“This practice is sustainable only because I enjoy it and prefer it to other methods of getting calories.”

Some Starter Notes

1. I provided a basic primer in an earlier post.
2. Some definitions are in order:
   1. When I refer to intermittent fasting, I am not referring to a specific timeframe of eating versus not eating. I am rather referring to the general concept of abstaining from food for health and dietary benefits. When I am referring to a specific timeframe, I will mention it specifically. In general, though, I do not time my fed/fasted states- the latter is always greater than 16 hours, but that’s about it.
   2. I will sometimes refer to an ESE Fast, which is a 24-hour fast done once or twice per week. There’s nothing proprietary about this, but Brad Pilon wrote about the concept and so I give him credit for it.
   3. Fasting works for me because it is liberating. Some people won’t find that it is. However, I can guarantee that it won’t be as liberating if you turn it into a stopwatch event. Bottom line: the 5-6 meals per day crowd has that worry (of having to eat every couple hours, of having to have available foods that meet their needs, etc.) and the fasting crowd is freed from those concerns… until IFers start timing themselves, eating at 3 PM because it’s been 16 hours, etc.
   4. As a sidenote, many days I operate on a 18-, 20-, or even 22-hour fast. My primary concern is making sure I’m eating healthy, maintaining a basic weekly caloric intake, and that I’m enjoying the process.
   5. This practice is sustainable only because I enjoy it and prefer it to other methods of getting calories.

Now, I’m going to look in detail at the process that I went through to arrive at my nutritional strategy. This post is about the original thinking that I had to overcome in order to finally arrive at a solution that, all along, was staring me in the face.

I first heard Craig Ballantyne (turbulencetraining.com) say, “You can’t outtrain a bad diet.” I think it’s more of an anonymously-created maxim in the fitness industry, but when you think about the exercise programs out there, what is the ONE thing they all have in common? An eating plan package. And what’s the one thing the most diets do not include? An exercise program. Thus, exercise programs always include eating plans but diets rarely include exercise programs. There’s a logical reason: for weight loss, the diet is the primary mover.

I have to warn you that this (that is, all of this information) may be complex and it may require several readings for you to put together for yourself. However, TAKE HEART: I spent eight months reading, researching, synthesizing, testing, and thinking. It’s worth it to find what works for you (caveat emptor: I make no claim that this approach will work for you in the way it did for me, nor do I claim anyone would enjoy it as much as I have- this is “WHAT I DID”, not “WHAT YOU SHOULD DO”. To be honest… GO FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF! And I mean that as encouragement!)

The purpose of Part 1 was just to lay out what I did because it worked for me and I feel it is a strategy that I can continue to use for the rest of my life. The latter part is the most important- too many diets, plans, and pills offer momentary success, but (for me, anyway) there was always one of two feelings during the process:

1. First, I’ll get to my goal weight and then go back to what I was doing, except I’ll just eat less. I call this the Primoris Tunc Fallacy- it comes from the Latin, literally meaning “First Then” (I’m a nerd, and this is how nerds roll)- which refers to the mindset I described (i.e. I’ll do this first, then I’ll do this.)
2. This is not going to work because I just don’t feel right, but this type of thing isn’t supposed to be easy. This sad realization is the Ascetic  Fallacy, which also rears its head in other areas of our lives. It’s the belief that we don’t have it in us to succeed; that others have succeeded in this way and thus the problem lies within us, and not within the approach; that we must experience discomfort in order to earn success.

Anyone else ever felt this way?

Analyzing the Primoris Tunc Fallacy

“To call it a diet or plan or whatever is really like calling walking a strategy for moving around.”

Deconstructing the problem here is rather simple, so here’s a metaphor: you wouldn’t drive a Ferrari at top speed across the country to get to your destination, then swap it out for a dump truck, and expect to make the same progress. Yet, we all think that’s what we’re going to do when we change our eating habits. It’s just for 12 short weeks! That’s the delusion into which we buy, right? We forget that weight loss is never permanent and that the work of 12 weeks can be dismantled twice as quickly- it is an always-present possibility that we can only avoid through a plan that isn’t a plan, a diet that isn’t a diet.

To create change within ourselves, to create change within our lives, we have find a method that just works for us. For me, it was intermittent fasting. It’s an approach that is as natural as eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ll (hopefully) post about the rewards I get from this lifestyle, but what I want to emphasize is that I call it an approach, a strategy, a plan, a change, etc. only to characterize it in a way that can be discussed. Truly, for me, it’s just how I do things. To call how I eat a diet or plan or whatever is really like calling walking a strategy for moving around. More to the point: how I eat is how I eat, similar to the fact that how you eat is how you eat; and thus, our results speak to the direction our nutrition take us.

Hopefully, Primoris Tunc (now unmasked) won’t get you as you make changes. However, if it does, let me offer you some advice: change what you’re doing. The bottom line is that, if you know that what you’re doing is not sustainable, you may as well quit now and search for another approach.

Analyzing the Ascetic Fallacy

“As animals, we are programmed to avoid that which we do not enjoy. There’s a reason… I know I can practice the 16/8 fasted/fed eating schedule. I enjoy it.”

To be honest, this one is a little more difficult, because asceticism is in the opinion of the individual. My father-in-law would call camping in a tent, with one change of clothes, some coffee, and some campfire-friendly food an enjoyable, true camping experience. My mother-in-law sees it as ascetic. Her memorable quote about that sort of camping versus the pop-up camper we all now enjoy was, “I did it. I don’t need to prove anything and do it again.” Too often, we all look at losing weight and getting in shape that way: we did it, now we’re done.

Problem is… fitness is a journey, like most of the best things in life. It’s not a destination, like most of the unrewarding things in life (e.g. death).

Some people think they have to earn being in better shape, kind of like some people think they have to be punished to be cleared of sin. We have the Rocky Balboa mentality: if I work harder, take the punches, and keep coming back for me, I will get what I want. Unfortunately, that sort of toughness gives out quickly. As animals, we are programmed to avoid that which we do not enjoy. There’s a reason I would work out every single day if it wasn’t detrimental; and, why I would run 3-6 miles every day if my joints could handle it; and, why I know I can practice the 16/8 fasted/fed eating schedule. I enjoy it. If it became a hassle, didn’t fit into my schedule, was a stress rather than a pleasure, or in some way interfered with my overall enjoyment of life, I would jettison the practice.

Some people enjoy certain kinds of pain. Said another way: challenging, painful, stressful, or otherwise difficult practices can cause pleasure. There are plenty of people who feel rewarded from experiences that the rest of us would sooner live without. These experiences may be painful, but they’re not negative. Big difference. Some people have told me they could never handle 12, 14, 16, or more hours of fasting. While I am almost certain they would survive (and that some of them would enjoy it, even), it’s not going to be a final solution for some people, for whatever reason. I do believe, though, that there is a way of getting calories- for everyone- that is sustainable. (Note: we live in a society of excess, so any sustainable strategy will have to deviate from current norms AND will require a system of checks and balances of that excess.)

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“If you’re into just giving it a try, I promise it won’t hurt you to try it and really did work for me.”

Yes, I know it’s a title so lame that it begs for mockery. Feel free to do so in the comments. In all honesty, I could not think of a title that better summed up what I’m going to write about. I really want this information to be easily accessible and navigable, so I’m not going to be too subtle with what I’m doing or where I’m headed. That said, Part 1 is about how I prepared for the transformation. The Overview is the basic steps that I followed, which you can research for yourself if you want, or wait for me to explain the science/theory behind it. If you’re into just giving it a try, I promise it won’t hurt you to try it and really did work for me. Also, one thing I want to promise you:

I did not use any supplement or product or practice that is not mentioned below. That means no steroids, no “fat burners”, no phentermine, no bulimia or anorexia, no starving myself, no insane workouts (not by my definition, anyway).

I’m going to add to this as I have time, but I have had at least twenty people request information about what I did. That said, for the moment, I’m going to lay out the bare bones of my strategy, which I will explain. More detailed information (e.g. “Making One Change Per Week”) will come along when I get time to post it.

Overview

“I have to go enjoy some pizza with the family…”

1. I practiced intermittent fasting, following Martin Berkhan’s Lean Gains Guide for my daily plan, and following Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat program one or two days per week. I’ll explain more later, but essentially I…
   1. stayed in a fasted state from 10 PM to 2 PM (and sometimes, 4 or 6 PM) daily, regardless of whatever else was going on;
   2. followed a 24-hour fast (the Eat Stop Eat plan) at least once per week, although I added a second day if I had been through a “cheat day” (e.g. the Super Bowl, a party, etc.) where I really consumed a lot of calories;
   3. learned to view eating as an experience to be enjoyed (e.g. dinner with family, eating yogurt with girls, etc.) rather than something to be done at a proscribed time (i.e. lunchtime, dinner time, etc.)
   4. ate celery, sliced peppers, a few grapes or blueberries, broccoli, or some other vegetable AND drank 16 ounces of water if I was convinced I was somehow about to die (but almost never did I do this before the 14th hour of fasting);
   5. learned that, after a couple weeks, the “low blood sugar” and “low energy” excuses were just that: excuses- they didn’t really exist! (Caveat: that statement does not apply to medical conditions diagnosed and treated by a doctor)
2. I exercised three to four times per week, always Turbulence Training, although any workout designed to make you move quickly with little rest will probably work for right now. Also, it’s important to note…
   1. I did not do “bodybuilding” workouts, which are slower and usually have “days”, like “Chest Day” and “Arms Day”. If you read the Turbulence Training website, you’ll eventually find out that those workouts only work when you’re already really lean (and they consume a lot more time than you have to devote);
   2. I did some “steady state cardio” (what you would call running at a basically steady pace) only as an off day, enjoyable activity (because I truly enjoy 3 – 6 mile runs; I almost always began runs with “torso training” (what you might call “core work”) and I never let the running interfere with the workouts;
   3. I did interval and HIIT training after a workout when the weather permitted- I’m especially a fan of the Tabata Protocol for interval work (I did it for four minutes of sprinting after a ten to fifteen minute jog), but there are some easier, also effective methods that you can find online;
   4. I only did ANY of this because I truly love exercise, running, and HIIT. I truly believe what Brad Pilon says (in the ESE book) about “just being leaner”, which is basically that you don’t have to exercise to get leaner (it can speed the process up, give you more muscle, and make you look better, but most fat loss comes from your eating habits).
3. I decided to eat as “clean” as possible (veggies, fruits, lean meats, water (and beer, haha)), although I think for initial weight loss, it’s mostly the calories that matter (and lowering non-natural sugar)- this actually turned into a powerful strategy, because you can eat a damn TON of veggies (and fruit, but they are high in sugar) before you make a caloric impact, and you are FULL from all the fiber.

And there you have it. WHAT I DID. There’s plenty more information to come, but for now, I have to go enjoy some pizza with the family (as I’ll explain, once you get to where you want to be, once you’ve mastered self-control, a pizza-night is not a huge deal.)

PART II: Old Fallacies in Eating

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