CONTINUED FROM NOVEMBER
Saturday, December 1: I had a black coffee before a workout, and then I didn’t have breakfast until about 2:40 p.m.
Saturday/Sunday (Dec. 1 & 2): I finished eating for the day some 50 minutes later at 3:30 p.m. I planned my Sunday to keep me occupied and away from food. Breakfast in the afternoon broke a fast of 23 hours and 40 minutes.
Sunday/Monday (Dec. 2 & 3): I finished eating for the day soon after at 3:45 p.m., although I still may not make it through the night. I did, quite easily in fact, and breakfast was had at work after a fast of 19.5 hours.
Monday/Tuesday (Dec. 3 & 4): A cardio session preceded dinner which was gone by 5:50 p.m. It’s now 10 a.m. and I’m currently at work with my morning black coffee. I have a banana and peanut butter sandwich next to me that is crying out to be eaten. I’ll try resist a little longer as my fast is only just a few minutes past the 16-hour mark. Just after 18 hours, I decided that sandwich needed eating.
Tuesday/Wednesday (Dec. 4 & 5): Dinner was pizza with my music club students to mark the end of the semester. I had a latte a little later near home, and the fasting clock began again. I was tempted to snack later in the night, but I resisted that evil temptation. The fast eventually ended after 16 hours and 42 minutes, a little shorter then previous fasts, but I did exercise before breakfast, and that counts for something.
Wednesday/Thursday (Dec. 5 & 6): I snacked about an hour after dinner. The snacks were a gift by a well-meaning friend. Drats! The fast was broken in the morning 17 hours later.
Thursday/Friday (Dec. 6 & 7): Dinner was history by about 5:30, but I feel I ate too much. Looking ahead to tomorrow and the weekend, I’ll try and have longer fasts and eat healthier. Having said that, today’s fast was one minute longer than yesterday’s.
Friday/Saturday (Dec. 7 & 8): I finished eating before 5 p.m. and I managed to perform late at night in a bar without consuming any more calories. Breakfast was 18.5 hours later after a quick weights session.
Saturday/Sunday (Dec. 8 & 9): I could have resisted the free chocolate brownies, but I didn’t. I also had a hot chocolate after dinner that was unnecessary but delicious. Breakfast was started just before 2:30, ending a fast of exactly 18.5 hours.
Sunday/Monday (Dec. 9 & 10):I finished eating for the day not too long after, just before 5. I slept in the next morning and decided to have breakfast at home before heading off to work.
Monday/Tuesday (Dec. 10 & 11): I finished eating for day at 3:10 p.m., earlier than normal, and I went to the gym afterwards where I noticed my weight had crept up a little. It’s now almost 11 p.m., and I don’t feel hungry. The ensuing fast was just over 19 hours.
Tuesday/Wednesday (Dec. 11 & 12): I finished eating for the day just afer 4 p.m., and I was sorely tempted to eat before bed. I resisted though, and breakfast, which was consumed a little earlier than normal, broke a fast of 17 hours and 10 minutes.
Wednesday/Thursday (Dec. 12 & 13): Just white rice, chicken, and some tofu for dinner as there isn’t much else I can eat ahead of Friday’s regular medical check-up. It was gone by 4:15 p.m. I next ate after midday, and was my breakfast was just rice and some drinking yoghurt. That was history by 12:15 p.m. Apart from some liquids I need to take tonight for tomorrow’s tests, that’s it for the day.
Thursday/Friday (Dec. 13 & 14): My bi-annual health check took hours, but it was all good news in the end. I was just very hungry afterwards. There was a Starbucks above the medical center; I went straight there.
Friday/Saturday (Dec. 14 & 15): My band played Friday night, and I took the opportunity to have a couple of beers (2.5 to be precise). I got home just before 1 a.m. and decided I had to eat. Eleven hours later, I decided to take the day off fasting. Saturday’s food ended with a Christmas dinner with my band mates, to which I brought a huge cheesecake. Back on track, the fasting clock began at 11:35 p.m. The Christmas dinner was quite a long one.
Sunday, December 16: I fasted until 5 p.m. Sunday. The morning was easy because I still felt full – I’ve grown to really dislike feeling full upon waking, but the afternoon was a little harder, and by the time breakfast was served, I was really quite hungry.
Sunday/Monday (Dec. 16 & 17): My eating window today was less than an hour; my next fast began at 5:40 p.m. Breakfast was consumed at work 17 hours and 48 minutes later.
Monday/Tuesday (Dec. 17 & 18): The rest of the day, I had just a green tea and a protein bar after a workout. Breakfast was over 19 hours later, again at work. And it was a feast.
Tuesday/Wednesday (Dec. 18 & 19): A smallish dinner at home around 5:40 completed the day’s consumption of calories. The ensuing fast came to a delicious end 18.5 hours later, just before midday.
Wednesday/Thursday (Dec. 19 & 20): I next ate just before 3:30 p.m. A larger meal than I needed as I wasn’t all that hungry. Hopefully, that’s it for the day. It was indeed, and breakfast was consumed 20 hours later.
Thursday/Friday (Dec. 20 & 21): I had some snacks a little later, and then between those and breakfast 20 hours later, I went to the gym in the evening and walked 8.3 kilometers in the morning and early afternoon.
Friday/Saturday (Dec. 21 & 22): I finished eating for the day soon after, and the fasting clock began again at 2:50 p.m. I was sorely tempted to eat before bed, but I resisted and then had no real trouble making the fast last almost 20 hours.
Saturday/Sunday (Dec. 22 & 23): My next and last meal of the day, which was consumed straight after a workout, was just a protein bar and a green tea latte. That was at about 3:50 p.m. The temptation to break the fast before bed was again pretty significant. I resisted though, and then resisted some more in the morning to drag my fast out to 19.5 hours.
Sunday/Monday (Dec. 23 & 24): I had a green tea latte at 2:50 immediately after buying a new winter jacket and new jeans, which were a size smaller than the one’s I was wearing. I remember my current jeans were too tight for me when I began intermittent fasting, and now I’m easily fitting into the next smallest size. I also had a few recent comments from acquaintances I had not seen in a while. The new clothes and those recent comments should help me stay on track. My last meal of the day was half a chicken and avocado wrap with some side snacks and something of a protein shake that didn’t have much protein. I did some cardio in the morning at about the 17-hour mark and eventually broke my fast after 20 hours and 11 minutes.
Christmas Eve & Christmas Day: Monday was a one-meal day, and my fasting clock started earlier than usual at 2:08 p.m. It’s now 11:24 p.m., and I’m surprisingly not feeling hungry. Breakfast Christmas morning broke a fast of 20 hours.
Christmas Day & Boxing Day (Dec. 25 & 26): I had a Christmas Americano before a Christmas workout, and a little later, Chirstmas dinner was done by about 6 p.m. Breakfast happened 17 hours and 45 minutes later.
Wednesday/Thursday (Dec. 26 & 27): Less than two hours later, I decided to try starting the fasting clock before 2 p.m., something I haven’t done before. I ate a little more food and started the fasting clock at 1:38 p.m. I exercised in the evening after a rather lazy day at home. It’s now 10:40 p.m. and I’m feeling fine. Sure, I could eat, but I’m really not particularly hungry. It’s 11:15 a.m. and I’m sipping on an Americano. I’ve already run a few errands this morning and I’m not feeling desperately hungry. In other news, I watched a video about autophagy last night and I think I am ready to try and extended fast of 48-72 hours. I have to admit though, I am still intimidated by the idea of going a full calendar day without eating. Although a few of my fasts have exceeded 24 hours by a little bit, I’ve always eaten on consecutive days. After 23 hours and 8 minutes, it was time to eat although I could have gone longer.
Thursday/Friday (Dec. 27 & 28): I entertained the idea of not eating after my 1 p.m. breakfast, but after an evening treadmill session, I felt the need to eat. The fasting clock then started later than usual at 8:18 p.m. In hindsight, perhaps I ate a little to much. I felt bloated in the night and regretted that large meal. The resulting fast was shorter than recent ones at 17 hours and twenty minutes, and I remained at home throughout so not many calories were burned. I was feeling quite hungry though. Maybe I’m getting too carried away with all this fasting.
Friday/Saturday (Dec. 28 & 29): I finished eating just before 5 p.m., and it felt good to wake up again not still feeling last night’s food in my stomach. Sleeping in the morning meant that I effortlessly passed the 16, 17, and 18 hour marks. My fast is now just shy of 19 hours, I’m sipping on a black coffee and am considering a trip to the gym before breakfast. Yes, I’ll do that. After the gym, I did a bit of shopping before breaking my 23-hour fast.
At the gym, I got another body composition test, and the results showed a slight improvement in all the key measurements. My BMI is in the normal range for the first time in quite a few years. I don’t think the body fat percentage (12.3) is accurate, but the fat is certainly slowly disintegrating.
Saturday/Sunday (Dec. 29 & 30): My eating window today was just 50 minutes and the fasting clock began at 4:50 p.m., the same time it began yesterday. I was hungry when I went to bed as I had walked 14 kilometers throughout the day, and most of those were at night. I resisted late night snacking again, and once again awoke in the morning not feeling nearly as hungry. The fast lasted just a few minutes shy of 19 hours.
Sunday/Monday (Dec. 30 & 31): A latte with a friend at 2 p.m. and then a banana smoothie and a protein bar at 4 p.m. The end of the resulting 19.5-hour fast was aided by a lazy sleep-in.
Monday Dec. 31: Dinner followed my last weights session of the year. I then rang in the new year by forgetting all about fasting.
Fasts Ranked by Length:
16:42
17:05
17:06
17:10
17:20
17:26
17:45
17:46
17:48
18:06
18:30
18:30
18:34
18:57
19:10
19:27
19:32
19:33
19:40
19:47
19:50
20:03
20:05
20:09
20:11
21:40
23:08
23:13
23:40
26:24
Average Fast: 19:29 with one day off.
