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Middle-aged climbers with extra weight peer group
faye marshall wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you post to this thread earlier today and then delete it? It was very similar to the post above but you also stated that you were trying to go from a size 4 to a size zero. Seems a bit extreme, no? Most women would kill to be a size 4. |
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"don't be a jerk"...I asked a sincere question. Super rude response. |
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There are so many diet/exercise regimens listed here I hate to add to it, but I have been intermittent fasting for a little over a year and it did work in losing weight and then keeping my weight down. I love chips and love snacking, but just plain not eating anything is a little easier (still hard) to accomplish. There is a good TED talk on intermittent fasting and you can do other research - and it helps with other health issues (one of which I may have). I eat a light breakfast and lunch Monday and Thursday then skip dinner. It's a tough afternoon but it gets easier in the evening (for me). I'm 59 and plan on climbing Red Dihedral on the Incredible Hulk next week car to car in a day. |
Ney Grant wrote: Ney! Thank you...great info!! Interesting to know that you got results on just two fasts per week. I've done some research but wanted to hear first hand from others trying this too....but will definitely check out the TED talk. Are you fairly restricted with diet on non fasting days too? And dude, have a super wonderful and safe time on the hulk!! #envy |
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Thank you. Well as I write this it is Wednesday evening and tomorrow is a fast day. It is easy to think, "oh crap, I better load up tonight". Of course, that isn't how it works, although I do make damn sure I don't go to bed hungry before a fast day. We do try to eat lots of vegetables and we don't eat a lot of meat, but we are not militant about it. We go out to eat every Friday and after a big day in the mountains and eat whatever the hell we want that day. I've almost always been a little overweight and right now I'm not, so for me it works... |
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Legitimate question, no judgement, but triggered by experience with loved ones. How is fasting better than general overall calorie management? I did some research online (as good as that can be) and can't quite find a physiological arguement. My reason for asking is my concern over people who are at risk for developing eating disorders (I've lived through it with loved ones, and it's awful). I get the argument that the driver is different for athletes, but my concern remains for the casual person using it to manage weight (with possible body shape undertones). For some people who might read this, "glorifying" not eating is dangerous. So please no flaming, legit question about the value over simple calorie management. |
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I've been doing it a year, so its been a year since I researched it, but definitely more than just limited calorie intake, though that is probably responsible for the weight management. There is apparently quite a bit of evidence, at least in lab animals, that it helps with brain function and neurological benefits - helping ward off Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, etc. Something to do with occasional heightened brain function when your brain goes into a primitive, "whoops, no food, need food" mode. Also your body doesn't necessarily ever go into fat burning mode if you just limit calories, but during fasting it does and apparently occasionally going into that mode helps the body. I'm not doing this justice - really, I remember there is a heck of a lot of reading you can do on this subject online. I guess you have identified a risk with perhaps an eating disorder, but with me I figure there is very little risk and research points to multiple benefits - plus it helps with weight. The only downside really is you can get pretty hungry two nights a week... Other common sense principles still apply - try to eat right and keep moving. |
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Net, how long is your fasting period? I've gone 36 hours without calories a few times (army), and remember being pretty loopy and kind of wrecked. |
Based on my anecdotal experience, I have been juice fasting 3 days at a time (no pulp in the juice, supplementing veggie broth and coconut water in the evening). And on non fasting days, I fast 18-20 hours, and stick to a vegan diet because that is what works best in general for me. But I am reducing my weight to increase strength to weight ratio....and it is absolutely working! And my joints/back feel awesome. I am only about a month into the routine, but I really appreciate the feeling of not being so addicted to food and knowing what hunger feels like...it is a heightened awareness when you can relax into it. I think a key difference is that this is for performance and not a body image thing. Also, I think that for the casual person, intermittent fasting could be a wonderful thing (unless they are prone to eating disorders!) |
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I've been doing intermittent fasting for almost 10 years. Nothing before dinner, and often don't eat until after climbing in the evening, so ~26 hours without food. I've never been able to control portion sizes without a lot of effort (my body just wants to eat until my gut is STUFFED) so it was easier to just let myself go crazy once a day. Much more pleasant than a bunch of tiny meals that never really satisfy me. Switching to intermittent fasting sucked BIG TIME at first. Woozy and moody and miserable. Took a couple weeks before it got easier. Weight comes off easy, though. I dropped from 210lbs to 170lbs in no time (a month or two). More importantly, it hasn't come back in a decade. Encourages you to eat well, because it becomes clear that a big meal of refined carbs leaves you kinda miserable the next day. Eventually I stopped eating sugar except on special occasions or after really big days (nutella brownies at the rock house in the RRG FTW) Eventually I got to the point where going 20+ hours without food feels normal, even on days with long hikes and lots of climbing. Just make sure to take some electrolyte tabs...for whatever reason IF made me super sensitive to this and I can get kind of dizzy if I'm sweating much. Worst part is the social element, for sure. I miss breakfasts with the wife and kids on the weekends and having lunch with coworkers and such. I have to keep away. I'm not hungry usually, but being around people who are eating delicious food makes me a little crazy. Best part is those gigantic gut buster meals every single night. You're sort of training your body to function well in that mild starvation/ketogenic mode. Once you get used to it, it kind of breaks your hunger/satiety circuits. The sensation of wanting to eat because your blood sugar is low goes away entirely because your blood sugar is always low. It's a very, very different relationship with food. Food still gives me tons of pleasure, I still think about it a lot, but I don't feel like NEED to eat very often. |
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Ney, thanks for the response. I had no doubt you did your homework. :). I wrestled a bit in high school and remember the crazy eating routines leading up to a match, but at the time that was focused on a single event (point in time) and "being healthy" surrounding it. IMHO, the key is focusing on the nutrition and physiology and not focus entirely on how long we can go without eating. I'm only comfortable risking posting this on an Internet forum because I know how serious it can get. I usually ask how healthy people are (what they are able to do) rather than just weight and size (frankly, healthy people perform and look better anyway). Anyway, there's a million different ways people can find success in exercise and diet (to the goal of being healthy). Everyone be safe! Cheers! |
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Fey, are you saying that in your typical week you take in no food for 3 days, save for coconut water and veggie broth, and the other 4 days you fast (nothing but water?) for 20 hours at a time? Meaning essentially 4 meals per week? Yikes... |
the schmuck wrote: You might not live longer doing that, but it'll sure seem longer.......... ;) |
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four days, yes. but it is not as extreme as it sounds because I have @ this 1200-1500 Kcals of green juice on fast days too. I exercise on fast days, but lighter stuff like yoga/hiking. when I moved from the Bay to Denver, I found that I just do not digest as well and my joints and back ached. I found out about benefits of fasting through personal research and work with a acupuncturist. it took a couple tries to get this schedule down (I can only do this because my family is grown up and left the nest!) but I feel really great now. I may not keep this precise schedule for more than a few months and move into something sustaining for maintenance, and this may not be for all types! really stoked to hear others are working with these concepts as well! |
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I fall into this group as well. My highest was 190 when I had some back issues that made exercise near impossible years ago. At my best last year I was at 152. A couple of months ago I had a vasectomy and tried to get back to working out and climbing a little to soon. So after 2 1/2 months without clbing and exercise I've crept back up to around 160. I have a plan to slowly increase lifting levels stating next week to see how things feel. I'm 5'9" btw and turning 36 this year. Looking forward to returning to normal activities and training hard this off season . |
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i have a hard time loosing weight, 35yrs old 6'4'' 230ish, sometimes ill get down near 220. i have a pretty active job on my feet 10-12hrs a day, light breakfast, light lunch and dinner some chips at night.... i think the 2 cups of black coffee and maybe 2 small spoons of sugar get me. might have to get off the coffee. i drink alot of water during the day, maybe 1-2 cans of sprite during the day. sometimes ill go with no lunch and a snack like nuts or hard boiled eggs. maybe a salad. i avoid the really fatty foods/junk food and keep myself happy. im a welder/fabricator so moving alot of heavy objects during the day, ill spend 20-25 mins on the elliptical 2-3 days a week and some core exercises. i was a string bean 10 yrs ago like 180lbs.... i feel good and to me thats what matters....we rarely eat out so alot of eggs for breakfast, cod, salmon, some steaks here and there veggies etc.... when i go out climbing or something non typical i can go all day with not eating maybe just something salty like nuts help keep me from going loopy, then ill pound down something really good for dinner to fill me out then im done eating till the next morning. |
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53 year old male, weighed 180 last February. Started eating Whole30, not to lose weight but more get a handle on my eating habits. It's been great for me personally, eating a more balanced diet with no added sugar. In the process I did drop 15 pounds and continue to maintain that weight. My energy level is better than it's been in years. For me eating this way has been sustainable. It has also been a good mental challenge for me. |
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My waist is slightly thinner than it was 10 years ago but I weigh like 15 more pounds than I did 10 years ago. Don't forget muscle weighs more than fat so you can be in better shape but your weight can be more. You got to remember what you are training for... endurance or power. |
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If you can afford it, get a delivered meal plan for lunches and dinners. Takes the guess work out of eating healthy. |
Steve Williams wrote: . . . Now if my hair weren't gray! Hair? You still have hair? |
