Fasting & Programming • Hacker News Board

Re: Fasting & Programming

#61

Post by Killah911 » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 5:53 PM UTC

ramblerman wrote: post #21

Killah911 wrote: post #3

I suffer mainly from the caffine withdrawal. But this is good in a sense. By the end of Ramadan, I typically rid my system of a lot of junk that I'm used to putting into my body. Also, the effects of "performance enhancing" chemicals not being there also means you just have to work harder at what you do. While this may be hard in the beginning, it gets much better as time goes on. Despite all of this, I know all abou…

Fasting is actually very healthy. Not drinking any fluids, not so much.

I drink 3 glasses of water in the early AM meal + 1 glass of milk and then 4-6 glasses in the evening. I even fit in a light workout before breaking fast in the evening. So, dehydration isn't too much of a issue (at least if you're working indoors).

Re: Fasting & Programming

#62

Post by chc » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 5:58 PM UTC

nsxwolf wrote: post #41

sambeau wrote: post #33

As (a non-religious) someone who tried fasting while holding down a similar job, my advice is simple: don't break your fast every night. It only takes 24-48 hours for your body to adjust, your fat to start melting and your blood-sugar levels to stabilise. You also stop feeling hungry. I found that while I was generally a little 'light-headed' my powers of concentration were fine and I returned to full productivity. A…

This was probably very common in the human experience prior to the development of agriculture. People didn't eat regular meals. Hunting opportunities would not have come along every day, and sometimes hunts would fail. I don't think humans would become too weak to throw spears because they didn't have their Cheerios in the morning. When I hear people who have skipped a meal complain "my blood sugar is low", I worry f…

Times have changed. Nowadays we try to minimize our fat stores because overeating is a bigger threat to us than starvation is. If you're eating balanced meals intended to keep you slim, missing one is a bigger deal than if you pig out on a deer you killed and then miss breakfast the next day.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#63

Post by ramadan-fast » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 5:58 PM UTC

I know this is the complete opposite for most people, but my experience fasting is very different. for some reason (maybe someone can help explain why?), I find that while fasting I actually become significantly more productive and enter a state of extreme mental lucidity. the best way I’d describe it as is being on a high-dose of adderall (if you aren’t a regular user), but with a clearer head.

this usually kicks-in after the second day of fasting and stays pretty consistent throughout the month. I really feel it peak at about midway through my conscious fast each day (about 7hrs after waking-up) and it lasts up and through the time I eat.

I should just note that, in case someone’s thinking this, I’m pretty sure it’s not attributed to some sort of increased spirituality or something like that (I’m not particularly religious; more-so fast as a personal challenge and use the opportunity as a sort of annual ‘reset’ to physical habits)

as for how my fast goes, I think it may be considered somewhat extreme compared to others I know: beyond a fairly large iftar (dinner) at around 8:30pm I don’t really eat much else; I still keep vegan when I do eat; never wake-up pre-dawn to eat (though I sort of subconsciously wake-up throughout the night and drink water); and I don’t change any of my habits outside my time fasting (i.e. still go to gym after dinner most days, still go out at night, still drink (alcohol), still wake-up early for work, etc...)

Re: Fasting & Programming

#64

Post by tkahn6 » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:00 PM UTC

dalore wrote: post #53

ramblerman wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans are funny creatures. To believe on the one hand a god laid down these rules, and then in the same thought think "Well I bet he didn't think of this loophole"

Isn't there whole sections of Judaism that work out loopholes to God's laws?

Yes. One instance is the law that says that a child should be executed if he disrespects his parents (one of the ten commandments).

The text says the parents must "speak with one voice" of their child's disrespect. The rabbis interpret this to mean the parents must speak literally with the same voice as though some divine entity is speaking through them.

And of course that's not possible so there is no record of any child being executed under that law.

And the justification for this radical interpretation is that "the Torah is not in heaven" [1]. Essentially this means that even if there is some divine indication that an interpretation is incorrect, it is irrelevant. God comes down to tell the rabbinate that they've made a mistake and the rabbis tell God that his opinion doesn't matter.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_in_Heaven

Re: Fasting & Programming

#65

Post by jperras » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:02 PM UTC

There is quite a lot of science and study behind fasting, and it can actually be good for your health. I say this as someone who does a caloric fast (read: no caloric intake at all, fluids allowed) 6-7 times a week for intervals of 16-20 hours, in addition to my 3x weekly heavy weightlifting programme and my full-time job as a programmer/devops.

As of right now I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my life (physical strength and cardiovascular health), and my mind is as sharp as ever, especially when I'm fasting.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#66

Post by smsm42 » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:02 PM UTC

irahul wrote: post #35

papercrane wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What if I start a new religion which says working more than 4 hours a day is against my gods? Then they'll pay you for four hours work. I don't think any law will force your employer to make unreasonable accommodations for you.

> unreasonable accommodations Who is in-charge of making the call, and on what basis? What is to say working while starving is more reasonable than say, coming in drunk to work which my religion mandates. The funny thing with religious mandates is you can selectively choose the mandates. Someone whose religion dictates head gear isn't required to wear head gears whole of his life to contest that he should be allowed…

The judge will be in charge of that. If you have tons of money and very interesting case - nine Supreme Court judges, otherwise - probably your local court judge. And from what I heard, judges are not very tolerant to people that try to game the system and make fools of them, so you better be sure you are very persuasive with your new religion or you'll lose the case very quick.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#67

Post by tejaswiy » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:04 PM UTC

paperwork wrote: post #2

Very interesting, my experience has been slightly different this year. Normally my brain is thinking 10 different things at one time. It is fairly difficult for me to focus (more so since I work at an office that has 5 TVs that I can see, and a couple of channels I can hear). The first few days of fasting, I was surprised how easily I was able to focus. Frankly I was far more productive than I normally am. Unfortunat…

> Normally my brain is thinking 10 different things at one time. It is fairly difficult for me to focus (more so since I work at an office that has 5 TVs that I can see, and a couple of channels I can hear).

I think a part of the reason why programmers prefer working late hours (late as in after 12 in the night) is that the brain is sufficiently tired as to not be able to jump all over the place. You'd focus on one thing : Your code.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#68

Post by RyanMcGreal » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:07 PM UTC

irahul wrote: post #51

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to start a new religion, be prepared to spend an awful lot of donation money on a crack legal team who can defend a) your religion from anything that looks like defamation and b) your adherents from anything that looks like discrimination.

I am aware of the fact that whatever you can get away with(what you do doesn't affect others, legal team, political pressure, terrorism) becomes reasonable after some time. Religion is just a ruse. It's not that people adhere to everything their religion tells them to. Gay bashing, female subjugation etc. are just bigoted assholes hiding behind their religion and projecting their limited, hateful world view on others…

"You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion."

Re: Fasting & Programming

#69

Post by AjithAntony » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:13 PM UTC

alinajaf wrote: post #11

(Disclaimer: I'm a militant atheist now) I think I would find stopping five times a day for prayer to be a bit of a distraction, though I imagine the short bursts of meditation would be good for my concentration overall. I tended to gain weight during Ramadan, but that's probably because my family made a big deal of every iftar, inviting extended family members, eating out and having big greasy Pakistani meals almost…

> I would find stopping five times a day for prayer to be a bit of a distraction

(Disclaimer: Not a muslim)

I think that is exactly what the prayers are for. They remind you that the only thing that matters in this life is submitting to God and to thank Him for His blessings.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#70

Post by manmal » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 6:17 PM UTC

nsxwolf wrote: post #41

sambeau wrote: post #33

As (a non-religious) someone who tried fasting while holding down a similar job, my advice is simple: don't break your fast every night. It only takes 24-48 hours for your body to adjust, your fat to start melting and your blood-sugar levels to stabilise. You also stop feeling hungry. I found that while I was generally a little 'light-headed' my powers of concentration were fine and I returned to full productivity. A…

This was probably very common in the human experience prior to the development of agriculture. People didn't eat regular meals. Hunting opportunities would not have come along every day, and sometimes hunts would fail. I don't think humans would become too weak to throw spears because they didn't have their Cheerios in the morning. When I hear people who have skipped a meal complain "my blood sugar is low", I worry f…

You are mistaken if you think that hunting was the primary source of food in times before agriculture. For many tribes it was (and still is, in some parts of the world) a secondary "luxury" which augmented the gathered food. As you say, hunting can easily fail, or game can become rare because of environmental hiccups. This happens more often than you should think - there are times when deer can't be found for weeks. Blood sugar was mainly kept up with berries, roots, and fruit - nibbling all day long. Fat stores are not so easily accessed - if they were, then all-week-fasting would be the way to go for fat-loss (which mostly leads to muscle wasting and short-term water loss, and a mighty yo-yo effect). Yes, one can use intermittent fasting to lose weight, but weight-loss usually only kicks in after 2-3 weeks.

I agree that Cheerios are a bad idea generally, but I'm not pro fasting or skipping meals for weight loss. Fat is stored as an emergency reaction to high blood sugar levels, and you get exactly that when eating more between the fasts (you have to). You constantly expose your brain to too much and too low sugar levels, resulting in highs and lows in your ability to focus (and also your mood).