Back on the Horn and Intermittent Fasting

On my last update, my fitness endeavors had taken a turn for the better.  My arm was healed so to speak and I was looking forward to exercising again.  Well the second week of May is when I began at a frumpy 161 pounds, 5'3".  I only did exercises from the book that will continue to be unnamed for the time being.  I went a month and a half of doing those exercises.  The results?

I lost 2 inches off my waist, an inch off my upper abs, two inches off my lower abs, an inch off my left arm, an inch off my hips and a half inch off my left thigh as well as 12 pounds.  This also came with clean eating and intermittent fasting of course.  I was ecstatic.  Around mid July, I began incorporating weights starting with five pounds on my recovering arm and ten on my good arm.  I couldn't do squats because I had not developed the range of motion to hold the weight on my shoulders yet.

Fast forward two months.  I weigh 147 pounds solid.  I finally developed the range of motion to do squats and began doing them towards the end of August.  I think I have caught up with my previous numbers!  Here are my counts from April 30, 2014 (total 56 squats).

Wednesday, April 30th lifts in SQUATS:

1 set of 12 @ 45
1 set of 10 @ 45
1 set of 10 @ 55
2 sets of 10 @ 75
1 set of 4 @ 95

Here are my counts now:

Lifts in SQUATS as of September 16, 2015:

1 set of 20 @ 45
2 sets of 15 @ 55
1 set of 15 @ 65
1 set of 10 @ 75
Then I pyramid it back to 45 like so:
1 set of 10 @ 65
1 sets of 15 @ 55
1 set of 20 @ 45

This is a total of 120 squats!  I think I can still get away with 95, BUT I don't have a spotter so I'm not going to take a chance.  The weight isn't half as heavy as it felt back in 2014.  I'm much stronger even though I had a 7 month injury hiatus.

I'm back to benching as well.  I'm up to 15 pounds for curls/hammers now and the 40 pound barbell which is where I was before I got injured.  I'm benching sets of 65 pounds.  I bounced back in three months!

 

I reached my goal weight several weeks ago and initially (despite still having some belly fat) did not want to go any smaller.  I have found I would prefer the aesthetic of a flatter tummy rather than merely an illusion of one.  So after several weeks of omitting intermittent fasting with the intent of maintaining my goal weight (it worked), I am back on the horn.  I want to lose 10-15 pounds.  My goal weight is 148.  I'm 147 pounds.  I still have a good half inch of fat (about 1 inch on my lower abs) covering my stomach that I am no longer content with.  My stomach "appears" flat but is not.  The fat must die!  I want to get down to 135 and then gain 10 pounds back in muscle mass, a difficult feat for women but doable with the right amount of discipline and work ethic.

When I went off of intermittent fasting, I also upped my calorie intake to match my revved up metabolism.  Then I started getting sloppy and eating badly.  My boss bought apple fritters to work one day, and it was over for me.  I had one (sometimes two) every day for the next week before finally putting my foot down and jumping back on the intermittent fasting wagon.

Intermittent fasting is one of those things that always gets people talking, usually about erroneous facts and such.  Everyone becomes a medical professional when it comes to the issue of fasting for any period of time.

After doing intermittent fasting consistently from January 2014 to present here are some things I know for sure:

You are not starving yourself.

This is a biggie.  Apparently your body will begin to eat on your muscle mass because you are depriving it of the nutrients it needs to survive.  Most people "fast" overnight...that's why breakfast consists of "break" and "fast," you are breaking your nightly fast.  This generally makes folks pause and think a little.  That's usually at least a 12 hour fast sometimes for folks depending on how late they eat and intermittent fasting is on 16 hour intervals.  C'est la vie.

You WILL lose weight.

Apparently your body will store fat if you don't eat.  This is not a myth but a fact. The thing is you will have to not eat for quite awhile before  your body begins this process of thinking that it is starving.  16 hours is not long enough to make your body think it isn't going to ever get food again and needs to start reserving fat pockets.  On the contrary, short term (up to three days even) fasting can actually boost your metabolism by forcing your body to use its own energy reserves (your fat) for energy while fasting.  Burning calories this way instead of just from food throughout the day will obviously contribute to weight loss.

Your body will also release key fat burning hormones in your body during the fasting period.  One of the number one hormones is the human growth hormone which plays a vital role in turning your body's fat into energy you need to get through your day.  Having issues with insulin?  Intermittent fasting can help regulate your insulin levels and keep them low and steady.  Diet also plays a key role.  Whether you choose to do an intermittent fasting routine or a regular nutritional change, eliminating processed carbs (bread, rice, pasta) and simple sugars (cookies, pastries, candy, soda, etc.) can only help you in your weight loss endeavors.

Skipping breakfast is okay.

Facebook doctor:  Skipping breakfast is unhealthy and a diet sabotager.
Me:  Erhm...uh...hmm...no.

I say do whatever works for you.  I lost weight (and continue to lose) weight, and I haven't eaten breakfast in years.  I HATE, I mean absolutely HATE waking up hungry.  I HATE being hungry in the mornings.  I HATE IT!  Seriously.  So, my eating window is between 11 am and 7 pm.  In the beginning this was rough.  I suffered hunger headaches (my blood sugar was all out of wack) and dizzy spells for a few days as I got used to this, but it was all worth it.  I rarely feel hungry these days and NEVER feel hungry in the mornings.  I work out in the mornings and the only thing I crave is water.  I know some folks like to harp on pre workout and post workout meals.  Not I.  I eat nothing before because I get nauseous during the workout, and I eat nothing afterwards as I get nauseous then as well.  Again, I say do whatever works for you.

I have found that I feel hunger pangs and sweet cravings less and less, actually very rarely these days and I contribute that to intermittent fasting.  Probably something about those fat-reducing hormones.

I've been back to intermittent fasting for 6 days now and have already noticed a difference.  My ab area has shrunk, probably due to the fact that I'm not retaining water presently by eating all those unhealthy processed carbs and junk food (Utz potato chips are the devil!).  I feel better (after I got over the initial headaches from stopping most of my carb intake cold turkey).  I also reduced my overall calorie intake...not necessary (I stopped intermittent fasting initially because I was gorging on junk and STILL losing weight lol) but I figured I would get results faster.  I am avoiding the scale and measuring tape until next Saturday, September 26th.  My fingers are crossed.