INTERMITTENT FASTING – MY SELF-ATTEMPT

I already told you what intermittent fasting is and how it works. Of course, I am not simply presenting you with a nutritional concept that has not been examined – I have tested it myself (and am currently doing it again) and would like to share my experiences. For anyone who may also be considering intermittent fasting.

How did it come about?

Inspired by the positive reports that my blogger and university sports colleague Mira von fraumausina flashed on Instagram from my Bonn-based blogger and university sports colleague, and also by my research with Paula vonlaufbesarrt, who I consider a very competent contact person for the areas of sport and nutrition, I have I thought: It can’t do any harm to experience this nutritional method yourself.

In addition, it was shortly before the wedding and my shape wasn’t as I wanted it to be. A method that works in the short term should be found to lose a kilo or two – within ten weeks. I started in August and continued intermittent fasting until the end of October.

My fasting rhythm

Said and done. Of course, this method has to be adapted a little to your own everyday life. Since I am home very late twice a week due to university sports and can only have dinner around 10 p.m., I tried to align the entire fasting rhythm with it. To get started, I chose 14/10, a more beginner-friendly variant of 16/8. This resulted in a fasting interval for me from 10 p.m. to 12 p.m. the following day.

But it quickly became apparent that a flexible method was probably the most suitable for everyday use. While on sports days or when I came home late, I tended to eat my last meal at 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., on some days when I ate out or with friends it was closer to 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Since I didn’t break my fast until 12 p.m. on the following day, I quickly ended up with an irregular rhythm between 16/8 and 14/10. However, I also believe that it is the same as with any form of nutrition: You must not become rigid and you have to allow a certain amount of flexibility.

After just 2.5 weeks, however, it was completely normal behavior for me. Getting started was surprisingly easy and everyday compatibility was also surprisingly high. Some have difficulties just getting started and the unusually long time without food. I, on the other hand, didn’t at all and so the first four to six weeks turned out to be very pleasant.

That was also the reason why I decided just before Christmas to just start fasting again. In the middle of December, on a Friday. And this time with a slightly adjusted interval, with which I drive very well at the moment: I eat around 1:15 p.m. for the first time and at 9:00 p.m. the last time. That’s pretty much exactly 16 hours and it’s extremely easy for me to keep it. Only the sports days are still an exception.

How about the hunger?

You don’t believe how easy it is to endure hunger when it is limited in time. And how he goes away again if you don’t give in immediately.

I started my fasting program on Sundays. After one last big meal at a party, it wasn’t that difficult to have breakfast late on Sunday. Monday I still had an appointment in the morning that was so convenient that I could easily plan a hearty breakfast afterwards. I was actually afraid that I would get hungry sooner, but I lasted well until noon. Even on Tuesday, when I had to go back to the office, it worked surprisingly well. As a big breakfast lover, I was very worried that I would miss this meal, which is why I wanted to keep my porridge as my first meal from the start instead of simply skipping breakfast.

In the first week at work, my stomach rumbled, as expected, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. – I still never ate before 12 p.m. You really appreciate the soothing meal. By the way: In English, breakfast is called “breakfast” for a good reason – breaking the fast, as nothing is usually eaten before that for most of the day. Therefore, many nutrition experts advise not to experiment too much at breakfast, but rather to eat the same thing every day, since the stomach is fine with starting a familiar meal after the fasting period.

Overall, however, my hunger was very limited. Especially in the eating period. Already in the first week I got along much better without snacks between main meals. My lunch was much smaller. This also had the advantage that afterwards (and also after the large breakfast in the office) I did not fall into a eating coma and became unproductive. On the contrary, I felt ex

tremendously clear in the head, wide awake and productive. I no longer needed coffee in the afternoon.

In general, I learned – especially in the second week – to distinguish hunger from appetite and for a long time I felt real hunger again. I consciously avoided the banana in the afternoon and realized that I really hadn’t needed it. It is really a great feeling to be so aware of your body and your needs.

In the meantime I’ve settled in with a large breakfast at lunchtime, a snack between 4 and 6 p.m. and a dinner that is sometimes bigger and sometimes smaller depending on how hungry you are.

And how is the cycle doing?

Admittedly, I noticed more from the beginning. At the end of the fasting period, I was able to perceive a sharp drop in blood sugar level on the first day, but also now and then on the following days. This manifested itself in the fact that I could feel a slight dizziness when moving quickly or when standing up. But that passed after a few days. However, there are people for whom this does not go away and whose bodies do not get used to it. If you are one of them, please do not try to bend and break to implement the intermittent fast.

Even after meals, I felt much more clearly what effects the food had on my inner being. I could literally feel the blood sugar level rise after meals and then return to normal noticeably more quickly. Especially after the larger meals – breakfast and dinner mostly – I was able to follow the changes just in time. Very bad feeling somehow.

Fortunately, the intensity of this feeling decreased after about 1.5 weeks. Perhaps also because my meals had become significantly smaller in the meantime and thus had a smaller effect on the body?

But now and then I still feel it. But here, too, I have to say: It’s great to perceive your body like that.
Is the body changing?

I’m honest, of course I also hoped to lose a little bit more weight through this method – the little bit that I hadn’t gotten away from my conscious diet and exercise. Primarily with a view to the wedding, of course, but also for general satisfaction.

I was accordingly bent when I felt rather bloated for the first three days. From day 4 onwards I felt lighter, but not leaner (how? Much too short a time!). My metabolism also felt slowed to me. It wasn’t until day 4 that there was a little momentum again, but still not as I was used to from my body. Maybe too little exercise?

After two weeks I was approached for the first time that you could see a small change. In the third week I thought myself that my stomach, buttocks, but also face and arms were already beginning to benefit. Of course, that was also due to the fact that sport was finally getting better again, but nutrition is a big part of it. In week 4 I already felt slim, especially around the middle of the body, which is otherwise a rather stubborn fat pad.

In my second self-experiment I was able to observe something very similar and I was able to flatten my body again a little after the holidays. That’s a lot of fun. Of course, these effects remain short-term if you eat more or more often too quickly afterwards. You have to be aware of that.

What does the metabolism do?

I was surprised I wasn’t getting the typical acetone breath. Normally when you exhale you can smell whether someone has not eaten for a long time and the body has switched to hunger metabolism for a short time. I rarely have that anyway and when I do, it is often only after long sports sessions before which I haven’t eaten much. But I had actually expected to be able to observe this phenomenon after 16 hours without ingesting anything.

After the first week I had increased my workload again and felt a little leaner. But it could also be my imagination, because I hoped it would. Overall, I felt a lot less bloated – even immediately after meals. My metabolism still seemed slower to me – or was that because the body simply had to digest less? In any case, after 1.5 weeks I was already convinced that my body was simply less occupied with digestion and that this also improved my concentration. I felt more focused and concentrated.

The metabolism then returned to normal quite quickly to my satisfaction. Was it cranked? I can’t say exactly because mine works pretty well anyway.

Breaking the fast

I consciously noticed it in week 6 or 7 – the hunger was there again. I felt like I could only think of food and couldn’t wait for the clock to strike 12 noon. And the next meal wasn’t so long in coming either. Sometimes I would eat again at 3 p.m. My thoughts only revolved around food and my “allowed” time interval, which, by the way, was easy to keep in the long run. I had decided to try intermittent fasting for ten weeks until the wedding. The last few weeks have been torture with a lot of hunger, a lot of junk food, a lot of sugar and emotional eating under stress. It is likely that external circumstances sabotaged the fasting and my food intake, and the problems, were not at all due to intermittent fasting. But it was clear to me that I would first break my fast permanently and return to a normal eating rhythm.

Nevertheless, in retrospect, the positive aspects predominate: Feeling lighter, more concentrated, leaner, fitter. And the initial weight loss wasn’t to be sniffed at either. That’s why I started intermittent fasting again in mid-December. Right now I feel very good about it. I’m in week 6 – the problems I had at that time last year have so far not been felt and I am in good spirits to have an even better fasting experience this time.