Fasting and the Martial Arts Mindset

[DougKenline]

It seems to me sometimes that my biggest enemy is fat.

I want to anihallate fat from my life.

I understand that for me this means reducing calories.

I have lost 130 lbs in the last year.

55 yo 6' 4" tall. Went from 286 to 158. 158 because my biggest motivation is to be able to eat again. Per my plan I hit 158 then went on 2 week feast cycle and weighed-in at 183 after two solid weeks of heavenly bliss.

Now I'm back on program per plan until next feast cycle. Then will repeat cycle until they bury me. Living out the remainder of my days just a shade underweight. And never being even anywhere close to slightly overweight again for as long as I live.

That is the plan.

And it is going to require a great amount of self discipline during my fasting cycles. Rewarded by all-you-can-eat no-menu-item-limit feast cycles. I think over the course of 365 days there will be more fasting days than feasting days. This is still an experiment and a work in progress.

But long story short, I think the Shaolin Monk mentality will play a large part in my success. Beat the fat. Kick the living stuff out of the fat. Ban the fat from my life totally and completely. Win the game ever day, weather feasting or fasting, by being either almost too skinny or just under my perfect weight or somewhere in between until the day they bury me.

Of course if I get hit with Parkinsons or Cancer or something then everything could go out the window in pretty quick order. Hopefully I've got a few good years ahead of me still. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise. I think exorcizing the fat from my life will help in that area too.

In the Shaolin Priest world, would a Grand Master tolerate any fat on his body? It seems to me that it is a badge of honor to be nowhere near overweight, preferably to be almost too skinny. Living proof that you have power over the weakness of overeating and having the layers of fat slowly overtake you as you weakly and lazily gorge on many hundreds and thousands of excess calories on any given day.

We all have seen the fat Budhist Priest statues. I think that being fat like that is not acceptable in my Martial Arts world.

I understand we all come in different shapes and sizes and we all face different challenges and that I am very lucky to have the health and abilities that I enjoy every day. But I am just throwing this out there to discuss these thoughts in my mind. Of how I want to be almost too skinny for the rest of my life. And still enjoy multiple week long periods of absolute King-Like feasting and gorging. Enjoying the longer fasting cycles as much or more than I enjoy the shorter feasting cycles. 365 days of Nirvana and being somewhere between almost too skinny on the bottom end and not even close to being even remotely overweight on the top end.

In a way it's kind of like the bodybuilding scene, where guys and gals get overly obsessed with their physiques, but on the other hand it's a matter of personal pride, to know that whenever you are facing another individual in life, you automatically have the upper hand because your are in extremely fit physical condition and they are far, far, from it. In the office and it business dealings etc.

And not just for those reasons, but for many, many reasons. Health benefits. Satisfaction of living in the zone every day. Can't put in to words but just thought I'd throw this out there and see if anybody has anything to say about my thoughts and my plan.

Experience the clarity of mind when fasting. Fasting while I study. Fasting while I'm working out. Fasting while I'm sleeping. Enjoying the feeling that only fasting can bring. The satisfaction that fasting is the obvious answer. And I have it. And I will never be fat again.

Others who are fat simply cannot endure the hunger that comes along with fasting. If they could simply endure the hunger, eventually the fat will give up and go away. It is simply a matter of mind over matter. Much like becoming a Grand Master in the Martial Arts. A Grand Master of Fasting. Just look at him and you can see the Extreme Self Discipline that you know it takes, but you know you do not have.

Bottom line. For me, I am convinced that Fasting is the Cure. And the Kung Fu/Martial Arts Mindset is the only thing that can endure the hunger that is required to be endured.

Great forum guys. Sorry if I'm out of place with my post. Just trying to learn and up my training game.

Thanks.

Here's the picture of my plan that is in my mind.......

 

[DougKenline]

added funeral date.....

 

[Martial D]

It sounds like you might have BDD. I'm not sure martial arts is the solution.

 

[DougKenline]

what's BDD. I'm not sure you're in the right place here.

 

[DougKenline]

Practice without Pressure. Make mistakes. Correct course.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

BDD is body dysmorphic disorder.

Either way, spending the rest of your life losing 30 pounds just so you can feast to gain it back, to fast to lose it again isn't exactly a healthy way to live. Rather than that all or nothing mentality you seem to have for fast vs. Feast, it may be better for your body to just regulate what you currently eat and make sure it stays consistently healthy...

 

[DougKenline]

ok, well to the gentleman who starts off by calling names, i'll just say it sounds like you have some kind of disorder yourself, and have a nice day.

to kempodisciple and others,

if it may be better, then it also may not be better

sounds like you don't have a weight problem. that or you don't like to eat.

if you like to eat, and you have a weight problem, then that leaves you with no choice.

you have to draw an upper limit line in the sand. either that or you will go over it and then you will have to go back down again. either that or you will just keep getting fatter. either that or you will never be able to eat like you like to eat ever again.

if you have a weight problem and you like to eat and you don't wan't to ever be overweight again, not even for 5 minutes, then you have no choice but to lose then gain then lose then gain, it's just a matter of how far down under you want to go and how much and for how long you want to be able to eat

the mentality of losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and then losing two pounds, and then gaining two pounds, and then losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds for the rest of my life and never being able to enjoy prolonged periods of feasting like a king ever again seems drab and boring to me and if the doctor told me i could never again enjoy prolonged periods of feasting like a king i would say ok well i'll just go out and shoot myself right now

cakes, cookies, candies, chocoalates, pizzas, cheeseburgers, potatoes, beef, sausage, i mean come on guys, feasting for weeks at a time with no restrictions? that is how i lived up until about 45 years of age, then at that point i became just a slow growing balloon....until i hit 286 and came up with The Final Solution.

a program of mediocrity losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and then losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and sitting there and looking at some good food and saying oh i can't eat that it will ruin my diet does not appeal to me in any way shape or form.

i like saying no to everything until it's time to eat, and when that dinner bell rings, don't get between me and my food, and don't plan on seeing me stop eating anything i can get my hands on for at least a few days.......then i will throw the lever and go back to fasting..............and don't plan on ever seeing me even slightly overweight ever again...........

and i understand that the situation is different for everybody, different ages, different metabolism, different abilities, different desires and goals, different genetics.........i guess i'm talking to guys who are more like me, getting older, love to eat like a king for prolonged periods of time, would rather get hit by a train than have to face never being able to feast like a king for prolonged periods of time, vowing to never be even close to overweight ever again, remaining slightly underweight for as long as you live, working out and being in great shape...

look at bruce lee, wouldn't you like to look like bruce lee? and still be able to have weeks long feasting-like-a-king no-holds-barred feast cycles from time to time? an still never be even slightly overweight not even one single day out of the year for the rest of your life? hell yes. every day. count me in. and i think my way is the only way that this can be achieved for me.

for me there is no other way.

so we disagree....thanks for your thoughtful comments and i wish you nothing but great success in all of your endeavors......................


dk

 

[DougKenline]

is Fasting a part of anyone's training program here? please share your thoughts on Fasting.

 

[DougKenline]

In this picture, is Bruce Lee underweight? Is he overwieght? Is he fat? Would he allow himself to get fat? At what weight would he say I'm too fat, it is time to go down? If you like to eat like I like to eat, and if you get fat like I get fat when you eat like you like to eat, then there is no other choice if you are me.

I know some guys who can eat whatever they want whenever they want and not get fat. I am not that way. Without some program of self disipline I will become very, very, fat. I choose to fight the battle below the red line. And my goal is to enjoy many, many, many, Big Green Light Feast Cycles in the years to come. If you're not in to the Big Green Light Feast Cycles then you're not me. And it gives me great pleasure to think that I can live out the remainder of my days under the red line all the while enjoying those periods of Feasting. That is heaven on earth and for part of me, it is a good reason to be alive and keep working hard. A fantastic reward. My last two week feast cycle I gained 25 lbs. And believe you me, man on man, it was the time of my life. I went from 158 to 183 in two weeks. Currenlty I'm back down to 169 and planning another one week Feast Cycle beginning 4/20. Yea buddy!!!

 

[DougKenline]

I'm also a big Robbie Robinson fan. He puts in the work buddy. I wan't to put in the work. You don't look like that without a serious hard core work out regimen in combination with serious dietary discipline. I will research and perhaps send email to Robbie and ask him his opinion on Fasting. I think he's living Down Under these days.

 

[Headhunter]

In this picture, is Bruce Lee underweight? Is he overwieght? Is he fat? Would he allow himself to get fat? At what weight would he say I'm too fat, it is time to go down? If you like to eat like I like to eat, and if you get fat like I get fat when you eat like you like to eat, then there is no other choice if you are me.

I know some guys who can eat whatever they want whenever they want and not get fat. I am not that way. Without some program of self disipline I will become very, very, fat. I choose to fight the battle below the red line. And my goal is to enjoy many, many, many, Big Green Light Feast Cycles in the years to come. If you're not in to the Big Green Light Feast Cycles then you're not me. And it gives me great pleasure to think that I can live out the remainder of my days under the red line all the while enjoying those periods of Feasting. That is heaven on earth and for part of me, it is a good reason to be alive and keep working hard. A fantastic reward. My last two week feast cycle I gained 25 lbs. And believe you me, man on man, it was the time of my life. I went from 158 to 183 in two weeks. Currenlty I'm back down to 169 and planning another one week Feast Cycle beginning 4/20. Yea buddy!!!

Well Bruce lee died when he was 32 years old so he's not a great example to use. You need some fat in your diet otherwise it's just not healthy.

Do you not see how silly that way is. You starve yourself to lose the weight then you binge on food and put all that weight back on and probably more. Then you do it again. There's nothing wrong with eating bad food as long as it's in moderation and you get some decent exercise.

You use Bruce lee as an example but he didn't fast he had a nutrition plan. There's no way he'd have been in that good shape by eating nothing. Go speak to a doctor he'll say the exact same things everyone else is saying

 

[Martial D]

ok, well to the gentleman who starts off by calling names, i'll just say it sounds like you have some kind of disorder yourself, and have a nice day.

to kempodisciple and others,

if it may be better, then it also may not be better

sounds like you don't have a weight problem. that or you don't like to eat.

if you like to eat, and you have a weight problem, then that leaves you with no choice.

you have to draw an upper limit line in the sand. either that or you will go over it and then you will have to go back down again. either that or you will just keep getting fatter. either that or you will never be able to eat like you like to eat ever again.

if you have a weight problem and you like to eat and you don't wan't to ever be overweight again, not even for 5 minutes, then you have no choice but to lose then gain then lose then gain, it's just a matter of how far down under you want to go and how much and for how long you want to be able to eat

the mentality of losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and then losing two pounds, and then gaining two pounds, and then losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds for the rest of my life and never being able to enjoy prolonged periods of feasting like a king ever again seems drab and boring to me and if the doctor told me i could never again enjoy prolonged periods of feasting like a king i would say ok well i'll just go out and shoot myself right now

cakes, cookies, candies, chocoalates, pizzas, cheeseburgers, potatoes, beef, sausage, i mean come on guys, feasting for weeks at a time with no restrictions? that is how i lived up until about 45 years of age, then at that point i became just a slow growing balloon....until i hit 286 and came up with The Final Solution.

a program of mediocrity losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and then losing two pounds and then gaining two pounds and sitting there and looking at some good food and saying oh i can't eat that it will ruin my diet does not appeal to me in any way shape or form.

i like saying no to everything until it's time to eat, and when that dinner bell rings, don't get between me and my food, and don't plan on seeing me stop eating anything i can get my hands on for at least a few days.......then i will throw the lever and go back to fasting..............and don't plan on ever seeing me even slightly overweight ever again...........

and i understand that the situation is different for everybody, different ages, different metabolism, different abilities, different desires and goals, different genetics.........i guess i'm talking to guys who are more like me, getting older, love to eat like a king for prolonged periods of time, would rather get hit by a train than have to face never being able to feast like a king for prolonged periods of time, vowing to never be even close to overweight ever again, remaining slightly underweight for as long as you live, working out and being in great shape...

look at bruce lee, wouldn't you like to look like bruce lee? and still be able to have weeks long feasting-like-a-king no-holds-barred feast cycles from time to time? an still never be even slightly overweight not even one single day out of the year for the rest of your life? hell yes. every day. count me in. and i think my way is the only way that this can be achieved for me.

for me there is no other way.

so we disagree....thanks for your thoughtful comments and i wish you nothing but great success in all of your endeavors......................


dk

Calling names? LOL get outta here. I was serious, and I still am. As @kemodisciple mentioned, what you are doing is unhealthy, and is symptomatic of BDD(a condition where one obsesses over their body weight/shape/etc)

There is no martial artist anywhere that will tell you to fast and binge. It's bad for you, and has nothing to do with martial arts.

 

[CB Jones]

Wouldn't that diet cause a lot of Muscle Atrophy? Also, wouldn't the fasting and binge eating cause hell to you cholesterol, sugar, blood pressure, and testosterone levels?

 

[DougKenline]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback!

Is there anybody here who's lost 130 lbs who would like to speak to the subject?

I think it depends on what Doctor you are talking to eh?

The fasting cure : Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[DougKenline]

What kind of hell does it cause to your cholesterol, sugar, blood pressure, heart, circulatory system, organs of elimination, and testosterone levels being 130 lbs overweight and eating hundreds and thousands of excess calories every day?

What is the minimum amount of calories that can be consumed and still be a healthy diet?

give me a number. minimum amount of calories that can be consumed per day and still be healthy.

.

 

[DougKenline]

Smoking is bad for you. I like to smoke cigars. Drinking is bad for you. I like to drink. Are there any Martial Artists who like to do and do do unhealthy things? I think there are many. It is a matter of choosing your own lifestyle. I don't see that it is going to cause me any more problems than being 130 lbs overweight would cause me.

And just because Bruce Lee died at 32 does not mean he is not a good example to follow eh? Dying at 32 was not the only thing he did in life. Isn't it just a life choice? I think you are only saying it is not what you would choose to do, but you can't say what I should choose to do.

Look at some of these eating challenge guys on youtube. They eat enough to kill a horse. That is what they choose to do. I think it is a good discussion either way. Time will tell how it goes. Success for one may not be the same thing as success for another.

If I can work my plan successfully I will be happy. I disagree that fasting then feasting is such a terrible thing. I think I will be here next year still working the same plan and never having gone over 185 lbs. I'll bet 50 cents on it. Any takers?

I think nobody here likes to eat like I like to eat.



.

 

[gucia6]

is Fasting a part of anyone's training program here? please share your thoughts on Fasting.

I fast periodically (average every 3 months), but I do not treat it as part of my training.
Actually I avoid going to the practice on fasting days, because the activity is just too intense for so limited/non-existent energy intake.

My thoughts on fasting?
For me it is a great thing, but I do it purely for health benefits, not weight loss or management.

And I have a complete process of preparation to the fast and transition to "normal" eating afterwards and all of it takes around 2 weeks.


Anyway, your plan scares me.
Too much good is also bad. Too often and too prolonged fasting can lead to health problems, malnutrition, etc.

Then, what exactly do you want to eat on your "feasting" days? If you load too much carbs and give your body a low-high insulin roller-coaster, at some point it will stop cooperating with your wishes.

Another thing, eating fats does not make you fat. You could eat 2000+kcal of pure fat daily (but no carbs) and you would be thin as stick.

 

[DougKenline]

Martial D, so all bodybuilders have BDD? And they are all sick people. Ok. Have a nice day.

I'll cut the doctors some slack but like Willie Nelson says, there's more old drunks than there are old Doctors so I think I'll just have me another round.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Good little forum here. Just killing time while I fast. Don't need as much sleep when I'm fasting. Feeling great! Keep up the good work everybody! Much impressed with all of the Martial Arts working going on here. Enjoying the forum. Don't want to be the big dummy around here, just venting some thoughts off against the sounding board while I work on my human experiment of one.


.

 

[DougKenline]

Anyway, your plan scares me.

Man some people get scared pretty easily.

Too often and too prolonged fasting - what is too often, what is too long?

at some point it will stop cooperating with your wishes.- at what point, and i don't think so, my only wish is that the fat goes bye bye and never comes back, and the fat is gone, and it is not coming back.

to be thin as a stick, i like that, they're calling me Bones at work and i'm loving it, Bones McCoy USS Enterprise. Beats the hell out of Fatty. Or how about Tub of Lard, did you ever get that one?

thanks for chiming in gucia. it's all for a good conversation regarding the limits of fasting and feasting. what are the limits of fasting. like you say, it is a great thing

for me i like to work out in a fasted state. it is like the cro-magnum man who has not had food for a few days and now finds himself having to climb up a hill to get some.

try it. push yourself to work out when you are fasting. that is a key component of my system.

.

 

[DougKenline]

gucia says fasting is a great thing and has fantastic health benefits

does fasting have health benefits?

nobody else here fasts eh?

I've got to believe there are some fasters out there. maybe when i come back tomorrow.

.