Another Day of Fasting
Yesterday was another day of partial fasting for me as part of my month long experiment with intermittent fasting. I had a decent breakfast, a small lunch and then nothing else except for a few oranges. Overall, my calorie intake yesterday was probably about 2000, which is low compared to my usual daily intake of about 3500.
Is It Difficult?
Not at all. Actually, it’s far easier than I expected. I think the oranges (last week it was apples) helped a lot because I feel like I’m eating without consuming a lot of calories. When I first started this experiment I thought I would be terribly hungry all evening to the point of having problems sleeping. However, I’m actually feeling great on these evenings, to the point where I’m thinking of adding another partial fast day to my week. There’s something about not going to bed with a full stomach that’s making me feel good.
This is a great example of why fruits and vegetables are such an important part of a healthy eating plan. It’s not just because they’re full of vitamins and minerals that you need. It’s also because they make you feel full without a lot of calories. I ate three oranges last night and felt as full as if I had eaten a complete dinner. The difference in calories though was huge.
Binging?
One of the things I was afraid of was the possibility of over eating the next day as compensation for the lack of food the previous day. So far though, I see none of that. This morning I ate a decent sized breakfast and did not feel extra hungry. I don’t feel weak, famished, light headed or any of the other feelings people describe when they’re really hungry. I will say that I felt a bit like that on my full fast day last Sunday, but these partial fast days are going really well and don’t seem to have any negative impact the next day.
In fact, I think I am learning to control my eating a lot better through this experiment. I used to have issues with overeating and binge eating, but this experience with fasting is teaching me that I can avoid eating if I want to and that’s doing good things for my self esteem.
Exercise
No negative side effects so far on my exercise performance. I did pull a muscle in my leg on Wednesday but I don’t believe this had anything to do with fasting. Even with that slight pain I was able to complete my full run yesterday and I plan on doing a complete weight routine + elliptical as soon as I’m done with this post. Overall, I feel strong. I’m a little worried about the quantity of protein I’m consuming since dinner used to be a primary source of protein for me. I’m planning to pick up some eggs this weekend at the farmers market and add them to my breakfasts as a way of supplementing my protein intake.
Weight
I’m not losing a lot of weight but I am losing some. It’s too early to tell if this is going to have any impact on my long term weight goal. Plus it’s only a 30 day experiment, which means it will have ZERO permanent effect unless I choose to implement some parts of it as a life long routine. I’ve lost 1lb so far though, which is encouraging to see, especially since I don’t feel food deprived.
Social Implications
This is a problem I did not anticipate. Our social lives revolve around food. We go out to dinner, we meet friends for lunch and we go have a couple of drinks after a movie. Whatever it is, most social plans typically involve some eating. That’s fine most days, but it does make partial or full fast days difficult. I have to consciously stop myself from accepting dinner invites on these days. On the other hand, I’m finding new ways to spend time with people that do not involve eating.
For example, my dad is in town this week, visiting from Israel. Usually when he’s here we would go out to dinner. Last night we sat at home and simply talked, an activity that I found to be very enjoyable. Turns out he’s been trying to avoid big dinners too.
Overall
I’m liking this experiment and I think I’ll include some parts of it in my day to day life. Specifically, I think I’m going to forego a lot of unnecessary dinners from now on. Unless I have a really good reason to go out and eat a lot late in the day, I’m going to try and go with a small snack, a piece of fruit or nothing at all. I’m really liking the way I feel after days in which I didn’t eat much later in the day and I want to keep that feeling going.
###
And in the unexpected benefits column there’s also the fact that I need to wash way less dishes lately! 
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Great point about our social lives revolving around food. That’s such a true statement.
You’re absolutely right on that. Thanks for the post