In my last blog here I talk about intermittent fasting. I’ve been spurred on a bit by IcyMike. I really like videos that aren’t a bunch of fluff. Unfortunately, for me, I make videos where I try to explain a bunch of stuff b/c I know a lot and if I don’t explain then I get a bunch of people telling me I should’ve done or could’ve done something. I welcome tips and tricks. I also want to be thorough and that’s why I script my videos then don’t use the script. I think I’m going to release two videos each time. One is like a TL;DR and the other is the full length video. None of this was really on topic.
I started Monday night at 8p with a 16 hour fast. I drank a lot of water. I have a Britta filter in the fridge. The way I drink water is I drink 16+ ounces of water. Then the next time I have to urinate I drink another 16 ounces. I continue this until about 7p bc I want to sleep all night and not get up to urinate a lot. This is kind of a “secret” I learned in basic training for hydration. It’s never failed me in staying hydrated. After the 16 hour fast I had potatoes. Judge me or not potatoes do keep you full and I have enough energy after them for a while. I don’t remember what I had for dinner and I’m not going to look in MFP, however, my total calories were 1022.
I started my next fast at 7:30p that night and went 18 hours. Once I get into a very low calorie diet (VLCD) I can go much longer without eating. I had about 1071 calories that day and did some workout. I don’t advise workouts during restrictions like this. And it’s really not a restriction so much as Im not drinking 6 Cokes a day. I’m eating whole foods and drinking a boat load of water.
Wednesday I was not hungry at all and went for 18 hours. Again drinking lots of water. I did some workouts. They were not bad. Again I had about 1071 calories. Parallettes, bike, rows, wrist strength, FMA drills, stretches, lots of stretching. I did some push ups, planche practice, and that may be about it.
Thursday I finished a 21 hour fast. Again potatoes until later that evening. I went and got some almonds and sunflower seeds and these beef sticks that are really mostly beef and not additives. I really enjoy them. My workout suffered greatly. I wasn’t able to do much. I rode a bike for 10 minutes. I did some parallettes, rows, squats, planche practice, FMA drills, and lots of stretching. I was able to jump one step (so between 7″ and 9″ – utterly horrific. I taped the jumps and they are bad. I’m not even giving any excuses like weighing 294 pounds at this time. I should be able to jump up at least one step more than 2x without issue.
Friday I finished a 16 hour fast. I went with some carbs, almonds, sunflower seeds, and beef sticks to start. I’ll eat more later. Still drinking 16 oz of water about every hour or so. My weight this morning was 292.6 which is down more than 10 pounds just since Monday morning. I’m happy about that. I realize some of it is water – I’m not going to discount that kind of work though. Today’s workout is going to be different. Instead of all of the workouts I’d planned. I know I’m low on energy and I really shouldn’t be working out during VLCD – which technically VLCD is when I eat around 200-300 calories a day. This is just much lower than normal. Today’s workout is parallettes stiff arm holds, parallettes push up from floor in a seated position with my heels resting on the floor, stretches for neck and wrist above others, bike 10 min x 3, rows 8-12×2, FMA drills 10 min, and some pull up bar drops, finally jumping steps again.
My shoulders have always been super weak from injuries so i’m trying to build them up. I’m not pushing too hard or to muscle failure so 24 hours of recovery is enough. My goal is to improve some of these that I can do my full TRX workouts again without dying. I don’t just want to go from Monday couch potato and 304 pounds to Friday 292 full TRX workout. I want to make sure I don’t injure myself and subvert my efforts. I’ll also do some planks for 10s x3 and side planks for 10s x3.
You might wonder what my FMA drills are like. I have a couple and they’re for shoulder stretching more than anything else. They also provide some stability and balance. They’re some FMA stick drills, KM punches and strikes in the air and against a bag (one of my army duffel bags filled with old army clothes) so I don’t strike hard. I use an old Arnis book (by Remy Presas) and the conditioning skills at the back of David Kahns first book. I’ll also do some Aikido moves solo. They look like Tai Chi when I do them but they help me with my joint mobility and staying loose. This isn’t about whose MA is better than another it’s about getting that flexibility and mobility I need before I push my workouts harder.
I will also note that I do Yoga (which is really fatman stretching so not really yoga though my wife has been an instructor for years). I also meditate for 20 minutes at least once a day.
Since Monday evening my mental focus has been hyperfocus. I’m able to see things much clearer. My neck pain has almost completely gone away. My carpal tunnel has diminished greatly. Getting rid of inflammation helps more than you think. I also like intermittent fasting and have been doing it for over 20 years. When I lag and eat several times a day I feel much worse than I do if I only eat within a certain time frame. I also tried to get up at 530a and that’s not my time. My best sleep comes between 1-2a to about 7a.
IN MY MIND BY WINK DOUBLEGUNS 