Fast-5 Diet and Lifestyle: Re: [fast5] Re: Hitting the wall

Hi Paul

I agree with a lot of Heather's observations, although I would add, from my own experience, that adaptation is a key element too, and this may take some time (you may recall my recent comments to this effect on your blog). Like you, I exercise a fair amount most days, a lot of it with Heavyhands (again like you, I think), and for the last few years of IF I've had no problem doing this on my normal feeding schedule (these days about 21/3) even when the amount of exercise is a good deal more extended than usual (say a day's skiing, or climbing a "Munro"). Recently, I decided to drop my "set point" a few pounds and consequently for the last couple of months have been maintaining a calorie deficit of 500-750 a day, between exercise and reduction of intake, as witnessed by a loss of about 1.5 lbs of fat (according to my Tanita!) per week - about 12 lbs in total so far. During this time I've been exercising about an hour a day, and had plenty of energy for this and other daily activities, with no significant hunger pangs. I don't make a fetish out of the carb/protein/fat calculations, but eat a mix of fresh foods from all categories - meat, fish, eggs, potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, salads, veggies etc.

Now, if I go back ten years or so - "pre IF", there's no way I could have done any of this. I was often hungry during the day, despite frequent feeding, no matter what sort of physical activity I was engaged in, and sometimes used to feel quite faint (for which my explanation was "low blood sugar" and the consequent remedy to eat something sweet). My transition to IF was achieved originally by moving to eating fruit and raw veg (mainly carrots) during the day, simply because I was overweight and thought this would be a neat way to reduce calories whilst staving off hunger pangs. So it proved. But then I also found that I "forgot" to get hungry until later and later in the day, until ultimately my bag of fruit lay untouched and I conceived the idea of the evening eating window (I was sufficiently pig-headed to value my ongoing experience over comments that this was crazy).

I can't remember exactly how long all this took, but it was certainly several months. On the other hand, I wasn't really "end-gaining" at the time, but rather experimenting to see if I could change my long-term patterns and habits. I'm a computer guy, not a biologist, but it seems that the body is capable of making very significant adjustments to its internal regime as a consequence of the long-term pattern of demands we make on it, and many if not most of the various "dramatic" short-term symptoms so much discussed on this forum - often a consequence of pushing too hard, in my view - are, in the end, insignificant, though very capable of upsetting the apple-cart ("I just can't do this") if short-term "progress" is over-valued. As Heather say, raised cortisol is sometimes a consequence of initial fasting stress, but this should subside - my own resting heartrate is 40-42 an hour or so after hard exercise, and it continues in this leisurely way during fasts up to 24 hours or so. If a relaxed heart beat is a pointer to low levels of physical stress, then this bears witness that any initial excess of cortisol is a response to something unusual, and subsides as the body adapts.

So I guess I'm saying keep on keeping on, carefully evaluating how you respond to various changes in your daily pattern of nutrition and exercising, and bearing in mind that this is a journey that nobody is timing but that is leading you ultimately towards a more functional and satisfying balance of these factors. The journey, I've found, is itself an interesting experience and you will inevitably learn things about yourself and your potential that nobody on this board, or off it, could have told you. Do keep us posted!

David

2010/1/21 Scaramouche <scaramouche_54@yahoo.com>

Thanks very much for your detailed reply, Heather. I was worried that something wonky was going on. I'm relieved that others have experienced these things, also. Even though I don't have that much weight to lose (maybe 10 lbs.), I'm feeling so good from fasting every day I don't want to stop unless I'm forced to. There are plenty of IF options, but I love the convenience of Fast-5. I'll just have to eat more at night and see how it goes.

Paul

__________

My workout blog

--- In fast5@yahoogroups.com, Heather Twist <HeatherTwist@...> wrote:
>
> You might want to listen to your body. I've never worked out that hard
> myself, but my spouse and daughter do. They work out very, very hard.
> And often, then go into sugar craving mode. And eat sugar. And it
> hasn't hurt them one whit. My guess is that their glycogen stores are
> just empty and need to be refilled. Healthy sugars/starches are
> obviously better than junk, but workouts use up a lot of glycogen. In
> non-workout mode, your body uses up mostly fat. But in workout mode,
> it can use up mostly glycogen.
>
> The headache/brain fog mode though, is often just excess cortisol.
> It's a hormone, and it makes you feel lousy. You can sometimes trick
> your body into producing adrenaline or insulin to counteract it ... a
> little bit of exercise, a little food, something acidic (lemon juice
> or vinegar). For some reason just plain lettuce works for me, though
> it takes 15 minutes or so for it to take effect.
>
> As for thirst, I find that generally when my body is losing weight or
> changing shape. It can also mean you need more electrolytes, esp. if
> you are on a low-salt diet (hard workouts with low salt can cause
> major problems for some people). What Fast-5 seems to do more than
> anything is enable people to hear what their bodies are saying. For
> people who don't use many calories and are carrying too many, that
> means their appetite will decrease. But for people who need calories,
> or protein, or water ... it means appetite for these things might
> increase. Your body has an extremely accurate chemistry set built
> right in, and a lot of your nervous system is built to encourage you
> to consume the things that are needed. It's sending you messages! Try
> listening to it and see what happens.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 2:22 PM, Scaramouche scaramouche_54@... wrote:
> > Hello everyone,
> > I'm on day 10 and experienced what I call "hitting the wall" this morning. I'm 55, quite active and in good shape from lifting weights, biking to work, cardio and aikido twice a week. Since starting FF, I've cut way back on my workout intensity until I adjust.
> >
> > Aside from day 4, I've been feeling generally very good. Workouts have been normal. Last night I had a bigger dinner than usual, but didn't eat anything out of the ordinary. So far, so good.
> >
> > But this morning I woke up with major brain fog, headachy and a bit nauseous. I tried to ignore it, but before leaving for work I just HAD to eat. Felt immediately better after eating a bit. Was okay for the morning, but ate my normal small lunch as a precaution anyway. Then I began to feel normal.
> >
> > When I got home after work I began craving sugar like mad. This is totally not normal for me. I don't like sweets. Ate a couple of fruit rolls, a handful of chocolates and some chocolate spread on crackers. Followed that with cheese and a couple more crackers. Dinner was a medium-sized steak, a huge serving of whole wheat pasta and a glass of wine. This is a LOT of food for me; at 5'5" and 137 lbs. I'm not a big person and normally do not eat this much. And the sugar craving is totally abnormal for me. I rarely eat cookies, cake, chocolate, etc.
> >
> > Has anyone else had a similar problem? I'm a little worried about fasting tomorrow. Breakfast won't be a problem. I never eat it anyway. But maybe I should ease into the full 19-hour fast more slowly. Or just not fast every day. I've also been very thirsty all the time since starting FF (like with a low carb diet). Any thoughts?
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Paul
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
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>
> --
> Heather Twist
>
> www.dunkers.us
> Kraut: the easy way!
>