Posts tagged Fasting
Fasting, Imagination and Dreams
Jul 13th
“All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams.” ~Elias Canetti
Protein Fasting
I am starting to protein fast again today. It was very effective during the 3 days that I protein fasted 2 weeks ago and I thought I would go for a longer period of time and see how I do. Please understand that I am not recommending that anyone start or go on a fast; this is a huge and challenging commitment and without training and support – likely to be a very unpleasant experience. If you have training and support and a trained medical specialist to work with well – then consider fasting. The health benefits are huge – the psychological challenges are great to overcome, and you will lose weight faster than any other diet.
So, I am going to protein fast for 8 days this time. I will consume only water, protein powder free of carbohydrates and fats, and one essential oil capsule per day. I am going to consume approximately one hundred and eighty five grams of protein each day and at least four liters of water each day. Wish me luck!
A Come As You Will Be Party
My wife and I are having a small “come as you will be party” today. It will be a hoot. We are going to dress and act and talk just as we imagine that we will once we have already achieved our goals for the next five years. I have never participated in this kind of event before and I’m excited. The idea for this comes from chapter twelve of Jack Canfield’s book: The Success Principles. I would put this one on your list of books worth the time to read. I’ll talk more about this event and how it went soon.
There is Power to Change in Dreams
I decided to write down some more reasons to lose fat and get back into optimal health. These are very personal reasons and they excite me. When I think about doing them and achieving them, I feel motivated and motivation is a very good thing indeed while fasting!
Some more things I want to do:
- I want to run with the bulls in Pamplona Spain.
- I want to climb Kilimanjaro in Africa.
- I want to learn to hang-glide.
- I want to learn to parachute jump.
- I want to compete in the Paris to Dakar race.
What do all of these have in common? Well for me, I better be in much better shape to have a decent chance of surviving any of them! How about you? What are your dreams and what do you need to change to make them happen?
Till next time…Jack
“Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions.” ~Edgar Cayce
Protein Fasting Results
Jun 23rd
“Commit to be fit”. ~Author Unknown
So I did complete my 3 day protein only fast. I ended up losing 7 pounds of bodyweight in those 3 days. My energy was pretty good during those days – I was able to walk and workout and function at a fairly high level. Today was my first heavy workout since I returned to more normal eating. I will be curious to see how sore I am tomorrow. In the past, when I would water fast, I would be quite sore after my initial workouts. I expect to see some different results with this protein fast. The really intriguing question will be anwered over the next week: What did protein fasting do to my set-point? Or to say it another way: how much of that 7 pounds do I keep off in the next week?
Stay tuned for more adventures in returning to optimal bodyweight!
Bye for now…Jack
“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise”. ~A.A. Milne
Fasting and the Next Step
Jun 17th
“The best of all medicines is resting and fasting” ~ Benjamin Franklin
I am going to fast for the next 3 days. This will be a little different than the fasts that I have done before – my longest water only fast was 24 days – for this fast I will be exercising and taking vitamins and consuming protein – only protein. I am not going to be eating any carbohydrates. I am not going to be eating any fats – with the exception of the fats that I am going to supplement thru flax seed oil and fish oil. I am only going to be consuming protein. How much protein? Well, for this short experiment, I am going to consume approximately 180 grams of protein per day. This works out to about 1 gram of protein for each pound of what I would like my lean body mass to be.
So, why am I doing this? I am doing this because I am ready for the next step in returning to my ideal weight. I’ve made great progress this year. I am wearing clothes smaller in size than I have been able to wear in nearly 7 years. Still, I have a long way to go and I am anxious to get there.
So, why a protein fast? I want to see how well I feel while protein fasting and I also want to see how it affects my set-point. I think that water fasting has a natural tendency to raise my set-point…the natural weight that my body tries to maintain. I want to see if exercise and protein fasting will achieve a similar result in quick weight loss without raising my set-point.
I have water fasted before and experienced great results. Water fasting is a wonderful way to heal yourself from serious injury. Water fasting is however very challenging mentally and ultimately, the weight that you lose comes back. I’m going to see how protein fasting works instead…just for three days! Stay tuned and see what happens. I will be blogging and tweeting about this daily.
Till next time…Jack
“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon”. ~Doug Larson
Fasting Begins
Jan 12th
“I recently had my annual physical examination, which I get once every seven years, and when the nurse weighed me, I was shocked to discover how much stronger the Earth’s gravitational pull has become since 1990.” ~Dave Barry
I started fasting today. For the next few weeks, I am going to be dieting very strictly. I am going to alternate fasting – drinking just water and eating no food of any kind with protein fasting – eating just protein without carbohydrates or fats. I am not doing this for religious reasons – I am doing it because I am fed up with being out of shape. Actually, I have a long ways to go just to get to out of shape! Currently, I am obese and I just can’t stand it anymore. This is a great mental place for me to be!
I don’t recommend fasting, water or protein, to anyone. You need to know what you are doing and you need supervision. I have both. I will document the results of this fast here on my blog. For the record, it is starting today, Monday January 12th and I intend to continue it through Sunday, February 22nd. Once a week or so I will check in and let you know how I am doing and how I am feeling.
What are my biggest motivators for this diet? 1) Being around to achieve my dreams. 2) Having the energy, the physical vitality to achieve and enjoy my dreams. 3) Playing with my daughters. 4) Running and playing tennis again. Remember my goals for 2009? This is my “Fun” goal:I will run in the USA’s largest cross-country race: The Living History Farms Seven Miler. This race starts at 9am, Saturday November 21st, 2009 and I intend to be ready!
My bodyweight as I start this diet? 332 pounds. Wow, that was hard to admit!
Till next time…Jack
“Research conducted by University of California, Berkeley suggests there are major health benefits to caloric restriction. Benefits include a reduced risk of cancer, the slowing of the aging process and the potential to increase maximum life span. Currently, the reduction of caloric intake is the only proven method of increasing the lifespan of an organism. Dr. Joel Fuhrman maintains that pure water fasting can not only “detoxify” cells and “rejuvenate” organs, but can actually cure such diseases and conditions as cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colitis, psoriasis, lupus and some other autoimmune disorders when combined with a healthy diet. He believes that “Fasting is Nature’s Restorer.”"