My body woke up at mid-day as per expectations but I managed to sleep on and off for the following three hours.  My breakfast is at 16:00 so I'm considering going to the gym before breakfast.  I'm having a quick coffee whilst I decide.  So, again, I'm feeling awake, more so than I would normally on nights.  I'm feeling a little stiff which is probably from the gym workouts so far but now that I'm getting back into it, that should lesson each day.  I'm not feeling excessively hungry really in fact I wouldn't say I was hungry at all which is a really weird feeling.  Yes, I think I will get my arse into gear and get down the gym.

Today will be the big test for IF setting body-clock.  I have just finished a night-shift.  I haven't eaten since midnight and I'm hoping to go to bed in a minute and hopefully wake about 4pm.  I am slightly peckish but not extremely hungry.  I am tired and feel ready to sleep.

I have to take time to record the single most surreal moment since starting IF.  I had recorded a packet of Jaffa-cakes that were going to be eaten today, and I almost forgot to eat them.  WTF!  Cy forgetting to eat something?  Two weeks ago, I was constantly hungry.  Now, I'm forgetting to eat.  I'm having to set myself meals to ensure I get my calories for the day.

Woke up at 07:25.  Sore from yesterday's gym session but awake, alert and energized.  Feeling peckish but got myself to the gym before breakfast.  It is strange because I feel that I am eating better now than before IF.  I am having a hearty breakfast each morning and a decent lunch yet I'm still pretty much hitting my target calories.  It's 10:30 now, so I'll wash up my breakfast things and I'm off out.  I've got my ingredients ready for making some Chilli con Carne so I think I need to be back in by about 14:00.  Today's fasting starts at 16:00.  I weighed in at 203 this morning.  I could do with losing a couple of pounds in the next three days to achieve my goal of 4lbs a week.  Not sure if that will even be possible but we will see.

Had my walk this evening which (according to my pedometer) burned 458 calories and covered 6.5Km (4.03miles).  Just about to go to bed, but sorting out my workout for the morning first.  I think that during work days, I will have to try to fit my walk into my schedule before I go to bed and gym when I awake.  This may not work too well when I'm looking after Ellie during the school summer holidays and Jo has to go to work and may need tweaking a bit.  If I can fit the walk in every day, that will be an extra pound of fat burned every 10 days.  Likewise, if I do a gym session each day, I should burn an extra pound every 10 days.  The more effort I put in, the quicker I should reach my goal.  Right, off to bed now.

Back to the gym.

First time back in the gym in ages and I really struggled.  It was probably because I haven't been for so long but could be partly because of the fasting.  Normally, my fitness returns really quickly when I start to get back into the gym so it will be interesting to see how the fasting affects the return of my fitness.  I woke up naturally at 07:00.  I find it astounding that just by changing my eating pattern, I can have such a dramatic effect on my sleep and hunger and subsequently  my weight.  I'm still getting to eat pretty much what I want so I still have cookies etc. but because I'm not having a large evening meal, I'm having to find the extra 800 calories in a more convenient yet healthy source.  I'm supplementing with just multivitamins.  I can't be doing the whole creatine/amino acids BS.  I want to be slim but not skinny however I don't want to bulk either.  Fussy, aren't I?  I think the Daniel Craig/Special Forces physique is inspiring.  If I can end up looking like Daniel Craig's evil twin, I'll be happy.  We have 7 weeks until we go on holiday.  How awesome would it be to be at my ideal weight for when we go on holiday?  At 4lbs a week, I would be almost there.  However, it would be reasonable for me to expect my weight-loss to slow, the nearer I get to my goal.  I don't think I have been 175lbs since I was 18.  It has taken me 20 years to get to my current weight, is it reasonable to think that I can get back down in just a few weeks?  Probably not, but why not try?  My mother always instilled in me honesty and always trying your best.  I think it is safe to say that she made me the monster I am today with laying those foundations.  Of course, I'm hoping that if I have success with IF, it will help to inspire others to follow suit.  If I end up really fit and healthy, then great.  If I end up looking malnourished and ill, then it is no hardship for me to put weight back on (if anything, it is too easy).  Well, I've just finished my breakfast.  I really need to work out how to make the perfect omelette, because low heat with a lid on just didn't work and I'm going to have to scrub my omelette pan now:(  I always like my eggs cooked through, I don't like them snotty, yeuck!  I could just do scrambled eggs in the microwave but even then it's a B to clean the bowl afterwards.  Why are cooked eggs so sticky when cooking?  I wonder what happens when you cook eggs on baking parchment;)  I might just get some of those silicon poachers.  I need to get all my weird experimental S out of the way before Jo comes back from her holiday, there's only so much quirkiness that she can cope with.

Back on topic.  I still feel great, even better now that I've got some energy back after the gym.  It's only 09:40 and I have no pressing business.  I might be cycling into Broadstairs later.  It's folk-week which doesn't really interest me that much but I might be able to get some photography done and I get to try to be sociable which is a bit of a struggle for me.  Fasting starts at 16:00 so I need to get my calories before that which shouldn't be too difficult considering I got a load of Jaffa-cakes to chow down on.  Might struggle to get my protein up to target but we'll see.

Adding Exercise

A good start to my second week.  I'm still feeling absolutely fine.  Not excessively hungry or tired but then I do have ample fat storage to get through.  I have made a friendly bet with my friend Robbo.  The wager is prestige, the bet is to see who can get a six pack first.  He already has a head-start weighing in at 13st (182lbs) and states that he already has 4 of his six but this gives me the incentive to work harder.  With this in mind, I took a walk this evening which was 5.38km (3.34miles) burnt 397 calories and took be just over an hour (according to my pedometer).  It will be gym in the morning before breakfast.  I will be focusing on upper body strength.  My legs are fine from all the cycling I do and I really do not want my thighs any bigger or I'll never get trousers that fit.  I think it will be either walking or just dance (or both) mid fast and a weight/resistance workout pre breakfast I think from now on.  Whilst I am already seeing phenomenal results, adding the exercise should improve this even more.

203.5lbs.  I wasn't actually expecting my second week to start to well.  Many people see dramatic weight-loss in the first week due to cutting back on sugars and the subsequent loss of water that involves however, I'm still having sugar in my coffee and chocolate chip cookies for my snacks.  I've pretty much balanced my proteins with my carbs.  I don't particularly like vegetables but I've thrown some peppers and mushrooms into my omelette this morning and will take some multivitamins as well.

The great thing is that I can look at this eating pattern and see that it is doable.  I look at my weight-loss goal and see that it is achievable.  I imagine that some time soon my weight-loss will slow down but if it doesn't, I will reach my goal in just 7 weeks.  As I get closer to my goal, I will want to up my exercise, running at 12.5 stone is so much easier than running at 15.5 stone.

I don't know if I have fully repaid my sleep debt or not but I'm getting about 7-7.5 hours sleep at night and waking up naturally before my alarm goes off.  It may be that my body-clock's morning is set to just before I break my fast but either way, I'm feeling far less tired than I used to.

My fasting period will be later today, starting at 16:00 with a view to swinging my body-clock for an 08:00 start.  I might just take an extra cereal bar ti work to eat just prior to 16:00 in case I am late off.  I am going to a friend's house after three to help her with her computer but she won't mind me chowing down on a cereal bar.

I need to look at what exercise I'm going to do at the gym Wednesday and Thursday.  I might just pull off the P90X workouts to work through.  It will be interesting to see how well I can perform in the gym because both sessions will be on the end of 16hr fasts before food.  I want to be looking at the 5 sets of 5 but we'll see how well I can get on with that.

Start of second week.

Today is the start of my second week of IF.  I'm still feeling full of energy, despite eating far less than I should.  I have been adding soft-bake bars to my breakfast and 4 chocolate chip cookies snack to up my calories.  I'm eating plenty of protein and taking multivitamins.  My fasting period for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starts at 15:00 to get my body-clock set for my rest-days.  Friday, my fasting starts at midnight which will hopefully set my morning to be 16:00.  That will be the big test for IF to see if it will help swing my body-clock around.  I'm still not as hungry as I thought I would be.  I think I will make a concerted effort to go to the gym on my rest-days, so I may need to tweak my fasting period accordingly.  If what I have read is true, I should really go to the gym before I have my breakfast so it will be a case of cycling to the gym, having a workout and cycling home to have breakfast.  I need to look at what exercise I'm going to do when I get there so that I get the best results.  I feel a visit to youtube coming on...

4lbs in 7 Days

Weighed in at 205lbs this morning.  So, in my first week of IF, I've lost 4lbs.  It appears that my body-clock can be set by diet.  I'm waking at 05:00 with only background sleepiness that soon dissipates.  I'm feeling far more awake and have much more energy than I've ever had before.  I'm achieving far more in my day than I did before IF.

Could it be purely psychological?  Yes, I suppose it could be.  Is there enough study done in IF?  No, I don't think there has.  The information that is available on the internet all points to IF being beneficial and those that have done it appear to have experienced similar effects to me.

What does the future hold?  So far, I'm very impressed with the results but I know that it has only been a week.  Can I do this as a life-style change?  I think I can.  Will it need tweaking occasionally to fit in with social events?  Sure it will.  Is rapid weight-loss bad for me?  It certainly doesn't feel like it.

IF is a simple tool that helps reduce the calories that I am consuming and appears to be useful in setting my body-clock.  If it has other benefits other than those found in not being over-weight, then great.  If I become ill, I think I will quickly notice because I generally don't get ill.  I think only time will tell.

Day 6

It's 18:22, so I have about three hours until I have to go to bed.  I've done some house-work and have got some chicken cooking in the oven for snacks over the rest of the week.  I will portion this into 100g portions so that I know what I'm eating.  I've bought some more eggs because omelette for breakfast was great.  I have some frozen peppers in the freezer so I might defrost some for tomorrows breakfast.

I can't get over just how well I feel.  I feel so much more alert and whilst I have mild hunger in the back of my mind, it is not as consuming as I was expecting it to be.  Before I started IF, I would have laughed at anyone who suggested I go 3 hours without food let alone 16.  Tomorrow will be one week on IF and so far I have seen an improvement to my body-clock and a reduction in my weight.  I'm not sure how much of the feel-good factor is psychological and how much is physiological but so far I am very impressed.

Because of my shift patterns, I am struggling to get a healthy amount of calories.  Myfitnesspal.com keeps reminding me that I should be eating more.  With this in mind, I will try to get a larger breakfast and will take some cereal bars with me to work.  I need to keep above 1000 calories ideally.

Well, I need to go and sort out my chicken.  Will be back in the morning.

206.5lbs this morning.  Had trouble getting to sleep but that could be because my body-clock wasn't set for a 21:30 bed-time.  However, I awoke at 05:15, not feeling too bad at all.  I've just had an omelette and toast for breakfast and totalled up the food I'm expecting to eat today before my fast at 13:30 and currently I fall way short of a healthy amount, so I will need to try to eat an extra 300-400 calories before my fast.  Although this is easily achieved with just one bar of chocolate, I think a dose of carbs would be more beneficial.  I may just take some cookies to work with me to balance the protein that I will be eating.  It's now 05:55 and I feel really good.  I'm alert and satiated after my breakfast and ready to take on the world. I may do another post when I get in from work.

I'm going to bed in an hours time so that I can get up for 5.  Jo and Ellie are away for the week so I should be able to get a lot more done around the house and my fasting will be much easier.  Still not suffering with hunger or tiredness.  Weight-loss has been steady so far and my sleep pattern appears fine at the moment.  Will see how the early mornings of a set of early shifts affects me.

Half Nine and Alls Well.

I found that my body woke up about 9:20.  I had stopped eating at 18:00 yesterday so I still have 25 minutes to go before breakfast.  Today's fast starts at 13:30 which gives me just three and a half hour window to eat something nutritious.  Jo and Ellie will be off on their holiday probably about 15:15 which means I will be left to my own devices for the week which will make the fasting that much easier.

So, I'm not excessively tired and I'm not excessively hungry.  I am however thirsty so I'm going to make myself a coffee in a minute.  I watched an interesting video/presentation detailing that IF helps you differentiate between physical hunger and psychological cravings however I am finding that whilst I have a sort of back-ground hunger which is pretty much constant, I don't have an impactive "You know what, I'm feeling hungry" thought.  Likewise, although I feel "I've just woken up and am still sleepy", I don't feel "Oh Ye God's I'm tired."

It is thought that the average person carries a sleep debt of about 20 hrs, which would explain the background tiredness that I feel.  It may be that by regulating my sleeping and eating patterns, I may be able to recoup this debt.  For the next two months, I will try to be in bed at the right time, if not half hour earlier when possible.  This should help me recoup 15 hours and limit the fatigue caused by any instance where I am late off work and can't get to bed on time.

Six and half.

It was pretty much 12:00 when I managed to drag myself out of bed.  Six and a half hours sleep is not good but it's one of those things really.  So, I got up two hours later than I would have hoped for and I need to swing my body-clock around so that I don't spend all my rest-day in bed and have my clock ready for 05:30 starts Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  The only real impact IF will have on my family is that with my shifts the way they are, there are very few times that I will be having an evening meal with them but then even without IF, there are very few times that I get to have meals with them anyway.  Weight is down to 207lbs.  Still a considerable distance from my goal of 175lbs but it is coming down slowly.  I'm still using http://www.myfitnesspal.com to record my daily intake of food.  Because I had a busy shift yesterday, I fell quite short of the desirable amount of food to eat.  I eat just under 1000 calories which is kinda frowned upon but I don't think will adversely affect me if it is done only occasionally and I can make up for it the following day.

So, Yesterday, I had less than optimum amounts of food and I do not feel excessively hungry and I had less than optimum amounts of sleep yet I do not feel excessively tired (Although another cup of coffee wouldn't go amiss).  In myself, I feel good.  I feel much better than I normally do.

Friday's fasting starts at 13:00 so whether I start today's fasting at 16:00 as planned or 18:00 to give me extra time today, my window for eating is quite small on Friday so I could do with planning Friday's lunch so that I get the calories I need within a short period.

Oh Ye Gods, That could have gone better.

I've just finished a 14hr shift that should have been 10hrs!  It's 05:30 and I was tired at 01:30.  I've not felt excessively tired although I am feeling peckish now.  I'm going to bed now and will do a fuller update when I awake.

IF Initial results.

208lbs this morning.  Still feel really good (apart from my annoying cough and shortness of breath)  Slept quite well last night so it could be that my body-clock is getting under control.  I think that daily IF is achievable and will help me reach my goals.  Once I have got a consistent pattern to my daily routine, I will then have to look at what extra exercise I can do but my weight and body-clock are my two main goals at this time.  Work are talking about returning our shift patterns to normal which will be gratefully embraced, making the IF and body-clock setting a little easier.

Daily intermitant fasting?

I've just got in from work and whilst it was not my original plan to fast each day, I might see how far I can do it.  It is simply a case of fasting for the eight hours before bed and of course, I won't be eating whilst I'm asleep.  The theory is that this will reduce my overall calorific intake and if it sorts out my body-clock at the same time, well, that can't be a bad thing.  I'm resisting the urge to eat the chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen that keep calling me and I'm also resisting the urge to read my emails too. I can sort both of them out in the morning.  There is not a whole lot more to add other than I am quite tired now which would indicate that maybe yesterday's fasting has set my morning to 10am.  I can see the fasting being problematic when we want to eat out with friends but it doesn't have to be a hard and fast rule (no pun intended).  We will see over the next month how impactive it is to my life-style and see how that weighs up to the impact on my weight and bodyclock.  There are mixed views on the internet with some saying that it is unhealthy to do long-term and others saying that it is a way of life for them.  Preliminary results from studies show good health benefits but that may be more to do with reduced bodyweight than the actual act of fasting itself.  If I fast tomorrow (technically today, wednesday) it will leave me with a quite narrow window for food consumption on Thursday and an even narrower window on Friday as I prepare my body-clock for early shifts on Saturday.

Resetting My Body-Clock

Everything went pretty much to plan yesterday.  I finished eating at 18:00.  I didn't get to sleep until about 3am, an hour later than I was hoping to because I got tied up replying to an email.  I think tonight I will have to force myself not to read my emails before bed.  I did somewhat gorge myself before 18:00 which was difficult considering that I was working and trying to snack at the same time.  It may be worth me simply eating to a normal routine and stopping that routine during the fasting period.

So I got up at 10:30 although I was awoken by the postman with parcels at 09:30.  I went back to bed for an extra half hour but woke up an hour later, whoops.  So, in theory, my morning should now be reset to 10:30 and we shall see how well that has worked over the next couple of days.  I then have a couple of rest-days followed by four early shifts which I will be looking to set my morning to about 05:30.  In reality, it is the night-shifts that I want to be most successful.  At present I sleep for about 4 hours when I get in from work and my body just wakes up so I get up and do stuff but by 15:00 I'm tired again and go back to sleep for another 4 hours.  If I can set my morning to be 8 hours after I go to sleep, it may help me to sleep through.  We will have to see. 

It Starts.

So, I currently weigh 209lbs.  My eating window for today is between 13:00 and 18:00 which theoretically, if all goes to plan means I finish work at 01:00, get myself to bed at 02:00 and have my alarm set for 10:00 which is when I can start eating again.  This gives me the 16 hours fasting between 18:00 and 10:00 which, if the science is correct, should reset my body-clock's morning to 10:00.

I'll be looking to try this prior to any significant change to the time I want set as my morning.  I have marked out two months worth of fasting times but I'm hoping to see some effect either for better or worse within the first month.

So far, it is 11:00 and I don't feel remarkably hungry considering that I haven't eaten for 14 hours so far.  It should not be any big deal to hold out the next two hours.

Oh Ye Gods, Has it really been that long?

Luckily, I don't think anyone actually reads this apart from me.  So, November last year, work changed my shift patterns and it has royally screwed my body clock.  The other day, I read an article that shows that you can reset your body clock by fasting so I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a go.  The other benefits of intermittent fasting include things like reduced chances of diabetes so that can only be a good thing.  Some have argued that there are health risks involved so I thought it would be prudent to keep a record of how I get on.  I will weigh myself in the morning and see if fasting does have an impact on my weight.  I know that I am about 2 and a half stone overweight.  I will see how I feel overall.  I have had a cough for just over two weeks now which is very unusual for me as I don't feel unwell and unlike other coughs I have had, it does not get worse at night, just comes out of the blue.  I am feeling short of breath but this would be expected if I have a chest infection of similar.  I shall do another update tomorrow morning with my current weight and I will have to see if I can update via text.