ImpersonalTraining - Sharing is caring

I am 10 days into a scheduled 14 day fast. I thought I would share some thoughts and experiences here not because I am an expert...more so because I am not. Before I started my fast I trawled the interwebs for information. I watched podcasts, read scientific papers, read articles and of course watched clips on youtube. I actually found this forum mid fast really or just a few days in..I can't remember exactly but am here now because it is a great resource and the best part about finding this forum (I was just thinking everyone will already know I am old because I used the term forum :) ) was and is learning from the successes and failures of others so for me I just want to give something back rather than just being a leech of info. I won't bore people with the specifics of my fasting protocol (unless people really care) and instead speak to it generally. 1. I am not going to call it a 'water fast' because one of the things that sort of rubs me the wrong way her e is how puritanical some can be over the definition of those two words in that someone says they're doing a water fast and then mentions drinking tea or coffee or diet coke or whatever and then people will start saying 'that's not a water fast' or whatever....so, I am not doing a water fast :) 2. What I am doing is as follows: Getting up and having some coffee with cream and a little milk. Probably 2 cups between waking and 9am. Drinking water (mainly soda water as that is my preferred way to consume water) with some pink sea salt added to it...probably a tsp and a bit to every 600mls. I am really just drinking when I am thirsty or think I need to. I am taking a multivitamin in the morning and a magnesium supplement in the evening. At the end of 7 days of fasting in had 200ml of chicken bone broth (highish in potassium) and had 200ml on day 8. That's pretty much it so far. I have been super conscious of staying 'checked in' with myself and making sure I was mindful of any cognitive or musculoskeletal changes. So far so good. I have had periods where I felt a little 'odd' but I think that is just par for the course as my body goes from regularly processing food and alcohol at all hours of the day to doing whatever you want to label the fast I am doing...now I know that some people are going to say that the cream and splash of milk in my coffee break my fast (and I say that as I have seen those comments here before) and I am fine with that...if people want to say that I am doing 14x1 day fasts back to back then I am all good with that. You can say that I have been doing it under medical supervision (my partner is a doctor) and she is happy with my progress and the process. I really didn't go into it thinking I would make 14 days...I went into it thinking I would do it day by day and see how I felt and what I found each day before progressing. I think one of the things that 'hurts' people here in some cases is that they become fixated on a length of time rather than a result. Personally, I am fasting for the following reasons in no order of importance...to improve my health, to decrease my body fat and as a reset to and for improved lifestyle, nutrition, health and fitness going forward (well ok, they are kind of in order of importance). I don't see how fixating on 21 days and doing damage to yourself in the process, being miserable and crashing helps with any of those. I say that because it is one of the most important lessons I've learned in cruising through the posts in this forum. My experience to date is a starting weight of 121.2kg at 9.10am on the 28th of September and a weight this morning of 111.2kg as of 8.18am...which is super convenient as I only have to do a single calculation for my American friends and that is that I am down 10kgs or 22lbs to date. My fast will end if I have a choice in it and continue to feel as well as I do now on Thursday around midday when I am going to have some beef bone broth (because that's what I have) and then I am going to have about an hour of so later half an avocado, an egg and some sauerkraut and then the same again a a few hours after that...and then I am going to see what happens. The next day my plan is to have some chicken congee around mid day along with some more avocado, egg and pickled veg a bit later and that evening I am going out for dinner and I am going to have 200g of steak and some veg and a beer with my partner and friends. Now, just to be clear...I am doing this for ME...and I am not saying this is what YOU should do. I don't care if you like it or not. I don't care if anyone thinks it is optimal or terrible. I have done my reading and research at at the moment it is what I am planning to do...it might not eventuate, it may be a disaster or it might just be a perfect transition in to my ongoing TRE program/regime to consolidate and continue my ongoing health improvement and fat loss. Oh and when I said perfect for me...the me is a former professional athlete that finished competing and training when I was 4o and how is now 50 and who is 186cm/6'1 and who when competing used to weigh 100-103kg or around 220lbs and who 10 years later has lost muscle mass )not sure exactly how much) and gained fat to replace however many kgs of muscle mass I've lost and then some to weigh in a 120kgs (I've fluctuated between 115 and 125 over the last decade) and have done no real structured training although I am not completely sedentary. In short I stopped competing and when I did some I stopped training, let go of any and all dietary discipline and just let what would be...be. So, I am happy to chat and answer questions or not...I will still post my updates and keep it all contained in this single thread and I will do so if for no other reason than to help out the one person who stumbles across it :)