Experiments with the World’s Oldest Intermittent Fast

 It’s no secret that I’m the furthest thing away from being a male model. At the age of 49, I am officially overweight, though if I wanted to be more accurate, my BMI levels would put in the range of being “obese.”

It’s not that I am lazy. I walk more than 10,000 steps most of the time and around two to three nights a week, I’m usually pumping until my arms start quivering or I sprint. I am admittedly fond of the odd beer but by and large my main vice is local coffee (served with condensed milk). Since I discovered that my blood sugars were on the worrying side of things, I minimize my intake of white rice.

Yet, try as I might, I can’t seem to lose the fat around the neck and I still have a belly. So, as much it annoys the Neurotic Angel, the sad truth is that I look like an Obese Middle-Aged man. Though, admittedly I have improved from a decade ago when my own mother described me as a “Gross-Looking Obese Middle-Aged Man.”

So, given that I’m an Obese Middle-Aged man trying unsuccessfully to be a little less so, I thought I’d try something new to honour the season. It is, as my Muslim friends would remind me, the Holy Month of Ramadan and there is the obligatory tradition of fasting from sunrise to sundown:

https://www.tiktok.com/@tang.li0/video/7344933683918408968?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7274292816955999746

 

 My mum and a friend of mine told me that intermittent fasting is something worth trying and somehow, I never thought of doing. However, since I still look like an Obese Middle-Aged Man, I thought I would try to join in the world’s oldest and most popular intermittent fast.

OK, I’m not doing this for religious reasons so, I don’t have to follow the timing of my Muslim friends. I wake up around 7 plus and have a light breakfast which consist of a bowl of fruit, a bowl of oats and a boiled egg. I go through the work day without food and try to reach home at around 7. By 7.30, I engage in a work out, which consist of a series of Mike Tyson Push Ups (target 50, made up of sets until failure), bench dips (up till 60), various rows (eight sets until failure) and some other pulling exercises. On alternate nights, I walk about two kilometres and then go through around 4 rounds of 30 second sprints. Once I’m done, I head back for dinner, which consist of vegetable broth, a single bowl of rice and some meat or fish. Then around 10pm, I take stroll to a coffee shop for tea without milk and lime (though they do serve it with some sugar). Occasionally, I’ll try and have a snack of something that gives me protein.

https://www.tiktok.com/@tang.li0/video/7350306543360806146?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7274292816955999746

 

 Again, I stress that I am not doing this for religious reasons. So, whilst I do abstain from food, I do take water most of the time and I do go for tea with no milk but lime. I’m usually pretty good Monday to Thursday. The last two Fridays ended up with social events and so, I ended up taking alcohol (a pint or two).

Now, I’m not a health exert (I mean, would I be in this state if I were?). However, I’ve noticed one or two things about this experiment.

Firstly, it takes discipline. I have a side gig promoting food and there are temptations to snack. However, buy and large, I’ve managed to avoid temptation during the day and going without food for around 12-hours is something I am relatively used to.

However, what is a challenge is going without water. There were I few days I inevitably didn’t have a chance to hydrate as I was running around. I’ve heard that avoiding water improves the body’s capabilities to burn fat but I’m not trying to push things. However, on the day that I went without water, I learnt to respect the Bangladeshi construction workers who go without food and water during the day and still manage to do their work in the hot sun.

Secondly, I’ve noticed that I am relatively energetic during the day and somehow tire and the appropriate moments. So, I have been getting decent enough sleep, since I usually tire around midnight to 1am – thus I get around six to seven hours of sleep.

The most interesting thing I’ve found is that recovery from exercise is relatively better. I usually try and push myself till my arms are shaking. However, whereas I used to still feel the tremble when I sat down to eat, that feeling is gone by the time I head up for dinner.

Again, this is just an experiment to see if I can make progress with my health. I’ll probably remain on the chubby side at the end of the fasting month but I believe that its been a good experience and people, especially those who are struggling with weight should try.