To the Non-Exerciser

Today was the first full day off my fast. I lost 10lbs in a week. I’m hoping I can do the same this week. The key is not to binge after coming off your fast, which can be hard to do but it is worth it. That’s the key. I have a few things I say to myself when I’m really hungry and think I may be tempted to eat. My most effective one is “Sacrifice what you want right now for the thing you really want most.” You have to learn to look at the big picture. Eating now will not help you be thin in the long run. If you eat now, you’ll only have to eat again later. Starve now, lose weight. Which sounds more worth it? Today I ate a bowl of cheerios in soy milk, two glasses of apple juice, and ate a couple unseasoned rice cakes. That’s about 400 calories. Then I worked out for 2hrs straight and burned 1000 calories.  Basically today was a –600 calorie day. This is a great way to keep your metabolism up. Your body will have to spare more muscle in the long run, but your metabolism stays up for times like when you fast. I always exercise really hard on days when I eat more that 200 cals because A. I feel guilty and feel I have binged even though I haven’t. B. I am terrified of gaining weight. Anyway, I realize some people hate exercise, hell there are days when even I don’t feel like it, so I decided to put together some suggestions for the non-exerciser. (This is quickly turning into an ana-fitness blog)

Immersive Gaming

Non-exerciser, I’d like you to meet DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). The hit arcade game has actually developed into a series and the games have  features such as Workout Mode. In workout mode you can actually keep track of how many calories you burn and in DDR Super Nova 1 and 2, you can actually set goals for how many calories you want to burn. You don’t even have to go to the mall or arcade to play as it is available for most home systems including PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and the Wii. This is a great aerobic alternative if you don’t like the gym. Then there’s the Wii. Studies have shown that use of the Wii can improve fitness levels and the system is actually being implemented in the Phys. Ed programs in some schools because of it’s ability to get children more interested in physical activity. Wii sports offers a number of different sport simulations for the play including boxing, tennis and baseball. Studies conducted report that depending on the effort the player exerts while playing, the simulation can actually have the same benefit as the real thing. For instance, boxing burns around 500cals/hr. When the player maximizes the effort in their motions, they can burn the same amount only from the comfort of their home! The only downside to this one is that the game doesn’t track calories burned like DDR.

What if you don’t own a gaming console? Maybe buying one isn’t even an option. These ones are for you!

The “Air Gym”

The cheapest gym membership ever belong to the Air Gym, similar to the Air Guitar it has many benefits besides being cheap. You don’t need a treadmill to go walking or jogging obviously. I actually have a 45min loop that I do. Put together an good music playlist for your MP3 player (maybe of your favorite thinspo songs), put on a pair of comfortable shoes and go. The first week you might go around once, the second week you might go around twice. It’s up to you. Maybe you walk  and then gradually work up to jogging until eventually you can jog the whole way. Even speed walking can have a great benefit! Just don’t push yourself too hard or you’ll hate it and probably won’t be able to motivate yourself enough to do it again.

Push-ups never hurt anyone. When you do a push-up, you’re actually lifting 70% of you’re own body weight. Say you weigh 97lbs, you’re still pressing 68lbs! Maybe you “hate” push-ups. Do wall push-ups instead. Do a push-up against the wall with your body at an angle so there is a little bit of resistance. You don’t get as great an effect but it’s an awesome alternative to start with if you have no upper body strength. In the same category are crunches, sit-ups etc. All can be done in the privacy of your home and are free. Make sure you have a set number of reps to do. Even if it’s only 5 to start, you can always work up to more. I think it is far better to start off small and realize you could do better, than to aim too high and feel like a failure.  I found an awesome article on a bodyweight exercise routine. If you hate exercising in public or hate the gym for other reasons, this is a must read. http://strengthtraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/bodyweight_exercises_to_do_at_home

(Note: Unlike a lot of pro-ana sites, I encourage muscle maintenance. Some people in the pro-ana community think that muscle will keep you from looking your thinnest. I’m not talking about bulking up here, you want to maintain muscle because it’s muscle that burns fat. When you lose your muscle, you go into starvation mode and you won’t lose anymore weight and you actually increase your chances of death. Just something to think about. )

So that’s all for now. As always, I hope this was helpful.

Up Next: The BMR and You

Love,

Zoe

Fasting: What I know, do’s and don’ts

I thought since I was on a fast I might as well write about it! I’ve always been a firm believer that when it comes to your health, do your research before you try anything. The same is even more true for something like fasting. I really want to share that info not only so that people can be safer, but also more effective fasters. Knowing the why and how is just as important as the what so I’m going to start off with the science behind fasting. It’s important to know how your body works to avoid doing serious damage so please, bear with me.

Most people have been mislead to believe that things like dieting and fasting can ruin your metabolism and that your body will start eating itself almost as soon as it realizes it’s hungry. WRONG! If that were true, we’d lose muscle all the time from silly things like forgetting breakfast. The body is not as fragile as we think and with a little knowledge, there is almost nothing it can’t handle within reason. The ideal length for fast is 1 – 3 days during which time you can expect to lose about 1lb per day, maybe more.

During the first 12 – 15 hours, your liver will supply glucose to the body through a process called glycogenolysis. Glucose is like a special little battery pack your body uses for an extra boost before it resorts to burning fat stores. After all the glucose is used up, your body uses a process called gluconeo-genesis to produce the energy needed. Gluconeo-genesis works by converting some of the amino acids in the body to energy, followed by an increase in nitrogen excretion in the urine. This is when lipolysis, or the breakdown of fat tissue, begins. As time goes on, your body will rely more on fat stores and less on amino acids. Light-headedness, dizziness, and slight fatigue may occur at this time.

Eventually your body starts running on a substance known as ketones, which are detectable in a urine exam. Glucose will be very limited. Muscle protein will also be catabolized, as your body has mostly been running on fat tissue for fuel. Should you continue your fast more than several days, you will see a drop in your metabolism of 10-20%, and weight loss will slow to about 3/4 of a pound. 20% of the weight lost will now be muscle. Losing muscle can lower your BMR, which is not conducive to weight loss. Plus, if you gain the weight back your body composition will be altered and you’ll look fatter than you did before! To explain, essentially you got rid of 10lbs of muscle and replaced it with 10lbs of fat. This is why I recommend only 1 –3 day fasts. You may find sometimes that the feelings of hunger disappear after 2-3 days. This does not mean you have somehow overcome the need for food and should fast forever! This is simply your body’s way of protecting you from insanity!

Zoe’s Fasting Tips

Avoid exercise! This may seem like a foolish recommendation but it’s not. During physical exertion your body will look for the best source of energy. If your body thinks it’s starving which do you think it will pick, fat or muscle? If you picked muscle, you’re right. Protein offers more energy than fat so if you’re going to fast, step off the treadmill for a bit.

Don’t eat a big meal the night before you fast. Your body will hold on to these calories longer. Also, you will not be having regular bowl movements so you do not want a lot of waste sitting in the colon. This can cause inflammation and bacterial infections.

Drink lots of water. Hydration will help detoxify your body while you fast and will also help prevent the breakdown of vital tissues.

Take antacids to neutralize stomach acids. Sometimes the body will respond to starvation by releasing stomach acids and you could get some serious heart burn or acid reflux. Tums or Rolaids are your friends, plus they have extra calcium!

That’s it! I hope this was helpful and informative. Good luck and happy fasting!

p.s. feel free to email me with questions.

Love,

Zoe