2/17/2010

Futher Thoughts to Intermittend Fasting

Maybe I said it already. I love the concept of intermittend fasting! 
That brought me the idea I might try a thirty day trial. One day I faste until noon, the next I don't. This is really a nice thing. 
I felt wonderful about a week in a row. The pros were: I did't get all these aggressions when I can't run for a while. I usually begin to bug all people around me then by being either whiny or grumpy. I feel very clearly that I have to much energy in me then.
But I also bug myself then by being kind of unsettled sitting anywhere for a longer time.
Moreover, me - the never satisfied running rat - have a time in the day when I don't eat. This is very new. The only time I didn't eat before IF was while sleeping. And I really mean that. I practically ate the whole day through and dropped asleep when I stopped. 
Now that I don't have the time to run very much as it is winter and I need to study I was gaining weight each day. I rather lose weight with IF and a bit of training. Though I really hope it is not muscle weight I lose. 

But after a while there became more and more cons manifest: I felt light-headed and dizzy. Also, I was thirsty. Always. I could hardly schlepp all my drinks with me for some hours' work in the library. And I drank too much coffee, especially cappuccino. Then there was the heart-racing sometimes. I also prefered eating choci absoultely over anything healthy. And I just quit this bad habit. I don't want to start all over again.
And all those things happend though a drank a lot of juices, too. So there actually was 500kcal calorie income. But maybe this is simply not enough for a running rat.
Therefore, I cut back on fasting days again. I guess I'll do a lighter variation with fasting once or twice a week depending on the amount of kilometres I ran. I guess that might be healthier, too.

2/09/2010

Intermittend Fasting

I did it. A fasted for about 24 hours. Actually not on Sunday because I was kind of hung over and needed vitamins desperately. 
Eventually, I succeeded to fast from Sunday afternoon to Monday. It wasn't really that bad. I thought it might get ugly but it didn't. 
I assumed that my mood would drop during the day and that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on my studies but that was not the case. 
Actually, my mood was perfectly fine and concentration even better than usual. Maybe that was because I didn't have to think about food, choci and sweets all the time? I also felt light as a feather and didn't have this annoying rumble in my stomach which I usually have when sitting too long and eating too much.

There were some annoying things, though: First, the drowsiness on Monday morning so that I needed a cup of coffee eventually. Therefore, it was not a perfect fast but much better than nothing. Some fruit juice was a nice breakfast and kept me from the worst starving feeling.  
Second, I had those really loud collywobbles after having the second tiny coffee. This was kind of embarrassing in the very quiet reading room of the library but I needed something warm in my stomach (apparently they don't sell tea there).But I suppose that was only because my stomach is not used to fast.
Third, my heart raced again and again for some time. This might have been due to the coffee, though. I also have to add that I drank about three litres of water, tea and juice only on monday morning until lunch. So whenever you plan to fast better take a couple of liquids whereever you go.

Monday afternoon I ate again. A little wrap with vegetables for a start. It made me feel kind of nauseous first. Should I have strated with something else? It could hardly have been too much because it was really a teeny tiny thing. I should do some research on that issue. By the way: of course I ate the whole evening afterwards. But I think, that's how it's supposed to work. I never ate a whole day's amount of food then but felt absolutely satisfied by some greens (and some choci).

In conclusion, I must say that I think I'll need some practise. If I can avoid the coffee and drink more tea instead I guess that my heart won't race. And I also think that I won't feel nauseous anymore. I'll stick with it for 30 days. Intermittend fasting is my thing!
Actually, my clothes feel bigger already... 

2/06/2010

Old and New Issues



I found myself thinking that  it's really time for news here!


So in short (before I have to get back to studying) the topics I deal with recently:
1. Dark Chocolate Trial
I still stick to my just-very-dark-chocolate-trial (most of the time). 
First, I gave it up after the 30 day trial. Actually, I gave myself a couple days to eat all the choci-stuff there is. I consumed huge amounts. What it brought was a rash on the skin of my hip. First, it was only one side, then it was both. It wasn't really itchy but it also didn't look nice and when I left the milkchoci alone the rash left me alone, too. 
Running rat's mum made similar observations by the by. Of course, you can state now that this is probably a family issue but on the other hand it could as well have been a general body sign which may differ from person to person.

2. Gaining Weight  
I'm still getting fat sitting on my bud all day (I also get insanely intellectual but who cares?). As a consequence, I still look for possibilities to intervene. Unfortunately, sport is not really in the question as I simply cannot afford daily hours on running. 
Then I stumpled upon fasting again. I'm not really good with eating nothing for a longer period (as probably everybody else) but then I found a compromise! It's name is Intermittend Fasting. Not that it is an entirely new concept but now it has a name and a certain structure. You do it willingly and it shall help keeping you healthy (and slim). You can read about the benefits on wiki. Boyfriend#1 and me will start trying out tomorrow.

3. Sleep 
I wanted to write an article about sleep for ages already. I still haven't. But then boyfriend#1's sleeping issues made me aware again how gifted I must be. I usually sleep within seconds. 
So if you have sleep issues you probably want to do something about them. You'll soon be able to read an article about all the details here. 
In the meantime some very short advice: 
Skip coffee. Get up early, like at 6am - go to bed early, like at 10pm. Get a sleeping routine for your nights (like drinking tea and reading some book). Don't watch TV directly before you go to bed. Switch also your computer off early. Dim the lights directly before you go to bed and make sure that the room in which you sleep is really dark (and quiet of course) after you switched off your reading light. 
If you didn't know already: There are certain devices to track you sleep which also might help you if you have sleep issues. 
Believe me, with about 8-9 hours sleep a night you'll will feel much more rested, fresh and energetic.
I used to need naps during the day. But now that I have a daily routine (get up early, go to the library, sleep very early) I even sleep better than I used to (though I really rather have being-awake-issues than falling-asleep-issues). And my concentration span is longer, too.

4. Job Search
I still haven't got a new job. Though I'd really love to work for amazon if I can make it happen!


Now that was the short update. I'll post a longer one soon.