Diary of a Fasting Man

So, summer is almost here, and I have a little more jiggle around my waistline than I'd like. However, I'm also training to enter an weightlifting competition. In my experience, I cannot get stronger, at least to any significant degree, while going on an effective diet to lose weight. A caloric deficit just seems to ruin my workouts.

My solution: intermittent fasting. It's a way of eating that has become really popular with fitness professionals recently. I didn't say "diet", because you're eating normal, healthy foods, but only eat them certain times and fast the rest.

Despite it being simple, I don't feel like explaining it because shut up. Here's an infographic that does a better job than I ever could.

To stick my toe in the water, I'm going the one-day approach: Don't eat for 24 hours. From 10 pm on Saturday, May 18, to 10 pm on Sunday, May 19, I can drink water and coffee and green tea to my heart's content, but no food. Indeed, nothing with any calories whatsoever.

This is the log of my experience.


Saturday, 10 pm- Okay, just finished up my last meal for 24 hours.

Liver and Onions.

Liver is supposed to be like..the best food ever for you. It's also, however, a liver. I kind of tastes like squishy pennies, and the whole time I was eating it I couldn't not  think about punching into a cow and ripping out its liver (one of its livers? I don't know cow anatomy) and throwing it in a skillet.

Anyway, fasting isn't looking as bad now.

Sunday, 11: 30 am- This is when I for real sat down to write this blog entry. I have a cup of coffee in hand, and so far no appetite to speak of. Googling "liver and onions" helped. 

However, I've tried not eating a whole day before, back when I was a teenager. I vowed not to eat during the weekends so I could lose weight (because shut up, you weren't a rocket scientist either). I made it 6 hours. 

Today, I'm going to remind myself of why I'm doing this by sitting without a shirt on and looking down at how my fat rolls bunch up and grabbing them while calling myself names before seriously considering whether or not I have medically significant body issues. Huh. 

2:12 pm - Okay, so the first hunger pangs are finally starting to hit. I'm used to eating right as I wake up, so four hours later... yeah, I can feel it. So far, it's manageable. I'll just drink some water and play Xbox to keep myself occupied.


3:51 pm - Starting to feel it now. That sort of weak feeling you get when you're really hungry. Coffee should help. Yeah. gonna drink some more coffee. That'll clear up the jitters. I'm I skinny yet?

Darren kind of looks like a turkey leg.


4:41 pm- coffee has not made me less jittery. Water now.


5:39 pm - Feeling great, actually. Hunger is gonOH GOD NOW THAT I'M WRITING ABOUT IT THE HUNGER IS BACK WHAT HAVE I DONE

So yeah, I don't know if its actually hunger, or appetite. I've found that I'm pretty much surrounded by food, all day, all the time. It makes me wonder how much I would crave food if it wasn't always immediately available.

Something to think about; brain food, if you wTHAT WAS STUPID I DID IT AGAIN


6:27 pm - This is where it starts getting tough. All I can think about is that I know in 3.5 hours I can eat again, and it's going to be a protein shake and a big pizza and breadsticks and a PB&J because shut up, I'll do what I want, no it's not negating any benefits I got from fasting, shut up. Oh my....pizza... it's going to be amazing.


6:50 pm - I'm going to watch how i met your mother and hope they don't talk about food they wouldnt do that would they why would they be mean like that


7:28 pm - Friends are over. They want to play Magic. They don't know my pain. They don't know what I'm going through. So I'm making a point to bring it up every 9 seconds. My pain will be their pain.


8:12 pm -  That pizza is going to be amazing. I'm going to eat it so hard. I'm going to savor it and let it swim in my mouth and whisper sweet nothings to my taste buds before gracefully sliding to its rightful place in my gullet.


8:13 pm - Food is better than sex. I know that now. I know that because I've decided that I'm not actually all that hungry. But the thought of eating something delicious after not eating anything at all for .... 22 hours and 13 minutes is at the forefront of my mind and it isn't leaving.


8: 19 pm - Still there. Yup.


8: 27 pm - There's only an hour and a half left to go. I can't tell if that makes it easier or harder. But I'm going to make it , and I'm not even going to pretend it was all that hard. There are starving kids in the world who have been three days without food and they're thankful when they get a bowl of under cooked white rice for their one meal before the next three days without food.

On a side note, I don't know if I feel good about myself forcing a fast to look better when so many people do it because there is no food to eat.


8:59 pm - Game of Thrones time.


9: 10 pm - Also Game of Thrones time.


9:31 pm - Ordering that pizza online while still trying to watch Game of Thrones. OH HELL YEAH YOU TELL HIM TYRION.


10:00 pm - 

10:20 pm - Ughl....stomach may have shrank a bit during the past 24 hours....normal pizza load not well received...no touch me now.....Am I pretty yet?



The Next Day: 

So, it's done. And you know what? I'm going to do it again. I don't feel weak today, and I don't feel like I need to eat two days worth of food to make up for yesterday. FYI, I normally overeat pizza when it's available to me, so last night wasn't out of the ordinary....except for the fact I got full quicker than normal.

One of the primary benefits cited by intermittent fasting is appetite control, and I can definitely see it. One bowl of oatmeal this morning, and I feel like I could go hours without eating, which is normal for normal people, not normal for me.

The effects? I couldn't tell you. It's been one day. What I'm going for here is a hormonal change, which could take weeks to take effect, especially if I'm only doing one day a week. The most popular methods involve fasting 16 hours every day, eating good food (which apparently isn't pizza) during the 8 hour window. I might progress to that, because 8 hours sounds like a long time to eat. It means you skip breakfast, but that just means I'm eating eggs, turkey bacon, and wheat toast for lunch instead.

All in all, I can see how this works for people. Everything works. There are tons of success stories of people using intermittent fasting, and tons of success stories from almost every other diet ever written. The key is finding something you can do that won't kill you or compromise your health.

I'll try it again next Sunday, if that's any indication.

Supplement Choices for People With No Money

Five seconds of flipping through any muscle magazine will let you in on the industry's worst kept secret: supplements are a gazillion dollar industry with one hand around the author's throat and the other hand also around that author's throat.

YOU CAN'T BUILD MUSCLE WITHOUT 200 GRAMS OF ZYGOTAPHLATHINE XTREME A DAY. SAY IT.

It's a hard pill to swallow (HAHA DO YOU SEE HOW CLEVER I AM) but a lot of supplements are garbage. The supplement industry isn't regulated by the FDA, which means not only can they make unsupported claims, but they don't even have to prove their product is safe before it comes on the market.

This clip from the documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" provides a good look into what goes into the various muscle milks that take up half the paper in your magazine. Also there's a guy with, like huge arms. Like redonkulously huge arms. 

That's not to say there aren't some products out there that can legitimately help you towards your fitness goals, but you have to know what you're looking for. Instead of just looking at product names, know the ingredients that work and make sure they're in ample supply. 

Here's my list of the only supplements that you should consider unless you have money to burn.

1. Whey Protein

Whey protein is the quicker-digesting of the two proteins you'll find in milk, the other one being Casein. I don't even consider this a supplement anymore. It's the absolute easiest way to get protein in your diet: scoop, shake, drink, there's 25 grams of protein in less than 60 seconds. It's also extremely versatile. Aside from shakes and smoothies, you can also throw a scoop in oatmeal or baked goods. Combined with the fact that, gram for gram of protein, it's actually one of the cheapest sources of protein out there, this is the safest jug of powder you'll find at GNC. 

2. Creatine

Creatine is involved in the body's most immediate way of producing energy, which makes it valuable for weightlifters and anyone else who needs quick bursts of strength and energy. Creatine might be the supplement with the most extensive research behind it, and finding good research on a supplement is like finding a unicorn, at least until very recently. Studies like this one provide pretty supportive evidence that creatine supplementation increases muscular size and strength compared to a placebo. It's relatively inexpensive, but you will still save money by buying the ingredient, rather than a big tub with a hundred other things that may or may not work.

3. Caffeine 

Yeah, you read that right. In just about every pre-workout supplement mix you can buy, you'll find this as a primary ingredient. There are studies to support that caffeine increases both muscular strength and endurance, and caffeine is like...everywhere. Instead of buying and expensive pre-workout supplement, try using Crystal Light Energy packets, provided you ignore the extensive use of "girl power" in that advertisement. It's got plenty of caffeine, and you can take it with you to pour in your water bottle....actually, just go with the Kroger brand. They don't emasculate me like Crystal Light does. What, Kraft, you think guys can't benefit from a flavored energy-boosting water enhancement powder? 

I AM A MAN, DAMN IT.

4. Fish Oil

Fish Oil does everything. You don't eat enough fish, I'm guessing, and the capsules are cheap. Take it. 

These are what I take, and I have an amount of money that many people would consider to be no money. The number one thing that will make or break your progress is the actual, real food that you eat, so don't even consider supplements until you have your diet under control. If you have more money than no money and are considering braving the counters and salespeople of your local supplement store, here are some things to consider:

-Beware of the term "proprietary blend". This is a way for supplement makers to spout off a list of impressive ingredients without telling you how much of each one is actually contained in the product. Without an amount listed next to each ingredient, there's a good chance you're buying a pill full of rice flour.

-Testosterone boosters don't work. Don't waste your money. These products want you to think they're legal versions of anabolic steroids, and they're not. They also tend to cost more than a week's worth of groceries. 

-Don't buy anything that costs more than a week's worth of groceries, on that note. You're ALWAYS better off buying better food than you would be buying any supplement. Take that money and buy some bison, if you want something expensive that will get you bigger.

-Fat burners don't work. This is from personal experience: taking a "fat burner" doesn't work if you don't change your diet and exercise. You might be saying, "Well, duh, it's meant to enhance a sound exercise and nutrition program, you can't expect it to do all the work". Bull. If it doesn't work by itself, without changing anything else, then it doesn't work. Your diet and exercise program dropped the pounds, not the pill. Spend the money on a padlock for your pantry and you'll lose more weight. 

I think everyone who catches the fitness bug dives into supplements at some point. I spent way too much money I didn't have on them when I was in college, and I didn't make any more progress than I am now when I'm just lifting heavy and eating right. Well, right-ish. 

A lot of lifters swear by supplements, and a lot of them are probably right. A 400-lb bench presser might never get up to 440 without ten tubs of powder, and good for him. But that's what supplements are for: getting you that extra 10% when you've done all the lifting and eating right up to that point. Do right by yourself in the gym and the kitchen, and don't feel like you're missing something by avoiding the drug store. 

Now go forth and pick up heavy things. 

A Sensible Approach to Nutrition

We live in an obesogenic environment. Blogger doesn't recognize that as a real word, but it basically means that conditions are ideal for those of us who wish to become obese. Calorie-dense food has never been cheaper nor more widely available, most modern tasks are designed to use as little physical energy as possible, and since being overweight would put you in the majority you would no longer be viewed as a social pariah!

Your dreams can become a reality.

If you need advice on how to gain weight and become obese, I can tell you it has never been easier. However, some of you would like to know how to lose weight, and that's a bit trickier.

The physical activity side of the equation, believe it or not, is pretty easy to deal with. You can hire a particularly handsome personal trainer, and he'll explain, in a sultry but reassuring tone what exactly you should be doing and how to do it.  But if you want to be successful in your pursuit of losing weight, nutrition is what will make or break you. And, unfortunately, it is much harder to deal with.

The problem will always come down to our finite source of willpower. Many of us just have too much on our plate to make good decisions about what's literally on our plate; most commercial diets require such a radical change in the way we eat that we just don't have enough willpower left over after dealing with work, family, and other life problems to follow them with any degree of success. And if you do manage to claw your way through a tough diet and lose a significant amount of weight, you're at a great risk of gaining it all back.

According to this study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the subsequent article by the New York Times, a significant reduction in calories that results in weight loss (a diet, in other words)  can lead to a physiological and psychological response that promotes weight gain. In the study, the obese participants were fed a very low calorie diet that consisted of low-starch vegetables and a drink best described as "liquid sadness". After ten weeks, the participants lost an average of 30 pounds.

The (fairly predictable) bad news? After a year, almost all of the participants had gained some of the weight back, and reported feeling hungrier and more preoccupied with food than they were before the study.

At Skape Fitness, we're big advocates of a sensible approach to nutrition. Most people wanting to lose weight want to do it quickly, and while that's understandable, it's not exactly practical. Look at it this way: if you are 40 years old, and you want to get back down to the weight you were at 20, you've spent half of your life gaining this weight! You can't expect to lose it in six weeks without some serious consequences.

So what can you do to approach nutrition in a sustainable way that doesn't sap your entire supply of willpower?

Our answer: one step at a time.

Every month, make a small change to your diet. Just one. Something bigger than "pick the pepperonis off my pizza", but maybe smaller than "only eat organic kelp and distilled water." Focusing on one thing at a time is not only more manageable than a complete diet overhaul, but may help you identify the real problem foods that have been slowly moving in over your belt. Here are some suggestions:

-Start taking fish oil. I'm not even going to take the time to tout the benefits of fish oil. Take five seconds to Google it. It's cheap, it helps with heart health and brain function and weight loss, and come on all you have to do is remember to swallow two pills a day. Do it.

-No soda, diet or otherwise, for a month. Soda is the pinnacle of empty calories. Fitness people throw that phrase around a lot, but basically it means that pop will provide calories, but without any other nutrients and without making you ever feel full. Diet soda may -or, hopefully for my sake, may not- be harmful to your health, but I can tell you that I very rarely pair healthy food with my diet cola.

-No alcohol for a month.  Booze is not only empty calories, but it is basically anti-muscle juice when consumed in large quantities. Give it up for a month to see if your lifts go up. Also, if after two days you start shaking, you'll know you have bigger problems to worry about.

-Eat at least 30 grams of fiber per day for a month. If you've never paid attention to fiber in the past.... well, never be more than twenty steps away from the john. I promise it's worth it, and any friends you lose in the process probably weren't all that great anyhow.

-No cold cereal for a month. This once is geared specifically towards me. I love me some Honey Nut Cheerios. Thing is, a human-sized bowl of any cold cereal is about three or four servings; that 120 calories written on the side of the box refers to an amount of cereal that I would consider to be no cereal left. It's also a poor macronutrient profile for either gaining muscle or losing weight, and it never tends to fill me up. If you have a similar weakness, consider giving it up for a while.

By implementing this strategy, you can start to zero in on what your biggest source of weight gain has been. If you look more defined after a month of abstaining only from alcohol, it might be worth avoiding. If soda has been your Achilles heel, you might find that out this month. The point is to make simple, targeted changes that you can implement without completely turning your daily routine on its head.

So there you go. Try focusing on just one thing every thirty days, and keep track of your progress. You might not see the 30 lb transformation you've always dreamed of just by switching to whole-wheat bread, but you might drop a pound or two and make progress toward a healthy lifestyle without devoting all of your extra energy towards it. I hate to say this, but there are more important things in life than being skinny.

Like lifting heavy things, for example.

The Perfect Meal

Eating healthy is tough. And while we're at it, the sun is hot, Hitler was bad, and Game of Thrones is convoluted. As much as I love lifting heavy stuff, even I have to admit that diet is the biggest factor is living a healthy life in general, and is absolutely key in making progress whether you're trying to lose fat or gain muscle.

But man, is it hard.

I just graduated college six months ago, and I was not above the typical ramen noodle and Little Ceasar's takeout that keeps most of my brethren alive. But I still tried my best to eat healthy most of the time. The problems I faced were/are the same problems most of you probably face: healthy food is expensive, time-consuming to prepare, expensive, and often bland or outright awful, in addition to being expensive.

Which makes my favorite meal even more perfect.

It won't impress Gordon Ramsey, but it definitely gets the job done:

I'll pretend this how civilized I eat all the time.

The solution is as follows:

-Rolled oats (from the can, not the packets)

-Vanilla protein powder (you can do chocolate or strawberry...but don't)

-Chopped fruit (bananas, apples, or blueberries are my favorite)

-Cinnamon to taste
-Splenda to taste

Make the oatmeal as normal, stir in a scoop of protein powder, add the cinnamon and sweetener and fruit, and eat. It takes about 2 minutes (if you're as awesomely efficient as me), it's tasty, and very healthy.

The rolled oats are a great source of fiber and whole grains, the protein powder is as fat-free as protein gets, the fruit is fruit and fruit is good, the cinnamon is delicious and also may improve insulin sensitivity and delay the onset of type II diabetes, and the splenda...might cause cancer, but probably not and it's better than sugar.

Just be warned that microwaving protein powder makes it form a sponge, which is gross, so add it after you make the oats.

Just a quick tip for anyone who doesn't feel like spending thirty minutes making a meal they won't feel guilty about.

Now go forth and eat healthy things.