IF Update

I was glancing over site traffic statistics for Hap's Dustbin, and even though they are pathetic as expected, I did notice traffic continues to come here from Dr. Eades' intermittent fasting blog post. As such, I thought it would be good to update folks on where I am today with IF. My last couple of posts weren't so positive, and I thought I should set the record straight.

I do continue to fast albeit much more randomly and usually only in response to digestive or allergy problems. The odd thing about not fasting on a schedule is that, for me, it's much harder than the MWF schedule I was keeping last winter. For reasons I cannot explain, the hunger makes me a bit crazy if I'm not on a schedule. On a schedule, the fast is simple.

As to my back problems, it was probably a combination of factors, but the central problem turned out to be our bed. I'm on a Tempurpedic mattress now and very rarely experience back problems. My tennis elbow is still there, unfortunately, but it's much better. The likely culprits were computer mousing, lifting my 4 year old son with one arm, and getting my laptop bag in and out of the car. Once I changed those behaviors, it began to improve.

One thing I learned doing IF is that you don't have to eat on a schedule. It's amazing to me how hard it is to deprogram your body from 3 meals a day. I still relapse occasionally and eat out of habit, but I'm often quite happy to eat breakfast followed by little to no lunch.

The main reason I'm not on a scheduled fast today is strength training. I could not seem to build strength or muscle on a regular IF schedule, but I was able to maintain muscle. As such, I hope to return to IF once I reach my fitness goals so I can feel better overall.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. I've created a Topics section to the right so my IF posts can be accessed more easily if you're just wondering how it worked in my case. I'll also be doing some new posts on what I've done since IF to extend my fat loss.

Thougth I've been as low as 183, my weight is currently around 186 with 10.8% bodyfat fully hydrated on my Tanita BIA scale. Even though some of my recent improvement did not happen under consistent IF, I still attribute my success to IF. Without IF, I wouldn't have learned to control my eating.

IF Update: At it Again

I've started fasting again. It's been long enough now that I know my injuries are unrelated, and quite honestly, my digestive system felt like garbage. That's not to mention the massive sinus infection that hit me and the couple extra pounds of fat I managed to find.

So at this point, I'm looking at a Tuesday-Thursday schedule, and I lost 2 pounds yesterday. But, I may end up changing my mind and doing something like Monday-Friday. We'll see what happens.

If you're reading this and have been fasting, how have you been doing? Muscle gain? Fat loss?

IF Update

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted about my IF experience, and that's mainly because I was not fasting due to a couple of physical problems. I've had lower back pain bad enough to cause sharp, shooting pains anytime I took a moderately deep breath, and even though the acute pain subsided, it's still a nagging problem. Additionally, I've somehow managed to end up with tennis elbow which is being even more stubborn than my back. What's more...I did not remember hurting myself. Because I couldn't seem to get better, I decided to quit everything I had changed to see if I could find relief. That meant no more Yoga and no more fasting and less intense strength training.

While my back improved with the above changes, it has still been giving me problems. That's when it occurred to me that I had also started drinking aspartame through Diet Dr. Pepper and Optimum Protein Powder. A controversial study by Dr. H.J. Roberts in the 90's implied a relationship between joint pain and aspartame consumption. Even though it sounds ridiculous, I decided to quit aspartame to see what it would do, if anything. After less than a week, I can say that pain in my back has improved but not completely disappeard. Pain in my arm comes and goes depending on my activity level. This isn't very good evidence that aspartame was to blame, but the study in question cited anywhere from 7 - 60 days for symptoms to subside after aspartame consumption ceases. To be on the safe side, I'm going to steer clear of it and stick to water, milk, or juice. I prefer not to consume caffeine anyway so this is a good way to kick that habit as well.

Anyway, on Monday, I fasted and worked out for the first time in quite a while. My back nagged me a bit, but my arm felt better. Today, I decided to consume some Naked Juice for breakfast and will skip lunch before having a heavy protein meal tonight.

As of this morning, I was 187 lbs and 14.4% body fat.

IF Update: Day #53 (Eating)

Yes, I know. It's a Monday, and I'm eating. Given the lack of posting, you might be thinking I fell of the wagon. In truth, I did fall off the wagon last Monday, but it was an intentional attempt to try to get over a back injury that just won't go away. Due to my inability to gain muscle while doing IF, I decided it might be worthwhile to eat for a few days straight to see if it would improve my back's condition.

Unfortunately, I never found out. By the end of Monday, I was dealing with a full-blown stomach virus, and it dug its nails into my guts for the long haul. In 24 hours, it knocked me back by 10 pounds. Today is the first day since last Monday morning where I've felt anything close to normal and could eat normal food.

As of this morning, I was 186 lbs, 13.3% body fat.

I'm still deciding how to proceed from this point forward. Almost all of my weight loss during the illness was muscle which is easily confirmed by looking in a mirror. As a result, I need to put the muscle back on which may require eating on my fasting days. One option I've considered is using protein shakes or possibly high protein Naked Juice on the fasting days to help build muscle.

If anyone has any recommendations, let me know.

IF Update: Day #43 (Fasting)

After a terrible week of eating, I miraculously came in at 189.8 lbs this morning. I've decided the body fat measurement on the scale is nearly useless in the morning so I won't report that number as often. The last good reading was at the end of a fasting day measuring 13.1%.

IF Update: Day #35 (Fasting)

Very strange...after an eating day in which I took in more carbs than I should, I lost some weight. This morning was my first weigh-in under 190 lbs at 189.8 lbs. It's been two years since I've been to that weight, but I was carrying far less muscle at the time.

IF Update: Day #34 (Eating)

It seems I'm stuck. 191.1 lbs this morning with 14.1% body fat last night. I even did 1 hour of Yoga and 15 minutes of interval running on Day #32 without seeing any progress. Even though my physique is much improved, I still have some fat around my midsection that needs to go. If the fat won't move in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to add protein shakes to my fasting days and try to put on more muscle.

In the meantime, I'll try to behave myself on my diet a little better. The fasting days are easy and something I even look forward to, but I let too much sugar creep back into my eating days.

IF Update: Day #27 (Eating)

At the end of yesterday's fast, I hit 189.2, but I jumped back up to 191 this morning. Too much fat and carbs last night I guess and less exercise than normal due to a minor back injury. Anyway, body fat jumped to 16.5% again, but I'm convinced these morning measurements are useless. I may start posting everything from evening measurements.

IF Update: Day #25 (Eating)

190 lbs, 15.5% body fat

There is definitely a correlation between protein consumption and weight loss with this diet. The more protein I eat...the more weight I lose. Carbs seem to be okay as long as I stay away from simple sugars.

Side Note: Evening body fat measurements with the Tanita scale are down in the 12-13% range. I'm not sure morning measurements are all that productive.

IF Update: Day #20 (Eating)

192.8 lbs and 16.6% body fat

Waist: 35.5"
Chest: ~38"
Bicep: 14.5"

IF Update: Day #18 (Eating)

193.2 lbs and 16.4% body fat

IF Update: Day #17 (Fasting)

A little setback over the weekend. 194.6 lbs and 16.8% body fat. Likely the result of changing my schedule a bit, eating too many carbs, and not exercising enough.

IF Update: Day #15 (Eating)

194.5 lbs and 17% body fat

I'm changing up my schedule today by starting my fast after lunch and breaking it at lunch tomorrow.

IF Update: Day #14 (Fasting)

A couple of surprises today. I dropped some weight to get to 193.6 lbs, but my body fat ticked up to 17%. Yesterday I ate less protein with more carbs/fat than I have been so that might explain the body fat change, but I'm surprised by the weight change.

IF Update: Day #13 (Eating)

I was a little off with my prediction. This morning, I was 195 lbs and 16.4% body fat.

IF Update: Day #12 (Continued)

Out of sheer curiosity, I weighed myself at the end of my fast today (around 6:30 PM), and I came in at 194.6 lbs and 14.5% body fat. So, I dropped 2.5 lbs during the waking hours of my fast. If I hold to form, I should be around 196 lbs by morning and in the mid-16's on body fat.

IF Update: Day #12 (Fasting)

With a protein heavy day yesterday, I was able to get back down to 197 with 16.5% body fat. For activity, I did 30 minutes of weight training on Day #11 prior to eating breakfast and 45 minutes of Yoga this morning.

If you are interested in Yoga, I highly recommend Yoga Today. Even though some spiritual commentary is mixed in, it's not so much as to provide me any discomfort, and the instructors do an excellent job of leading you through the poses. I use iTunes to download their video podcasts, but you can also get an HD version through their site. The podcast resolution is just enough that it's not too distracting, but you may disagree. I'm hopeful they'll bump up to 640x480 now that iPods and iTunes support it.

IF Update: Day #11

As of today, I'm 198 lbs and 15.5% body fat.

To explain how I've gone up, we went out of town over the weekend to visit family. On Saturday morning, I started my fast by skipping breakfast, but the social pressure of lunch caused me to break the fast early. I then ate through lunch on Sunday and fasted through mid-afternoon Monday. During this time, I ate poorly and excessively so I'm sure that contributed.

I plan to get back on my previous schedule tonight by eating a high protein meal before 6 pm tonight and fasting tomorrow.

One thing I should note as I'm going through this is that I do indeed exercise. I've been strength training since I was 15 years old and have only very rarely stopped training during my life. Earlier this year was one of those times, but right now, I usually manage to get in 2-3 30 minute workouts per week. Lately, I've been using some of the concepts of Cross Fit along with my traditional training methods. I've also recently started Yoga (more for joint problems and asthma than conditioning) and usually manage to get in 2-3 1 hour sessions per week.

IF Update: Day #7

195 lbs, 18.5% body fat.

Obviously, there's something funny going on with the Tanita scale and its body fat measurement. Looks like tomorrow I'll have to get out the tape and keep track of chest, waist, biceps, and maybe thighs. That might give a better indication of progress on fat vs. muscle.

IF Update: Day #6

195.8 lbs, 15.5% body fat