BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise Intermittent Fasting Journal Ongoing

I did an intermittent fast last Wednesday. It was exactly 5 days after my last one and bcz Tue. - Fri. were all moderate to high intensity workout days this was not the best idea.

I felt so tired after Wed. workout and kind of weak during Thur. workout. My endurance just wasn't what it normally is. By Fri. I had recovered but I think next time I'll plan my workouts around my intermittent fasting a bit better. One hardcore workout on fast day or before or after is fine but 4 is probably not smart.

The one thing that helped me recover was increasing my lean protein intake and drinking Alacer Electro Mix as well as getting back on Chia water (had not been drinking this for two weeks) and eating more fruit.

It's been a week since my last fast so I'm intermittent fasting today. I started my week with two moderate and high intensity interval workouts so today I'm focusing on a challenging but less intense core workout with some cardio intervals plus I'm doing mobility and flexibility exercises as well.

I'm going to split my workout into two 30 min. workouts. This is what I had been doing last fall when I was intermittent fasting and it was working better than what I've been trying to do the last few weeks which is workout hard all days leading up to fast on fast day and also the day after (that was a complete disaster last week).

One thing I've noticed since I started back up with I.F. is my workout motivation is higher and my jeans are starting to fit loose again plus I can see my obliques which had disappeared after not intermittent fasting all summer.

Just had 2 cups of coffee and drinking water and chia water the rest of the day. Had dinner last night around 7 p.m. and breaking my fast with dinner tonight at 7 p.m.

I.F. was a success yesterday. I did an easy mobility workout in the morning and more mobility with thera band and foam roller plus core exercises and flexibility exercises in the evening.

Another thing I've noticed since starting back on I.F. is a decrease in overall appetite and my ability to interpret a craving is back. I was able to say no to my burger craving yesterday and had fish and black beans instead which is exactly what my body needed. I feel great today. Hoping to fast again in 5 days.

I started carb cycling last weekend and now I'm wondering whether I should try to incorporate I.F. into this plan or just focus on carb cycling for the next 8 weeks.

I'm not sure I should do both. I know I can but not sure if I.F. can work with carb cycling and when would be the best day to fast if my current eating plan is:

carb down day

carb down day

carb up day

carb down day

carb down day

carb up day

baseline day

Definintely a carb down day but what day? I've asked around but have not found an answer yet.

O.K. so after about 5 weeks of pretty strict carb cycling I decided to switch gears. I took 3 days off to just eat whatever and not care at all about food or diet or fatloss but this past Monday I got back on track with a combination of calorie cycling and intermittent fasting.

Calorie cycling is very similar to carb cycling but just not as many rules about when to eat what carbs etc. I wrote about this for weight loss if you want to learn more: Calories Needed to Lose Weight Tricks.

Today is my first intermittent fast since I last posted here in Oct. I considered doing it while carb cycling but never really felt I could fit it in. Now that I'm calorie cycling I can totally fit in 1-2 days of I.F. per week.

My goal is to keep calorie cycling and I.F. for four more weeks so I can lose more bodyfat and if I lose a few extra pounds that will just be a bonus. I really don't care about weight loss at this point. What I do is always strictly for fatloss.

My stats before and after carb cycling
Before carb cycling and carb rotation
chest around ribcage (I store fat there and notice when my workout tops start fitting snug) 32"
waist 29.5 (I freaked when I saw this number)
hips 36
weight 120.5 lb
bodyfat (according to Omron) 23.8% and 24%

After 3 weeks of carb cycling and 1 week of carb rotation
chest around ribcage 30"
waist 27.5"
hips 35.5"
weight 119 lb
bodyfat (according to Lange calipers) 21.8%

After one more week of carb rotation nothing changed much except I lost another pound and all my clothes were fitting looser. I'll post more about calorie cycling and stats update after a couple of weeks.

One thing I know for certain is that I am very happy to be done with carb cycling. Don't know why but 8 months of intermittent fasting once a week last year wasn't anywhere near as challenging as 5 weeks of cycling carbs.

It's been 5 days since my last I.F. so I decided today was the best day to fast this week since we have family arriving tomorrow plus a birthday and going out of town this weekend too.

My last fast was great and I am so much happier now that I'm not obsessing about what foods to eat when. I really can't stand food rules. Eating clean 80% of the time and calorie cycling is so much easier but not sure it is the best formula for ultra low bodyfat. I guess I will find out in 3 weeks.

It's been a week since my last intermittent fast so I'm fasting today. I had a great week last week. No overeating, no over indulging in any fatty or sugary foods. The only thing I had issues with was alcohol. I had 2-4 drinks per day for 3 days straight and that made me feel tired and toxic but I was able to completely cut out alcohol after that and did plenty of walking and yoga all weekend and yesterday so I'm feeling great and ready to get back into high intensity interval training later today.

I did not gain or lose any weight this past week which is exactly what I expected during a holiday. If you can maintain your fatloss/weightloss and stay consistent with healthy habits during the holiday then you are doing better than 90% of the population so hi five to you if you're sticking to your plan too!

Had a great intermittent fasting day yesterday! Got a very restful night of sleep and woke up feeling so good. It's amazing what not eating for 24 hours can do for you.

Yesterday during my fast I was super focused and kept finding inspiration from all types of places for my sites and newsletters. I really enjoy doing an I.F. at least once a week but trying to squeeze in about 6 a month if possible.

I have also realized that combining with yoga and walking seems to work better than trying HIIT workouts. I seem to be able to focus more and hold poses longer on I.F. days but when I try to do high intensity interval training my intensity suffers a bit so will be sticking to the moderate intensity workouts on I.F. days.

It's been a week since my last intermittent fast so I'm fasting again today. I'm walking mid afternoon and doing a ballet workout and also doing some mobility and foam roller work in the evening. Keeping my workout moderate intensity seems to work best when doing I.F.

I'm also training clients today which always does wonders to keep me distracted the last few hours of my fast. Just need to remember to drink tons and tons of water since I've been trying to cut my afternoon caffeine intake way down. Breaking my fast tonight with salmon and veggies plus yogurt and fruit for dessert.

I got three more weeks before I have to take pics so I really need to stick to clean eating 90% of the time vs. 80% of the time. Learn more about clean eating for fatloss in this article: Sensible Clean Eating Tips That Work

It's been 10 days since my last fast and I completely forgot to fast this week. I had so much going on but will be intermittent fasting tomorrow.