So, fasting… yeah, it is the new thing for health. yeah, it is very misunderstood. And yeah, I did it too… I will write about it because I got very good results out of it, but it was so because I made my best to do it smartly. And in the context of fasting, smartly translates to slowly.
Before I say anything comes the old disclaimer thing:
- I am not a doctor.
- You should go see a doctor.
- I do not take responsibility if you do something that you read here and something bad happens to you.
- Take care of yourself.
Since that is out of the way, let’s start: When people ask how I got so into shape they get surprised to know that by the beginning of this year I had around 16kg more of fat and maybe 5kg less of muscle. It was simple, I started with intermittent fasting, and progressively increased the length of full (water) fasting:
- First month intermittent fasting (8/16)
- Second month intermittent fasting (8/16), with Sundays free and water fasting on Monday. (Learned in Man 2.0)
- Third month intermittent fasting (8/16), and 4 days water fasting at the end of the month.
- Fourth month intermittent fasting (8/16), then one glorious weekend of free eating before the 7 days of water fasting.
Finito!
Pero no mucho. What you are eating during the intermittent fast is very important! So what I recommend is following a paleo diet and really focus on getting your protein intake in order. And I recommend protein from meat, not so much protein shakes… Meat has other nutrients that the shakes will not provide you.
Half way through my training I changed from the paleo to the AIP (which you can find out more about here or get the book here). But I only did so because of some autoimmune responses I was having to stress and I thought this protocol would help. However I must warn that AIP is a diet focused in decreasing inflammation, and inflammation is necessary for muscle growth.
I also was going to the gym around four times a week, except when I was water fasting (obviously!!!).
You can follow the 4 months program in Man 2.0 the if you want. I just didn’t like so much because it assumes a full-equipped and empty gym. Besides I always been more of a fan of calisthenics, for that I would recommend the Overcoming Gravity or I also like a lot the Adam Raw youtube channel. I also heard good things about Never Gymless, but I didn’t get to read it yet.
The advantage of doing fasting like that is it will make you gradually used to fasting and it won’t be such a shock to your body. Of course, many people go nuts and try full fasting for many days from the start, and often have a good experience. But if you want to take an easier route, you can follow a plan like I have
That’s it, everyone! Have you had some experience with fasting? How about the training books, have other suggestions? Or maybe you had also an autoimmune response and would like to talk about it. Or would like me to talk about it more. Whatever it is, just let me know in the comments or send a message!
A citizen of this Planet! 