Food Pyramid

Brilliant link here to Michael Eades and the food pyramid.

Spinning around!

Hello all. Just a report here on what happened to me when I went to a spinning class the other day at the gym, and how I felt during and after.

I had not eaten throughout the day as I was on my "warrior" fast and the spinning class started at 6pm. I have not done a spinning class for about 10 years so I was a little nervous before as I was unsure of what my performance would be like, especially as this was a bit of an experiment in relation to the food.

However, although I found the class tough, it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. In fact at the end of the class I felt as though I could have continued and done it again! Interesting findings I thought.

OK, I could have pushed myself harder, but I was following the instructor perfectly- as was everyone else, but everyone else was looking SHATTERED! I was keeping an eye on the effort levels of other people and they were probably working as hard as I was, some of these guys are regular to this class apparently.

This made me think that perhaps I was at a physical advantage due to my fasting during the day. Everyone else who was supping on their energy drinks were trying to prepare for the activity ahead, whereas in fact possibly the best preparation is to eat nothing.

My fasted state means that my body is in fat burning mode already. So when the exercise kicks in it is already in its optimum state to maintain this energy release consistently. In other words my body is burning fat as a fuel which is a more efficient energy to burn.

The other poor guys in there would be only using carbohydrate in the muscles, so it IS NO WONDER it would be more difficult for them to exercise and that is why I think the spinning would feel so difficult.

Listen, I am not a particularly hard core exerciser, I do some every now and again and I enjoy it, but I also like to drink and eat lots of food! However, I did feel very fit in this class and I felt as though I could continue almost indefinitely (maybe not, but hey I was feeling great!).

Based on my own findings, I wonder if we are inherently fit individuals. I wonder if exercise is actually easier then it FEELS to us. You know how when you do an exercise session it is very difficult at the start but then gets easier? Well I think we are meant to start into the easy part. And we would do this by exercising in a fasted state.

What do you think?

No change

You know how when you go to the gym everyone in there always seems to stay the same shape regardless of how long they have been going there?

This is something that everyone just accepts and never questions. I know that every gym has some people who are extremely fit and have great bodies but the majority look pretty unconditioned I think.

If effort and time spent in the gym were proportional to fat lost/muscle gained then everyone would progress. It is true however that some people are genuinely happy with their current physical state and go to the gym only to stay healthy, but I believe the majority are there to change.

I believe the problems come not only from the activity being done in the gym but also what the people take inside them before and after a workout.

I have seen obese people eating an energy bar before a workout, doing some cardio for 20 minutes and then drinking gatorade afterwards. This is where people are going seriously wrong. They believe they are taxing themselves to such an extent that they need this energy release to assist them through the exercise.

Bollocks!

As ever, it is a hormone cascade that results in our bodies changing shape for good or for bad.

Bearing this in mind, I am going to see if it possible to burn fat and build lean muscle by spending no more that 30 minutes in the gym 3 times per week. I believe this is plenty of time as I will be doing big muscle groups only (no triceps dips!)

Where possible I will be working out fasted, or at least not eaten for a few hours. I will document all the activity on here and let you know the results.

Best wishes,

Junkie

Greetings

Hi Sorry I have not been on for such a long time! My computer has been out of action and I have just got a brand spanking new one!

I have been working at my new job now for a few weeks and I am generally eating nothing during the day as I am working very hard mentally but I am doing nothing too physical. I must say I feel great and alert and like a tiger I feel great! Although Tony the tiger is probably having a hyperglycemic episode!

Some of my diet choices have not been great. This week alone some of my late night meals have included maccy ds, pizza and curry! Although last night I did have some broccoli! But generally I still feel great and full of beans.

I was watching a program the other day called the worlds best diet. There were lots of different diets from around the world and some (minor) celebrities tried them out for a while. There was Mediterranean, British and a low carb diet. Unsurprisingly, the low carb diet was the winner in terms of weight loss.

The funniest thing was though at the end of the experiment, they spoke to a dietitian to ask her opinion. Her summary was that the low carb diet is an unhealthy way of eating and is not possible to sustain long term. The best bit was that she was a BIG FAT MAMMA!! Why the bloody hell would we listen to her!

Anyway just a quick rant today.

Speak soon,


Junkie

Euphoria for adults

Hey loyal followers! I hope your all good.

Just a quick update about my fasted state for the past couple of days. The last time I ate was Monday night when I had a fabulous curry made for me by my lovely wife!

OK, so yesterday I was working until 9pm and I was gonna have a feast after work after fasting all day but I was delayed at work! I didn't get home until very late and by the time I got back I did not feel any hunger so didn't bother eating.

Well today I can honestly tell you that when I awoke this morning the world looked good!! I felt really alive and well and I am raring to go for the day.

Now by no means would I ever recommend doing this but my God does it feel great!

Those of you who go jogging, you know how it is difficult for the 1st 5 or 10 minutes and then it gets easier and you can continue for a surprising amount of time? Well this is because the body adapts to burning fat during the exercise and it is a more efficient abundant supply. After a while, people can experience the "runners high", an uplifting euphoric feeling, which I understand can be very addictive.
I believe that as my body has acclimatised to fat burning, that those intense feelings of happiness and energy are linked to the creation of energy in my body from the burning of fat.

I could be COMPLETELY wrong but just a thought!

Best wishes to all x

Interview success

Sorry about the delay in posting. I have been so busy in my new job I haven't found the time to put "pen to paper".

I wanted to talk about my experience with my successful interview and how I felt depending on what I ate. Of course job interviews are always nerve wracking experiences, especially if you are in a position where the job is one you REALLY want for whatever reason.

I went on around 6 interviews before I was successful and the last 3 I did in a fasted state- this wasn't a deliberate experiment by the way :-) Surprisingly, this wasn't too difficult to do because I was a little nervous anyway so didn't really feel like eating.

I found that the final 3 interviews went brilliantly. Obviously one was more successful as I got the job but I felt the other 2 were also really good.

The reason I think they were so good was because I felt "ready" for any of the questions that came to me. Of course I still had to prepare properly, and there is no substitute for that but mentally I was properly tuned in and really felt good and confident during the process.

Also, you know that kind of "negative internal monitor" we all have when we are in stressful situations? You know, like say you suddenly had to stand up and sing in front of 1000 people, you would be really aware of how your voice sounds, how you move and aware that your words are coming out all wrong? Well that "monitor" was off and I felt my words were flowing and basically I was brilliant!

So I suppose the moral of this tale is that fasting might help you REALLY focus when you are in a stressful situation and help you. Although if I had to sing in front of 1000 people, I still think I would be poo :-)

Just a thought......

Sorry I have been a bit slack writing any posts this week. I have just started a new job and have not been around very much but here I am!

Firstly, I have been water fasting all day every day and feeling great. Very productive and focused. Hopefully my new bosses will be impressed by my productivity :-) I also managed to do some exercise classes every day and my recovery is much better then I ever remember it.

One of the people I told about the Warrior Diet reckoned that my muscles will waste away and I will store what I eat as fat if I don't eat enough and regularly during the day. Now, I have heard his before and I used to believe it, or at least the science apparently made sense, I never questioned it.

But when you think about it...... "they" are saying is that if we eat too much; too many calories we get fat. OK, in that case I'll eat less during the day but no! If I eat too little in the day or skip meals, my body will burn my precious muscle tissue and store all my food as fat.

If this was the case, then surely when we ate too much our muscles would grow and we would end up like Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't we?

If you think about it, when we were living in paleo times, we would have gone without food for a while, and if our bodies then catabolised our muscles it would become more and more difficult to catch our food and we would have died out!

I'm not a scientist, but I reckon our muscles will be fine without food for a bit.

By the way the class I did was called Body Attack and it was brilliant but I was knackered!!!