Yes it’s all happening folks on Day 2 of the Christmas Eve Fasting Test Match live from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

The commentators were quite surprised to see me back in the game given my chequered start to my fasting career. I had a few false starts but then combined fasting with LCHF meals and some fast exercise to peel off 10kgs in 2 months that included a score of 60 (hours) in a 3 day fast match. I dropped from 92 to 82kg with a target of 75kg.

I was surprised by the (relative) ease of that 10kg loss and became a bit over confident and began lingering a little longer at the “drinks breaks” and suffered a period of barely making double digit scores. I stayed steady for a few months but after slacking off a bit more, I jumped back on the scales yesterday to find I had ‘found’ three of those lost kilos so I realised I was due for a solid innings to get me back on the straight and narrow.

I take a while to get my eye in with the many temptations that surround me working from home so I went in to bat yesterday knowing I had to survive the first session and build from there without having an absolute goal in mind.

The first session was as hard as I expected given the over indulgence in the pizza and red wine of the night before, coupled with the fact that I didn’t really want to be there this close to Christmas. Lucky there was no left-over pizza lurking in the fridge as those sirens would surely have had me washed-up on the rocks in no time. I read a few articles by the fasting guru, Dr Jason Fung which helped to strengthen my resolve.

I struggled through to lunch but having accumulated a score of 16 (hours) I was feeling ok again and was happy to push on. I skipped the tea interval without concern but the drinks break at 6pm was particularly testing. I have a fridge in the next room with the thermostat set low enough to freeze the water bottles but not the beer. It was a schtinker of a day with the mercury pushing through 38C at drinks and SHMBO poured herself a wine and offered me a cold beer and asked for suggestions for dinner! I knew I would pick up the overnight bonus during the sleeping session if I could get through to stumps but this is always the toughest session for me. And I still had the excruciating temptation of carving up a whole leg of ham before retiring……

I was very pleased to wake on Day 2 with my wicket still intact. On Day 1, I had consumed only my allowed 2 x chicken stock drinks and a coffee with cream (and lots of water following the aforementioned pizza/red wine). I also did 3 sets of body weight exercises (Chin ups, push ups, dips and pull ups (reverse of push ups)).

Day 2 is a doddle for me compared to the first day of a Fasting Test Match and I would have been so disappointed with myself if I had succumbed last night. At 9am this morning I was on 36 and I have just made the family ham and cheese toasties for lunch without being too tortured and am currently unbeaten on 42.

We are heading for 39C this afternoon and I am looking forward to my supper and a refreshing ale tonight. However if I can hold out until 11pm, I’ll crack the half-ton so I’ll just procrastinate on eating and see how I feel. Mmmm, time for a cup ‘o chicken stock!

Hi JadeLark.

Yes I’m really enjoying this fasting cricket now. I’m only competing with myself I know but I suspected I would push on if I made it to Day 2. The fridge is backing up as we have been stocking up for Christmas while the main consumer is on ice!

It’s 10pm local time and I’m sitting on 49. Just had my coffee & cream as my treat and I’m actually not particularly hungry so I wasn’t overly concerned with passing up my dinner tonight and another alcohol free day is a good thing.

I’m going to bed to get me some more of those free overnight runs. I will hopefully be asleep when I crack 50 and I just love the idea that my body is busily mining my fat reserves while I’m blissfully out to it!

Day 3 – approaching lunch break on 63.

I had reported earlier that my highest score had been 60 and was looking forward to a new personal record however the scorer came over just before the start of play and pointed out that my last 3 day effort (dinner time to dinner time) would have been a score of 72, so what gives? For this level of maths I had to take my shoes and socks off to count but had to concede. So ‘Boo’ for lack of new record but ‘Hurray’ for retrospective improvement on old mark!

Interesting symptoms today which I’ll come to.

Yes that was supposed to be SWMBO – thanks for spotting JadeLark. She is one of those lucky people not born with the ‘Labrador gene’ and so has always been slim and has found that moderation in all things has worked well. She looks at food as fuel where as I find it more difficult to limit my intake.

I have previously resorted to copious exercise (intermittently) to control my weight but it was only upon reading 5:2 and then researching a bit wider on LCHF that I really appreciated the science behind these lifestyle changes and I had to concede (doing a lot lately) that I actually need to control my diet to control my health. SWMBO is supportive but somewhat sceptical that it is sustainable but that does add to my motivation – whatever works!

Day 3 is still easier than Day 1 and similar to Day 2 but a bit different. I woke up with a definite acetone/mineral/metallic taste in my mouth which I recognise as being caused by Ketones in my breath as a result of being in Ketosis (burning fat stores rather than glucose & glycogen). I have experienced this previously along with some light-headedness. It was very slight this time which I believe is due to having my 2 broths (chicken stock drinks) per day which is recommended by many on LCHF sites. When eating, I have only one or none. Definitely have one before exercise.

My understanding is that the lack of carbs causes a reduction in the body’s salt stores which causes the loss of water and a corresponding lowering of blood pressure. I believe this explains why people with high blood pressure can get such an immediate improvement from fasting but it can lead to light-headedness in those with normal blood pressure.

I had my cup of chicken stock and waited about 45 minutes before a light workout on the fast exercises with no giddiness.

This is not for everyone but for me, getting through Day 1 is all about getting to a stage where I know there are no nutrients in my stomach or gut. Any stored glycogen has been spent and I am burning fat only. I find that separate fasting days are more pain and less gain for me.

If fasting for two days, I would do consecutive days. The downside of this is it can lead to procrastination on starting the fast. Even more so on a longer fast so I don’t plan a longer one, I just start and see how the innings builds.

I made my 7 & 4yo boys fried eggs on toast for breakfast and I was tempted but still much less than Day 1. I brought my coffee with cream forward though so might end up with two of them today as well as two broths. I will have no regrets if I break my fast tonight.

Day 4

Thanks PalletMan. It’s a glorious morning here in Ballarat and play got underway at 9:00AM local time. Play was extended last night to 12:30AM with the score at 75 – a new high score surpassing the previous mark of 72 (rawwww!).

With the overnight Rest Break Bonus, the score was 84 at the start of play on Day 4.

The scorching temperatures of the last few days gave way to a cool change yesterday afternoon with some storm activity and rain. This would have stopped a cricket match but not a fasting match. It was overcast and damp this morning and 11.6C (53F) which is ideal batting conditions for this Christmas Eve Fasting Test Match.

Summary of Yesterday’s Play

The scoreboard ticked over at a slow but steady clip of 1/hour funnily enough. However things got a bit intestinally wobbly around 5 or 6 pm. I felt a bit nauseous and was feeling just a bit over the self-restraint. I treated myself to a second coffee and cream around 9:30PM and settled down to watch Grand Designs in Tuscany. No, Kevin was in Tuscany, I was still in Ballarat. After the show, I felt a sudden and urgent need to get to the bathroom. About an hour later, a second case of the squirts. “This is not what I signed up for” I thought.

However I woke up this morning feeling fine, better than ever during this test match. I had a small amount of wind early and then a normal bowel movement a couple of hours later. Low volume as one might expect but no gastro. I guess I over did it with that second coffee! Seriously though, who knows. One of the boys had a fever two days ago and a mild bit of gastro so maybe that.

But I am confident of what is actually going on at a metabolic level. My Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is at least 2,500 cal. I consumed 200 cal on the first two days and 350 cal yesterday with that extra coffee & cream. So the bulk of my energy is coming from my own fat reserves.

I have some reflections on the Labrador Gene and Hunger v Habit which I’ll post tomorrow but for now, I’m heading down to the park with my 7yo to challenge him in a chin-up competition. He has the power to weight advantage but I have psychological warfare experience and can make him laugh just at the critical point where he needs a final effort. That’s what Dads need to do to get their children ready for a world that doesn’t always play fair!

Day 5

First things first – Gratuitous Gloating Time!

I cracked the ton at 1AM last night. I would have had a beer but I was asleep. Thank goodness. This is the celebratory song going around in my head and also serves to give you a quick insight into the great game of cricket on which my Test Match is loosely based, Zen123:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjr9Y3oNW-4

Watch the footage if you can but the lyrics otherwise:
I Made A Hundred In The Backyard At Mum’s
© Greg Champion (Warner/Chappel Music Australia)

As I went out to have a bat just the other day
I had no idea what was coming my way
I played a chanceless innings and I earnt every run
and I made a hundred in the backyard at Mum’s

Oh, I made a hundred in the backyard at Mum’s
I clobbered and I crunched every fabulous run
I toiled and I sweated and when the day was done
I’d made a hundred in the backyard at Mum’s

I started out real shaky-like just poking around
me sister with her off breaks well she had me pinned down
but when me little brother bowled I gave him the clout
and when we stopped for lunch I was twenty-four not out

Then me Uncle Nev came on bowling his quicks
but I was scoring freely with deflections and flicks
as I passed me fifty I sensed something great was near
and when I hit the roof next door they all began to cheer

I took some on the body but they didn’t hurt a bit
I only hit the ball that was there to be hit
I hooked ’em off me eyebrows and I tried to keep me head
and the ton came up with a straight drive through the window of the shed.

Gloat over.

Perfect non-eating conditions again on Day 5 in the Christmas Eve Fasting Test Match in fabulous Ballarat! With the overnight “lying on your fat bum” bonus and a morning distracted by a terrific family outing, I find myself on 115 at 4pm local time.

Having lashed out with two coffee & creams on Day 3, I went without yesterday to appease the Gastro Gods and so I am back to my average daily consumption of 2 broths and 1 C&C. I also have a daily multi-vitamin if I haven’t mentioned it before – just a backup in case I’m lacking the full spectrum of nutrients from my love-handle storage. Tummy is all good today.

I beat my 7yo in chin-ups with psychological tactics as planned – in round 1 that is. He won over the 3 rounds AGAIN.

Reflections on The Labrador Gene – Hunger or Habit?

One of the benefits of fasting for me is that it causes some mindfulness to reflect on my eating habits. I think of that scene from Pulp Fiction where they open the brief case they have been carrying around. We are not shown the contents but we see the bright glow of the contents reflecting on their faces. It is something fantastic. That is me staring into the fridge!

I may be sitting at my desk working when I suddenly become conscious that I’m actually standing in front of the fridge with the door open! “How did I get here?” I ask myself. “Oh look, there’s some lovely cold sausages looking lonely”. More bizarrely, this has happened in the past few days when I’m not eating anyway! Perhaps it is a form of procrastination from the other tasks at hand but it’s clearly a well grooved behaviour.

SWMBO was making party pies the other night for the extended family feast that awaits us in 3 more sleeps. I had a deep whiff of the first tray of 8 that came out of the oven and said I could eat all of them right now. She might eat two at a stretch (for fuel) and retorted something to the effect of “that’s why you have to do strange things like fasting!”.

Self-help books tell me that it’s not my fault that I suffer from Metabolic Syndrome or similar (The Carrot) where I can’t restrain myself (Labrador) so I need a new strategy like Intermittent Fasting (IF) and/or a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet. SWMBO delivers the counter argument (The Schtick) of the traditional common sense way of looking at it.

I agree with her and do I eat too much but in a rare positive reframing of having inherited the Labrador Gene, I am becoming empowered by the confidence that I actually can manage my health in the short and long term with IF and LCHF but I have the advantage of celebrating the delights of good food to a degree not enjoyed by those Whippets that eat only for fuel. Touché!

I think Day 5 has been the easiest yet. It begs the question, “How long is too long to fast?” I would be interested in your thoughts on or experience with multi-day fasts.

I previously mentioned Dr Jason Fung. He has a refreshing, common sense approach to all things obesity related and has a way with words that cuts strait to the chase. Here is a classic quote from his blog https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/bariatrics-surgically-enforced-fasting-t2d-6/:

“If I, as a doctor, recommend cutting out a person’s healthy stomach and rewiring their intestines from the normal configuration to some bizarre man-made creation, people think I’m great. If I recommend fasting, which accomplishes everything that bariatric surgery does without any complications or costs, then I’m some kind of crazy Internet guy with a tin foil hat on his head.”

Amen to that!