One week of fasting and here’s what happened…

If you read my post last week on fasting you’ll know that I had been feeling a little out of sorts and needed a bit of a change. While I generally eat healthy and am active sweating it out on the peloton or peddling through the desert on my mountain bike, with a lot of recent visitors to the house I had a few weeks of too much indulgence.

The fast was a change to set me straight and with the Napa to Sonoma half marathon coming up in 2 weeks I needed it!

I’ll give you my method and a little data after one week of fasting. It’s not too impressive but I’m a fan of how fasting not only changes your body but your mind.

First I was looking for a free app and came across Sunrise Fast , a tool that made fasting really really easy. After dinner each night, usually 6-7p I would click the “start fast button” and my hourglass would appear. I’m right in the middle a my current 16h fast so here’s what the app looks like:

The running hourglass would give me a sense of accomplishment and usually get me through the rest of the day. Also I would receive a notification when I was halfway through the fast and again when one hour is left. Most days I completed a 16h fast and some days I ponied up and did a 18 hour fast. For the last week it looks something like this, the November 24th fast will come up when I finish around 10-11 this morning.

As for the data I’ll show you how my weight, BMI and body fat changed over the week. Small changes but in the right direction. Most importantly was my mood. I felt empowered by the fast, I felt more control over my day and over my body and despite being surrounded by snacks it felt good to be held accountable to my fasting calendar and to say “No.” To myself usually but infrequently out loud.

Here is my weight, BMI and body fat using my Innotech scale and the associated app which easily lets me see the data over days, weeks or months for everything from weight and BMI to body fat, water content, protein, bone mass, etc. I don’t know how accurate it is but it’s nice to have the data.

So the numbers are going in the right direction, I’ve lost a few pounds, my BMI is getting toward a healthier lever and so is my body fat. These are most likely changes associated with the drastic change in behavior but they are changes nonetheless. Other than fasting I didn’t change much else in my routine. I still was doing my morning peloton ride or a mountain bike ride out in Red Rock Canyon. My diet didn’t change appreciably but of course I wasn’t snacking for most of the day.

Here are the things that I learned:

1.  Start Fasting Early – If I started fasting early it was easy. If I hit the button after dinner, before 7p than I would finish my 16h fast before 11a and my 18h fast before 1p. If we had a late night and didn’t start fasting by 10p now my 16h fast went to 2p and my 18h went to 4p and that was really tough for me.
2. Exercise Didn’t Make Me Sick or Jittery – I was worried that after my morning workout continuing the day and operating on an empty stomach would leave me sick jittery. But I continued my 2 morning cups of black coffee routine, one around 430a and one around 630a and it was fine, no shakes, no jitters.
3. It Feels Good to Feel Hungry – There was something so empowering about not snacking and saying no. I found myself drinking a lot more water, a surprising benefit of the fast and while I would usually snack on something between cases I would have a bottle of water and it was perfect.

Going forward I think at least the 16h fast will be a part of the daily habit and I’ll continue to watch the data and post an update in a month or so. I’ll most likely add in a few 18h fasts and may even try a 24h fast as a nice reset. I don’t think I’m ready for the three day fast or greater but it’s something I would consider.

If you’re interested in learning more about fasts definitely check out Dr. Peter Attia’s talk with Joe Rogan on the benefits of fasting.

What are you thoughts? Have you tried fasting? Are you willing to give it a try?