Of all topics, and not wanting to do the stereotypical “what I am thankful for” type post that so many would publish on Thanksgiving without further ado;
On Feasting And Fasting:
As a senior in high school I started doing 16/8 fasts regularly (16 hour fasts, 8 hour eating period daily)
For at most 3 weeks my stomach would grumble at me it being unused to skipping breakfast.
Then I adapted.
I soon learned it is far easier to wake up, fast a few hours, eat, wait a long while, feast, fast a few hours then sleep. Hard physicality is best done just prior to the feast.
A 16 hour fast is very easy. You’re sleeping a solid percentage of it.
Doing this I’ve found I function better with little in me, stacking the calories at nighttime instead of evenly spread throughout the day.
I eat opposite of the stereotypical bodybuilder 6 tiny meals a day plan. Mine looks more like a couple hundred calories early, then a 3000-5000k calorie meal at night or after training.
Performance issues? Maybe in the adaption period, but I find my performance is just fine like this if not better.
My stomach feels better with the less frequent meals, and I don’t have to take as many shits.
Occasionally as a test of willpower I’ll fast 24 hours. This length still is quite easy.
While fasted I’ve done just about everything physically one can do without issue. In fact a lot of my best workouts are while empty often even lacking sleep.
To be able to perform through adversity.
(This is something I’ve purposely trained for over the years, cold reps, on empty, lacking sleep,middle of the night, etc.)
You will adapt mentally and physically if you allow yourself to. However this requires not shooting yourself in the foot by constantly thinking about food and the eating of it.
It’s more natural for the human body to eat this way. I doubt cavemen were carb loading before mammoth hunting. At most they’d eat a little, go get their meat, and after doing so eat copious amounts while sitting around the fire. Feasting and fasting/feast and famine, not constant satiation.
Happy Thanksgiving,
-J