Photo's of the 5 day experiment meals

Just a few photos of the nosh that went in my belly on the first 5 day intermittent fasting experiment. This was merely just a play around with meal times and wasn't the true experiment that is going on at the moment, however it still achieved some fantastic results and some of the food was lovely!

mmmmmf all cooked with my own fair hands (bar the sunday dinner).

So what's the difference with the new experiment? It's being done properly, low in starchy carbohydrates, focusing upon the actual ideas around carb cycling and training in a fasted state. Oh and there's no bread or biscuits!!!

How I got rid of my abs...the picture evidence!

Sometimes the best way to face up to something, i.e. poor eating (and drinking) habits, is to look back over the picture evidence (if you're one of those people like myself that loves to take pictures of their food - and drink). Often over the past year I've said to myself "I'm a marathon runner training for an ultra, why am I putting on weight???"

Well here is the evidence in pictures!!! (And this is just what hasn't been deleted over time).

First there was a bit too much of the delicious savoury stuff.....

(mmmmmm it all looks very lovely, but I have a feeling some of these contributed to the couple of inches on each thigh...)

Then there was the sweet stuff...

(it's true what they say a moment on the lips...a lifetime on the hips)

And then there was the booze...

(officially caught in the act!!!)

Onwards and upwards with a bit of intermittent fasting!

Attack of the Wisdom Teeth, Snow…and laziness

So last week I said I would start the lean gains program properly. Well “stuff” got in the way and I didn’t do it full…*rolls eyes*

A very bad week for training…snow!!! I’m not good on ice. Yes I got to the gym but put in a poor effort due to being knackered…

Wisdom teeth…not one…not two…but all four at once!!! All growing in odd and funny ways.  I’ve either spent most of the week complaining about them or sleeping.

And then there is the general laziness…i.e. I couldn’t be bothered to commit to the program properly due to all of the above – even personal trainers get a bit lazy sometimes. So what did I do? Had a few cheat days and the program has started today, officially! No cheating and no excuses!!

Will keep you updated with progress and some of the food I shall be chowing down on in my quest for a beautiful holiday body!

Doing Lean Gains the Long Distance way

So one of the best models I found with regards to intermittent fasting has to be Lean Gains. Backed up by ample research, and some pretty incredible results, it’s definitely the one that has the most appeal. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you can eat daily with this approach and steers clear from the 24-36 hour fasts…eghem.

The general principle of Lean Gains is focused around a 16 hour fasting period and an 8 hour eating window. Within this 8 hour eating window you eat 2-3 meals (mainly preference). The “complicated” part to this approach and the part that a lot of people struggle with is the carb cycling and calorie intake. It can be broken down quite simply by saying on a training day (short cardio and heavy weight session); you eat high carb, high protein and low fat. On a rest day (short cardio session only), you eat high protein, high fat and low carb. Your calories on a training day are higher and lower on a rest day.

Experimenting with Lean Gains and Long Distance Training

So one of the main things to point out with the Lean Gains approach is that it is used mainly for people wanting to build muscle and drop body fat to low percentages, but there isn’t much talk about how it can be used with long distance training.

There are two reasons why the Lean Gains approach appeals more than other types of intermittent fasting:

1. You can eat!!! And you can eat big. The idea of not eating for over 24 hours does not appeal whatsoever!
2. Although there has been research proving that there is no muscle breakdown with fasted training, this doesn’t take into account long distance endurance training and going for a 16 mile training run in a fasted state doesn’t sound too fun.

However, Lean Gains do look at carb cycling and manipulating hormones. With one of my goals this year being to hit a sub 4 marathon, getting body fat lower and increasing lean muscle is an added benefit, and an easy way of improving times without spending hours focused on speed training, in fact it could be seen as a bit of a cheats way to improve times, but very effective!

So what if you could take the Lean Gains principles of training and rest days, and work it around long distance training plans? Surely this is doable. A lot of research, particularly into athletes training during Ramadan shows that it is still possible to incorporate fasting with LSD training, without breaking down precious muscle.

Getting around the long distance…

One word…planning, and lots of it!!! The first thing needed is a very thorough training plan to interpret exactly what is a “training” and what is a “rest” day, and of course a cheat day (or meal).

There are a few general ideas that could possibly use this method without causing lean tissue breakdown due to the volume of training, but still burn fat:

• Lower mileage days – these could be interpreted as “rest” days. Runs of up to 10 miles could be done in a “fasted” state, with the consumption of protein of BCAA’s beforehand to preserve lean tissue. Food wise, the largest meal would be consumed straight after with a small amount of starchy carbs and then focusing upon normal protocol and opting for higher fat and protein meals.

• Mid-mileage, Cross training and resistance days – these days could be pretty heavy in training and calorie burn and could last anywhere up to 2 hours. This would focus on being a high carb, high protein and low fat. All meals would contain some form of simple or starchy carbohydrate, the largest meal breaking the fast.

• Long Distance Days – depending on the part of the training plan and the distance being trained for, these sessions could last anywhere up to 5-8 hours!!! This definitely doesn’t fit within the lean gains protocol, however could still be worked in a similar way. If training were to be done in the afternoon, consuming a large meal high in all macronutrients beforehand, then following normal refuelling strategies throughout, and then a final large meal of the day high in all macronutrients again, could this combat lean tissue breakdown but still burn fat by still incorporating the fasting techniques?

Possibly very workable…let’s do it!!! I've got my work cut out planning wise, but we could get some very interesting results!

My 4 day intermittent fasting experiment

So as I said earlier I would post the stats for my experiment with intermittent fasting, but I’ve decided after much research to take it further and make this one of my shorter ones. So what was the purpose of the past few days then I hear you ask. Well to see what the crack is with this intermittent fasting, and what happens merely through changing your eating patterns and moving eating times away from “normal”.

What happened….

When I first started reading about intermittent fasting, I was a bit sceptical, but once I got past the crap and nonsense that is currently being plugged by the media and found the juicy information that is actually backed up by science, my eyes were opened to a whole new way of thinking.

One of the things I also realised with intermittent fasting which is important t point out, is back in the days when I was a very lean, and very busy runner, I exercised the ideas of intermittent fasting without even realising. Could this have been the secret to my super leanness at the time, and being able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted???

(the days of being lean)

What is also interesting to point out, is that since adopting “normal” eating patterns, I have seen my weight steadily creep up over the past year, and have to a large degree, struggled to keep my weight and body fat down, despite the high activity levels that come with running marathons and training for an ultra. Let’s just say my frustrations over the past year have got the better of me, and for a long time I have wondered why, when some weeks I may have run over 70 miles, I could still maintain or even put on weight by having a little bit of bread????

Could it have been that simple, to just change the times and how I was eating??? Possibly.

A 4 day trial

When I started the experiment I started to achieve amazing results, which we shall talk about soon. But after hours of pouring over research, blogs and other people’s experiences with intermittent fasting, my eyes have been opened to what could happen if I did it properly. Let’s not dwell on this too much; as my results have been pretty damn good, eating whatever I wanted just at different times in the day.

So what did I do for 4 days? I didn’t eat breakfast at my usual 8-9am window, and I didn’t eat little and often. I ate within an eating window of 8 hours, between 1pm and 9pm, I ate 3 times, and I ate big. That’s all you really need to know. If I wanted something, I ate it. If I wanted a biscuit, if I wanted toast…I had it. I just made sure it was incorporated into one of my 3 eating times and part of my larger meal.

So moving on to the juicy bit of the results…

Results

When I first jumped on the scales at the start of the experiment, yes even I, ultra marathon runner, had that horrendous moment, where denial came and pummelled me in the face, and the evidence of what I had managed to do to my body over a mere 6 weeks was there staring me bluntly in the face…

 But not for long!!!

The stats

 Starting Statistics – Tuesday 8^th January 2013

Weight: 10st 8.6lbs

Body Fat: 28.2%

Hydration: 51.3%

Measurements –

Chest: 36in

Ribs: 33in

Waist: 29.5in

Hips: 39.5in

Left thigh mid hamstring: 21in

Right thigh mid hamstring: 20.5in

Left thigh top: 23.5

Right thigh top: 24

End Stats – Saturday 12^th January 2013

At first when I saw the results, I was in shock, in fact I had to do everything 3 times to make sure I was doing things right….so here we go!

Weight: 10st 2.6lbs (-5lbs)

Body Fat: 25.8% (-2.6%)

Hydration: 53.9% (+2.6%)

Measurements –

Chest: 35.8in (-0.7in)

Ribs: 32in (-1in)

Waist: 28in (-1.5in)

Hips: 38.5in (-1in)

Left thigh mid hamstring: 21in (same)

Right thigh mid hamstring: 20.14in (+0.9in imbalance correcting)

Left thigh top: 23.5 (same)

Right thigh top: 23.5 (-0.9in)

Pretty good ey!!!!

My question now is…what would happen when you practise intermittent fasting properly, eating clean and cutting out bread and other crap??? We shall soon find out as it starts today!!!

My Intermittent Fasting Experiment

So I’ve mentioned that I may have possibly lost a substantial amount of weight in just a few days and promised that I’d reveal how. I love a good experiment with nutrition and exercise and haven’t done one in a while, so I thought I’d give intermittent fasting a go.

What is it?

When I first had the idea to do intermittent fasting as an experiment, I thought “aha! Easy just don’t eat for a couple of days a week and see what happens”…wrong. When I started actually doing my research my brain was suddenly bamboozled by all the different types of intermittent fasting that are available. The basic gist (we’ll leave the complicated stuff for another blog) is that at some point during your week you take part in a fasting period, whether it be a daily fast or up to a 48 hour fast. 

The idea behind intermittent fasting is that it resets your hormones to get your body burning fat, and that eventually at some point you’re actually meant to consume the calories that you’ve missed out on during your fast, just using different timings, and sometimes consuming large quantities of food.

The Experiment

So why do an intermittent fasting experiment? Well, as I’ve mentioned I love a good experiment, those of you that used to follow my old blog will remember my no sugar experiment that had amazing results! I’ve since done another trial nutrition program, again we will save that for another blog. Real reason for doing this one…after being on a restricted eating plan and training regime for my ultramarathon last year, there’s only one way to describe what happened afterwards…

It all went a bit Pete Tong wrong and I went on an absolute bender…..woops

Never one to get disheartened about falling off the healthy living band wagon, I will justify it and tell myself and you all that sometimes a month off is good! So what did I do for a month? I ate crap, drank huge quatities of alcohol on a regular basis, didn’t do any running, ate some more, drank some more and then well…became very lazy and did as little as humanely possible. But it’s ok cause I ran 100 miles in under 30 hours!!!

Needless to say, even an inactive ultramarathon runner can’t get away with a horrendous diet for long, and all the blood, sweat and tears (literally) that went into getting me super duper fit, went out the window very quickly, and my weight crept up….VERY quickly.

A shadow of my former self and with stats and measurements that would make my ultra running former self stare in shock, Monday the 7^th January 2013 saw Elizabeth Davies decided enough was enough. (It didn’t have anything at all to do with the booking of a lovely holiday and wanting to wear some nice shorts….)

So I decided to get my lazy bum in gear, decide on an experiment to try and get some quick results (which will benefit all of those around me), and also get 2013 off to a good start signing up to some new running challenges too!

Losing Weight the Lean Gains Way

Back to the experiment…After lots of research on intermittent fasting, I decided that long term, with my running training soon to kick off, the full day fasts were not for me (it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that going a whole day without food is my idea of torture). I was pleasantly surprised when I came across what I percieved to be more long term approaches to fasting…lean gains!!! This basically focuses on fasting in a short burst within a 24 hour period. 16 hours fasting with an 8 hour eating window in which you eat your days calories in 2-3 large meals.

The goal: to get my 2011 lean running body back!!!

Question: how long with this fasting approach could it take to get back down to 9st 4lbs just by changing my eating timings?

All very exciting stuff and let me tell you the results so far have been excellent, there will be a new post to come updating you all with my starting stats, and the results so far!!