted to. So that's good in a way. After work I did my regular Monday workout and rode home. I'll probably cut back on the exercise in a day or two, but for today I thought it would be fine.

Next update to come tomorrow!

Russ

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2012, 06:30:28 PM »
Day 1 1/2  (since it's really only been 32 hours)

Hunger - I woke up a little hungry, which stuck around until lunchtime and my brain realized it wasn't getting food. No hunger all afternoon, until I started cooking Thursday's dinner. Now I'm back to how I felt this morning, which is manageable.

Bike Commute - My legs still hurt from yesterday's workout, which is unusual. I expect they won't get better until I eat something. That didn't slow the commute down too much though, and I felt fine when I stopped (no dizziness or anything).

Other Things - My hands and feet were absolutely frigid from about 10 AM until the time I left work. Everything warmed back up once I got outside to go home though. I put the flannel sheets on my bed for tonight, just in case.

kisserofsinners

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2012, 11:48:19 AM »
Reading and researching more on fasting and i feel i little wussy now too. Hrm... Might try a quarterly fast for fall and spring to complete the year with my winter summer detox.

Richard3

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2012, 12:14:53 PM »
I have done two night (40 hour) fasts in the past but I find they are way more of a struggle for me. However, I have done a wussy form of intermittent fasting in the past (16/8) and been pleased with the results and with how easy it was.

Inspired by this article and my slightly expanded waistline I went cold turkey on to a 20/4 (ish) pattern. Feeding window is 7pm to 11pm. It's working great so far :

Minimal hunger - I am actually only eating at 7pm today since I have a soccer match at 830.The worst part of it is explaining to people that no, skipping breakfast doesn't magically make you fat.

Mostly good food consumed - I had some sweets and pretzels on board game night, but most of my meals have been stuff like chilli or steak and onions or apples and greek yoghurt

I get to indulge my gluttonous side and eat to beyond satiation without getting fat.


Leangains.net is a very convincing site for the benefits of Intermittent Fasting. Personally I think it's a much more sustainable form than multi-night fasting (although a good multi-night fast does help learn the difference between hunger and "it's probably time to eat".

tooqk4u22

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2012, 02:13:50 PM »
Thought it sounded like a good idea so after lunch yesterday I said I would go for it....7 hours later I get home and DW has dinner wrapping up....wow 7 whole hours (although I didn't eat breakfast or dinner the night before and lunch was a small salad with tuna).  I suck. 

I want and plan to do this but I need to set the right stage.  Needless to say I can't just spontaneously say I will fast now. 

My big issue is that I work best under "out of sight, out of mind"  when it comes to food.  If there are sweets - I will eat them but if we don't have any in the house I won't get cravings. It applies to everything for me.   

Russ

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2012, 09:40:30 PM »
Day 2

Last night was the most restful sleep I've had in a long time. I even woke up on my own, before my 6:30 alarm (this is a big deal for me, I usually hit snooze as many times as I can). No hunger at all, and I even felt pretty quick on the rides to and from work. Wednesday night is game night at a friend's house in Lexington, about a ten mile ride each way for me, and I felt optimistic so I went for it. Big mistake. About seven miles in I put my foot down at a stoplight and almost immediately felt like I was going to pass out. Thankfully there was a gas station on the corner, so I shuffled over and got myself something to eat. It was like magic, after a couple bites everything felt just perfect again so I carried on the rest of the way. So, 54 hours later, I'm done.

The whole thing was definitely a worthwhile experience, and I plan on trying again in a month or so. It was very interesting to feel my body accept that, no I really don't need that sandwich right now, I'll get along just fine. Lessons learned for next time: don't push the exercise too much (maybe start on a Friday and go through the weekend, so I'll only need to commute one day), and drink more water (probably a contributor to my light-headedness).

James

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2012, 09:34:25 AM »
My big issue is that I work best under "out of sight, out of mind"  when it comes to food.  If there are sweets - I will eat them but if we don't have any in the house I won't get cravings. It applies to everything for me.

I'm the same way, if it's there I'll eat it.  Last night my wife and I wanted a snack and she said we should keep some chips in the house.  I disagreed since if they are in the house we eat them.  I'd rather get them like we do now, for specific meals or special occasions.

When I fast I often start with a juice fast, usually limited to vegetable juice.  For the past few days I've been doing a juice fast during the day, but eating with the family at night.  At work I use V8 to keep it simple, at home I have a good juicer that I can use to make juice.  Sometimes I progress from a juice fast to a complete fast, the juice phase seems to ease me into the fast less abruptly and gives me some transition time.

The point is, find what works for you.  I think a complete fast for at least three days is something everyone should try at least once, but that doesn't mean your routine fast should be that way, or you have to start with that.  A juice fast takes some preparation, but that also lets you set the stage.  Don't worry about the failed attempt, I've abruptly ended fasts many times.  Just adjust your plan accordingly and try again, I think you will be glad when you do make it work.

kisserofsinners

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Re: Fasting: a Fast Way to Greater Badassity
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2012, 12:24:02 PM »
The point is, find what works for you.  I think a complete fast for at least three days is something everyone should try at least once, but that doesn't mean your routine fast should be that way, or you have to start with that.  A juice fast takes some preparation, but that also lets you set the stage.  Don't worry about the failed attempt, I've abruptly ended fasts many times.  Just adjust your plan accordingly and try again, I think you will be glad when you do make it work.

Definitely, this can also be applied to all sorts of things around here. Just because person X thrives with their techniques, don't kick you ass if it doesn't work for you.