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A year without food (2012)

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Re: A year without food (2012)

#71
I've spent some time around people with anorexia nervosa.

In my opinion (with no science to support me) it is easy to 'give yourself anorexia' by starving yourself and making use of thinspo materials.

Although there have been campaigns to remove the worst thinspo material from popular sites it's still easily available.

As other people say, the re-feeding is also tricky and dangerous. So, while going hungry is probably okay for most people please be careful and get help early if you think it's becoming a problem.

When adjusted for other factors anorexia has the highest mortality rate of the mental illnesses, killing something like 20% of sufferers. (Although that number is a bit old now.)

Re: A year without food (2012)

#72
post #71

I've spent some time around people with anorexia nervosa. In my opinion (with no science to support me) it is easy to 'give yourself anorexia' by starving yourself and making use of thinspo materials. Although there have been campaigns to remove the worst thinspo material from popular sites it's still easily available. As other people say, the re-feeding is also tricky and dangerous. So, while going hungry is probabl…

There was a documentary on the BBC a while back about the liberation of Auschwitz, and the doctor that had to find a method of re-feeding the survivors safely. IIRC quite a few died when being put back on "normal" food.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#73
post #68

Been fasting everyday for 20-24 hours since June 1. Once you get used to it theres nothing to it. I like that I can feast everyday and on top of that its much easier to eat healthy and make a good decision about the foods for your feast. The benefits to my focus while fasting is significant. There are streaks almost daily where I feel like I am on adderall just pumped with adrenaline. Also, you get a muscle pump duri…

Do you workout in fasted state (before the feast)? If yes, how well does that go? Martin from leangains recommends taking large quanitites of BCAA before fasted workouts, but I don't want to live off isolated proteins.

I usually work out in a fasted state. I dont really mess around with supplements. Full Disclosure: I was fat, and now I am skinny. My bf is at 14%, so I am not ripped like hollywood, but I have made some good gains with this protocol and also feel better than ever. I am not a bodybuilder, just a dude trying to be relatively fit.

I eat all my food in a 4 hour window, 6-10 at night. Usually I workout from 3-4. I like lean gains, but I mainly follow the Warrior Diet put out by Ori Hoffmekler. He is waaaay ahead of his time.

In my opinion there is no 'right' diet for everyone, but definitely worth trying different things to see what works for you.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#74
post #32

When I've tried to fast into the night, I wake up in the middle of the night and have to eat something otherwise I can't sleep. Does this happen to anyone else?

This is why I eat only at night. I sleep better with some food in me and cant sleep while hungry. Try fasting during the day if the night time fast doesnt work for you.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the feeling of hunger go away by itself or you repress it somehow?

I find that there are two distinct sensations that I have to call hunger. They seem to get confused. The first is what I think people in modern society call hunger, because it's the only kind they've experienced. It's a craving for food, or even just a sensation of not being full. We call "not full" "hungry" when they aren't really necessarily the same. The second kind comes after you've fasted for quite a while. It'…

Whenever I used to say I was hungry my Dutch grandfather would say, "No, you'd like to eat something. Hunger is something we had during the war".

("Je hebt trek, honger hadden we tijdens de oorlog")

Re: A year without food (2012)

#76
I eat one normal meal and 2 cups of tea daily for past 7 years. I do moderate exercise thrice a week. I am healthy rather fat. My BMI is 27.

I have never fasted but am planning to soon.

I can say for myself that body doesn't even need as much as I eat.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#77
post #58
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first one is appetite. The real hunger comes around after a few weeks of fasting - and unlike appetite, it doesn't go away when you do something interesting.

Really? I thought the feeling I get, when I didn't eat for >10h was hunger. It's an ugly feeling, which comes with borborygmus. Appetite is a feeling I would describe more psychological. I'm smelling something delicious and suddenly want to eat it.

Feeling of hunger is very individual. For some people, it's no big deal. For other people, it is very annoying. I know that if I haven't eaten for a day, I start notice limping people more, and I can't stop watching small children, because I want to kill and eat them.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#78
post #72
post #71

I've spent some time around people with anorexia nervosa. In my opinion (with no science to support me) it is easy to 'give yourself anorexia' by starving yourself and making use of thinspo materials. Although there have been campaigns to remove the worst thinspo material from popular sites it's still easily available. As other people say, the re-feeding is also tricky and dangerous. So, while going hungry is probabl…

There was a documentary on the BBC a while back about the liberation of Auschwitz, and the doctor that had to find a method of re-feeding the survivors safely. IIRC quite a few died when being put back on "normal" food.

During that time, Ancel Keys did a few experiments to help develop a protocol for that exact issue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

Re: A year without food (2012)

#79
post #4

I fasted entirely for lent one year (40 days) and after the first week, the hardest part was indeed that I was missing the social aspect of eating meals with friends and family. I took vitamins, and drank more water than I normally would but was quite happy. I should also mention that I stopped running so hard during this period and took a multivitamin each day. I've fasted for shorter durations and it's amazing how…

The hardest part was social?! Really?! I've done a couple five day fasts and the hardest part is that after day three you have an effective IQ of 65. Your body shuts your brain down and you can't think clearly. I wonder if this has an under-explored psycho-therapeutic value, actually. When you can't mentally ruminate at all anxieties definitely dissipate. I'd recommend fasting as a way to clear one's head for sure. Y…

I used to work with a guy who would fast on Wednesdays for religious reasons. After a while, we realized that we shouldn't ask him any technical questions on those days, as he simply couldn't answer, or didn't provide good answers.

A few years later I went on a diet (lost almost 30 pounds, sadly since regained). I experienced the same effects - I was irritable, and didn't produce my best work. This was probably a contributing factor to my being selected for a layoff.

Re: A year without food (2012)

#80
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating, did you do anything special with liquids other than plain old water? Lemon water?

No, I only drank water. A lot of water. Even on my regular diet I drink more water than most people, but when fasting, I'm sure I drank 2-3x more water than normal. I would typically have a bottle or glass of water on hand all the time. Once I did experiment with either lemon water or weak tea (can't recall now) but that caused an unpleasant case of acid reflux, which was very unusual for me.

I would recommend (as a fellow tall guy who was once about 50 lbs. overweight) that after your next fast, when you start eating again, experiment by only eating zero to low carbohydrate foods. Lots of meat and green vegetables. I think you will fine that the fast will kick start ketosis, and the low carb diet will maintain ketosis at a more pleasant level, but the fatty acids in the meat will provide energy, supplemented by the fatty acids being released from your fat cells.
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