Move Aware.

I’m hungry.

After reading about Eat Stop Eat on Stronglifts.com, I decided to try Intermittent Fasting over the summer, starting today. Twice a week I’ll go a full 24 hours without eating. The following things are supposed to happen as a result:

• increase in growth hormone
• 25% (actually 2/7 = 28%) drop in calories and money spent on food
• increased metabolism
• increased lifespan due to caloric restriction
• loss of 1-2 lbs of fat per week
• maintenance of muscle tissue due to regular strength training

I’ve been afraid to be hungry in the past, fearing the “starvation response.” I thought every time I was hungry it meant my body was breaking down muscle tissue. According to Eat Stop Eat, which references several studies — admittedly none of which I have yet verified — this is not true. I’ll find out for myself over the next few weeks as I continue to monitor my weight and body fat percentage.

My current fast began at 6:00 PM today. I’m 3 hours in, and I’m hungry. Fortunately, a lot of this fast will take place while I’m sleeping tonight, but I expect tomorrow to be tough. I’ll also be getting up early and rowing tomorrow morning while fasting, so that could be interesting. On the plus side, I won’t have to take a lunch break tomorrow, spend money on lunch, or worry about what I’m going to eat for breakfast or lunch.

I get to eat again at 6:00 PM tomorrow — and it needs to be a normal dinner, not an overcompensation for being famished. They say the first fast is the hardest. I’m excited about the promise of this method of caloric restriction, and if it works, it may just become my normal mode of operation.