S2E1 30-Day Flexibility and Endurance Journal

[Compdude]

NOTE 1: For those who want to go to straight to the workout entries, go to the 4th journal entry for Monday 12/23. The 1st entry is what my qualifications are to write on this topic. The 2nd entry is my past medical history from Sept 2010 to August 2019 to give context to the workouts and my starting fitness point.

NOTE 2: I want to emphasize I’m here to help people and I’m NOT recruiting clients. It’s by helping people that is aiding me in shaping the organization and what content to include/exclude in my upcoming book.

Qualifications:

Former amateur athlete:

1. Nationally ranked amateur windsurfer by the USBA (United States Boardsailing Association) re-named U.S. Windsurfing. Competed from 1986 to 1989 at windsurfing contests all along the West Coast of the U.S. which included several California State Championships and a Nationals held in San Diego, California.

My first trophy for 3rd place at my first national ranking competition held at Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, Nevada. LOL just noticed those athletic shorts I’m wearing I was able to put on again 2 weeks ago. I knew they were OLD just not that old! I was 26 years old at the time.

I was well-known for being the only male competitor on the West Coast to being able to perform this trick during the 3-minute Freestyle competition. 3-minute gymnastics routine performed on a windsurfer board set to music. Similar to routines in gymnastics and ice skating.

Here’s the YouTube vid (I replaced the original sound track as the person responsible for playing competitors’ didn’t play my music but someone else’s and with the wind it was hard to hear the music anyway) of my routine if you want to see the entire 3-minute routine:
NOTE: I mis-titled this one. I believe the actual year was 1986 or 1987 as I had not started competition in 1985.

Formerly Certified as a Windsurfing Instructor and Personal Trainer:

1. Certified Windsurfing Instructor by Windsurfing International and taught at the UCLA Sailing Club from 1981 to 1985 teaching only the 6-week Beginning Windsurfing course. Top rated sailing instructor from 1982 to 1965 as defined as having the highest signup rate for graduating students for an Advanced class at 96%.

2. Certified Personal Trainer for 24 Hour Fitness East Pasadena, CA location from October 2005 to November 2007. #2 ranked trainer 2007 by having 2nd highest client resign rate at 92% for that location.
   
   
   
   
   

Independent from November 2007 to August 2010. Notable client achievements:

Daniel M. - Construction Manager - Reached goal of completing 1st L.A. Marathon after losing 61lbs

Cathy B. - Saleswoman - Breast Cancer survivor - Reached goal of climbing to the peak of Mt. Whitney to celebrate 50th birthday.

3. PT certifications: NASM, ACSM and AFAA. Also certified in Laughing Yoga (looking into ways to relieve stress for business clients) and completed a course through Harvard Medical School Extension on Brain Health and Exercise (For business clients concerned about Alzheimer’s and fortifying brain against mental decline due to aging).

After the Brain Health and Fitness course added routines that stressed eye, hand, body coordination and balance to stress both the brain and body such as running precise football routes on the uneven surface of grass. The lower left is a 1 legged squat from a park bench.

Picture collage: Top row: Me and 52 y.o. Entrepreneur and restaurant owner. Bottom row: 56 y.o. Banker and 51 y.o. Former Director of I.T. For one of the top 10 grocery wholesalers in the U.S.

Lost paper certifications during a move. Found all the training materials for the 3 PT certification courses which to me are more important.

[Anna]

I love that you added photos and a video as well, very interesting to read and watch! Your posts are very well made!

[Compdude]

[Compdude]

Medical History and Starting Fitness

On September 1st 2010, I suffered a major gout attack on both knees, ankles and feet. So bad I couldn’t walk and was bed ridden for several years. As a result I had to end my personal trainer business. Luckily I had created a YouTube video commercial using a Flip Phone for a client who was an entrepreneur and owned several restaurants. She offered me a consulting gig to take over her websites, do social media marketing, learn graphic design by mastering Adobe’s Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro. I learned how to create and maintain websites, create and design flyers and video editing. I learned how to design emails and to send out email blasts. In other words I learned how to conduct marketing campaigns on multiple platforms. That’s how I resumed a computer career but on the marketing side for the last 9 years. It allowed me to work from home.

In 2013 I had Congestive Heart Failure, probably caused by my T2 diabetes. I was lucky. Because of my athletic background I was one of the few 10% of patients to fully recover. 50% who survived CHF have a life expectancy of less than 5 years. It was during a 2 day hospital stay to recover that I was informed I had Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease and of course gout.

In 2014 I had diabetic caused cataract surgery in my right eye. As a result I have a 40% difference in depth percentage between the remaining good left eye and my right eye. I surrendered my Driver’s License for a Real ID because I accepted I was a public danger if I decided to continue to drive.

In 2015 I decided it was time to learn how to walk again. But I had lost all my strength and aerobic endurance due to loss of lean muscle mass over the past 5 years.

On April 2019 I began caloric reduction and aerobic exercise (a shuffle dance routine at home to YouTube playlists) to improve my health. By May, I did lower my high cholesterol. However, I had gained 20lbs in 1 year since I began taking a daily insulin injection, my Chronic Kidney Disease had progressively gotten worse and my hypertension had gotten to hypertensive crisis status. I decided that being told that having T2 diabetes was “under control” and that not making logical sense with the reality of my health continuing to deteriorate was unacceptable and that’s the point I began researching to find a cure.

From August 9th to December 21, I completed the 1st major section of my customized treatment protocol whose primary goal was to officially becoming medication free. I lost a total of 68lbs in 4 months and 1 week. Unfortunately I lost all the fat padding protecting my hip bone and leg bones. When I laid down to sleep it was bone on mattress (I prefer a hard mattress to relax on) which resulted in pain whenever I tried to sleep on my side.

During my daily walks my quadriceps were so weak I had difficulty in stepping up and down. This also told me that my other major muscles were also weak. Also without the belly fat, my core muscles needed to be strengthened and build endurance.

On the bright side, the time to restore my athletic fitness is shorter than a person that doesn’t have the same background. In other words, I retain “muscle and nerve” memory from being fit.

[Compdude]

Day 1 of Restore Core & Rebuild Muscles phase

Highlights:

1. Weight Gain: 1lb (See Note #1)
2. Blood sugar: 95 (See Note #2)
3. Exercise: 1 mile walk (See Note #3)
4. Fasting/TRE: 30:2 (See Note #4) for yesterday and 17:2 for today.
5. Wrote 1st 3 journal entries. Postponed Evaluation workout to tomorrow.

Notes:

1. Happy I gained ONLY 1 lb after feasting at my cousin’s holiday party yesterday. I attribute it to staying in the Insulin Sensitivity Zone by stopping all eating at 6pm. This was after having coffee w/stevia twice at 7pm and at 1:30pm.

Body picked mainly ham as the biggest portion of the 3 servings i had. The remainder were white rice, noodles w/pork and fried lumpia (similar to Chinese Egg Roles but with pork). Also had 1 blueberry cookie and 1 apple pastry. Only drank water.

For today I broke my fast at 11am and opted for my standard “Go-To Light” meal plan. I did add an oatmeal & raisin cookie and a brownie. Again curious to see what the weight scale and blood sugar readings will be for tomorrow.

For yesterday I started the fast the day before at 10:30am and finished it at 4:30pm yesterday at my cousin’s holiday party for a total of a 30-hour fast.

2. Happy the blood sugar stayed normal after a feast that had a larger portion of carbs than I normally have and, eating the cookie and pastry for dessert.

3. This morning I walked to the grocery store to pick up another can of Vegetable and Beef soup. Energy levels continue to increase. A little stiff in the left foot and the left ached for a bit but after several strides that stiffness and pain went away. Pace was REALLY good and taking full strides.

4. Weird fasting/eating schedules due to holiday events. But coping plays a big part in maintaining my gains from my program so far and preparing to strengthen my core and increase lean muscle mass before undertaking another prolonged water fast. I want to cure the CKD before the next appointment in 6 months this time with my primary physician and NOT the physician’s assistant.

[Compdude]

Day 2 of Restore Core and Rebuild Muscles

Highlights:

1. Weight Gain: 2lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood Sugar: 81 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: 1 mile walk and Started Warm-up/Evaluation Workout - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 25 hours fasting followed by OMAD - See Note #4
5. I replaced my Profile photo with one where I’m actually wearing my old 24 Hour Fitness Personal Trainer jersey! Haven’t worn it since November 2005. It should be fine since this is a private forum and the profile picture is so small you really can’t see the logo. Just thought it represents where my focus is on currently and another motivating factor for me.

Notes:

1. Guess I celebrated too soon. Eat that much carbs the water gain will be more than 1 day. 2lbs is not bad though.

2. Blood sugar dropped 14 points which I credit to my Go-To Light meal plan. Happy about that though.

3. Exercise:

A. Cold winter storm hit So Cal today. As a result left foot and ankle were stiff and left knee a bit achy. Pace and stride were good for most of the day until the last .1 mile stretch home. Pace slowed as fatigue hit me from only sleeping 4 hours last night.

What’s interesting is I woke up and was energized and got in 2 hours of client work. Was really productive and completed stuff I initially expected to take me twice as long. Guess my body is still trying to settle on a consistent sleep pattern.

B. While researching through all the various warm-up routines on YouTube picked up an interesting fact. There hasn’t been any scientific evidence that static stretching significantly reduces injury risk and may be detrimental to strength and power workouts. On the other hand, functional warmups are aimed at increasing heart rate, increase body temperature and improve blood flow to working muscles according to Daniel Haas, DPT, SCS of the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic.

Using the goals as stated by Daniel Hass and my own experience I evaluated a bunch of warmups. I believe I found a very good one that fulfills my two additional requirements:

1. It can serve the purpose of being an evaluation tool
2. It can serve as an initial workout and later as a warm-up to a more strenuous workout

I watched the entire workout several times. Then I tried the 1st warmup. Because of my weakened state from a long detrimental decline in health I had to use a supporting table edge on one side and my office chair for the other. I also took extensive notes and started coming with ways to create 3 versions of the workout: Beginner, Experienced and Athlete.

Had to quit early NOT because of fatigue but due to time. It was time to cook my OMAD and since I was coming up on 24 hours of fasting I couldn’t wait! LOL.

I WILL be providing the URL link to the YouTube video of the functional warm-up soon. I just want to make sure I create my 3 versions and have all my notes ready.

4. Coming up on 24 hours fasting and since this was my “Heavy” meal day in the 2-day rotation I had planned for an hour to cook and as you saw that my fasting time ended up being 25 hours I gravely underestimated my time as chef. In case you were wondering what I did for my OMAD (One Meal a Day), I cooked up a Steak & Broccoli entree with Himalayan Salt Potato Chips on the side. Before my OMAD, I did have a coffee w/stevia at 7am and 10:30am. Since my goal for this phase is restoring core strength and rebuilding lean muscle, coffee does NOT constitute ending fast in this case.

[Compdude]

Day 3 of Restore & Rebuild Phase

Highlights:

1. Weight gain/loss: 0lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 90 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: 1 mile walk (warm-up) and
   2 evaluation exercises (4 sets 10 reps each) - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 18:3 - See Note #4

Notes:

1. Really happy about the 0 weight gain since I had a really BIG OMAD yesterday.
2. Blood sugar went up which I expected after eating such a large meal. Had 2 BIG helpings of my Steak & Broccoli to with a little white rice and some chips.

3A. Both ankles stiff starting out. Right loosened up at .1 mile mark with the left at .3. But it wasn’t until the last .1 mile stretch that both ankles allowed me to reach full stride.

3B. Second sampling of the Evaluation/Warmup exercise routine. More comfortable with the 1st exercise but still having to use the edge of the table and my office chair for support to weak balance. First time trying the 2nd with the basic version and two more advanced variations. Couldn’t do the 1st which had an additional lower body variation because I wasn’t flexible enough so a targeted area for future workouts. The 2nd variation was an additional upper body version I WAS able to do fully. So happy about that.

Oh here’s the full picture of my new profile.

[Compdude]

@Anna @Cream35 @Miko @Yasemin
Have a Happy One

[Anna]

That’s sweet! Hope you’ll enjoy the holidays!

[Compdude]

Day 4 of Restore & Rebuild Phase

Highlights:

1. Weight loss - 3lbs (See Note #1 & Note #4)
2. Blood sugar - 65 (See Note #2)
3. Exercise - Rest and Documentation of Eval/Warmup Routine - (See Note #3)
4. Fasting/TRE - 24+ Coffee Fast - See Note #4

Notes:

1. Did NOT see that coming, losing 3lbs in 24 hours. I did expect some weight loss with the increase in physical activity combined with it being a “light” meal day yesterday but Wow!

I had been looking at how coffee can be combined with a workout to make it more effective. There’s a lot of differing opinions which is not unusual considering how diverse our bodies are from each other so I decided to experiment yesterday. The experiment included coffee w/stevia before and after the workout. Also keep in mind two other factors: I did the workout after the walk and during mid-morning so it was still in the Insulin Sensitivity Zone and before I broke fast. There is a video about coffee’s impact on workouts. NOTE: I respect the guy doing the video but be aware he does endorse a lot of Keto products. Also he is NOT a scientist and I do keep in mind that a lot of the studies he cites have small data sets.

2. Wow, haven’t seen a blood sugar reading that low since Oct 31st, Day 10 of the 40-Day. It’s still in the normal range. The USC endocrinologist said I only have to worry if it drops into the 40s. Let’s see if its just a blip or a trend which could signal lowering that HA1c reading lower and drag me over the border from Pre-Diabetic to Normal range.

3. Took a Rest Day today as I’m feeling it in my quads and calves today from 2 straight days of increased physical activity. As an “older” gent I have to ensure I have enough recovery time between workouts. The reason that rest is just as important is that exercise stresses the muscles and cause micro tears in the fibers. It’s during rest that your body goes in and repairs them and that’s how they get stronger. Similar phenomenon happens when your break a bone, its usually stronger post-break after the bone remodels.

I finished the 1st draft of documenting the evaluation/warmup routine. Need to dig into my old PT manuals to double check on all the muscles impacted by each exercise and their variations since I haven’t worked with anyone since August 2010.

4. Since I knew we were going to my cousin’s again for Christmas Lunch I decided to go beyond 24 hours of coffee fasting since I’ll probably be eating around 12:30pm to 1pm. Will report actual hours in tomorrow’s report.

Here’s the YouTube video on coffee and exercise. Keep in mind my caveats:

[Compdude]

Day 5 of Restore & Rebuild Phase

Highlights:

1. Weight gain: 1lb - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 78 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: 2.2 mile walk - No break - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: Yesterday’s ended up as 26 hrs. Today’s 24+ hrs - See Note #4
5. New Goal: Pic Below - See Note #5

Notes:

1. Started lunch at 12:30pm and kept grazing up till 5pm. Ate pretty healthy all things considered: Cashew Chinese Chicken Salad, Fried Lumpia, Tortilla Chips & 1 slice of Apple Pie with Black Coffee and Water.

2. Considering how much I ate (I could still feel it in my stomach 12 hours later) I’m happy with result.

3. Since I had the day off yesterday and the feed I had for my OMAD, I decided to set a goal for the longest walk without taking a seated break. My toughest challenge was walking past Startbucks on the trip back but I knew if I sat down with a cup of hot brewed coffee I’d take a long break. I passed that test and completed the challenge. I think how I’ll do the weekly workout schedule is alternating long walks with short walks with working to complete the warmup workout.

I’ve been promising to provide the URL link so you can see what I’m talking about in the difference between traditional stretching and a functional warmup. Again let me know if you have any questions.

4. The nice thing about not having any more addictions is I’m in control of my hunger than the other way around. So I chose to indulge in the tortilla chips throughout the afternoon yesterday. The salsa wasn’t that good, so I had the chips plain for the most part. But, I could feel them just sitting there in my stomach which made me truly comprehend when women are talking about when they said they feel “bloated”.

One of the problems with the two holiday meals: last Sunday’s and Christmas, is its thrown off my standard eating schedule. To get back on track I’m going to go for at least a 36 hour coffee fast; especially, since we saw from last Sunday’s carb fest that the water weight takes 2 days to manifest. Interested in seeing weight and blood sugar readings look like tomorrow.

5. Since I accomplished my 1st goal being medication free I’ve been toying at setting a new goal for myself. I waited to finish the ReFeed & Rebuild the Major Organs phase and see where I was a few days into the Restore Core & Rebuild Muscles phase. Things looked good so I decided to go public.

My goal picture is when I was in the best shape of my life because during the 3 month summer break I had started from running 1 city block to running 10 miles three times a week.

I don’t know what I’ll look like since I’m now 60 versus 18 but the goal is to again be in the BEST SHAPE of MY LIFE. So we will see.

The deadline is my next doctor’s appointment 6 months after my last on 12/13. I’ll schedule my labs for 12/7.

There IS a story behind my Goal pic. If you want to read it it will explain a lot of how I turned into the stubborn bastard you see today. It’s in the BONUS STORY section below.

BONUS STORY

During my sophomore year at university I hurt my left knee in a pickup basketball game at one of the campus dorms. After x-rays, I sat with the doctor at the university medical center. He told me I needed surgery if I wanted to ever play sports again. I asked him what was the chance of success. “50%”, now this was before arthroscopic surgery was available and they essential took a saw, hammer and chisel to your knees back then.

I said “Screw this!” And hobbled off on my crutches. By the time summer rolled around I was off my crutches and had nary a limp. So I took my little dorm refrigerator that I had brought back home from school, placed it next to my bed and stuffed it full of veggie snacks and other healthy food. Set a goal of running 10 miles by the end of summer. I set a rolling milestone of extending my run by a city block every time I ran. I didn’t hit it of course all the time and sometimes even regressed. But I stuck with it. I reached my goal by the time the new school year rolled around and exceeded it by being able to run 10 miles three times a week for the last 2 weeks.

That milestone so early in my life emotionally set my automatic instinct to question authority, an attitude that is mandatory for success for anyone hoping to succeed in the computer industry. Of course back then I had no idea I’d end up in computers because I was of all things, wait for it … a HISTORY/POLI SCI major. How I back ended myself into that industry is another story for another time. LOL

[Compdude]

Day 6 of Restore & Rebuild phase

Highlights:

1. Weight loss: 5lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 84 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: Rest - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE - Made goal: coffee fasting for 36 hours - See Note #4
5. Book: 5 hours of research - See Note #5

Notes:

1. One of the highly regarded experts on autophagy says that it takes an average of 30 hours to completely deplete the glycogen stores in your liver. I can attest to that as I was peeing on the hour the last 2 hours before hitting the 36 hour mark on my fast. I think combined with the long uninterrupted walk I did yesterday, which depleted the glycogen stores in my legs, explains why I haven’t lost this much weight in a single day since Day 2 of my 40-day. So I now have a proven quick and dirty method to offset having a carb fest every now and then.

2. Interesting that my blood sugar went UP during a time I ate nothing since the day before yesterday. The body is truly mysterious in its ways.

3. Since I didn’t eat anything after the walk, the body had no protein intake to recover the muscles. Hence when I woke up this morning my quads were still feeling fatigued also both ankles were stiff. I’ll see how they feel tomorrow morning after eating today.

4. The only time I experienced pangs of hunger was around 2pm. I addressed that with a cup of coffee with stevia and I was fine. Feels so GOOD to be in control of my hunger urges.

5. I’ve been averaging 5 hours of sleep a night which seems to be all I need as every day my mental endurance increases. I also lost the last bit of anxiety I had of being unable to sleep, at least, 8 hours a night since reading this CNN article:

Wake up, people: You're fooling yourself about sleep, study says

Since the beginning of this phase I’m using the extra energy into researching for the book. What’s a cool benefit is I’m getting article ideas out of the research.

[Compdude]

Day 7 of Restore & Rebuild phase

Highlights:

1. Weight gain: 4lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 80 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: 1 mile walk & Warmup workout - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 21:3 - See Note #4
5. Book Research - See Note #5

Notes:

1. Well now we know how much of that original 5lb weight loss from a day ago was water, 4lbs. So I lost a pound over the last 2 days which is in line with the 1 to 2 pounds I average losing.

2. Considering yesterday was a “heavy” meal day, not unexpected but at least the blood sugar dropped 4 points from yesterday.

3. I’m modifying my original plan of doing 2 consecutive days of long walk and short walk with warmup workout to inserting a day of rest in-between. I overestimated my physical fitness and found I’m weaker than I thought. Since today I did the short walk with the warmup workout, tomorrow is a “rest” day.

Making progress on the Warmup workout. For the 3-way leg exercise, I was able to use only 1 hand holding onto my work desk meaning I was able to work on my balance. For the advanced Dynamic Squat exercises, I still can’t do the Dynamic Squat with the Lower Body twist as I’m still not flexible enough to squat down low enough yet. Able to add the the Side Laterals exercise today. Each exercise I do 1 set of 10 reps. Once I’m able to reach the end of the Warmup workout routine, I’d like to repeat the cycle two more times for a total of 3. Then I’ll look into adding a Whole Body workout.

4. After my “heavy” meal yesterday, my body forced to me lie down for about 3 hours which included falling asleep for 1 hour sometime during that time span. I believe its because instead of feeding my hungry muscles from the 2.2 mile walk with no break from the day before, I instead hit them with the 36 hour fast. Therefore, when the body sensed incoming protein it took most of the energy I had to repair my starving muscles.

I learned my lesson. So I’ll now synch up my meal plan of alternating “light” and “heavy” with the alternating exercise plan of long walk and short walk with warmup workout. Therefore, since I consider the short walk with the warmup workout a “heavy” exercise day I felt I had to do a consecutive “heavy” meal day.

5. Got in another 4 or so hours of research into the book. Instead of stressing about not being able to sleep more than 5 hours a night, I’m now taking advantage of the extra energy to pour into the book.

[Compdude]

Day 8 of Restore & Regrow

Highlights:

1. Weight gain: 3lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: Forgot to take reading
3. Exercise: Rest Day - See Note #2
4. Fasting/TRE: 18:6 - See Note #3
5. Book Research: 4 hours invested - See Note #4

Notes:

1. I’ve gone through this yo-yo’ing before during previous muscle building programs and also with clients. You initially gain weight as you gain lean muscle mass but not enough yet to burn off an offsetting amount of weight in fat as muscle weighs more. But eventually the scales tip as your basal metabolic increases and you begin losing weight. So the weight gain doesn’t cause me any anxiety. Also since Dec 11th, my weight has maintained a stable range between 205 to 213. Since the primary goal for this phase is core strength and adding lean muscle mass, I’m not focused on weight loss. That will come with the next prolonged fast.

2. Glad I made the decision to add extra rest. I could still feel the burn in my quads from yesterday’s walk and workout. Since I’ll be starting my next walk on Monday, tomorrow, here’s the bi-weekly schedule I’m going to maintain for the remaining 22 days:

Monday - Long walk
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout (sounds better than Evaluation/Warmup Workout).
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Long Walk
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
Monday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Long Walk
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
Saturday & Sunday Rest
*** REPEAT ***
I’ll be able to repeat the 1st half of the cycle which takes me to the end of the 30 days for this phase. I’ll evaluate and if things look good is when I’ll start the 7-Day Water Fast.

3. Fasting/TRE: Well I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. A FREE McDonald’s breakfast after attending a new church. The last time I had McDonald’s breakfast was October 16th during a ReFeed day. I didn’t go overboard and immediately started the fasting clock after I ate. So I had 3 meals for the day instead of my standard 2. Luckily today was a light day so my main meal was 2 cans of Campbell’s Chicken Soup.

4. I finished up a numerical analysis of the participants in the October/November Fasting Challenge. The reason is when I used to design computer systems for businesses I always wanted to find out what “failed” so I could design features that prevented them from happening again in the new system. In this context, I wanted find out all the reasons for people failing to achieve their fasting goals and identifying them for people to deal with and some coping strategies that could increase their chances of success in the future.

BONUS Educational YouTube video.

Dr Rhonda Patrick is one of the research scientists I follow. One of the reasons I like her is she doesn’t have an hidden agenda as she has no sponsors and makes her income by offering price tiered memberships to her content. Same reason I like Dr Peter Attia.

Here Dr Patrick is discussing Protein, Muscle Growth, Fasting and Cancer. Enjoy:

[Compdude]

Day 9 of Flexibility & Endurance (rename of Restore & Rebuild)

Thought this was a better name for this phase considering how its turning out.

Highlights:

1. Weight loss: 3lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 77 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: 2.2 mile walk - no sitting break - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 19:5 - See Note #4
5. Book Research: 5 hours invested - See Note #5

Notes:

1. Gained 3lbs yesterday. Today lost 3lbs. As I predicted, yo-yo’ing.

2. Back to my regular range after my “light” meal day yesterday.

3. Walked to the bank to make a deposit, stopped at Starbucks to use their Wi-Fi to backup my iPhone and iPad (Home Wi-Fi is down) and did it standing at one of their high tables, stopped at the grocery store to restock on stevia and home.

On this walk feeling the benefits of the flexibility workout. Better range of motion combined with adding lean muscle to the quads and glutes with more flexible hamstrings made for a faster pace, a less laborious stride and more endurance. Did not slow my pace until the final .1 heading into the home stretch.

12/30 Monday - Long walk
12/31 Tuesday - Rest
1/1 Wednesday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
1/2 Thursday - Rest
1/3 Friday - Long Walk
1/4 & 5 Saturday & Sunday - Rest
1/6 Monday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
1/7 Tuesday - Rest
1/8 Wednesday - Long Walk
1/9 Thursday - Walk/Bus to Dentist office
1/10 Friday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
1/11 & 12 Saturday & Sunday Rest
1/13 Monday - Long walk
1/14 Tuesday - Rest
1/15 Wednesday - Short walk and Flexibility Workout
1/16 Thursday - Rest
1/17 Friday - Long Walk
1/18 & 19 Saturday & Sunday - Rest

4. Fasting/TRE: Had coffee w/stevia before heading out for the long walk. As soon as I got home I broke fast with my small meal of coffee w/stevia, a bagel with cream cheese and chips. 2 hours later I had Steak & Broccoli with a bit of white rice. Coordinating my “heavy” meal day with an exercise day.

5. I’m current with all the members in the online forum participating in the current Fastmas program. Not as many participating as the previous Oct/Nov Challenge but much easier to count up and track!

BONUS Educational YouTube video on the topic of Autophagy.

This is the source video on why autophagy for humans takes much longer to activate than in mice:

[Compdude]

Day 10 of Flexibility & Endurance phase

Highlights:

1. Weight gain: 2lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 86 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: Rest - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 18:6 - See Note #4
5. Book Research: 4 hours invested - See Note #5

Notes:

1. Yesterday lost 3lbs. Today gained 2lbs, still yo-yo’ing.

2. Back up after my “heavy” meal day yesterday, but still normal.

3. After my 1st long walk last week that night and the next day my ankles were really stiff and painful. Since then, the pain after each exercise day has gotten less. I think its because it has been so long since I’ve walked for extended periods of time it was knocking the rust off.

Updated my exercise schedule to add in my weekly Thursday walk to my Toastmasters club also to my dentist’s office to re-glue back in a bridge that fell out.

12/30 Monday - Long walk
12/31 Tuesday - Rest
1/1 Wednesday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/2 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk to and from Toastmasters mtg
1/3 Friday - Long Walk
1/4 & 5 Saturday & Sunday - Rest
1/6 Monday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/7 Tuesday - Rest
1/8 Wednesday - Long Walk
1/9 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk to and from Toastmasters mtg & 1.2 mile Walk/Bus to Dentist office
1/10 Friday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/11 & 12 Saturday & Sunday Rest
1/13 Monday - Long walk
1/14 Tuesday - Rest
1/15 Wednesday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/16 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk Toastmasters mtg
1/17 Friday - Long Walk
1/18 & 19 Saturday & Sunday - Rest

4. Fasting/TRE: This morning I was a bit hungrier than I have been during this phase, so I added a Cheddar Cheese Burrito and the last remaining Xmas Tamale to my coffee and carbs. My main meal was my usual 2 cans of soup for a typical “light” meal day.

5. I finished analyzing the numbers for members participating in the December challenge and compared them to the Oct/Nov numbers. Remarkably similar in terms of % failing and % succeeding in spite of the difference in #s participating. It confirms my hunch that identifying causes of failure and proposing coping strategies should improve the odds for people reaching their fasting goals.

Have a Happy New Year.

Here’s a motivating and inspirational speech by the award-winning actor, Denzel Washington. I’ve introduced this YouTube video to several members who needed a bit of motivation and thought it deserved sharing on a wider basis:

[Anna]

Interesting analyse!
Happy New Years! I hope you’ll have a great start of the new one

[Compdude]

You too. How’s the ReFeed going?

[Anna]

It has been going well, just updated my journal, almost forgot today heh

[Compdude]

Day 11 of Flexibility & Endurance phase

The regular daily status report follows after the Announcement if you just want to skip to that.

ANNOUNCEMENT: This part of my treatment protocol (including the current “Flexibility & Endurance Phase) I’m calling “6-Pack at 60”. The deadline is 5 months and 11 days away ending on June 12th with my next doctor’s visit.

Goal: 13% body fat which translates to losing 54lbs.
The amount of weight may decrease as increasing lean muscle mass changes the calculation.

Before making this announcement I believed I had to do my research to produce a realistic roadmap to getting to goal.

As long time readers of my journal know, the BIG reason I was able to complete my 40-Day Water Fast was I had set a BIG Hairy Ass goal of being “Medication Free”. I kept my Insulin Injection Pen and 5 medication bottles on my desk where I would see them everyday. My initial time frame when I started out was 6 months to 1 year. To my surprise I did it in 4 months and 5 days along with dropping 81 pounds.

When I began I just had accumulated enough knowledge to come up with a general plan and filled in the details along the way depending on daily developments. Yep, the truth’s out. I made it up as I went along!

I kept my daily focus on execution; but, whenever I faced adversity I would get that needed motivational boost by looking at the pill bottles and injection pen.

For this program I have my picture as a college student when I was in the best shape of my life as a daily reminder. Yep it’s the wallpaper on my iPhone!

Here’s a general outline of the protocol for the next five months and 11 days:

1. Finish 30-day Flexibility and Endurance phase on 1/20
2. 1/21 - 2/11 - 21-day Water Fast
3. 2/12 - 2/22 - 11 day ReFeed
4. 2/23 - 3/23 - 30-day Workout Routine
5. 3/24 - 4/6 - 14-day Water Fast
6. 4/7 - 4/13 - 7-day ReFeed
7. 4/14 - 5/13 - 30-day Workout Routine
8. 5/14 - 5/20 - 7-day Water Fast
9. 5/21 - 5/23 - 3-day ReFeed
10. 5/24 - 6/12 - 20-day Workout Routine

You may notice that the length of the Prolonged Fasts gets shorter. That’s structured to take into consideration body fatigue. It’s been 31 days since I finished my 40-day with an additional 20 days before I start the 21-day. So my body will be well rested and ready to take on the longest length fast.

The question of exercise during the fasts.
For the upcoming 21 day, I’ll see if I can maintain the same workout length and intensity for the 1st week and then make adjustments.

Here we go 2020!

Highlights:

1. Weight loss: 2lbs - See Note #1
2. Blood sugar: 80 - See Note #2
3. Exercise: Flexibility Workout & 1 mile walk - See Note #3
4. Fasting/TRE: 21:3 - See Note #4
5. Book Research: 6 hours invested - See Note #5

Notes:

1. Yesterday gained 2lbs, today lost 2lbs still yo-yo’ing.

You may be wondering why with all the long daily fasts that I’m not losing weight even with gaining the muscle. Another reason is when I mean “heavy” meal day, I DO mean heavy. I want to go into my next prolonged fast with a higher metabolic rate as I know these last fat pounds will be harder to drop and also I want to get through the detox sessions faster.

2. Unless something unusual happens, I’m no longer going to go into detail on my blood sugar. It’s been normal for a long time so you MUST be as bored reading about it as I am writing about it! LOL

3. Switched up the routine by doing the Flexibility workout first and then the walk. Could feel the difference in the walk as my legs were warmed up when I started out.

On the Flexibility workout, I figured out a way to do the Dynamic Squat with Lower Body (Hips) rotation. I held onto the edge of my work desk so I could squat lower, thereby increasing the flexibility. Had to rise up a bit so I could let go of the desk so I could do the lower body rotation. Still can’t squat deep enough to drop my knee to one of the 2 throw pillows I had on the floor to cushion my bad knees; but, at least I was able to do the rotation. Tried to do the low runner’s lunge stretch and failed. Too weak and inflexible to complete it. But gives me another goal to shoot for.

12/30 Monday - 2.2 mile walk
12/31 Tuesday - Rest
1/1 Wednesday - 1 mile walk & Flexibility Workout
1/2 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk to and from Toastmasters mtg
1/3 Friday - Long Walk
1/4 & 5 Saturday & Sunday - Rest
1/6 Monday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/7 Tuesday - Rest
1/8 Wednesday - Long Walk
1/9 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk to and from Toastmasters mtg & 1.2 mile Walk/Bus to Dentist office
1/10 Friday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/11 & 12 Saturday & Sunday Rest
1/13 Monday - Long walk
1/14 Tuesday - Rest
1/15 Wednesday - Short walk & Flexibility Workout
1/16 Thursday - 1.2 mile walk Toastmasters mtg
1/17 Friday - Long Walk
1/18 & 19 Saturday & Sunday - Rest

4. Fasting/TRE: Did my standard “heavy” meal routine. Coffee before the workout. Coffee after the workout. 1st light meal immediately after with carbs with the coffee. 2 hours later had the main meal.

5. The annual rush of people wanting to make a change with the new year has begun. When I was with 24 Hour Fitness it always followed a familiar pattern. A January rush, with the majority not lasting until the end of the month. The last few stragglers gone by mid-February and those that remained were the small committed and consistent clients that would produce results.

I’ve been greeting and helping the newbies. Hopefully me and the other member with significant fasting experience can reduce the casualty rate for this month compared to the last 2 challenges. It’s also giving me opportunities to articulate all this accumulated knowledge in my head to easy-to-understand actionable plans which will impact the readability of the book.