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Day 4 of a planned 5 day 'no solid food fast'
Blood sugar 84 mg/dL
Why I fast 5+ days at a time. This helps me meet my main goals:
1. Limit available glycogen (by consuming minimum carbs through fasting (10 net carbs))
2. Dump existing glycogen (by exercising hard – however, #1 is the most effective)
3. Encourage my body to burn fat for energy (by exercising hard)
Exercise is the a key piece of my weight loss, but only combined with low glycogen in my body. My normal daily exercise consists of 16k steps a day plus either a one hour run or one hour weight workout with an average heart rate above 150 bpm. On work days I have to walk during my lunch hour and then walk when I get home to get in 16k steps.
However, if I ONLY reduce my carbs (and by a result the glycogen) my body, when not exercising, will just slow my metabolism to conserve energy. I know when this is happening because I will sometimes get VERY cold. I will also become listless and sleepy.
🥛 Yesterday I allowed myself to have as much protein drink (with Splenda and Heavy Cream) as I wanted. I felt full all day. 'Full' is not what I would normally want on a fast, but it makes 'fasting' almost effortless.
📷 To track progress, the scale is not much help (goes up and down for odd reasons), the mirror is better, but taking a picture seems to work best for me. In the mirror my belly looks flat, but when I take a picture and look at it, I can see the 5-10 pounds (or more?).
🏋🏾 I am so glad I have been hitting the weights! Right now my 50 year old body, with my hanging skin, looks 'ok' if you say "Well, the dude is 50..." But, If I were not in the gym, lifting hard and heavy, my body would look like a total mess.
Current workout (3 days a week (Sun/Tues/Thursday))
[3 sets of each]
Squat - 160lbs (10 reps)
Deadlift – 160lbs (6 reps)
Shrug - 160lbs (10 reps)
Ab Crunch - 120lbs (10 reps)
Bench Press - 85lbs (10 reps)
Pullups - (5 reps)
Pushups - (10 reps)
Have a great day everyone!
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