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My 30 Day Experiment – Intermittent Fasting

February 2, 2009 By 14 Comments
This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Intermittent Fasting

I’ve always enjoyed experiments and trying out new things. Some of these new things I’ve retained (being a vegetarian), others I have not (jogging 5 times a week or interval training). However, the act of experimenting has always been fun and I’ve learned new things about myself and my body in the process. I’m also a fan of Steve Pavlina’s 30 day method.  If you’re not interested in reading Steve’s whole article, the method is essentially a way to experiment with your habits for a period of 30 days.  Make a promise to change something or try something new for 30 days.  Write down your results and observations.  At the end of the 30 days, decide if you want to keep going for another 30 days or not.

So what should I experiment with this month?  Well, I’ve been interested in intermittent fasting for a while now.  I’m not sure if I believe in it but there sure are a lot of people who do.  From The IF Life to the LA Times, I’m seeing articles describing the various benefits of occasional, regular fasts.

CAUTION!!!

As always, if you’re going to make some kind of change like this consult with your doctor first.  That’s what I did and she told me that I’ll be fine as long as I don’t overdo it.  She also gave me a bit of advice on what to eat and when.  DO NOT attempt something like this or any other major eating or exercise change without medical advice.  And no, your buddy Bob at the office, your friend Stacy at the hair dresser or that blogger on the internet do not count as medical advice.

So What Am I Going To Do?

I am going to try fasting completely every Sunday and partially every Wednesday.  That means no food at all on Sundays.  That seemed to be the best day for me because I’m not at work where I frequently have lunch meetings and such, plus I’m less likely to have social engagements like dinner with friends.  On Wednesdays, I will eat a small breakfast and lunch but avoid dinner altogether.  On other days, I will eat the way I normally do.

I’m planning to keep a journal of how I feel on these days and through the week in general and will report on my progress here at 60 in 3.

Expectations

I’m trying to keep my expectations to a minimum.  I am not expecting this to fail nor am I expecting this to be an amazing success.  In fact, I am trying to have no expectations at all, that way I can unbiased when I look at the results.  I would however like to see if it has any impact on my energy levels, exercise capability and weight.

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What kind of change are you going to try in the month of February?  How about an additional walk per day?  How about one less coffee per day?  Lots of things to try!

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits

First Day of Partial Fasting

February 6, 2009 By 3 Comments
This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Intermittent Fasting

I was going to do my first day of partial fasting on Wednesday, but as with many things, life interfered and I ended up doing it on Thursday instead. I ate a small breakfast, a small lunch and nothing else except some fruit in the evening. I also worked out on Thursday so it was an interesting mix of physical activity and little food. Some observations on this Friday morning, the day after the start of my little experiment:

Not Too Hard

I thought it would be much harder to avoid eating but it really wasn’t.  I didn’t feel hungry, probably because I ate a decent quantity of fruit.  That’s a good lesson to remember for everyone.  One of the best things about fruit and vegetables is the fact that they make you feel full without a lot of calories.  We’ll see what happens on Sunday when I avoid fruits and vegetables as well.

Need More Water

I usually drink while I eat.  However, since I wasn’t eating, I also wasn’t drinking enough.  Combine that with a 5 mile run and I’m a bit dehydrated this morning.  That’s easily solvable.

Less Oranges

Instead of dinner, I ate about four oranges fresh from my orange tree.  That seemed like a good idea at the time but now my throat is a little soar.  If I’m going to do these partial fasts by eating fruit, I need to vary it up a bit.

Energy Level

I woke up this morning feeling very refreshed.  I slept well and had plenty of energy.  Of course, this is just one morning which is a meaningless sample, but I don’t feel lethargic or tired.

Summary of First Day

Overall, I feel good.  The partial fast was easy to do and I felt good both yesterday while doing it and today.

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And for the curious, I am going to maintain my usual workout routine while doing this.  We’ll see if the fasting has any impact on my performance.

Filed Under: Eating Healthy

First Day of Full Fasting

February 9, 2009 By 1 Comment
This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Intermittent Fasting

So yesterday was the first day in which I didn’t eat anything. I drank water but that’s about it. I have to say, it was harder than I thought it would be. By early evening, my stomach was letting me know in no uncertain terms that it was time to eat. Fortunately, I was able to distract myself with some reading and work. By the late evening, the hunger seemed to subside and I was able to get a good night’s sleep.  Results?

Tired

I’m a bit tired today but that could be because I got very little sleep this weekend due to personal reasons.  I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the lack of food.  I suppose we’ll see next week.

Sore Throat

The sore throat I had on Thursday after my first partial fast seems to be gone.  My guess is it was unrelated to the fasting.

Hunger

Oddly enough, I am not hungrier than usual this morning.  I thought I would be starved but I’m not.  I had a decent sized breakfast and I’m feeling full.

Physical Performance

Other than the tiredness, I feel fine physically.  We’ll see how well I do at the gym in a few hours.

Other Thoughts

Fasting is turning out to be easier than I thought.  However, thus far, there have been no significant benefits that I can see.  Of course, it’s only been 1 week so I might need to wait a bit.  Also, there are some benefits which I am not measuring here.  For example, I am eating less so I’m guessing my weight is going to drop.  Also, I’m saving money on food I don’t eat.  Unfortunately, these weren’t the benefits I was looking for.  I was hoping for more dramatic improvements in energy levels and mental focus, something many of the fasting articles I’ve read mention.  Again, it’s only been 1 week so I suppose I’ll wait and see.

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The hardest part about fasting so far?  Saying no to all those friends asking you to go out to lunch or come over for a bite to eat :)

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits

Another Day of Fasting

February 13, 2009 By 2 Comments
This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Intermittent 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.

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And in the unexpected benefits column there’s also the fact that I need to wash way less dishes lately!  :)

Filed Under: Diets, Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits

Intermittent Fasting Issues

February 16, 2009 By 4 Comments
This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Intermittent Fasting

I’ve been trying intermittent fasting for two weeks now with a partial fast on one weekday (usually a Wednesday or Thursday) and a full fast on Sundays.  The partial fasts have been going well but I’m having serious issues with the full fasts from a very unexpected source, my social life.

In terms of hunger or any other physical issues, both the partial and full fasts have been much easier than I imagined.  I don’t feel hungry or weak, nor do I have any issues the day after or with subsequent meals and workouts.  In fact, the physical aspect of fasting has been a lot easier than I thought it would be.

The mental part of not eating has also been easy.  When I initially imagined this experiment, I thought I would spend every fast day thinking about food.  I imagined myself as one of those cartoon characters who’s so hungry that he sees everything as a food dish.  I saw myself hungry and miserable and unable to think of nothing else other than “when is this going to be over?!?!”  However, my actual experience has been completely different.  I don’t think about food when I’m fasting, no more than I usually would, nor am I miserable unhappy.

Oh no, if only my issues were something like emotions or sensations, that would be easy.  The problem I have is much harder, it’s my social life, my friends and family.  I never realized how much of my social life revolved around food until I tried to spend 1.5 days a week without it.  It’s ridiculous.  Every single social plan with a friend or family member includes eating of some kind.  It’s truly a lesson to me as to how big of a place food has in our lives and I’m having a hard time figuring out how to separate my social life from eating.

Lessons

I don’t see how full fasting is going to fit into my life long term.  I just can’t imagine being able to completely avoid any and all social engagements on an entire weekend day.  My weekends are busy with friends and family and they all want to eat.  Sure, I could sit with them and not eat but that would feel weird for me and them.  At the same time, I don’t want to try full fasting on a weekday when I work out.  I need food for energy on those days.  So once this experiment is over, I don’t believe I’m going to continue with the full fasting.

So far though, I’m really liking the partial fast days.  Essentially, these are days in which I eat a normal breakfast and lunch but completely avoid dinner.  In terms of calories, I probably get about 2000 out of my normal 3500, which is low, but not horribly low.  These days leave me feeling energized and happy.

Still, who knows.  I’ve only done 2 weeks out of this 30 day experiment.  Maybe the next two weeks will change my mind.  Either way, I’m already learning some valuable lessons about my relationship to food and what more or less of it does to me and that’s worth the time spent on this sort of experiment.

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A hearty thank you to those of you who link to 60 in 3 posts through various social services like Digg and Stumble Upon.  I replaced the old Sociable Plugin with a new Share This plug in which will hopefully make this easier.  If you have any feedback, let me know.  Also, I hope I’ve resolved all the technical difficulties with the site but if you have any issues, let me know.

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits

Intermittent Fasting Results

March 2, 2009 By 11 Comments
This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Intermittent Fasting

As most of you know, I’ve been experimenting with intermittent fasting this month.  I’ve been trying to spend at least one day a week with a low amount of calories, about 50% of my usual daily total, and another day a week with no calorie intake at all.  Overall, my results have been positive, but I don’t think this is an experiment I will stick with, at least not in its current form.

Physical Results

I’ve lost three lbs this month, something I wasn’t really planning on.  That’s good news for me since I’ve been stuck at a weight plateau for several months now.  Unfortunately, I’m not expecting this change to last since I’m not going to stick to the fasting routine I was doing this month.  Looks like I’ll need to find another solution to these last 15lbs.

I will say that I was surprised at how easy it was to not eat.  When I first considered this experiment, I thought I would have serious difficulties with hunger during the fasts and with binge eating on the day after the fast.  Neither one of these things happened and I actually found it very easy to not eat.  I didn’t feel starved, either on the fast day or the on the next day.

At the same time, my workout performance has stayed the same.  I was actually worried about this when I initially started this experiment.  I was concerned about the effects of a very restricted calorie intake on my muscles and endurance.  However, this proved to be unfounded, at least in the short term.  My physical performance is just fine and I am capable of just as much running and weight lifting as I was at the beginning of this month.

Energy Levels

Here’s the odd thing.  On the evening of a fast and on the morning after a fast day, I felt incredibly energetic.  I was awake, I was attentive, I felt great!  I thought I’d be feeling tired and weak from the lack of food, but instead I found myself feeling full of life and ready for anything that came my way.  Mentally, I felt sharper and more capable plus I felt happier somehow.  I don’t quite have the words to describe how I felt, but it was definitely good.  This feeling would last right through the post fast day.

Social Issues

Here’s the problem, and the reason why I couldn’t keep this up.  As I discovered through this experiment, food plays a huge part in my social life.  No matter who I’m with or what we’re doing, eventually, people want to eat.  When they eat, they don’t want me sitting there not eating.  That would not be social and I suppose it would make them feel a bit weird.  That means that on days where I want to fast, I cannot spend much time with other people.  Unfortunately, that just won’t work for me.

I’m a very social person and I enjoy spending time with other people.  There’s just no way that I’m going to give up this part of my life.  Therefore, there’s no way that I can maintain this habit of intermittent fasting even though I like the health benefits.  However, there is a way that I can adapt and retain some of this experiment.

Adaptation and Improvisation

As social as I am, I don’t go out every night.  There are evenings when I stay home and do things like work on 60 in 3, read or do school work.  This usually happens about once or twice a week.  On these days, I plan on skipping dinner altogether and eating only a small lunch.  That means that I’ll be doing one to two partial fast days a week, which sounds about right to me.  I’m hoping that this is enough to gain the benefits of fasting without interfering too much with my life.

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What new thing are you trying out this month?  For me, I’m trying out a whole new approach to the people around me, but that’s a topic for a different time and a different blog.  :)

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits, Nutrition