The Miraculous Power of Fasting

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When I was in my 20s I would go 4-5 days with no food or water while training 8 + hours a day, working 6-8 hours a day and taking a double load of classes. Yeah, I'm paying the price now.
That seems like you have taken it to an extreme level, I'm not sure I could do that. What was the result?
 

Unkogami

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That seems like you have taken it to an extreme level, I'm not sure I could do that. What was the result?
NCAA Div.1 New England wrestling champion at my weight class. Ranked 13th in the nation. Later, many kidney stones (a couple of which had to be surgically removed), unpredictably fluctuating metabolism, and possibly type II diabetes.
 

Dirty Dog

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NCAA Div.1 New England wrestling champion at my weight class. Ranked 13th in the nation. Later, many kidney stones (a couple of which had to be surgically removed), unpredictably fluctuating metabolism, and possibly type II diabetes.
Imagine how good you could have been if you had been healthy.
 

Unkogami

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Imagine how good you could have been if you had been healthy.
I was as healthy as an Olympic athlete. As fast as a D1 track athlete, as strong as a powerlifter. If I had been one or two weight classes heavier I would not have achieved what I did. Was it worth the later consequences? Dunno. 19 year old me would have physically attacked me for even asking the question.
 

punisher73

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By definition, that's semantics.
I should have said, "just semantics".

The phrase "just semantics" is used most often as a shorthand way to insinuate someone has argued something trivial or unimportant. In this, case you are arguing the definition of the word "fast" and its meaning and trying to define it in your own way. You were dismissive to the actual definitions of the word. So, its not just semantics or trivial, it is the crux of the whole matter.

Which is interesting that you ignored the whole rest of the post and nitpicked on the fact that I left out "just" and didn't address all the facts supporting your opinion was incorrect on the definition of "fast".
 

Gerry Seymour

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I'm no doctor, just a dumb Hapkido teacher, but if you are eating a lot of carbs routinely like ice cream (and hey when you are young and full of piss and vinegar why not) then your blood chemistry is spiked constantly with insulin because your body is just trying to keep you alive. Your body gets adapted to that quick easy sugar as food and is happy to convert it to fat but seldom needs to convert the fat back into glucose for cellular function. Thus when you cut the sugar off you feel like crap because you aren't adapted to using fat for fuel.

Just so you know, during a fast you won't always feel very good. Autophagy in particular can give you headaches, nausea, and other not fun feelings. If your body encapsulated a toxin ten years ago (and it probably made you feel like crap then) and then autophagy opens that encapsulated toxin up again to get rid of it, you get to experience the toxin all over again.
During the day, I ate a pretty high-protein diet (it was high in other stuff, as well - just a crapton of food in a marginally good diet). The ice cream was an example of how many calories I was having to consume.

My point was that I doubt I could have gotten to autophagy back then. I couldn't go without food long enough.
 
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NCAA Div.1 New England wrestling champion at my weight class. Ranked 13th in the nation. Later, many kidney stones (a couple of which had to be surgically removed), unpredictably fluctuating metabolism, and possibly type II diabetes.
One of my younger students is in high school wrestling. He was a little dynamo, a powerhouse. Now he has given wrestling up for a number of health issues. I wonder if high school wrestling culture is to blame?
 
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During the day, I ate a pretty high-protein diet (it was high in other stuff, as well - just a crapton of food in a marginally good diet). The ice cream was an example of how many calories I was having to consume.

My point was that I doubt I could have gotten to autophagy back then. I couldn't go without food long enough.
More advanced fasters track their blood glucose levels and ketones, also muscle mass and body fat percentage. I haven't taken things that far. I'm more of a moderation type of fellow.
 

Gerry Seymour

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More advanced fasters track their blood glucose levels and ketones, also muscle mass and body fat percentage. I haven't taken things that far. I'm more of a moderation type of fellow.
For me, if I'd tracked my glucose levels (never mind the fasting), I'd probably have done better. I suspect I was hypoglycemic at those times (a suspicion founded on a tiny bit of knowledge and no significant evidence).
 

Unkogami

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One of my younger students is in high school wrestling. He was a little dynamo, a powerhouse. Now he has given wrestling up for a number of health issues. I wonder if high school wrestling culture is to blame?
It's not for the faint of heart.
 

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Wrestler, judoka, and defensive tackle walk into a bar.

Judo guy orders a warm sake, neat. Football dude, a mezcal on the rocks. Wrestler orders a cranberry juice and tonic.

All three get their drinks and turn to watch the house band. A classy, mature looking woman slinks up to them and begins sizing them up.

"What do you do", she asks the judoka. "Me? Well I try to exert maximum force with minimal effort". She coos.

"How about you tall dark and handsome?" she questions the football player. "I crush the runner". Her eyes glow with desire.

"Well, young man?" she posits the wrestler. "I dominate lesser men". She takes a look at his beverage and says "but you don't drink?".

He turns to her with a straight face, "No, you dumbass, I'm fasting", rolls his eyes and walks out of the bar.

 

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