Intermitten fasting self experiment day 1
I wake up to my Naruto alarm clock ringtone much earlier than I normally do. As I roll over to smash my phone to pieces I’m greeted by Betsy. Betsy is my life coach who doubles as my dog then triples as my best friend. Only a year old and she has 3 jobs, how awesome is that?!?! After 3 ignored licks in the face she ups the ante and paws my nose, the equivalent of being slapped by a dog. This is normal and she gets her way, I get up. The only difference between today and yesterday is I’m hungry. Like really hungry, bordering upset stomach pain hungry. So day 1 of intermittent fasting (IF) begins and were off to a great start. It’s 5:15 and I’m on my way to Crossfit Finish First for my first fasted workout. Sipping away at 10 grams of branch chain amino acid (BCAA) powder takes the edge off slightly. Slowly the hunger pangs subside a bit and I’m left feeling focused and excited. After a brief but intense kettlebell snatch session I’m on my way back home sipping another 10 grams of BCAA’s. First fasted workout completed, let the hormonal strength and fat burning benefits begin.
For once I didn’t feel jittery from a pre meal insulin spike of carbohydrates and I feel like given my fitness level and the time of morning it was I performed rather well (see today’s WOD for the info). I’m beginning a 30 day IF challenge for myself and for you guys as well. Hopefully by following a paleo + crossfit + Fight Fit + IF regime I can achieve sub 10% body fat without losing muscle. I’ll be regularly posting WOD’s, updates and the occasional pic of my sexy belly here so you guys can track my progress. If you’d like to read more about the fasting process Leangains is one of my main reading resources on this journey.
- 5:00 am wake up
- 5:15 10grams BCAA’s
- 5:30 – 6:15 Crossfit
- 6:30 10 grams BCAA’s with fish oil and multivitamin
- 7:00am 8 hour feeding “window” begins with large post workout meal. 1 sweet potato, 4 eggs, 4 cups spinach and 3 pieces of bacon.
I’ll cut feeding off around 3pm to close the 8 hour window and start my 16 hour fast and tomorrows adventures begin anew. I’ll probably sleep in a bit and hit the 8:30 class instead though!
If you’ve tried IF or are curious about the process comment away and enjoy the fun!
I look grumpy because I am grumpy... It's 5 am damnit!
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Ok I am intrigued by this fasting….how do you decide how much to eat? Your breakfast for example seems ungodly large..Is this a specific amount tailored to your size? I’m pretty sure I would explode with that much food in my belly! Second…, how do you complete an intense crossfit workout without eating beforehand? I find myself running out of gas if I don’t eat or eat the right foods prior to working out. The lovely lightheaded feeling comes to mind.
For convenience and just being practical I’ll eat 3 times during that 8 hour window. Since I’m trying to lean out I’ll consume roughly 2,800 calories of paleo-esque foods during this time and that includes my supplementation. 3 squares and I feel pretty good thoughout the day and on my fast period hunger pangs go away after a few hours and I feel more focused and more energized than before. The problem with eating before working out is that you are simply burning food energy vs body fat for energy. Plus…eating releases insulin, which interferes with your body’s ability to burn body fat. Basically, eating before your workout gets in the way of burning body fat during your workout. I’m following stop eat stop and leangains with a big will twist and well see how it goes.