It's been a while since my last post during which I have been experimenting with the ADF regime, I have found that for me a Feast/Fast paradigm doesn't work, or at least isn't working for me right now.
This realisation left me feeling a little torn, I like the concept and the framework for extending my fasting but found that for me the strength of this method for some was the source of the problem for me.
Once again this illustrates to me the need to be pragmatic and not dogmatic especially in matters as serious as your health, if you are following a regime that is not bringing you tangible benefits just because, then you need to look at this from another angle and get to a place where what you are doing is working, and working well.
As a brief recap, the idea between ADF is a feast/fast model. One day you feast (eat whatever you want), the next you eat low calorie diet. For a more detailed run through see my earlier posts.
For some people the fact that you get to eat every day, and that every other day you get to splurge is a great incentive to get them to reduce their total caloritic intake, and take a step forward to healthier living.
All sounds great doesn't it? And yet it just wasn't working for me, here's my breakdown of why:
Feasting days with no limits were too liberal, without an upper limit the possibility for abuse was too easy. Not that I ate excessively but I did eat a lot more than i normally would on a normal eating day, and the items that I tended to eat were not as nutritious. So I was eating more food of a lesser quality - Ouch!
Fasting days - were not real fast days (in my opinion) as they were not complete abstinence but a low calorie intake (1500 cals). I found these days harder than completely fasting, rather than getting the break from thinking about food (and the digestive overhead of processing it) I was spending time planning low calorie meals which results in a fixation on restriction - another negative.
And yet I still liked the idea of being able to extend fasting beyond my current 40/64 hour weekly fasts. In the end I came up with what I think is a workable solution, it's doing a 'real' ADF routine. There is a period of normal eating, and then a fasting (no food ) period, over a 2 week cycle it looks like this:
M T W T F S S
F F E E F E F
F E E F F E E
There are 3 periods of 2 days eating followed by two days fasting, and a 1 day fast / feed cycle. This results in the consumption of 1 weeks worth of food every 2 weeks, or more plainly it halves your intake and expenditure.
I am 2 weeks in so far and am finding it easier that the typical ADF routine, as I mentioned previously I will continue this until the end of year and see how I am doing at that point before planning my goals for next year.
Thursday 15 November 2012
Monday 8 October 2012
Alternate Daily Fasting - Week 1
As I mentioned in the previous post I have decided to try Alternate Daily Fasting (see previous post for all the gory details), as part of this experiment I will post a weekly review discussing my experiences and the results.
Week 1 Weight loss
I record my weight every day but use my weight on a Saturday morning as the measure for week to week comparisons.
In week 1 I lost 1 lb, this was despite eating a diet that was considerably worse that my normal diet.
The inter day totals are interesting, if not really meaningful, the peak weight loss was 4.6 lbs, the peak weight gain was 0.6 lbs, and as mentioned previously the week on week today was -1 lb.
Week 1 Review
Although I am only doing one 100% fasting day a week, I have now added 3 partial fasting days which results in a greater caloritic deficit. The partial fasting days (500 calories) were more difficult than the pure fasting day, because of the pure fasting days I don't think about what I am going to consume (as there is no consumption), the partial days require thought and planning because there is consumption.
Week 2 Plan
After seeing that I still lost weight even after an excessive week I am interested to see what the totals will look like on a 'clean' week - this is the goal for week 2. Also, due to the nature of the 14 day cycle, in even weeks I end up with a partial fast day, 100% fast day, and another partial fast day in a row which should also provide greater weight loss.
Assessment of ADF
After one weeks experience my current feeling is that this would be a great regime for maintaining weight especially if you over indulge on the feed days. I will update this assessment each week taking into account the experiences of that week and hopefully at the end of the experiment will have some solid information on how this works for me (and hopefully might work for you).
Week 1 Weight loss
I record my weight every day but use my weight on a Saturday morning as the measure for week to week comparisons.
In week 1 I lost 1 lb, this was despite eating a diet that was considerably worse that my normal diet.
The inter day totals are interesting, if not really meaningful, the peak weight loss was 4.6 lbs, the peak weight gain was 0.6 lbs, and as mentioned previously the week on week today was -1 lb.
Week 1 Review
Although I am only doing one 100% fasting day a week, I have now added 3 partial fasting days which results in a greater caloritic deficit. The partial fasting days (500 calories) were more difficult than the pure fasting day, because of the pure fasting days I don't think about what I am going to consume (as there is no consumption), the partial days require thought and planning because there is consumption.
Week 2 Plan
After seeing that I still lost weight even after an excessive week I am interested to see what the totals will look like on a 'clean' week - this is the goal for week 2. Also, due to the nature of the 14 day cycle, in even weeks I end up with a partial fast day, 100% fast day, and another partial fast day in a row which should also provide greater weight loss.
Assessment of ADF
After one weeks experience my current feeling is that this would be a great regime for maintaining weight especially if you over indulge on the feed days. I will update this assessment each week taking into account the experiences of that week and hopefully at the end of the experiment will have some solid information on how this works for me (and hopefully might work for you).
Monday 1 October 2012
A new phase
On the 29th September I decided to make a change to how I was conducting my weekly fasting regimen. Since February I've been fasting for at least 24 hours every Monday, usually 40+ hour and some much longer but I was looking for an additional challenge and wanted to incorporate more fasting into my week.
After some thought and a bit of research I decided on Alternate Daily Fasting, the basic premise of this being that you work in a repeating cycle of 2 days. The first day is a fast day and the second is a feast day.
Fast Day
Fast day in this model doesn't mean complete abstinence from food, it means consuming about a fifth of your normal daily calories, ideally around lunch time.
Feast Day
Feast day means you get to eat whatever you want to eat, cake, chocolate, ice cream, whatever.
Again the idea is that you are unlikely to consume the calories you didn't consume on the fast day, on top of the calories you would normally consume on your feast day resulting in a net deficit in caloritic intake.
Running the numbers
Assuming that you normally consume 2500 calories a day this would result in a fast day allowance of 500 calories, lets also say that on your feast days you consume an extra 1000 calories. What does this end up looking like?
Using the every other day model it takes 2 weeks before you repeat the days on which you fast/feast, so using that as our cycle length:
7 Fasting days * 500 calories = 3500
7 Feasting days * 3500 calories = 24500
For a grand total of 28000 calories in a 14 day period.
If you had stuck with your original 2500 calories a day over the same 14 day period, you would have consumed 14 * 2500 calories = 35000 calories
That equates to a deficit of 10500 calories over that period, or just over 2 lbs fat (assuming 1 lb fat - 3500 calories).
General thoughts
I see a lot of benefits for some people in this plan, you are eating every day and are only ever one day away from any cravings that you may have. There is also a sizable caloritic deficit that seems to be at a sustainable level.
My modifications
I do a complete fast on Mondays so over a 14 day period my numbers look like this:
2 100% fast days * 0 calories = 0
6 fast days * 500 calories = 3000
6 feast days * 3500 calories = 21000
For a grand total of 24000 calories in a 14 day period.
Using the same assumption of 2500 normal consumption this results in a deficit of 11000 calories, or a little short of 3 lbs of fat.
I also don't intend on consuming an extra 1000 calories on the feast days (at least not on every one), so that would result in even more savings.
Final thoughts
If the idea of not eating for a substantial period is not something you get excited about and you're looking for a gentle introduction to the fasting experience then this may be something worth trying.
I'll be following this program for the next couple of months (perhaps longer depending on how it goes) and reporting weekly on my experiences.
After some thought and a bit of research I decided on Alternate Daily Fasting, the basic premise of this being that you work in a repeating cycle of 2 days. The first day is a fast day and the second is a feast day.
Fast Day
Fast day in this model doesn't mean complete abstinence from food, it means consuming about a fifth of your normal daily calories, ideally around lunch time.
Feast Day
Feast day means you get to eat whatever you want to eat, cake, chocolate, ice cream, whatever.
Again the idea is that you are unlikely to consume the calories you didn't consume on the fast day, on top of the calories you would normally consume on your feast day resulting in a net deficit in caloritic intake.
Running the numbers
Assuming that you normally consume 2500 calories a day this would result in a fast day allowance of 500 calories, lets also say that on your feast days you consume an extra 1000 calories. What does this end up looking like?
Using the every other day model it takes 2 weeks before you repeat the days on which you fast/feast, so using that as our cycle length:
7 Fasting days * 500 calories = 3500
7 Feasting days * 3500 calories = 24500
For a grand total of 28000 calories in a 14 day period.
If you had stuck with your original 2500 calories a day over the same 14 day period, you would have consumed 14 * 2500 calories = 35000 calories
That equates to a deficit of 10500 calories over that period, or just over 2 lbs fat (assuming 1 lb fat - 3500 calories).
General thoughts
I see a lot of benefits for some people in this plan, you are eating every day and are only ever one day away from any cravings that you may have. There is also a sizable caloritic deficit that seems to be at a sustainable level.
My modifications
I do a complete fast on Mondays so over a 14 day period my numbers look like this:
2 100% fast days * 0 calories = 0
6 fast days * 500 calories = 3000
6 feast days * 3500 calories = 21000
For a grand total of 24000 calories in a 14 day period.
Using the same assumption of 2500 normal consumption this results in a deficit of 11000 calories, or a little short of 3 lbs of fat.
I also don't intend on consuming an extra 1000 calories on the feast days (at least not on every one), so that would result in even more savings.
Final thoughts
If the idea of not eating for a substantial period is not something you get excited about and you're looking for a gentle introduction to the fasting experience then this may be something worth trying.
I'll be following this program for the next couple of months (perhaps longer depending on how it goes) and reporting weekly on my experiences.
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Fasting - What's stopping you?
Fasting seems to be getting a lot of press at the minute, some good and some bad. As the debate continues you may be hesitant to get started not knowing whether you should, or if its really worth it.
Here are some things to consider:
You already fast
Every night when you go to sleep, you stop eating (at least most of us do :)) and spend several hours without taking in food or water. Considering that you spend roughly a third of your life asleep, I would argue that your body is designed to handle long periods without eating / drinking.
When you are sick you stop wanting to eat
Depending on what is wrong with you, this isn't always the case, but it happens often enough to be of interest to a pragmatic faster. I believe this is your body wanting to preserve its energy to use in fighting off the ailment, rather than spend it on digestion of food. If at the time your body is most vulnerable it's quite happy to stop eating then this also seems significant to me.
Hunter Gatherers
If you consider a hunter gatherer community (ie they have no real food stores and have to find food each time they want to eat) then two ideas present themselves. The first is that there will be peaks and troughs in their food consumption. The second is that they exercise predominantly when in a fasting state. Must hunter gatherers are slim and capable of extended endurance especially when compared to those of us in the 'modern' world, whose exercise is very limited, and food is essentially an unlimited resource.
If you don't like it or don't get on with it - eat!
Fasting is one of those things that can be started and stopped at virtually any time, don't let the fear of a long fast put you off. Build up gradually, if you are not ready to start with skipping meals, push your meal time back gradually - give yourself time (and permission) to go at your own rate. If you commit to a fast and its too much (for whatever reason) just eat.
It may be that fasting is not for you, perhaps just now or ever, but how will you know if you don't try it?
Here are some things to consider:
You already fast
Every night when you go to sleep, you stop eating (at least most of us do :)) and spend several hours without taking in food or water. Considering that you spend roughly a third of your life asleep, I would argue that your body is designed to handle long periods without eating / drinking.
When you are sick you stop wanting to eat
Depending on what is wrong with you, this isn't always the case, but it happens often enough to be of interest to a pragmatic faster. I believe this is your body wanting to preserve its energy to use in fighting off the ailment, rather than spend it on digestion of food. If at the time your body is most vulnerable it's quite happy to stop eating then this also seems significant to me.
Hunter Gatherers
If you consider a hunter gatherer community (ie they have no real food stores and have to find food each time they want to eat) then two ideas present themselves. The first is that there will be peaks and troughs in their food consumption. The second is that they exercise predominantly when in a fasting state. Must hunter gatherers are slim and capable of extended endurance especially when compared to those of us in the 'modern' world, whose exercise is very limited, and food is essentially an unlimited resource.
If you don't like it or don't get on with it - eat!
Fasting is one of those things that can be started and stopped at virtually any time, don't let the fear of a long fast put you off. Build up gradually, if you are not ready to start with skipping meals, push your meal time back gradually - give yourself time (and permission) to go at your own rate. If you commit to a fast and its too much (for whatever reason) just eat.
It may be that fasting is not for you, perhaps just now or ever, but how will you know if you don't try it?
Thursday 13 September 2012
Fasting and Food Appreciation
If there is one thing that I would wish for you to discover in your fasting experiences it's a heightened appreciation of food. This may seem like a strange thing to say as when we fast we stop consuming food, but its really a complementary concept.
Fasting has many benefits, it can reset your cravings both physically and mentally, it can help you distinguish between real and psychological craving, and bring you to a new understanding of yourself.
Food is something to be celebrated, it nourishes and sustains us, as you know I am very keen on organic food and home cooked meals. I believe in putting the very best (in nutritional terms) into my body and those of my loved ones.
Fasting can bring us to the realisation that eating is not a chore, we shouldn't eat because its 6pm or because we feel we should. Many cultures include prayers before eating, which I think is to bring us to a proper sense of reverence and gratitude before we eat and sustain.
We should eat when we are truly hungry, not because the boss shouted at us, or because the expected cheque (check) didn't turn up or because its raining - this is an abuse of food to my mind.
Eating should be a mindful process, an honouring of the food we consume (especially if its animal based), eating to live, not living to eat.
Fasting has many benefits, it can reset your cravings both physically and mentally, it can help you distinguish between real and psychological craving, and bring you to a new understanding of yourself.
Food is something to be celebrated, it nourishes and sustains us, as you know I am very keen on organic food and home cooked meals. I believe in putting the very best (in nutritional terms) into my body and those of my loved ones.
Fasting can bring us to the realisation that eating is not a chore, we shouldn't eat because its 6pm or because we feel we should. Many cultures include prayers before eating, which I think is to bring us to a proper sense of reverence and gratitude before we eat and sustain.
We should eat when we are truly hungry, not because the boss shouted at us, or because the expected cheque (check) didn't turn up or because its raining - this is an abuse of food to my mind.
Eating should be a mindful process, an honouring of the food we consume (especially if its animal based), eating to live, not living to eat.
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Fasting Frequency
Once we get into the flow with fasting, it's something that we can incorporate regularly into our busy lives. It's even something that you can start to look forward to (or maybe that's just me :) )
As I've mentioned before I think its very important to establish a solid base, and always end a fast feeling strong and knowing you could go longer. Not only does this apply to the duration of a single fast, but also to the frequency of fasts.
Let's say that you complete a 24 hour fast and feel great, so great in fact that you do another a couple of days later, or a week later, and that goes well too, so you decide to pursue a weekly schedule, and before you know it a month or two has passed.
This is really good and something that you should feel proud of, but you also need to be monitoring the fasts to ensure that you have the frequency set just right for you.
As an example, lets say you've been fasting daily (24 hours) for 3 months, and you are starting to notice that the fasts are becoming more problematic. As you've already 'proven' you can handle a daily fast you may be confused by what is going on - you may also be tempted just to force through (and thereby violate the finishing strong maxim).
What I believe is going on here, is that your body is experiencing some difficulties that need to be addressed prior to continuing on your fasting regime. Things to consider are:
So what's to be done?
Perhaps nothing, you may want to continue and see if this is just a blip
You may be 'done' if you had a certain goal that you've now met, or have got this weird fasting thing out of your system :)
You might consider taking a break for a while. Settle back into a 'normal' dietary routine for a while and see how you feel. If you find that you are really missing fasting, that's likely a good signal to start again (assuming you want to). If you find you are eager to start again to meet a goal, but are not looking forward to it - this may be a sign that you should leave it a while longer.
Ultimately, you have to be the one that takes responsibility for your fasting and for your health. If fasting is bringing you health and pleasure then why not continue it, if fasting is making you cranky, unhappy and hard to live with perhaps you need to relax your duration or frequency or perhaps stop for a while.
I've been fasting (on this particular cycle) since Feb 20th 2012 so about the 6 month mark, this is where I normally begin my introspective process, and start planning my goals for the next 6 months.
I have no idea (at this point) how long my fasts will tend to be, if I'll be doing any long (or longer fasts) or whether the experiences will change at all.
I will be paying attention to my body and looking for the signals that will help me fine tune as I move forwards.
As I've mentioned before I think its very important to establish a solid base, and always end a fast feeling strong and knowing you could go longer. Not only does this apply to the duration of a single fast, but also to the frequency of fasts.
Let's say that you complete a 24 hour fast and feel great, so great in fact that you do another a couple of days later, or a week later, and that goes well too, so you decide to pursue a weekly schedule, and before you know it a month or two has passed.
This is really good and something that you should feel proud of, but you also need to be monitoring the fasts to ensure that you have the frequency set just right for you.
As an example, lets say you've been fasting daily (24 hours) for 3 months, and you are starting to notice that the fasts are becoming more problematic. As you've already 'proven' you can handle a daily fast you may be confused by what is going on - you may also be tempted just to force through (and thereby violate the finishing strong maxim).
What I believe is going on here, is that your body is experiencing some difficulties that need to be addressed prior to continuing on your fasting regime. Things to consider are:
- Has your diet changed recently? (ie is it not as clean as it it was? are you using your fasting regime to justify bad choices?)
- Are there any new stresses in your life? (changing jobs, new relationships, bills, etc)
- Your willpower may be running low, I think that it is possible to consume willpower but also to regenerate it. There was an interesting article floating around on facebook a few weeks ago about how people who restrict things in their lives (ie in our case fasters) can suffer from a reduced ego which can lead to reduced will power.
- Are your motivations for fasting now, the same as they were when you started? Are you still fasting because you want to, or because you are the skinny guy/girl at work who doesn't eat once a week? As pragmatic fasters we strive for self knowledge - be brutally honest with your self and use that to drive forward momentum.
So what's to be done?
Perhaps nothing, you may want to continue and see if this is just a blip
You may be 'done' if you had a certain goal that you've now met, or have got this weird fasting thing out of your system :)
You might consider taking a break for a while. Settle back into a 'normal' dietary routine for a while and see how you feel. If you find that you are really missing fasting, that's likely a good signal to start again (assuming you want to). If you find you are eager to start again to meet a goal, but are not looking forward to it - this may be a sign that you should leave it a while longer.
Ultimately, you have to be the one that takes responsibility for your fasting and for your health. If fasting is bringing you health and pleasure then why not continue it, if fasting is making you cranky, unhappy and hard to live with perhaps you need to relax your duration or frequency or perhaps stop for a while.
I've been fasting (on this particular cycle) since Feb 20th 2012 so about the 6 month mark, this is where I normally begin my introspective process, and start planning my goals for the next 6 months.
I have no idea (at this point) how long my fasts will tend to be, if I'll be doing any long (or longer fasts) or whether the experiences will change at all.
I will be paying attention to my body and looking for the signals that will help me fine tune as I move forwards.
Thursday 30 August 2012
First time fasting report - Ian
Here's a report from another first time faster:
Hello,
Here is a short report on my first 24 hr fast.
I have struggled with my eating habits for 20 years, I
have recently improved my eating but wished to have more control of my
cravings, so after inspiration from another my first fast took place.
I decided to start in the evening 1830hrs until 1830 hrs
the next day here is how it went:
The evening was quite easy, and I didn't have to think
too much off to bed at 10 pm, with a glass of water.
Up at six the next day and off for a busy day at work,
said yes to colleagues for a morning cup of tea, .........almost......that was
habit, so I had a nice glass of water instead.
The first time I became aware of the fast was about 2pm,
so I had some more water, and got ready for the drive home.
From around 1700 hrs I seemed to produce a lot of saliva,
and my jaw ached slightly? Was I losing control? No!
I drove home feeling hungry
1830 hrs approached, so I ensured that my forthcoming
meal was the usual small portion , or what was the point of all the effort.
1830 nice meal, and the following weeks cravings seemed
more manageable!
The fast for me was a mental game, the body was fine with
it, onto the next one.
Ian
The psychology of fasting
Disclaimer
If you have an addictive personality (remember as pragmatic fasters we seek self knowledge) then fasting may not be for you, at least until you have a good handle on controlling your behaviours.
On the surface fasting may seem to be about deprivation, depriving yourself of food, either to lose weight or because everyone is doing it, or for some other reason.
However fasting is not about deprivation, its not a method of self abuse, and because we need to come at it from a stable perspective, we follow procedures, such as the ones I have outlined in earlier posts and this helps to provide a context for the fasting to occur in. Defining the start and end times, and the nature of the fast before starting avoids you moving the goalposts during the fast, this is especially important during longer fasts where the urge to eat can reduce to nothing (or close to it) and you can feel like you could go on forever.
Fasting should be seen as a method to celebrate your body and its vitality, a natural way of cleansing and healing, a source of comfort and self knowledge, it's not about punishment or harming your body. It's also one of the reasons that I also advocate finishing a fast strong, that is knowing you could have gone further. I also advise a very slow and gradual build up, allowing your body the time it needs to adjust, and being sensitive to the rate that your body wants to go at. Not everyones body is ready to jump into a 24 hour fast right away, and even if you are, there is no harm whatsoever in taking it slowly.
It's also not a quick fix for binging (cycling between feast and famine can put excessive demands on your body) fasting (should you choose to incorporate it into your life) should be simply another component of a healthy lifestyle.
In summary, fasting is and can be a very beneficial experience for us all, as with most things taking it easy and following sensible guidelines allows for an effective and sustainable practise.
If you have an addictive personality (remember as pragmatic fasters we seek self knowledge) then fasting may not be for you, at least until you have a good handle on controlling your behaviours.
On the surface fasting may seem to be about deprivation, depriving yourself of food, either to lose weight or because everyone is doing it, or for some other reason.
However fasting is not about deprivation, its not a method of self abuse, and because we need to come at it from a stable perspective, we follow procedures, such as the ones I have outlined in earlier posts and this helps to provide a context for the fasting to occur in. Defining the start and end times, and the nature of the fast before starting avoids you moving the goalposts during the fast, this is especially important during longer fasts where the urge to eat can reduce to nothing (or close to it) and you can feel like you could go on forever.
Fasting should be seen as a method to celebrate your body and its vitality, a natural way of cleansing and healing, a source of comfort and self knowledge, it's not about punishment or harming your body. It's also one of the reasons that I also advocate finishing a fast strong, that is knowing you could have gone further. I also advise a very slow and gradual build up, allowing your body the time it needs to adjust, and being sensitive to the rate that your body wants to go at. Not everyones body is ready to jump into a 24 hour fast right away, and even if you are, there is no harm whatsoever in taking it slowly.
It's also not a quick fix for binging (cycling between feast and famine can put excessive demands on your body) fasting (should you choose to incorporate it into your life) should be simply another component of a healthy lifestyle.
In summary, fasting is and can be a very beneficial experience for us all, as with most things taking it easy and following sensible guidelines allows for an effective and sustainable practise.
Tuesday 28 August 2012
So what is a long fast really like?
Recently, I decided to undertake a 100+ hour fast. The family were away so I was able to not eat for a sustained period without worrying anyone.
The first thing I did was to plan my start and stop times. 10PM Sunday until 10am Friday. The fast was to be beverages only, no food. As usual i mainly drank lemon water with occasional cups of decaf tea and coffee.
Once I had my plan, I needed to be sure that I was fully committed to performing the fast, I made sure that there was no fresh food that would go off while I was fasting (this has occasionally tempted me to eat so as not to waste the food but that's just a trigger of mine).
Sunday
Went to sleep at my normal time (around 10pm) feeling happy and intrigued to see what the next few days would hold.
Monday
A busy day, an hour of martial arts in the morning, lots of chores to get done, and then 90 minutes more martial arts in the evening. Drinking lots of water and feeling good. As I always fast on Mondays I didn't expect any issues and didn't have any (This is the benefit of feeding off previous successes). Went to sleep at 10pm
Tuesday
Woke up feeling a little congested (commonly known as the low carb flu) but otherwise fine. Weighed myself and was 4.4 lbs down. A nice start! Today's fun activity was hiking in the brecon beacons (wearing a 28lb pack) that was about a 4 hour activity, the afternoon was spent walking around and getting some other chores done. Felt colder than usual this evening (often reported side effect of fasting although i only get it occasionally). Tried to get to sleep at the usual time but was literally overflowing with energy, took another 3 or 4 hours before I got to sleep
Wednesday
Woke up feeling fantastic, full of energy, not congested in the least. Weighed myself - down 3 lbs. 60 minutes of martial arts is a great way to start the day, once that was done, lots more walking and miscellaneous chores. Feeling very serene and peaceful, feeling a little warmer than usual (another common side effect at least for me). Went to sleep at the usual time, slept like a baby.
Thursday
Woke up feeling fantastic and full of energy again. Weighed myself, down 1.2 lbs. No martial activities planned for the day, but had some shopping and things to do, so ended up being quite busy and active. Temperature normalised from this point onwards. Started to think about what I would consume in the recovery phase.
Friday
Woke up feeling great (had to get up earlier) with a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me, weighed myself - down another 1.6. Had a drink, shower and then drove off. Got to 10am and although not feeling at all hungry, had something to eat. The reasons I didn't continue were that I knew I could go longer (one of my golden rules is to always finish knowing you can go further), it was my longest fast so far and I didn't want to push it too hard too soon, and that I had achieved what I had set out to.
Summary
I experienced very little hunger pangs or cravings, this I attribute to the preparations I had put in place, and the long term fasting I have performed establishing a solid base. I had also removed as many of my triggers as I could.
At the end of this fast I was down 10.4lbs, but more importantly I had learnt that I could go that long without food without any detrimental effects, physically, emotionally or spiritually.
I am currently planning a longer fast of around 8 days, until that one I will continue with my weekly 40+ hour fasts and daily intermittent fasting using a 16/8 window.
The first thing I did was to plan my start and stop times. 10PM Sunday until 10am Friday. The fast was to be beverages only, no food. As usual i mainly drank lemon water with occasional cups of decaf tea and coffee.
Once I had my plan, I needed to be sure that I was fully committed to performing the fast, I made sure that there was no fresh food that would go off while I was fasting (this has occasionally tempted me to eat so as not to waste the food but that's just a trigger of mine).
Sunday
Went to sleep at my normal time (around 10pm) feeling happy and intrigued to see what the next few days would hold.
Monday
A busy day, an hour of martial arts in the morning, lots of chores to get done, and then 90 minutes more martial arts in the evening. Drinking lots of water and feeling good. As I always fast on Mondays I didn't expect any issues and didn't have any (This is the benefit of feeding off previous successes). Went to sleep at 10pm
Tuesday
Woke up feeling a little congested (commonly known as the low carb flu) but otherwise fine. Weighed myself and was 4.4 lbs down. A nice start! Today's fun activity was hiking in the brecon beacons (wearing a 28lb pack) that was about a 4 hour activity, the afternoon was spent walking around and getting some other chores done. Felt colder than usual this evening (often reported side effect of fasting although i only get it occasionally). Tried to get to sleep at the usual time but was literally overflowing with energy, took another 3 or 4 hours before I got to sleep
Wednesday
Woke up feeling fantastic, full of energy, not congested in the least. Weighed myself - down 3 lbs. 60 minutes of martial arts is a great way to start the day, once that was done, lots more walking and miscellaneous chores. Feeling very serene and peaceful, feeling a little warmer than usual (another common side effect at least for me). Went to sleep at the usual time, slept like a baby.
Thursday
Woke up feeling fantastic and full of energy again. Weighed myself, down 1.2 lbs. No martial activities planned for the day, but had some shopping and things to do, so ended up being quite busy and active. Temperature normalised from this point onwards. Started to think about what I would consume in the recovery phase.
Friday
Woke up feeling great (had to get up earlier) with a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me, weighed myself - down another 1.6. Had a drink, shower and then drove off. Got to 10am and although not feeling at all hungry, had something to eat. The reasons I didn't continue were that I knew I could go longer (one of my golden rules is to always finish knowing you can go further), it was my longest fast so far and I didn't want to push it too hard too soon, and that I had achieved what I had set out to.
Summary
I experienced very little hunger pangs or cravings, this I attribute to the preparations I had put in place, and the long term fasting I have performed establishing a solid base. I had also removed as many of my triggers as I could.
At the end of this fast I was down 10.4lbs, but more importantly I had learnt that I could go that long without food without any detrimental effects, physically, emotionally or spiritually.
I am currently planning a longer fast of around 8 days, until that one I will continue with my weekly 40+ hour fasts and daily intermittent fasting using a 16/8 window.
Monday 27 August 2012
Have you given in to cravings?
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a hundred times.
Come, yet again, come, come.
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a hundred times.
Come, yet again, come, come.
Rumi.
As we start making changes in our lives (in the immediate context) by fasting, we start to come up against inner resistances and blocks. Some of these can be extremely strong and powerful, very clever in outwitting our defences and inevitably at some point we may give in.
So you set yourself a target, be it a certain period of time, or not eating certain foods, or whatever it may be and then finding yourself suddenly undone - what to do?
The very first thing to do is not to blame yourself, as pragmatic people we realise that we are human, and not just that but what is done is done, and the important thing is to get back on the horse.
Failure, is not a pleasant word, it has many negative connotations, and we will sometimes strive to go to extraordinary lengths to conceal failure from ourselves and from others. However, failure is simply feedback, in this case it is feedback that on this occasion, a plan that had been made was undone. That is all it is. When we deny failure we miss learning from the experience and turning the negative feedback into a positive experience.
Whenever you encounter failure, rather than denying it, embrace it, open yourself to it, and vigorously pursue the lessons that are contained within it.
What exactly was it that led to be you being undone? Is this a trigger for you? (a trigger is anything that can have a disproportionate effect on you - for instance the smell of vanilla could be a trigger for comfort eating). What exactly about the trigger presented the issue this time? Were there other pressures or circumstances that contributed?
Take a long hard look at exactly what happened and do this as soon after the lapse as you are able - remember the more you learn from this experience, the more you turn this temporary blip into solid strategies that will prevent it happening again.
How you move forward from the blip depends very largely on what the exact nature of the blip is, in later posts we'll discuss some of them - in the meantime if anyone has anything specific they would like input on - please let me know.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Fasting go-fasters
Once you really start getting into your fasting, you may wonder how to really make the most of the time you spend fasting. After all you are resting your digestive organs, allowing the energy normally spent in that process to be put to whatever use the body decides to use it for, so is there anything else you can do? Glad you asked :)
Lemon Water
I've mentioned before, this is my go to drink when fasting (actually I drink it all the time), it's great for assisting in liver detoxification and I've also read that its great at eliminating estrogenic substances from the bodies.
Dowsing
Yes, I'm referring to pouring water over yourself rather than looking for underground rivers. As your largest organ, your skin is used both for absorption and elimination. Dowsing is a very big subject which I won't attempt to cover here, but it really can be as simple as pouring the coldest water you can get over yourself.
Detox baths
Bathing in a bath with either Epsom salts or Himalayan salts can also be a great detox, the salts help to draw impurities in the body out through the skin. You can find a lot of info on google (also a good place to look for info on dowsing)
Meditation
While you are fasting your body (by restricting food) why not apply fasting to your mind? Meditation can allow you to let your thoughts take a back seat to what's really important. When we fast (for our body) we restrict what goes into our mouths, when we fast for our minds we can restrict what comes out of our mouths.
Just a few ideas that may or may not be of interest to you.
Lemon Water
I've mentioned before, this is my go to drink when fasting (actually I drink it all the time), it's great for assisting in liver detoxification and I've also read that its great at eliminating estrogenic substances from the bodies.
Dowsing
Yes, I'm referring to pouring water over yourself rather than looking for underground rivers. As your largest organ, your skin is used both for absorption and elimination. Dowsing is a very big subject which I won't attempt to cover here, but it really can be as simple as pouring the coldest water you can get over yourself.
Detox baths
Bathing in a bath with either Epsom salts or Himalayan salts can also be a great detox, the salts help to draw impurities in the body out through the skin. You can find a lot of info on google (also a good place to look for info on dowsing)
Meditation
While you are fasting your body (by restricting food) why not apply fasting to your mind? Meditation can allow you to let your thoughts take a back seat to what's really important. When we fast (for our body) we restrict what goes into our mouths, when we fast for our minds we can restrict what comes out of our mouths.
Just a few ideas that may or may not be of interest to you.
Friday 24 August 2012
Fasting and Exercise
The concept of exercising while fasting seems to be one of those topics that can quickly polarise people, with most falling on either the don't do it (it's bad), or do it lots (it's good).
As with most things I am pragmatic and say do what works for you :)
The common reason for exercising is based on the premise that in a time of calorie restriction (ie fasting), that exercising has two benefits over and above its normal benefits. Firstly, the calories expended have more value (ie as you are not eating you are creating a greater caloritic deficit when exercising than would be the case if you were not fasting), and secondly it is broadly assumed that your metabolism slows when fasting and exercise increases your metabolism.
There are bits of information coming out recently that indicate that your metabolism doesn't slow during a fast - at least within fasts of a certain duration (see this article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread29011.html - this was kindly sent to me by exercise and fitness guru Michael Rook). BTW MarksDailyApple.com is full of great information on exercise and the paleo lifestyle if you are so inclined.
So while I don't 100% buy into the metabolism slowing effects of fasting, I don't see any reason to curtail my exercising on days that I happen to be fasting. Just as I don't change my training plans if its raining, I don't change them if I am fasting.
Recently I completed a 108 hour fast (my longest to date - I will be posting an article at some point that details what I experienced day by day on that fast) during that fast which covered four full days, I did 2.5 hours martial arts one day, hiking in the brecon beacons the next, over an hour martial arts the following day, and nothing the final full day. These were the activities that I happened to have scheduled that week, and the fast just happened to align with it.
Experiment with the combination of fasting and exercise, determine what works for you, and above all have fun with it :)
As with most things I am pragmatic and say do what works for you :)
The common reason for exercising is based on the premise that in a time of calorie restriction (ie fasting), that exercising has two benefits over and above its normal benefits. Firstly, the calories expended have more value (ie as you are not eating you are creating a greater caloritic deficit when exercising than would be the case if you were not fasting), and secondly it is broadly assumed that your metabolism slows when fasting and exercise increases your metabolism.
There are bits of information coming out recently that indicate that your metabolism doesn't slow during a fast - at least within fasts of a certain duration (see this article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread29011.html - this was kindly sent to me by exercise and fitness guru Michael Rook). BTW MarksDailyApple.com is full of great information on exercise and the paleo lifestyle if you are so inclined.
So while I don't 100% buy into the metabolism slowing effects of fasting, I don't see any reason to curtail my exercising on days that I happen to be fasting. Just as I don't change my training plans if its raining, I don't change them if I am fasting.
Recently I completed a 108 hour fast (my longest to date - I will be posting an article at some point that details what I experienced day by day on that fast) during that fast which covered four full days, I did 2.5 hours martial arts one day, hiking in the brecon beacons the next, over an hour martial arts the following day, and nothing the final full day. These were the activities that I happened to have scheduled that week, and the fast just happened to align with it.
Experiment with the combination of fasting and exercise, determine what works for you, and above all have fun with it :)
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Cravings - What they are and what to do with them
Cravings
Now may be a good time to think about cravings.In my view there are mental / emotional cravings and physical cravings, each needs to be thought about a little differently.
Mental Cravings
Your mind loves being stimulated (don't be embarrassed everyone does :)), whether its channel surfing, continual texting, passing judgements mentally and/or verbally your mind likes to keep itself busy. One source of stimulation is food based. It just loves to taste the wonderful foods out there, and will encourage you to eat as often as possible in order to receive that stimulation.
Emotional Cravings
These I see as a variant of mental cravings, although they are more specific in that at some level a positive association between food and happiness has been created. Not that this is always a bad thing, its good to enjoy your food, the problem begins when due to feeling stressed / tired / unloved, you are eating as a compensatory mechanism rather than because you are hungry.
Physical Cravings
These come in a couple of variants also. The first one is honest to goodness hunger, I think we can all recognise this one - but be careful it's harder than you might think. One of the indicators I will use is my stomach rumbling loudly and often - if that's not happening then I'm not hungry. I will also consider how much work I am expending vs my previous intake and decide if I am really hungry or not. Again this is where self knowledge comes in.
The second variant is similar to emotional cravings but in this case your mind / brain is addicted to food. There is a lot of material out there regarding the possibility of addiction to carbohydrates being similar to that of heroin. I am not a medical professional however I have seen from my own and others experience that giving up favourite carbs and / or fasting can be extremely difficult.
How to deal with Cravings
There are a few methods that can be used to deal with cravings:
Distraction
While I was still adjusting to fasting I would use this method a lot. You tell yourself that whatever you are craving you will have in 30 minutes if you still want it. You have to be strong with yourself on this. Then keep yourself busy / occupied - in 30 minutes or whenever you notice the craving again (after the 30 minutes) do the same again. Tell yourself you will have it if you still want it in 30 minutes. This is a great method for gaining control.
Have a drink instead
And by drink I mean water (or my preferred water beverage water with lemon juice), often times we confuse being hungry for being thirsty. Fasting is a great way to get to the point where you can tell when you are thirsty and when you are hungry. A great resource on the benefits of water and thirst vs hunger is 'The body's many cries for water' by Dr F. Batmanghelidj
Exercise
Exercising reduces hunger, and also helps you burn calories and a whole host of other wonderful things. Another fantastic resource regarding the effects of exercising on the mind and brain can be found in 'Spark - The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain' by John J Ratey M.D
Introspection
Sometimes figuring out why you are craving something can help unwind the craving trail and you'll discover you no longer want it. For instance, lets say you are craving crisps (chips to US readers), its commonly considered that the desire for crunchy foods is linked to stress. You may ponder what it is you are stressed about - this is easy when you know what it is, its more difficult when you don't, but sitting and reflecting and looking over your day can sometimes yield some useful insights. As you may have noticed across the various posts on here, I am a firm believer in Fasting as a method of personal enquiry and knowledge and it is in dealing with our cravings that the greatest insights may be found.
Thoughts
Ultimately cravings and emotions are mental reactions to various things, that is they are thoughts. Thoughts in my view are NOT your you are NOT your thoughts, however we tend to identify with them and when we do we lose perspective on who we are.
Identifying yourself with your thoughts, is one of the reasons that we will give into cravings, however, if we can maintain the perspective that the thought is just a thing that floats in and out of our mind and doesn't belong to us more than to any other person (and yes I know its hard :) ) it becomes much easier to stand apart from the craving and not give in.
Meditation is a good way to develop the mental focus that allows us to stand apart from thoughts. Just another tool in your toolbox should you be so inclined.
Now may be a good time to think about cravings.In my view there are mental / emotional cravings and physical cravings, each needs to be thought about a little differently.
Mental Cravings
Your mind loves being stimulated (don't be embarrassed everyone does :)), whether its channel surfing, continual texting, passing judgements mentally and/or verbally your mind likes to keep itself busy. One source of stimulation is food based. It just loves to taste the wonderful foods out there, and will encourage you to eat as often as possible in order to receive that stimulation.
Emotional Cravings
These I see as a variant of mental cravings, although they are more specific in that at some level a positive association between food and happiness has been created. Not that this is always a bad thing, its good to enjoy your food, the problem begins when due to feeling stressed / tired / unloved, you are eating as a compensatory mechanism rather than because you are hungry.
Physical Cravings
These come in a couple of variants also. The first one is honest to goodness hunger, I think we can all recognise this one - but be careful it's harder than you might think. One of the indicators I will use is my stomach rumbling loudly and often - if that's not happening then I'm not hungry. I will also consider how much work I am expending vs my previous intake and decide if I am really hungry or not. Again this is where self knowledge comes in.
The second variant is similar to emotional cravings but in this case your mind / brain is addicted to food. There is a lot of material out there regarding the possibility of addiction to carbohydrates being similar to that of heroin. I am not a medical professional however I have seen from my own and others experience that giving up favourite carbs and / or fasting can be extremely difficult.
How to deal with Cravings
There are a few methods that can be used to deal with cravings:
Distraction
While I was still adjusting to fasting I would use this method a lot. You tell yourself that whatever you are craving you will have in 30 minutes if you still want it. You have to be strong with yourself on this. Then keep yourself busy / occupied - in 30 minutes or whenever you notice the craving again (after the 30 minutes) do the same again. Tell yourself you will have it if you still want it in 30 minutes. This is a great method for gaining control.
Have a drink instead
And by drink I mean water (or my preferred water beverage water with lemon juice), often times we confuse being hungry for being thirsty. Fasting is a great way to get to the point where you can tell when you are thirsty and when you are hungry. A great resource on the benefits of water and thirst vs hunger is 'The body's many cries for water' by Dr F. Batmanghelidj
Exercise
Exercising reduces hunger, and also helps you burn calories and a whole host of other wonderful things. Another fantastic resource regarding the effects of exercising on the mind and brain can be found in 'Spark - The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain' by John J Ratey M.D
Introspection
Sometimes figuring out why you are craving something can help unwind the craving trail and you'll discover you no longer want it. For instance, lets say you are craving crisps (chips to US readers), its commonly considered that the desire for crunchy foods is linked to stress. You may ponder what it is you are stressed about - this is easy when you know what it is, its more difficult when you don't, but sitting and reflecting and looking over your day can sometimes yield some useful insights. As you may have noticed across the various posts on here, I am a firm believer in Fasting as a method of personal enquiry and knowledge and it is in dealing with our cravings that the greatest insights may be found.
Thoughts
Ultimately cravings and emotions are mental reactions to various things, that is they are thoughts. Thoughts in my view are NOT your you are NOT your thoughts, however we tend to identify with them and when we do we lose perspective on who we are.
Identifying yourself with your thoughts, is one of the reasons that we will give into cravings, however, if we can maintain the perspective that the thought is just a thing that floats in and out of our mind and doesn't belong to us more than to any other person (and yes I know its hard :) ) it becomes much easier to stand apart from the craving and not give in.
Meditation is a good way to develop the mental focus that allows us to stand apart from thoughts. Just another tool in your toolbox should you be so inclined.
Warm water and Lemon
I'm a big advocate of drinking water with lemon juice, i will also throw in some fresh mint leaves for an extra dimension, so it was great interest I saw this post via Scott Sonnon on FaceBook today:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4769/Why-You-Should-Drink-Warm-Water-Lemon.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4769/Why-You-Should-Drink-Warm-Water-Lemon.html
Report from a first time faster - Steve Flaherty
Fasting the beginning of my journey
22/08/12
By Steve Flaherty (new to fasting)
Having heard from
various people during my travels about fasting I today took my first tentative
steps into what it would be like to fast for 24 hours. Over the past few weeks
my curiosity in regards to fasting got the better of me. This is in part due to
Martyn Bliss and his excellent Blog posts on the subject.
My decision to Start
to fast for 1 day a week starting from today was not guided by religion or a
distinct desire to shed pounds. I was guided through my inner feeling and
interest in what the health benefits of this interesting subject were/are.
The first day of
fasting for me started last night after my evening meal and will continue to
9pm this evening. Throughout the day (I live in the Middle East) I found that
whenever I felt the desire to indulge in food I would drink water. Water being
a priority for me during a normal non-fasting day (it is generally 40° + here) made this process very easy to adapt
to.
Psychologically I
found that for the first 20 hours my energy levels and mood did not show any
change from normal. However over the past 3 hours (I still have one hour left
as I am writing) I find that although I am not craving food I do feel a little
bit tired and light headed.
Choosing today as my fasting day was my test
study of how I could cope without food. However I will from next week be
regularly fasting on Friday’s. Friday in the UAE is the start of the
weekend. Having only Systema Class on
Friday mornings for one hour, my transition to fasting during that day should
be smooth.
In summary of today, I
feel a little weakened now that my fast is nearly over I however have
thoroughly enjoyed the experience and do believe this will help me to further understand
me and the diverse capabilities of this complex human shell that over the last
37 odd years I have called home. This fact alone I think makes it a worthy
venture.
Kindest regards
Steve FlahertyYour FIrst Fast - Fasting Phases
At this point you should now have your fasting goals identified, know what you are doing, when you are doing it and for how long etc. Just having all these variables defined and understood will make the process easier and more enjoyable.
Before you go ahead and get started there are a couple of things left to consider, these are the preparatory and recovery phases. A fast in total looks like this:
<preparatory adjustments><fasting><recovery phase>
If you've decided to fast for 24 hours then that is the time you will spend in <fasting>, the time spent in <preparatory adjustments> and <recovery phase> is not counted as part of the total (at least not by me but as always do your own thing).
Preparatory adjustments phase
How long and what you do in this phase will depend on how long the fasting segment will be. If you are going to be skipping a single meal or two, you may not want or need this phase. If you are going longer and/or have trouble delaying or skipping your meals then it may be advantageous to have a period of under eating your normal intake to help your stomach to adjust. How long you take in this phase, and how much you reduce by is something that you will need to discover for yourself.
Fasting Phase
I start the timing of this phase when I last consume food. For my weekly fasts they start no later than 10pm on a Sunday evening, and then continue till at least 10 am on the following Tuesday. Often I start again at 2pm which makes for a 40 hour fast. Again, find what works for you and for the goals you are setting yourself.
Recovery phase
This phase is all about how we transition from not eating back to eating again in a healthy manner. There is little point in gorging once you have performed the fast because you are not really fasting then but delaying your calorie intake. Although to be fair, its quite hard to make up a days worth of calories the next day, so there are always benefits :)
My usual recovery meal is a raw soup (avocado, cucumber, mint or coriander, sometimes garlic and / or ginger, and enough water to get the consistency I like). Sometimes I will have a light salad - the longer you have fasted the lighter and more gradual your return to 'normal' eating should be.
In the next few posts we will look at each of these phases in detail, as well as some of the things you may encounter during the fasting phase. There may also be a report from a first time faster on their experiences!
Before you go ahead and get started there are a couple of things left to consider, these are the preparatory and recovery phases. A fast in total looks like this:
<preparatory adjustments><fasting><recovery phase>
If you've decided to fast for 24 hours then that is the time you will spend in <fasting>, the time spent in <preparatory adjustments> and <recovery phase> is not counted as part of the total (at least not by me but as always do your own thing).
Preparatory adjustments phase
How long and what you do in this phase will depend on how long the fasting segment will be. If you are going to be skipping a single meal or two, you may not want or need this phase. If you are going longer and/or have trouble delaying or skipping your meals then it may be advantageous to have a period of under eating your normal intake to help your stomach to adjust. How long you take in this phase, and how much you reduce by is something that you will need to discover for yourself.
Fasting Phase
I start the timing of this phase when I last consume food. For my weekly fasts they start no later than 10pm on a Sunday evening, and then continue till at least 10 am on the following Tuesday. Often I start again at 2pm which makes for a 40 hour fast. Again, find what works for you and for the goals you are setting yourself.
Recovery phase
This phase is all about how we transition from not eating back to eating again in a healthy manner. There is little point in gorging once you have performed the fast because you are not really fasting then but delaying your calorie intake. Although to be fair, its quite hard to make up a days worth of calories the next day, so there are always benefits :)
My usual recovery meal is a raw soup (avocado, cucumber, mint or coriander, sometimes garlic and / or ginger, and enough water to get the consistency I like). Sometimes I will have a light salad - the longer you have fasted the lighter and more gradual your return to 'normal' eating should be.
In the next few posts we will look at each of these phases in detail, as well as some of the things you may encounter during the fasting phase. There may also be a report from a first time faster on their experiences!
Monday 20 August 2012
Your First Fast - Background Information
This posting assumes that you have gradually built up to the point where you are ready to consider doing a full day fast. (If this isn't you yet, then either skip this post, or read on for some insights into what you may experience when you are ready)
Define your parameters
What to expect?
I'd venture to say that everyone has a different experience of fasting, I might go a little further and say that you may find that every fast that you perform will be different. Not hugely, just enough that you notice the small things. It's a bit like walking or running the same route every day, it will always be different especially if you pay attention.
The previous paragraph not withstanding, there are some common experiences that its as well to be aware of before starting:
Feeling Hungry
Yes you may well feel hungry, it may manifest in many different ways. Stomach rumbling, missing eating (especially around your normal mealtimes or when others are eating), moodiness, preoccupation with food (constantly thinking about eating, the fact you are not eating etc)
Moodiness / tiredness / anxiety
You may feel all of these or none of these, as your body gets used to the fact that you are not eating food and thereby generating energy for its use, you may feel these symptoms. The more you fast, and the longer you fast for, the more your body adapts and becomes better able to switch between its normal mode, and burning your fat reserves for energy (ketosis).
Strange sensations
At various times, I have felt hotter than usual and other times colder. There are some studies that describe reasons that may be attributed to these sensations. As a pragmatic faster, although I am interested in the science, I am guided more by my own experience and what works for me (or what I experience vs what I may possible experience)
Benefits of fasting
These are many and varied, for this particular article I'm only going to mention briefly the individual benefits, but I'll cover them in later articles.
Health benefits
Firstly, you are resting your digestive organs. Consider that these organs and systems are working for you everyday (and depending on how much and how often you eat - all day) of your life. Assimilation takes a great deal of energy, as well as producing energy for the body from your food.
Mental benefits
Setting a fasting goal and meeting it, strengthens your will power / determination. It shows you that the body can survive without food (within reason of course).
Financial benefits
You save money. If you fast for one day a week for a year and assuming you eat 3 meals a day, that equates to just over 7 weeks of food that you dont need to buy in a year! Those savings can be spent on anything that you want, but can also be used to purchase better quality food for the meals that you do eat (this is what I do - I buy as much organic produce as I can get my hands on).
Time benefits
You will have more time in your day. Just the time spent thinking about what to eat, prepping it, cooking it, cleaning up after eating etc can build up to be a large amount of time even after only a few fasts.
Spiritual benefits
If you are so inclined there are numerous spiritual benefits to be had from fasting - if you want more information, please feel free to contact me.
Weight loss
Fasting can provide weight loss, depending on the nature of the fast and how you react afterwards (see below section on What to do after a fast) realistic and long lasting weight loss can be achieved. There are many more benefits to be found in fasting, and these will be covered in later articles. In the next article we will see how the preparation and recovery phases are a very important part of fasting, and should be managed carefully to avoid undoing your good work in the actual fast.
- Day - which day will you fast, is it easier for you if its a work day or weekend day?
- Start Time / Stop Time - it's very important to know where the goal posts are (don't be tempted to move them)
- What kind of fast - see my previous entry on the different kinds of fast that you might choose from
- Preparation - As with most things having a supportive environment around you can make a big difference. Are the people around you onboard? Will they support you when things get hard? Are you likely to encounter criticism?
What to expect?
I'd venture to say that everyone has a different experience of fasting, I might go a little further and say that you may find that every fast that you perform will be different. Not hugely, just enough that you notice the small things. It's a bit like walking or running the same route every day, it will always be different especially if you pay attention.
The previous paragraph not withstanding, there are some common experiences that its as well to be aware of before starting:
Feeling Hungry
Yes you may well feel hungry, it may manifest in many different ways. Stomach rumbling, missing eating (especially around your normal mealtimes or when others are eating), moodiness, preoccupation with food (constantly thinking about eating, the fact you are not eating etc)
Moodiness / tiredness / anxiety
You may feel all of these or none of these, as your body gets used to the fact that you are not eating food and thereby generating energy for its use, you may feel these symptoms. The more you fast, and the longer you fast for, the more your body adapts and becomes better able to switch between its normal mode, and burning your fat reserves for energy (ketosis).
Strange sensations
At various times, I have felt hotter than usual and other times colder. There are some studies that describe reasons that may be attributed to these sensations. As a pragmatic faster, although I am interested in the science, I am guided more by my own experience and what works for me (or what I experience vs what I may possible experience)
Benefits of fasting
These are many and varied, for this particular article I'm only going to mention briefly the individual benefits, but I'll cover them in later articles.
Health benefits
Firstly, you are resting your digestive organs. Consider that these organs and systems are working for you everyday (and depending on how much and how often you eat - all day) of your life. Assimilation takes a great deal of energy, as well as producing energy for the body from your food.
Mental benefits
Setting a fasting goal and meeting it, strengthens your will power / determination. It shows you that the body can survive without food (within reason of course).
Financial benefits
You save money. If you fast for one day a week for a year and assuming you eat 3 meals a day, that equates to just over 7 weeks of food that you dont need to buy in a year! Those savings can be spent on anything that you want, but can also be used to purchase better quality food for the meals that you do eat (this is what I do - I buy as much organic produce as I can get my hands on).
Time benefits
You will have more time in your day. Just the time spent thinking about what to eat, prepping it, cooking it, cleaning up after eating etc can build up to be a large amount of time even after only a few fasts.
Spiritual benefits
If you are so inclined there are numerous spiritual benefits to be had from fasting - if you want more information, please feel free to contact me.
Weight loss
Fasting can provide weight loss, depending on the nature of the fast and how you react afterwards (see below section on What to do after a fast) realistic and long lasting weight loss can be achieved. There are many more benefits to be found in fasting, and these will be covered in later articles. In the next article we will see how the preparation and recovery phases are a very important part of fasting, and should be managed carefully to avoid undoing your good work in the actual fast.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
How to get started
The first thing to decide is what kind of a fast you are going to do. For me its always been a no-food fast (which to my mind means no fruit juices etc), but its your body and you need to decide what will work best for you.
Some options are:
My experience is that a slow build up is the best way to go (as with most things in life), if you finish a fast feeling like you could easily have gone longer - thats is perfect, and the best way to go into your next one.
If you've never fasted before, I would experiment with skipping a meal here and there, see what works best for you. Perhaps you can skip breakfast and supper easily but lunch is much harder? This is all about getting to understand your body. Try skipping occasional meals for a few weeks or even months until you get to the point where there is no distress of any kind associated with it (ie cravings, inability to concentrate etc).
Once you get to this point, you are likely ready to contemplate a longer duration fast.
- No food, No water (Extreme fasting and not for long periods)
- No food, plenty of water (this is my preferred method)
- No food other than fruit / veg juices and water (juice fasting)
- Restricted food, cut out certain food stuffs but eat other things.
- Restricted times, with or without food restriction (sometimes with an order of consumption - for example the Warrior Diet)
- Restricted quantities (You may want to cut down your per meal intake but leave everything else the same)
My experience is that a slow build up is the best way to go (as with most things in life), if you finish a fast feeling like you could easily have gone longer - thats is perfect, and the best way to go into your next one.
If you've never fasted before, I would experiment with skipping a meal here and there, see what works best for you. Perhaps you can skip breakfast and supper easily but lunch is much harder? This is all about getting to understand your body. Try skipping occasional meals for a few weeks or even months until you get to the point where there is no distress of any kind associated with it (ie cravings, inability to concentrate etc).
Once you get to this point, you are likely ready to contemplate a longer duration fast.
Monday 13 August 2012
Why I started fasting
For a long time, I have been interested in the physical capabilities of the human body as well as the spiritual. There are many crossovers to be found within the physical and spiritual realms and this has lead me to pursue spiritual 'technologies' as a means of improving physical performance.
This particular blog is focussed on fasting, although there may be others in the future that address other areas that I am interested in.
The first reference to fasting I remember reading was a book by T. Lobsang Rampa and concerned how his spiritual abilities became heightened when he fasted (I would have been around 8 or 9 at that point). That sparked an interest, which led me to pay more attention to fasting when I would encounter it in other sources: the bible, Hindu texts, turn of the century alternate health regimes etc.
For about 12 years I lived in the US, and enjoyed all of the wonderful cuisines and foods available which led to a point where I became very overweight. As most of the weight was accumulated gradually, it finally took a big aha moment (which happened when I returned to the UK on a vacation and heard various shocked comments about how large I was) to provide the impetus for me to do something about it,
The first thing I did was to start cutting down on junk food, and start exercising, but I also noticed that cravings were quite strong, so I needed to come up with a mechanism to address this. After lots of googling and reading, I finally decided that perhaps fasting would help - even if it only reduced my caloritic intake.
As my motiviation at this point was very high I decided to start with a daily fast, I chose Mondays, and would eat normally Tuesday to Sunday, and then just not eat on Mondays. Initially I suffered quite a lot with hunger pangs, cravings etc but I focussed on the change that I wanted to see (this is an example of positive motivation which helps build a lasting improvment - versus negative motivation such as no you cant eat that you big fat pig etc) and as the duration was relatively small I was able to get through the day.
On this subject, I find distraction to be a very useful method when fasting, and I will refer to this in a later post.
I continued this daily fasting for about 6 months, and then had to attend a business meeting out of town which included a business luncheon, rather than making a big deal out of not eating, I decided to eat with everyone else, and that act broke that particular cycle of fasting for a while.
Since then, I have fasted off and on for various lengths of time and for various reasons, some of which I will go into in later posts. For me having those previous successful fasting periods makes it much easier when I decide to start again - this is another reason that its very beneficial to always end a fast feeling like you could have gone longer. Success really does breed success.
This particular blog is focussed on fasting, although there may be others in the future that address other areas that I am interested in.
The first reference to fasting I remember reading was a book by T. Lobsang Rampa and concerned how his spiritual abilities became heightened when he fasted (I would have been around 8 or 9 at that point). That sparked an interest, which led me to pay more attention to fasting when I would encounter it in other sources: the bible, Hindu texts, turn of the century alternate health regimes etc.
For about 12 years I lived in the US, and enjoyed all of the wonderful cuisines and foods available which led to a point where I became very overweight. As most of the weight was accumulated gradually, it finally took a big aha moment (which happened when I returned to the UK on a vacation and heard various shocked comments about how large I was) to provide the impetus for me to do something about it,
The first thing I did was to start cutting down on junk food, and start exercising, but I also noticed that cravings were quite strong, so I needed to come up with a mechanism to address this. After lots of googling and reading, I finally decided that perhaps fasting would help - even if it only reduced my caloritic intake.
As my motiviation at this point was very high I decided to start with a daily fast, I chose Mondays, and would eat normally Tuesday to Sunday, and then just not eat on Mondays. Initially I suffered quite a lot with hunger pangs, cravings etc but I focussed on the change that I wanted to see (this is an example of positive motivation which helps build a lasting improvment - versus negative motivation such as no you cant eat that you big fat pig etc) and as the duration was relatively small I was able to get through the day.
On this subject, I find distraction to be a very useful method when fasting, and I will refer to this in a later post.
I continued this daily fasting for about 6 months, and then had to attend a business meeting out of town which included a business luncheon, rather than making a big deal out of not eating, I decided to eat with everyone else, and that act broke that particular cycle of fasting for a while.
Since then, I have fasted off and on for various lengths of time and for various reasons, some of which I will go into in later posts. For me having those previous successful fasting periods makes it much easier when I decide to start again - this is another reason that its very beneficial to always end a fast feeling like you could have gone longer. Success really does breed success.
What is fasting?
It seems to make sense that before discussing the results of fasts, various approaches to it etc that I should describe what fasting is.
My definition is that it is a voluntary reduction or cessation in the consumption of food stuffs. Over the years there have been many popular fasting type diets, that don't appear to have led to any real sustained weight loss. This is due I think to the diet mentality rather than anything wrong with fasting per se.
The internet is full of different fasting regimes and idea, however I do beleive that you should work up to fasting gradually, and is not only gets your body used to the change, but also your psyche as well. As anyone who has tried dieting will know, enlisting the support of your mind makes things considerably easier.
Fasting has a long historical context, and you can find mention of Jesus fasting in the Bible for example, and at times many different individuals from very different life paths have advocated its use.
So in short, a fast is when you voluntarily reduce or stop eating various foods for a certain period of time. Sound scary? It shouldn't you do this every night when you sleep, and you more than likely do this when you are ill.
My definition is that it is a voluntary reduction or cessation in the consumption of food stuffs. Over the years there have been many popular fasting type diets, that don't appear to have led to any real sustained weight loss. This is due I think to the diet mentality rather than anything wrong with fasting per se.
The internet is full of different fasting regimes and idea, however I do beleive that you should work up to fasting gradually, and is not only gets your body used to the change, but also your psyche as well. As anyone who has tried dieting will know, enlisting the support of your mind makes things considerably easier.
Fasting has a long historical context, and you can find mention of Jesus fasting in the Bible for example, and at times many different individuals from very different life paths have advocated its use.
So in short, a fast is when you voluntarily reduce or stop eating various foods for a certain period of time. Sound scary? It shouldn't you do this every night when you sleep, and you more than likely do this when you are ill.
Thursday 9 August 2012
And so it begins....
As a regular faster, I have tended to post fasting updates on my facebook page however they can get a bit lost and not everyone wants to read them, so this will be the new location for all my fasting related endevours.
Just to set the context a little, I do not have a medical background, I am not a medical / dietary / exercise professional, I am simply someone who fasts a lot and is interested in encouraging others to as well.
To that end, I will post the results of my various fasts, links to any books / websites / studies etc that may prove useful to a faster.
I experiment on myself, and you are welcome to follow along (as you see fit) and see if fasting can work for you as it has for me.
To eat, or not to eat that is (no longer) the question - well not for me, but if you are still undecided - read on :)
Just to set the context a little, I do not have a medical background, I am not a medical / dietary / exercise professional, I am simply someone who fasts a lot and is interested in encouraging others to as well.
To that end, I will post the results of my various fasts, links to any books / websites / studies etc that may prove useful to a faster.
I experiment on myself, and you are welcome to follow along (as you see fit) and see if fasting can work for you as it has for me.
To eat, or not to eat that is (no longer) the question - well not for me, but if you are still undecided - read on :)
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