intermittent kitten

After Thanksgiving I fasted Thursday into Friday and broke my fast to have some late night wine and cheese on Saturday. If I were to fast Saturday into Sunday I would only be able to start eating at 4 p.m. and it didn't seem realistic. Took some before pictures last night and tried on a form fitting skirt to help me gauge my weight loss. 

As far as today goes, I have 45 minutes until I hit the 16 hour mark. I have a salad for lunch but my co-worker brought in a hoagie for me. This goes to show real life tests to your diet. I am still unsure what I want to do with the hoagie that is currently sitting on my desk starring at me and calling my name. I keep telling myself that it probably isn’t that good and my salad will be better but I am having a hard time believing myself. 

So far so good. It is a little difficult to not eat for 16 hours straight and I am hoping I will get used to it. I am actually feeling really good in regards to when I eat. I find myself not over eating as much as I usually do. Overall I am finding this very positive. 

Something I find that may be a little difficult is the opinions of others. I realize everyone has good intentions but it is a little annoying for someone to say I am starving myself especially after I performed so much research and read up on how fasting for 16 hours can actually reduce cancer cells and have positive effects on your body. I know it isn’t a miracle cure but i don’t think that it is considered starving myself either. The human body is made to adapt and also to survive long periods of time without nourishment. 16 hours is not starvation. 

A friend of mine also suggested I stop fasting and speak to her nutritionist. She mentioned him being able to give me a weekly diet plan for a few hundred dollars. That is something I would never be interested in. I don’t see hiring a nutritionist and having him send me a weekly meal plan each week to be a realistic life long option. 

Since I stopped consumption at 11 p.m. I was not going to be able to eat until 3 p.m. I tried to make it but I was definitely too hungry and broke my fast on the 14th hour. Since I’ve been eating at 1 p.m. for the past 2 days I think my body started getting used to it so when 1 hit I was definitely ready to eat. 

Ate a very large plate for Thanksgiving and then waited a few hours and had leftovers and then had some chocolate mind Hershey kisses. 

The 2nd day of fasting (16 hours without eating) was much easier than the 1st. When originally looking up fasting some commented that working out while fasting is actually really effective so I gave it a try. 14 hours in I went to the gym, lifted and did some cardio. Felt amazing. I surprisingly had a lot of energy and was moderately hungry after. 

While leaving the gym I spoke to a trainer friend about my fasting. He asked if it was for religious purposes. I said no and explained it was a new dietary endeavor. He suggested I eat 4 meals a day and not starve myself. Interestingly enough, if you fast for a deity or religious reason it is accepted but if you do something different than societal norms and do it for your health you are potentially going to be accused of starving yourself. 

There are gyms that advertise they are not full of judgmental people, etc. Let’s be real here. People are always judging other people but not as much as you think because they are usually too focused on themselves. No gym setting is going to alter inherent human nature. 

Whatever gym you chose to join is up to you. As someone who was a member of the advertised “non judgement” type gym as well as a “legit” gym (sometimes having both memberships simultaneously). I can 100% ASSURE YOU, the only difference is the equipment. 

I’ve come to learn that that guy, the one super muscular dude that everyone thinks is a bro and full of himself, could possibly be one of the nicest guys you will meet. He’s just really into fitness and they are usually super helpful when you have questions. Ironic how we were the one judging them. 

Getting the stereotypes out of the way, some important factors to consider when joining a gym:

Location. Is the gym close to your home or work? Does it have more than one location you can visit with membership? Basically, is it somewhere you will be able to visit often. My gym is near my house and on the way home from work, perfect for me! There is also a location near my parents house that I can visit when I dog sit. Also, whats the parking sitch?

Hours of operation. Do they fit with your schedule. I used to shell out the $10 monthly charge for the “non-judgement” gym in order to work out on Sunday nights when my preferred gym was closed. 

Costs and fees. What are sign up costs. Some gyms will offer specials during certain times of the year. Usually specials are offered in the beginning of the year to get the revolutioners. 

How busy is it? Before joining, go to the gym around the time you will go each day and get a good idea of how busy it is. 

If you are interested in taking classes, ask about class schedule and see if there are extra costs for classes. 

If you are interested in free weights look and make sure they have a bench press, etc. I would highly suggest joining a gym with bench press. 

Loosing weight can be a constant struggle for some people. I know, I am one of them. Constantly trying to find a diet that works for you etc, etc. It’s a pain in the ass and it’s extremely easy to be discouraged. 

Then, we have these extremes: people who are super fit and don’t eat any fried food or drink alcohol, and the people who eat fast food and are overweight. Why can’t we have a happy medium? I think that we can and I’m trying to find it! 

A lot of magazines will try to appeal to those trying to lose weight and will say things like, washboard abs in 6 weeks, or get the body you want with no effort. Sadly, losing weight takes effort. All of those magazine articles are complete fluff and a waste of time. 

Losing weight is a lot of trial and error. The best advice you will find is from other people like you trying to lose weight. Listen to what works for other people and also look up their methods to see if you think it is good for you. Your peers and the internet are very useful sources.  

Some things I’ve learned in the beginning of my weight loss:

Take before pictures and measurements. I regret not doing it!!!

Diet is probably about 80% of your weight loss while exercise is about 20%.

The scale will frustrate you more than anything else. Use a certain article of clothing to gauge your weight loss.

Salads from some restaurants can have more fat and calories than french fries and a burger. 

Spinach smoothies and oatmeal are great meal substitutes that keep you full.

We all have 6 pack abs, they are just hiding under layers of fat. If you want abs you need to transform your diet not do crunches. 

For women, getting “toned” is complete bullshit marketing. You build muscle or you don't. The ideology that women are scared to lift weight because they don't want to look buff is ridiculous. A woman would have to professionally train to look extremely muscular. 

Workouts directed towards men and women separately are bullshit as well. A woman can do a mans workout and vise versa. 

Ladies, doing chest workouts e.g. bench press will NOT make your boobs shrink or make you look manly. 

I’m fucking hungry. Legit, this is not fun and I am wondering if it is purely a psychological barrier. I genuinely think it is because I usually don't think about food that often unless its the weekend and I about to house a pizza -or a cheesesteak. 

Last night I nursed a beer with dinner. Finished the beer at 9p.m. so to stick to 16 hours I cannot eat until 1p.m. today. 

Usually I eat a tablespoon of peanut butter with my morning coffee and then eat my 2nd breakfast, oatmeal, around 10 (was sticking to a diet of small consistent meals), so this is a big change.

It has been four hours since I woke up and I have drank 3 bottles of water and a 20oz cup of coffee. Trying to keep my mind occupied. 

For my first meal today I will be having a ham and cheese sandwich with a banana. If I am still hungry after that I will be having some oatmeal. 

Now feeling quite awkward writing about my dietary habits on a public forum. 

Intermittent fasting (IF) is something I have heard about and now i am ready to try. In preparation I looked up several articles as well as testimonials in order to get a better idea of what IF really is and how to do it properly. 

Simply stated, IF is changing your dietary habits by way of going prolonged periods of time without consuming food or calories. There are fasts that can last upward of 48 hours and shorter fasts of 12 hours. 

After reading up on IF I’ve learned that your body starts to burn fat at around hour 12. This is around the time it will run out of glucose to give you energy and will start using ketones (something produced when your body burns fat for energy), without burning muscle mass. 

I have decided to go with the 16/8 IF. No consumption for 16 hours (including sleep time) then eating meals during the next 8 hours. My overall goal is to lose some body fat while gaining muscle. Or possibly just losing body fat to have more defined muscles.