As most of you know, I’ve been doing Intermittent Fasting, or IF. After a weekend of down time, I’ve decided to start my week with a tough challenge. I plan to do a 36 hour fast. My last meal ended at 11:00 PM last night. I’m hoping to stretch this fast until tomorrow at 11 or noon. It hasnt been too bad so far. I’d say every 5 or 6 hours, I’ll get a hunger pang or two. But I’ll be ok. If you’ve gone as long as 36 or even 48 hours, I’d appreciate some feedback on what to expect. I’m anxious to workout. As I said in my previous post, working out while doing IF definitely gives you more energy. Whatever calories stored in you from your last meal will melt away. Looking forward to it. Well, that’s all I have for now. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them. I welcome them all. Thanks.
My “Gandhi” Diet
About three weeks ago, 3 of my friends and I all made a pact to get in shape. We all had our reasons. Motivation ranged from dunking, to pure vanity. My purpose was on a bigger scale. July 21st of this year will mark the 1 year anniversary of being married to my beautiful wife. In March, I found myself looking at our wedding pictures. I hated what I saw. 235+ in weight with a new wife. The way I was going, 300 was easily in sight. I didn’t want that. My wife is a HUGE health nut, but for a while I was the complete opposite. We’re expecting our first child any time soon, and I don’t want to miss out on her growing up because of my selfish urges. But that’s enough about my background, you came here to see about this “Gandhi Diet.”
First off, it’s not really Gandhi’s diet. It’s really Intermittent Fasting, also called IF. Once I told my friends what I was doing, they kinda coined it as the “Gandhi Diet.” So we own no parts of the name. So what is Intermittent Fasting? Mental. That’s what I’d say it is. Fasting isn’t a new fad. Most religions speak of fasting and getting closer to their spiritual higher being. For the past few months, I’ve fasted a few times. Not like this though. As I’ve gotten back into Church, I would regularly fast for 12 hours on Saturdays. Intermittent Fasting gives you an amount of time to fast (sleeping hours are usually good), and once the fast is broken, use an allotted amount of time to eat. The average ratio is 16/8 (16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating). Some sites will say that you can eat whatever you want, but I’m not interested in breaking even. For the most part, I eat somewhat healthy with an occasional indulgence. I want to build lean muscle. I’ve started SERIOUSLY fasting intermittently on Sunday July 7th. The following is a list of my fast times and what I ate when the fast was broken.
Sunday’s Fast Started: 10:00 PM
Sunday’s Fast Ended: 4:00 PM Monday
Food Eaten: 3 lean baked pork chops, green beans
Monday’s Fast Started: 10:00 PM
Monday’s Fast Ended: 4:00 PM Tuesday
Food Eaten: 3 cans tuna salad (1 tbsp pickle relish and 1 tbsp olive oil mayonnaise)
Tuesday’s Fast Started: 11:00 PM
Tuesday’s Fast Ended: 4:45 PM Wednesday
Food Eaten: Jimmy John’s BLT with regular potato chips (don’t judge me..lol), baked chicken, (2 servings) spinach, and (2 servings) brown rice.
Wednesday’s Fast Started: 8:30 PM
Wednesday’s Fast Ended: 10:00 PM Thursday
Food Eaten: 2 lean baked pork chops, brown rice, and tomato slices
As you see, I usually give myself ample time to eat when I want (roughly 6 hours). I could pig out for 6 straight hours, but what would that really get me? 5 seconds of pleasure and chewing can ruin an hour’s workout.
My fast for today began at 10:15 PM and I’m going to push my limit. How am I doing it? Working on it mentally. Yes there will be times when my stomach groans and pangs, but it’s nothing water can’t handle. Now of course, there will be those that say this is wrong. But the saying “different strokes for different folks” fits appropriately. I appreciate all feed back. I didn’t just jump into this. I’ve done my studying. Most people live by the whole “6 meals a day” theory. I’ve done it. If that’s what you want…good on you. I know some ask about “Starvation Mode.” Yeah I haven’t experienced that yet. If anything, I feel the opposite. I’m no longer needing to take a nap in the middle of the day (sound familiar?). I have more energy throughout my workouts, and for the most part, I’m eating pretty healthy.
Our minds are trained that we need to eat when our stomach tells us. Well my stomach told me to eat every chance I could. I’ve seen where that got me. No thank you. It’s really a mental test. Have you ever gone through a day and realized you didn’t eat? When you’re fasting, there will be times when you get hungry. You have to train your mind to block it out. Get up and do something. Play a game. Do a crossword. Play Candy Crush. DO SOMETHING!!! If you think you’re going to spend 19 hours complaining about being hungry, you’re not going to make it. Think it and be it. I’m going to try this for a few weeks. For the past few days, I’ve noticed that I’m not as hungry as I use to be. If you decide to try IF, consider sleeping hours during your fasting times. If you have your last meal at 8:00 PM, 6-8 hours will be spent sleeping. Catch my drift?
This is all I’ll post for now, I hope I’ve sparked some interest from some of you. If you have questions, message me for more info. It’s not as bad as you think. Hey…Jesus did it!!! I’d say he was pretty relevant. I’ve listed a few links from a few sites that I discovered in my studying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyrY64DoHeE (funny)
http://anthonymychal.com/2012/10/9-things-you-should-know-before-intermittent-fasting/ (He’s good to respond to your comments).
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/#axzz2YSQ1rueo
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/01/25/intermittent-fasting/comment-page-2/#comment-430495
Related articles
- Intermittent fasting (IF) (jrnfitness.wordpress.com)
- The Importance of Intermittent Fasting (the-tap.blogspot.com)
From Downtown: Top 5 Overrated Players
With the NBA season completed, I figured I’d give my take on a few of its players. The first list will be the Top 5 Overrated Players. I know that this list will bring forth discussions from the fans of these players, but everyone is entitled to their opinion right? Here we go.
#5 European Players: Before I dive into this, there are exceptions. Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitski (to an extent) is where I draw the line. To me, Euro players are about flash. Yes they all have the fundamentals to be great in the NBA, but they would rather bring the “And 1 Mixtape” to the league. I hate it. When I think of Euro players, I think of two high school players in a large city. One player is from the inner city. He gets all of the respect because he plays against tough competition. The other player is from suburbia. They tend to get recognition, but their game isn’t really respected due to the lack of competition. To me, Euro players are more about making Sports Center’s Top 10 than winning. I’m just not a fan. Tony Parker is on another level. He has the ability to play with flash, but he’s a fundamental Point Guard. I like his game (this is coming from a “bandwagon” Heat fan, but that’s a different blog). Dirk Nowitski is another exception to the rule. He’s a champion. Point blank. Strengths: He can take a big man out to the perimeter and score. He can also take a small opponent down to the block and score. Weaknesses: No defense. He’s soft.
#4 Paul Pierce: I know I’ll get a lot of backlash for this, but this is my opinion. Pierce is a conundrum. In no way does he display the athletic build or ability to be the typical NBA player. His game is slow. His jump shot is slow and unorthodox. It seems as if every shot is a prayer. If he was playing in a recreation league, and my teammate was guarding him, I’d be down my teammate’s collar. I don’t understand how he scores so easily on NBA players. He has the heart of a champion, and the hardware to back it up. But he’s still overrated to me.
#3 Monte Ellis: Here’s where I think I’ll get a lot of backup. Monte Ellis is good. Don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think he’s as good as his contract shows. He’s a “shoot first” player, and this past year, he was on a team with a “shoot first” Point Guard. When LeBron made “The Decision” a few years back, I’m pretty sure he took into account that Monte Ellis was Cleveland’s best chance to land a big name (after Joe Johnson re-signed) free agent to help him win. How would that have worked? So as I’ve said before, he’s good. But is he really THAT good?
#2 Pau Gasol: SOFT!! That’s how I describe Pau. If you refer to number 5, you’d see that I think the same thing for most of his European counterparts. When I compare him to his brother, it’s a no brainer for me. Marc is a better leader, and a better player. Pau has the size and skill to be dominant, but he just isn’t. True he’s won a couple of championships, but if you debate with a Laker fan that Kobe has always had a stellar team when he won his rings, most wouldn’t even mention Pau as a helping hand in Kobe’s last two runs. Pau has good qualities, but to me his bad qualities overshadow them. He’d be #1 if it weren’t for….
#1 Dwight Howard: Oh boy! Where do I begin? When he came out of high school, I thought he’d be a dominant force. He could jump out of the gym, and put an offensive player’s shot into the 40th row of an arena. Oh yeah, he could also dunk. Have we seen this before? Wait, we have? Where? Shaquille O’Neal. Dwight went the same path too (except we don’t want Howard in Miami). Dwight’s back to the basket game is minimal at most. If he’s not catching lobs, can you really rely on Dwight Howard to carry a team to a ring? Hell, he was put in the perfect situation this past year, how much did we see his game improve? To lack so much talent on the offensive end, I don’t understand why Dwight Howard gets so much airtime. I’d easily take Tyson Chandler over Howard. Why? Chandler knows he won’t get you 30 points. He knows that he is on the court to defend the rim and grab rebounds. I don’t have to play chess with the other coach when it comes to crunch time. I know that I can leave him on the court, and he’ll make his free throws. With the lack of true centers in the NBA, I think Howard is put under a microscope. Honestly, I don’t think his game deserves the money or the fame he receives. But as I’ve said before, it’s my opinion. I look forward to what my readers think.
Honorable Mention: Amare Stoudamire, Tyreke Evans, Chris Bosh, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook
2 Cents with no Sense
What’s going on everybody?
Welcome to my first “Blogbary” (library of blogs). Made that up myself. I know you’re probably wondering what my posts will be about. Well…nothing. This blog is just a notepad for my thoughts. Sometimes they’ll be funny, other times…not so much. You’re welcome to voice your opinion on anything I write. I won’t be offended at all. You have the right to write what you feel, as do I. Without further setbacks, let’s begin.
Pinterest. That’s where I’ll start. I like it, but I hate it. I like it for the recipes and ideas that other people have. I hate it when I try those recipes, only to fail miserably at them. It really sucks when you follow the recipe to the “t” and it turns out bad, only to find out that 250 other people tried the same recipe and thought it sucked. Moral of the story? Check the comments before attempting any recipe on Pinterest.
Open your mind on this one. Plums are juicy. Prunes are dehydrated plums. Where does prune juice come from? The plums you say? Then why isn’t it plum juice? Dehydrated grapes are raisins. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had raisin juice. If this is your first time reading a blog or note by me, keep reading, it get’s worse.
When is the last time you prayed and didn’t ask GOD for anything? Usually we pray asking for blessings, help with sickness, help in finances, love, etc. But when is the last time we honestly prayed without asking GOD for anything? I need to do that more.
Have you ever had a great dream? Ever wake up and want to tell someone about it, only to forget everything? Me too. I hate this conversation “I had the greatest dream about….wait..I don’t remember what it was about (insert me feeling like an idiot as a classroom of 40 people stare at me blankly).”
Staying along that line, don’t you hate it when you have a funny joke to tell, but as you tell it you realize the joke isn’t that funny? What really sucks is when the realization comes when you see the listener’s reaction. The regretful feeling usually comes halfway through the joke. This similar feeling can be felt when you’re on a roller coaster, and the car is almost to the top of the steep drop. There’s no turning back. Finish it out.
Road trips are so legendary. Whenever I know a road trip is coming, I get excited. When I was living in VA, I couldn’t wait to hop in the car and take an 11 hour trip home. Usually after about 30 minutes, I was ready to get it over with. Road trips really suck when you’re traveling with someone who either stinks, won’t shut up, or has an annoying voice. 10 miles down, 990 to go.
Have you ever sent a pivotal text to someone, and they never respond? Do you get frustrated? I know I do. It really pisses me off when they don’t show up. When I go to compose an angry text, I feel like an idiot when I realize I never pressed send after I texted “Make a left at the 2nd light.” Moral: Never text directions.
What type of typist are you? I have a pretty good feel for the home row. I think I type with decent accuracy. Am I the only one who deletes the whole word when I misspell something? Even if it’s the last letter, I catch myself deleting everything. No need to continue the bad aura. Start over.
I was in a meeting today, and the presenter said a joke. Of course, I was the only one that didn’t laugh. I began to wonder, is there something wrong with me? Should I feel embarrassed that this guy doesn’t have good material? How does is make me look? Am I the bad guy? It really sucks when everyone laughs and starts looking at each other. That only magnifies my problem. Eventually, I made eye contact with every person in the room. Of course, now I look like the selfish anti-team player. Oh well, who cares.
I appreciate all of you who read my first blog. I hope this entry and future entries will give you a small break from the fast paced thing we call life. If you like or hate it, let me know. Once again thanks.
mr2cents 