Early last year I came across a wave of Youtube videos of people trying intermittent fasting, and it really intrigued me, especially when they talk about the science behind it (disclaimer: although I am a scientist-in-training, I've never actually read the papers on intermittent fasting, just the highlights). I found that it logically made sense to me and so in an impulsive instant, I decided to try it myself.
People who know me would be very surprised at my decision. I remember fasting (2 half meals, 1 full meal) for Ash Wednesday 2018 and talking to my mum on the phone after, complaining about how hungry I was and how I would never be able to fast! As someone who used to be proud of never ever skipping breakfast- no matter how early she had to start her day, and as a strong advocate of not "putting your body into starvation mode", I had long and hard battles at the lab when my labmates found out. The only support I had was from my dad, who, as a fellow (and quite recent) Youtube addict, was also convinced that it might be a good way to lose weight. I also found out that my professor was also practicing fasting.
I started out with the 16:8 method, choosing to eat between 12 noon and 8pm daily. The first week was quite uncomfortable, dealing with a stomach growling in protest- but after the first few days I started to relish at the feeling of being hungry (which I hardly ever felt before), and being grateful that I was fortunate to break my fast in just a few more hours. When I got used to 16:8, I decided to switch to one meal a day, which was so brutal that I decided to quit after a month. The main problem for me was getting enough calories in one meal (therefore feeling fatigued everyday) and having to decide between lunch or dinner. Lunch is like a social event for me- hanging out with my labmates; but dinner is when I am at leisure to eat more and longer, and having the option to eat outside of campus with friends.
I did start to lose some weight slowly, but after some drama last summer and a long period of getting sick, I went back to my old eating habits and also started to eat much more, gaining it all back. This year, I've been trying to get back into it, especially after the inevitable Chinese New Year indulgences.
My first intention with this post was to blog about my experience with yet another fasting method- the water fast, where you consume nothing but water for X days for a ton of benefits in addition to weight loss, such as reducing bloating, reducing inflammation, cell regeneration etc. Lately, I have been plateauing with my weight loss and feeling very restless in general, so I thought I'd give it a try. Some people do a 5 or 7 day fast, and some overweight folks try 30 days to a few months, but it was so daunting that I decided to just do a 3 day fast.
I initially started on Tuesday this week, and was doing fine until my labmate tried to get me to join her for dinner. I was doing great and wasn't hungry at all, but I was just so bored. I realise that eating, for me, is a break. No matter how busy I am, my feeding time is when I forget about everything and just wind down. And so I caved. I started again on Wednesday, which was actually Ash Wednesday, so I wasn't really tempted to cheat at all and even worked out for an hour with no problems. Unfortunately, HK couldn't decide between reverting back to winter weather and moving forward into summer, so it was both cold but super rainy that night. Fasting made me feel so cold I had to put socks on to sleep. I had the weirdest dream of eating strawberries in my bed! This morning I woke up feeling great, and I had a shot of salt water (to replenish electrolytes). In the afternoon however, everything went downhill. I was distracted by thoughts of food and how delightful good food is throughout my labmate's presentation. To make things worse, my labmate's mom made some incredible-smelling herbal egg dish for us to share and I couldn't partake in any of it- although my labmates tried their best to persuade me. Many people who try fasting sing praises about how productive and focussed they were, but by late afternoon, my constant thoughts of food interfered with my ability to work! I also broke out into a cold sweat and started to feel dizzy. I felt physically exhausted, like I had to force my body to do simple things like walking to the toilet. The thought of having to go to football practice tonight seemed almost impossible. And so I called it quits at 46 hours.
As per internet advice, I broke my fast carefully, starting with some chicken soup. I felt perfectly normal so I went on to eat (maybe too much) mixed nuts and some Greek yoghurt and berries. I thought it would be fine, since most people feel nauseous just moments after eating. Boy was I wrong. An hour into football practice, all the running made me feel like throwing up! I didn't want to go to sleep yet in case I really needed to throw up, but by the end of typing this post I think I feel much better.
And so, I really don't think extended fasts are my thing. I really don't know how other people do it, and right now, I have no intention of ever doing it again! On the bright side, it has increased my appreciation and enjoyment of good food. Imma stick with 16:8 though.
*jnatm*
