September Start up

It has been a while since I posted.  I did not take a break from working out but I did take a break from running.  It seems that my fast switch from the run to the bike for the tour challenge aggravated my runners knee. I have been doing heel dips like crazy to strengthen the stabilizing muscles and alleviate the pain.  It seems to be getting better so maybe it is working.

I found out that I have a hard time logging workouts and updating the blog when I am taking an ad hoc attitude towards workouts. This is not a good excuse, it just makes it clearer that I need to have a challenge, a race target, or an achievable goal to motivate myself.  I am still working on that.

I have signed up for sailing lessons for the month of September.  This will put me on the reservoir in one of those dinky little boats for one full day a week for 4 weeks. And I have been looking for a TRX class to figure out if that is a good way to workout, especially on the go.

Mean while I have been researching the 5:2 diet and have given Intermittent Fasting a serious attempt.  There is a significant body of research that indicates this is a great method for improving overall health and longevity as well as losing excess body fat.

For the first time ever I have attempted to embed a Vimeo video below. I HOPE IT Works! This is a BBC documentary that reviews some of the research on the 5:2 (five days normal eating, 2 severely calorie restricted days every week).

 

Eat, Fast and Live Longer - Horizon from Steve Hartman on Vimeo.

I also found this ebook by Dr.  John M. Berardi from Precision Nutrition. This has a really good overview of the concepts and then documents one persons trials with various formats of fasting.

In the end I have chosen to follow a one day ( 24 hours) a week fasting regime.  I stop eating at 10:00 on Saturday night and then consume only water or tea until 10:00 Sunday night.

I have completed 3 weeks of this regime so far.  I am finding it difficult to prepare meals for the family while not eating myself but overall it seems that the body adjusts to the hungry feeling and it goes in waves.  I find that drinking a hot beverage really helps with those hunger pangs.

I can not comment on the effectiveness in terms of health or longevity impacts. I have noticed a significant loosening in my trousers and figure I have lost in between 7 & 10 pounds in the three weeks.  Part of this is due to a change in what I have been eating on top of the fasting.

Not much else to report. I will return to more regular blogging.

Plod On.