A big IF

I ended a 20 hour fast this evening at 7:00PM. I worked out, empty stomach and all, at 5:00PM. I picked today to try this because we had a pretty intense workout, and I wanted to see if and how my performance was going to suffer. Truth is, I don’t think it did – in fact, I had TONS of energy all day. I wasn’t that hungry, either. Funny thing is, I was sitting at my computer, trying to finish this story about the UM Native American Center and must have gotten up and opened the fridge or pantry a dozen times, before I remembered, ‘hey, I’m not eating today.’

I realized I went for food, not really because I was hungry initially, but because I was bored, and it was a distraction. Of course, having to consciously NOT eat at those trips to the kitchen made me think about food, which triggered hunger. But it was not an intense, cranky, achy, low blood-sugar kind of hunger.

It was kind of pleasant, actually. Like a nostalgia for food.

When I woke up this morning, my first instinct was to make myself some breakfast – not so much because I was hungry, but because of habit. Later, those trips to the fridge? Habit, more than hunger again. It reminded me of quitting smoking. Even after you get over the worst of the craving, you still want a cigarette at those certain times you would habitually light one up. That always ramped up the hankering for a smoke, and it was the only thing you could think about for a while.

Anyway, when I got home from CrossFit, I took my time in the kitchen preparing food, and did not eat for an hour after getting home. Still no painful craving for food. I had some sautéd cabbage with smoked salmon (which I smoked last fall), a curried chicken salad, made from the chicken I roasted last night and using a homemade mayonnaise of blended walnut and olive oils, and a sauté of spinach, onion and garlic. For dessert, and tomorrow's breakfast, I made a beautiful fruit salad of apple, pomegranate, pineapple and Kiwi (which has, like, TONS of fiber. Who knew?). A little lemon juice and cinnamon in there and Bob's your uncle.

Anyway, the plan, as it stands now, is that I will eat as much as I want UNTIL 7:00PM tomorrow – then fast again until 7:00PM the next day. This way, I get to eat every day, but I am still observing a 24 hour eat/24 hour fast schedule.

The idea behind this limited calorie restriction is that it seems to burn excess fat, increase lean muscle mass, combat insulin resistance, lower blood pressure and increase longevity, among other things.

Here are some links to articles that explain the benefits of Intermittent Fasting and calorie restriction better than I can - read them all - I'll wait...

Science News
Dr. Michael Eades
Art De Vany
American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine (originally printed in The Economist, March 31, 2005)

Ciao