So I started playing around with extended day fasting about a year ago. I did OMAD for a good while before then as it was just more convenient with my job. Stopped doing that as it was becoming harder to put on muscle when working out. Also got a different job and was work from home. Found though, that actually getting rid of the fat has proven much more difficult. So I did a few 3-4 day fasts here and there but nothing too crazy. Then about 5 months ago I wanted to try for 5 days. Ended up going a few hours short of 7 full days. Coming back I ate some lactofermented foods like pickles and sauerkraut I make myself. And lots of salads. Like a ton. First few meals back were salads and between that and the kraut and pickles my gut got completely repopulated with the "good microbes." All I craved for dinner for months was more salads. Digestive health at the best it's ever been.
Unfortunately the holidays broke me as my family eats like shit on the best of days and the holidays are a smorgasbord of just the junkiest of junk foods. Being around that pluss stress from work had me eating like shit and I put a lot of weight back on. Muscle gains were still going good though and I didn't want to stop the gains for a fast but I have been wanting to do another. To reset myself and get back into eating healthier again. Then a week and a half ago I aggravated my lower back/hip and decided to take some time off. Figured while I was at it I might as well go hard into the fast. I was guilty of a midnight snack feast Saturday night. I haven't eaten since. Plan to start refeeding Sunday morning. Already fermenting some fresh kraut and kimchi to really start myself back right.
Anyone else here dabble much with fasting? Any goals or strategies you have? I mix electrolytes with all my water and never seem to have any issues. I have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes which was my main motivation to get into it. Lots of research coming out about the benefits to preventing it through fasting. It kind of makes me feel good too.
And yes, I know to the average person I sound crazy. I have heard all that before. lol
I do IF, 8/16, I work most days until 10pm, so I eat lunch at 3pm, which places the end of my feeding window at 11pm, so I can have something to eat after work... sometimes it's really tough to skip breakfast, but nowadays my habits are pretty solid. I eat normally during weekends, though.
I can't say much about muscle gains. I never really understood how people manage to see that in real time. I don't weigh myself, because I know I'd obsess over it constantly, and I also have chronic low testosterone, due to a pituitary tumor.
All I know is that I'm in good shape and still making progress, but I can only detect progress when I randomly look at myself in the mirror and go "hey, I think I lost weight" or "hey, I didn't know I had this muscle here, that's neat".
Sorry to hear about the tumor comrade. Any possibility of removing it in the future?
When I was doing OMAD I just stopped being hungry until after work. It was surreal listening to my co-workers go on and on about needing breakfast and lunch constantly throughout the day. Like just being able to fast even half a day was like a super power in comparison. Kinda felt good knowing I didn't have to let myself be ruled by hunger.
I also have to stop myself from weighing myself too often. Most of the time I just notice the amount of jiggle in my belly. My gains were more from actually being able to lift more and not so much the visual aspect. Although it's easy to see gains in the biceps, things like the abs, back, shoulders, don't really show until one day you just notice it. Usually from loosing some fat. I'll probably never loose enough fat to actually be able to see my abs but maybe one day.
I’ll probably never loose enough fat to actually be able to see my abs but maybe one day.
Yep, that's me in a nutshell. I know washboard abs are difficult to maintain long-term, but I'd like to have them one day, just to see what it feels like. I'm on my way there, though, slow but steady.
The thing is, I had my tumor removed a couple years ago, but I still have some residual effects of spending so much time with a tumor the size of my thumb squeezing my pituitary. My testosterone is much lower than would be natural for a man my age, and I need to monitor my prolactin levels. Although the condition is under control nowadays, I still have issues with gaining muscle and losing fat, which is quite typical of low T.
Well I am glad it's removed and you seem to be getting better comrade. Hope you continue to recover and maybe one day get those T levels to increase.
