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Fasting & Programming

mahdiyusuf.com

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Re: Fasting & Programming

#131

Post by dllthomas »

GFKjunior wrote: post #72
dllthomas wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too weak to throw spears, maybe not. Too weak to churn out top quality code may be another matter, however.

You are severely underestimating the mental difficulty of spear hunting in relation to writing a couple of lines of code.

If you dropped me in a forest and required me to hunt animals with a spear, there would be significant higher-order mental involvement. For someone who has been doing it their whole life, I expect that is not the case in the typical hunt.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#132

Post by jperras »

jacques_chester wrote: post #129
jperras wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. It's incredibly simple, even if there are a lot of concepts to grasp. Diet: The macro-nutrient decomposition I tend to follow can be calculated for your bodyweight, height and level of physical activity here: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ . Note that your level of physical activity is most likely sedentary, even if you plan on exercising. The higher levels are for people who have physically demanding day…

Fittitor, I take it?

Indeed – I try to avoid the hive mind (when it isn't backed by science) and form my own opinions, though. The great thing about personal fitness and nutrition is that everyone has got a great laboratory at their disposal at all times.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#133

Post by no_more_death »

HSO wrote: post #88

IANAN (I am not a nutritionist) but I strongly suspect that the physical and mental exhaustion is primarily related to dehydration (as Mahdi Yusuf himself indicates by bolding "drink"). Looking at some of the comments here, the main difference between those who describe positive experiences with fasting and what the author describes is that the former drink water throughout the day. In that light, let me quote from a…

Yes, fasting really isn't bad if you drink plenty of water. I fast and pray semi-regularly (I'm a Christian). It is rough at first but you get into the groove about half-way through the day. Fasting never hurt by ability to code. Fasting sharpens sensitivity; my body kicks into "prayer" mode and I can focus better. On the other hand, it is really hard to fast and stay up late! I usually end up going to bed early.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#134

Post by pessimizer »

_pius wrote: post #130
pessimizer wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's saying after 2-3 weeks of intermittent fasting, not fasting for 2-3 weeks at a time intermittently. Anecdote alert, but I started doing alternate day fasting after I read the study, then 22 hour a day fasts after I read that people were having results with that. Went from 235 to 185 in 2 years (6' tall, fairly large build.) I'm not strict, and I go off it whenever I'm bored or severely tempted. I count a…

I think he's saying after 2-3 weeks of intermittent fasting, not fasting for 2-3 weeks at a time intermittently. Yup, I got that and I'm challenging it.

Just making sure.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#135

Post by anthonyb »

beagle3 wrote: post #126
anthonyb wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on how much glucose and carbohydrates you're getting in your diet. Your body needs a minimum level to survive (eg. for brain function) and if it doesn't get it, it converts fat. So if you're on a low carb diet, but getting at least that bare minimum, you won't get ketosis. Something like that, anyway. You were the one who started it: > your body is finally getting rid of some stuff it should have g…

> I think it depends on how much glucose and carbohydrates you're getting in your diet. Let me rephrase the question, as apparently it wasn't clear: Most instances of fasting (specific time + specific instance) do not get acetone breath at all. Some instances of fasting do get acetone breath, but if they do, it's usually only for a couple of days near the beginning of the fast (usually starting around 2nd day and end…

I'm not sure what you mean by an "instance", but there will likely be variations in how quickly people respond to metabolism, and also depends on what you're eating during the fast.

One possible mechanism is that the muscles of the people fasting are more able (either through genes or exercise) to burning fat, meaning that you need to convert less fat into glucose. I'm not a biochemist (I've mainly read Good calories, bad calories plus various primal/low carb blogs) but it seems pretty straightforward (fat -> fatty acids -> acetyl-CoA -> ketones): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketosis

Feeling sick on a caffeine detox is likely to just be withdrawal, and/or the "low-carb flu".

Re: Fasting & Programming

#136

Post by anthonyb »

beagle3 wrote: post #102
graeme wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

99% of the population has more fat store than in the days when people hunted deer. The problem is that people aren't used to accessing their fat stores for energy.

> The problem is that people aren't used to accessing their fat stores for energy. It is my hypothesis that most modern fat stores are not actually energy stores, but rather "toxin" jails (I use "toxin" in the sense of: a substance that the body does not want, possibly because it is harmful, and that takes non-trivial time/effort to metabolize and/or get rid of; think of e.g. mercury). Which would explain why they ar…

Doubtful; the primary way that mercury and lead are excreted is through your fingernails and hair.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#137

Post by Retric »

drumdance wrote: post #115
GFKjunior wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your post specifically said SPEAR hunting. You do not hunt small game with a spear. Trapping is usually the most effective way of getting meat in the wild. Off topic but some of the best traps are large modern mouse-traps. Just make sure to drill a hole and tie it to a tree with a strong rope so the animal doesn't pull it away. Set it, and you will almost certainly capture a small mammal within a day.

Makes me wonder: when did trapping start? 5,000 years ago? 20,000?

Probably closer to 200,000+. Fishing net's are at least 80,000 years old.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#138

Post by latch »

ralfn wrote: post #123
enqk wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you think you are focusing on code, and just are too tired to notice context-switches or general slowness.

The illusion of productivity can actually increase productivity. The feeling of gettings things done motivates. Even when that feeling is an illusion. So what if it actually took 4 hours: if it feels like 30 minute, its easy to invest another "30 minutes".

You believe that the "illusion of productivity" brought on by fatigue can actually make you more productive than rest/sleep?

Re: Fasting & Programming

#139

Post by ralfn »

ralfn wrote: post #123
enqk wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you think you are focusing on code, and just are too tired to notice context-switches or general slowness.

The illusion of productivity can actually increase productivity. The feeling of gettings things done motivates. Even when that feeling is an illusion. So what if it actually took 4 hours: if it feels like 30 minute, its easy to invest another "30 minutes".

@latch

Yes. I believe it helps with motivation, which for some people, like myself for example, is often the bottleneck of productivity.

Off course, others may have more intrinsic motivation, or just more discipline.

But if you are lazy like me, it helps a lot. Whenever i reach that point, i get into a zone, and just keep going and going. Im not working better, or more effectively, im just more motivated, and end up investing more time and effort.

Re: Fasting & Programming

#140

Post by tkahn6 »

gyardley wrote: post #116
dalore wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

One of my favorite Talmud stories illustrates that the opinion of the community is more important than the voice of God - which, in my opinion, is one of the many things that make my religion great. Going to badly paraphrase here, but a group of Jews were debating an obscure point of law, and a single person was in the minority. He said something like 'if I am correct, let this tree demonstrate it!' The tree was sudd…

Yep here you go:

http://www.jhom.com/topics/voice/bat_kol_bab.htm

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