[V.Narayan]

Graaja, Thank you for sharing your journey. Very interesting and your essay is lucidly written. I am motivated to try IF. Now into my second career it is physically possible for me to do with less travel and flexi-hours.

Couple of questions:

Do I understand correct that you do the 16:8 IF routine 5 days a week all through the month or year? Or do you do it once a week. I believe, from your essay that it is the former.

I think I can get start from 14:10 and in 2 weeks graduate to 15:9 and then 16:8.

My weight has been steady since around 1997 but no yoga, walking, swimming or moderate dieting gets it down! Your explanations around IF clicks.

Originally Posted by graaja

Intermittent Fasting 101

Intermittent fasting is not a diet, but an eating pattern. It tells you when to eat and when not to. Two major benefits of intermittent fasting are autophagy and weight loss.

In the presence of insulin, body does not burn fat. But burning fat is the key to weight loss. To make the body burn fat, we need to achieve zero insulin levels for extended periods of time. Low carb diets like Paleo, Keto and Atkinsons achieve this by limiting carbs which in turn reduces blood glucose levels which in turn keeps insulin levels very low, thus enabling the body to burn the stored fat for fuel. Workouts can achieve this by burning glucose for energy and bringing down insulin levels.

Intermittent fasting achieves this by extending the fasting period (when you do not eat any food).

[AMG Power]

Thanks for sharing graaja.

Good to hear a first hand experience with many learnings. You've made it fairly simple for some folks like us who don't have much of an idea and there being an overload of information it's difficult to ascertain what is useful and what isn't.

A quick question - how much does understanding one's DNA make up help in this regard - in terms of food intake / time to be devoted for exercising (some folks put on weight easily and probably need to devote more time to lose that whereas some don't) / extent of stress the body can handle ?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

...This thread will serve as an inspiration to so many people, self included.

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Originally Posted by Cessna182

One of the best explanations about weight loss, intermittent fasting and workouts I have ever read. Thank you for sharing.
...
While my weight is under control, I also feel fresher and more active after undertaking these small changes.

Thank you for your kind words! It is great to know someone who is following the OMAD as a lifestyle. It is one of the best ways to live a healthy life.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Wonderful sir, you look like a totally new person. "Aazhe adayalam therila!" Like they say, patience is a virtue that needs to be mastered and you've done just that.

Thank you so much for your kind words

Originally Posted by TROOPER

From The Weight Loss thread to this, inspiring as always
...
Your IF advice of 16:8 coupled with a workout at the 12-13 hr mark does work wonders. I have tried it. Works well with walking, but not that easy with cycling. A bit of carb loading at night really improves my cycling performance, compared to cycling in IF. Currently I just eat a spoonful of sabzi at night and that's it. Has helped me shed the last couple of kilos.

Thank you for your kind words and I am very glad to know that you do your workouts in the fasted state. If you are doing workouts that involve high intensities for extended durations, then yes, you will need some glycogen to power these workouts and a little carb loading will help in repleshing the glycogen stores. You just need to find that sweet spot that fuels your workouts, but does not end up in your waistline.

I still have that last layer of loose fat around the midscetion that I am trying to lose. Right now, I am practicing more calisthenics type of workouts which involve quite high intensities for more than an hour. A pure keto does not work with this. So, I have been experimenting with 5 days of Keto with 2 days of carb refeed in the weekends. With this approach, I am able to manage the first three days of the week with the intensities, but on the 4th and 5th days, performance degrades. Still working on this. Some times interesting, some times frustrating!

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Graaja, congratulations on your personal achievement, yours is truly a very motivational story...

I have one question, are there any precautions or things to be kept in mind before beginning with IF ? Does one need to consult a Dietician / Doctor to check if one can begin with the fasting process? Just to make sure that there are no hidden dangers to my body, and in case of any emergencies, what needs to be done. Any medical checkups that one should do before / during this process? Are there any other vital parameters that are monitored except may be weight, BP etc.?

Thank you for your kind words!

Shorter fasts like 16:8, 20:4 or even OMAD are quite safe. Care need to be taken only for longer fasts like 48 hours, 72 hours or more where you will have to take care of electrolyte balance in the body by consuming micronutrients like sodium, magnesium etc.

In fact, 20:4 or OMAD are the states for which our body has been programmed over a million years. The symptoms we see when starting fasting (like mood swings, head aches etc), are the body's way of protesting your new way of life. If you start with shorter fasts like 14 hours and gradually increase to 16 hours, there is absolutely no need to worry of any negative effects.

Even for diabetics who are on medication, all they need to do is not to take medication during the fasting hours and take medication during the eating window. And they will need to get their hbA1C levels tested (which will gradually go down) and have their medication adjusted downward by their doctors.

And IF works wonders on many health parameters like blood pressure, resting heart rate etc.

When you undertake a very strict diet like Keto, then yes, this will require many precautions to be taken (will write about this in a later post). Fasting is a natural state of our body and anyone (except underweight, pregnant ladies and kids) can undertake this lifestyle.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

That is a really dedicated transformation! Congratulations! If someone had shown the two pics to me i would have said no way are they the same person!

Thank you for the kind words!

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Graaja, Thank you for sharing your journey. Very interesting and your essay is lucidly written. I am motivated to try IF...

Couple of questions:

Do I understand correct that you do the 16:8 IF routine 5 days a week all through the month or year? Or do you do it once a week. I believe, from your essay that it is the former.

I think I can get start from 14:10 and in 2 weeks graduate to 15:9 and then 16:8.

My weight has been steady since around 1997 but no yoga, walking, swimming or moderate dieting gets it down! Your explanations around IF clicks.

Thank you for the kind words Narayan Sir! I am so glad that you plan to try IF.

I do 16:8 all through the year. That is my default lifestyle. I do less than 16 hours maybe once or twice a month. A couple of days in a week on my rest and recovery days, I increase this to 18 hours or 20 hours or sometimes OMAD.

Yes. You can start with a 14:10 fast, increase it to 15:9 after two weeks and then 16:8 after another two weeks. Once you get used to 16:8, you can do occasional longer fasts to get the benefits of autophagy.

[ast.ggn]

Excellent transformation Graaja and good to see someone putting in effort to change things rather giving it up after a few days. You have given me motivation to get back to things very soon.

Originally Posted by graaja

of Keto with 2 days of carb refeed in the weekends. With this approach, I am able to manage the first three days of the week with the intensities, but on the 4th and 5th days, performance degrades.

Try carb refeed after 10 -14 days and limit it to 1-2 meals maximum. 2 days of refeed is too much and will full your body glycogen stores to a level that will not be able to empty them out in next 3 days, basically keto will be ineffective. Brain/ Body needs either glycogen or ketones to function, that is the reason your performance is degrading on 4th and 5th day - it is a state of neither here nor there. All the best.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Good to hear a first hand experience with many learnings. You've made it fairly simple for some folks like us who don't have much of an idea and there being an overload of information it's difficult to ascertain what is useful and what isn't.

A quick question - how much does understanding one's DNA make up help in this regard - in terms of food intake / time to be devoted for exercising (some folks put on weight easily and probably need to devote more time to lose that whereas some don't) / extent of stress the body can handle ?

This is a very good question.

One of the important advantages of IF and low carb life style is that it works for almost everyone if the goal is general health and fitness. From my own experience with my friends who have taken up this lifestyle in the past year, I haven't seen anyone failing yet. Everyone who have taken up this lifestyle has lost significant weight, have improved their health markers, and are maintaining their weight.

When you have slightly higher fitness goals, I think the amount of insulin resistance one has developed matters more than genes. For example, I want to get a totally flat tummy (a six pack would be a bonus). But this is where my insulin resistance is probably playing havoc. Someone in their late 20's or early 30's may have already developed a six pack with the same diet and workout pattern that I am following now. But I am getting nowhere in getting rid of that layer of fat even though I am building significant lean muscle mass and strength. As I started my fitness journey almost when I hit 40, I should have developed lots of insulin resistance. This is going to take lot of time to reverse.

Genes probably start playing a role only when you have very high fitness goals - like having an 8 pack, or running a sub 3 hour marathon or finishing a full ironman under 10 hours etc. Having said that, I could be wrong here. Genes could be at play in my struggle to lose that last layer of fat as well.

Genes also play a role if someone has rare conditions like Type-1 diabetes or higher risk to cancer, Parkinsons, Alzheimers etc. Even in these rare conditions, I have seen lots of positive research in using fasting and keto to slow down these conditions.

Though I do not have a conclusive answer to your question, hope this gives you a general idea

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Excellent transformation Graaja and good to see someone putting in effort to change things rather giving it up after a few days.

Try carb refeed after 10 -14 days and limit it to 1-2 meals maximum. 2 days of refeed is too much and will full your body glycogen stores to a level that will not be able to empty them out in next 3 days, basically keto will be ineffective. Brain/ Body needs either glycogen or ketones to function, that is the reason your performance is degrading on 4th and 5th day - it is a state of neither here nor there. All the best.

Thank you so much for your kind words

Actually, I am not targeting being in Ketosis these days. For being in Ketosis, 2 days of refeed is too much. It takes 3 to 4 days to get into ketosis. So 2 days of carb refeed every week does not work for ketosis. I should probably call this just a low carb way of eating and replenishing the glycogen stores once a week for the upcoming week. This again is just an experiment that I am doing these days.

I am in sort of a dilema now. To get rid of that last layer of fat, I need to get into a strict low carb diet (or even keto). And endurance workouts like cycling and running have gone well with low carb diet for me. Three more months of low carb with endurance workouts should get rid of that fat. However, I have made lots of improvements in lean muscle mass and in body weight movements like pull ups, plyometric pushups etc., I don't want to lose these gains by going back to endurance training. This is why I am experimenting on schedules like this where I am trying to get the advantage of low carb diet to burn fat and at the same time have enough glycogen to fuel my high intensity workouts.

In Phase-5 where I did 4 months of strict Keto, I was only doing moderate intensity strength training and mostly endurance workouts. A couple of months back, I tried doing another round of strict keto for a month with my current workout schedule, and I just could not get to those intensities.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by graaja

Fat to Fit - A Journal of My Fitness Journey

The purpose of this thread is to share the story of my journey so far, the concepts I learnt on the way and also as a journal to record my future fitness goals and milestones.

Graaja, thank you very much for taking time and efforts to document your fitness journey so well. This is an inspirational story for sure, and would help so many people.

I have been fortunate enough to not only know Graaja personally and be friends with him, but also be mentored by him on fitness and health. I am privileged that since last year, I have been being guided by him on my own healthy lifestyle journey. I am indebted to him forever for this.

Let me take this opportunity to share here my experiences with Graaja as the fitness coach. His own fitness journey is so well documented here, but what many would not know is that he has also been selflessly and tirelessly helping so many of us through our own fitness journeys. He has transformed the lives of many us. We lovingly and respectfully call him "The coach".

Although I know Graaja for a few years now, it was in November 2019, almost exactly a year ago, that I met Graaja "The Coach", and started my fitness journey under his guidance. He scientifically explained to me the ideas and logic behind topics such as IF, workouts and metabolism, insulin resistance etc. One of the best things of The Coach is that he explains things in a very practical manner, and gives directly useful tips. His specialty is that he practices what he preaches, and he motivates us through his own example. There can be no better teaching method than this.

Throughout last year, since November 2019, I have been consulting him almost daily about my own diet, fitness and various challenges I faced in my own journey. Every single time he gave me the exact information I was looking for, precise guidance, and directly actionable tips!

He opened my eyes and helped me become conscious about my health and lifestyle. He changed my lifestyle for the better. He helped me drop several bad habits and learn new good habits.

I am happy to report that through the year, I not only reduced my weight from 82kg to 66kg, but in general became a healthier and happier person.

Below is my own weight chart over one year, from November 2019 when I met The Coach and when I weighed 82kg, to November 2020, when I weigh 66kg. All this purely by following his methods and his guidance.

My own weight loss journey under Graaja's guidance!

Thank you very much Coach for changing my life for the better!

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by graaja

I do 16:8 all through the year. That is my default lifestyle. I do less than 16 hours maybe once or twice a month. A couple of days in a week on my rest and recovery days, I increase this to 18 hours or 20 hours or sometimes OMAD.

Yes. You can start with a 14:10 fast, increase it to 15:9 after two weeks and then 16:8 after another two weeks. Once you get used to 16:8, you can do occasional longer fasts to get the benefits of autophagy.

Thank you Graaja. Sounds good. Starting on Sunday. Told my wife my skin will be glowing soon and other 60-year old women will be making wolf whistles at me

[Chetan_Rao]

That picture of you with your daughter, perfectly encapsulates your journey in context.

What better motivation than one's beloved to get started, and to keep going.

You're setting a fantastic example for a lot of people. Kudos!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Graaja, thank you very much for taking time and efforts to document your fitness journey so well. This is an inspirational story for sure, and would help so many people.
,,,
I am happy to report that through the year, I not only reduced my weight from 82kg to 66kg, but in general became a healthier and happier person.

Thank you so much for your kind words AD

It has been my pleasure and honor to be a part of your health and fitness journey. Hats off to your dedication in changing over to a healthier lifestyle. Thank you for sharing your transformation with everyone. This will be an inspiration to many. Keep inspiring.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Thank you Graaja. Sounds good. Starting on Sunday. Told my wife my skin will be glowing soon and other 60-year old women will be making wolf whistles at me

Fantastic Sir.

And I give you my guarantee for the day when your skin will be glowing and 60 year women will be making wolf whistles at you

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

That picture of you with your daughter, perfectly encapsulates your journey in context. What better motivation than one's beloved to get started, and to keep going.

Thank you so much for the kind words, Chetan!

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by graaja

I should probably call this just a low carb way of eating and replenishing the glycogen stores once a week for the upcoming week.

This makes sense then.

Btw, it is also called carb cycling and there are many ways to go about it just like several versions of IF. Do read about it if you are interested, lot of data is available and people have achieved great results with it.

[mvadg]

Amazing! I skimmed your post and looked at the pics, I saw you and your personal trainer and scrolled through the entire thread looking for the "after" pic until I realized that the "trainer" is you! You don't even look remotely like your old self!

Very informative, you've inspired me to take this up. Thank you. I will be badgering you with questions if there is something I don't understand.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Btw, it is also called carb cycling and there are many ways to go about it just like several versions of IF. Do read about it if you are interested, lot of data is available and people have achieved great results with it.

Thanks a lot. Yes. I will definitely look into the carb recycling concept and the ways to implement, and try these. I am sure this should be the answer I am looking for

Originally Posted by mvadg

Amazing! I skimmed your post and looked at the pics, I saw you and your personal trainer and scrolled through the entire thread looking for the "after" pic until I realized that the "trainer" is you! You don't even look remotely like your old self!

Very informative, you've inspired me to take this up. Thank you. I will be badgering you with questions if there is something I don't understand.

Ha ha. Thank you for your kind words. Please do take up IF and feel free to ask any questions. I would be glad to answer any of your questions.

[anandpadhye]

Super transformation Ganesh

Good detailed information this.

There is a saying in the runner's world: "however fast you run, you can't outrun a bad diet"

I am vegetarian, I dont eat eggs also. How about you?
I started running in 2011 and almost everyone told me I need to eat eggs, meat or take protein powder else I will become thin, lose muscles. Whats your opinion on this?

I am not sure what is happening inside me, but I am much fitter, faster and stronger now in 2020 than I was in 2010!

And very important - I feel very happy after the run/ride. I thought I would miss the long road trips due to the lockdown but honestly I didnt. Running and cycling has kept me calm and happy! Whats your experience on this front?

After things open, I am thinking of improving my swimming so that I can try a "tri" - inspired by you. I can save myself from drawning in a pool but need to get rid of the fear of open water.

Cheers!

[rdst_1]

I have lost and gained 10-15kgs a lot of times during the last decade.Have tried everything from Keto to IF and OMAD, but always end up defaulting in 2-3 months and gaining back even more every time so I am now quite morbidly obese. I am 33 now and I feel it is now or never, but seeing your journey, and especially that you started after 40 has helped me with some motivation. Hope so that I can make it last longer this time around and permanently lose some weight. Motivation to one day have similar 'Before and After' pics is great to have, so thanks for taking the time to pen this thread.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Super transformation Ganesh
...
I started running in 2011 and almost everyone told me I need to eat eggs, meat or take protein powder else I will become thin, lose muscles. Whats your opinion on this?
...
After things open, I am thinking of improving my swimming so that I can try a "tri" - inspired by you. I can save myself from drawning in a pool but need to get rid of the fear of open water.

Thank you so much for the kind words Anand! Wishing you all the best to get into Triathlon. You will love it!

If you are already fit and are with a good lean muscle mass, then I don't think you are going to lose muscle mass per se. For people who are overweight with very low lean muscle mass (like me) and who lose weight, it is very important to create lean muscle mass while losing weight. When overweight people become thin, many believe that they are losing muscle mass. But the truth is they did not lose any lean muscle, but they did not have any in the beginning. So, strength training is a very important part of the weight loss journey and protein is important.

Even if you are only running or cycling, you are stressing the muscles and creating micro tears in the tissues and body needs protein to repair these torn muscles and make them strong. This is where protein is important in the diet. However, even for vegetarians, you can still manage to get the desired amount of proteins from sources like paneer, cheese, pulses and lentils like channa, moong etc. For running and cycling, I think if you have enough portions of these vegetarian protein sources, it should be fine. If you are into strength training, then you will need more protein and may need to supplement.

The general rule of thumb is to have 0.5g of protein per kilogram of lean body mass for a moderately active person. For running and cycling and moderate strength training, I would consider 0.75g to 1.5g per kilo of lean body mass depending on the intensity.

I used to completely ignore strength training during my Triathlon days. But of late I have realized that strength training is very important to build lean muscle mass and improve bone density which helps a lot when one gets old. Though I do only strength training these days as I am taking a break from Triathlon training, even when I get back to triathlon, I will be having strength training integrated into my triathlon training - at least three sessions a week. I would highly recommend you to incorporate strength training into your schedule. This will greatly improve your running and cycling performance as well.

And I am a pure non-vegetarian

Originally Posted by rdst_1

I have lost and gained 10-15kgs a lot of times during the last decade.Have tried everything from Keto to IF and OMAD, but always end up defaulting in 2-3 months and gaining back even more every time so I am now quite morbidly obese. I am 33 now and I feel it is now or never, but seeing your journey, and especially that you started after 40 has helped me with some motivation. Hope so that I can make it last longer this time around and permanently lose some weight. Motivation to one day have similar 'Before and After' pics is great to have, so thanks for taking the time to pen this thread.

"Health and Fitness is not a goal, but a life long journey"

This is the key. You need to first prepare your mind that our current diet and lifestyle is WRONG and going back to the lifestyle is only going to get you back to square one and even back. IF or low carb or OMAD are not diets that you do to achieve a short term weight loss goal. These are lifestyles that are meant to be followed for life to keep you healthy and fit. So, it is very important to choose one that you can sustain for a life time without giving up. If you cannot sustain OMAD, choose 16:8 and do occasional OMADs. If you are not able to sustain Keto, choose low or moderate carb and combine it with IF.

Don't be too tough on yourself. Include those cheat meals in your routine. Treat yourself with those occasional cakes or ice creams or pizzas. If you strayed off the course during those festivals and gained a couple of kilos, don't feel guilty and give up. Just get back into your routine. If you are on a train journey you do get off the train to get that samosa or vada pavs, right? But you always get back on the train and continue the journey. Consider life as such a journey.

Once you start this with this mindset, I am sure you will not fall back this time. Wishing you all the best!