How I Feel After 36 Hour Fasting
It’s day one of the return to fitness. Here’s what it looks like after Day 0 drinking strong coffee, water, and apple cider vinegar
Photo by Bárbara Montavon on Unsplash
5 WEEKS TO FITNESS DAY 1
It’s day one of the return to fitness. Here’s what it looks like after Day 0 drinking strong coffee, water, and apple cider vinegar
Welcome to 5 Weeks To Fitness, the publication where I’m sharing the steps I am taking to lose 10lbs, reduce body fat from 16% to 12%, and run a 5k in under 22 mins, all within 5 weeks. If you’re in your forties and you’ve let your fitness slip, follow my progress as I return to fitness and test out the methods I share. Join my mailing list to stay up to date on new articles.
(please remember to always consult a doctor before starting any diet or exercise regime. I am not a health professional and I do not provide advice to those suffering from physical ill-health or weight problems).
Yesterday I called Day 0 of the new fitness regime, and I chose to fast for the entire day. In fact, the fasting period extended to 36 hours due to sleep time. During this period, I drank strong coffee with milk, still water, and diluted apple cider vinegar. I ate no food whatsoever, not even a crumb. Interestingly, I woke up this morning and I wasn’t hungry. But I ate nonetheless.
The fasting period was easier than I thought. Although I felt the pangs of hunger, I wasn’t tempted to eat. I was in the right mindset to follow through. Fasting is not for everyone and can, in fact, be dangerous to your health so always consult a nutrition professional or doctor before undertaking any new diet regime.
One thing that might become a problem is that I haven’t had a number 2 in about 48 hours. I know constipation can be a side effect of radical diet change so I’m gonna have to do something about that. Seemingly prune juice is a good job for, well, jobs.
Here are my stats;
Stats recorded using My Weight app for iPhone. I enter my details here on a nightly basis and the app produces a nice layout and graph of my progress.
Stats from Day 0 and Day 1 weigh-in;
Day 0
Weight: 90kg
Body fat: 15.5%
BMI: 28.41
Day 1
Weight: 88.1kg
Body fat: 16.1%
BMI: 27.81
I weigh in the night before, so the above metrics reflect the start of a 24 hour period. Tonight’s weigh-in will reflect my gains for today, Day 1.
After Day 0, my BMI is down, my overall weight is down significantly, but my body fat ratio is up. This is normal for me at the beginning of a new system of eating and exercising; my body fat ratio goes up for some reason, then it drops back as my body begins to consume fat reserves for fuel.
Day 1 Food
My food intake today will be quite low. I’m not counting calories because that drives me crazy. Instead, I chose to keep food intake to whatever I need to keep cravings at bay. I find plain, unroasted, unsalted nuts are perfect for this. I’ll eat fruit, vegetables and meat too.
Breakfast: This morning I had a glass of water and a cup of strong coffee. Then about 11:00 I had scrambled eggs and some leftover omelette my wife wasn’t eating. An hour later I had a Bulletproof Coffee.
Lunch: An hour later I had a Bulletproof Coffee.
Dinner: The evening meal will consist of meat, probably fried, and greens such as broccoli and spinach with an oil-based dressing.
As I train, my food intake will need to increase I’m guessing, and as far as the amount of food I consume goes, I’ll eat what I need to stay full.
Here’s a complete list of foods on my menu. (Click file > make a copy to make and save a copy of the food list).
Day 1 Exercise
I haven’t worked out today yet. I’ll leave that until this evening — I’m better able to apply myself in the evenings than in the mornings. Mornings I use to write.
Exercise for today looks like this;
3 x 10 x Pressup rotate
3 x 10 x Jump squat
3 x 10 x Front lunge
3 x 10 x Burpee
3 x 10 x Hillclimbers
3k Fast Run
Here’s a complete breakdown of my exercise regime for the next 35 days. (Click file > make a copy to make and save a copy of the exercise regime).
So Far So Good
So far I have felt no real adverse effects of the new diet and exercise plan, but I know that will change. I will no doubt be sore, hungry, tired, pissed off, and feel all those discomforts and negative emotions associated with radical change. However, in that, I have a choice either to use the challenges as fuel to spur me on or deflate me. At the back of my mind, I have the reminder of that picture of me in my wetsuit (I’ll show you at the end with before and after pics too).
In the meantime, if you are in the same place as me, out of shape and feeling the mid-life spread, then follow 5 Weeks To Fitness and try out what I’m sharing.
Until tomorrow, 👋
Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. Every morning you’ll find me sharing a new thought on life, art, work, creativity, the self and the nature of reality on The Reflectionist. I also write regularly on The Creative Mind. If you like what I’m creating, join my email list to receive the weekly Sunday Letters