LONGECITY

After my first two months of CR at ~1800 kcals I'm somewhat puzzled. I LOVE it and I really wouldn't have expected me to do so. I had experimented with several forms of IFing for several months but most of the time found it rather exhausting subjectively. So I decided to give CR a try, more or less just for the heck of it.
And DAMN, to be perfectly honest the last time I felt that way was maybe twelve years ago or so, when I sometimes took some kind of ephedrine/caffeine combination pills. Amazing!
I get up in the morning before the alarm rings and have a very intense desire for physical activity that is pretty much "abnormal" for me. At times I almost feel like I literally can't sit still so that I take my running shoes and go for a spontanous run. I don't feel hungry at all eating four smallish "meals" a day and I can't see myself quitting this soon.

So my question for those of you who do that for a somewhat longer period of time, will this "energized" feeling last, or is it just a transitory phenomenon?
Edited by Dolph, 22 July 2013 - 04:51 PM.

I'm very glad to hear you're getting along as well as you are with the diet. The energized feeling you get is a mix of not being "weighed down" by digesting more food and calories, and from an increase in adrenergic activity from the caloric deficit. Regarding the first point, that aspect of your increased energy will likely not go away and is actually a major motivating factor, along with the similarly enhanced cognitive clarity, among many long-term adherents. Regarding the second point, this is a physiological adaptation to mildly stressing your body with a reduced caloric intake, so your body is trying to enhance energy output for finding food, and is somewhat related to "food anticaptory behavior" seen in animal studies. Your body will adapt to the reduced caloric load over time and this aspect of your increased energy will probably wane a bit, but it will continue for as long as you are mildly underfed, and you may notice it more strongly before typical meal times.

Regarding the second point, this is a physiological adaptation to mildly stressing your body with a reduced caloric intake, so your body is trying to enhance energy output for finding food, and is somewhat related to "food anticaptory behavior" seen in animal studies. Your body will adapt to the reduced caloric load over time and this aspect of your increased energy will probably wane a bit, but it will continue for as long as you are mildly underfed, and you may notice it more strongly before typical meal times.

Yes, that sounds plausible to me.
Strange enough when I was IFing 19/5 at a not really so much higher level of energy intake (roughly 200 kcals more) I felt tired all the time and couldn't motivate myself to work out as much as I wanted. Really a difference like night and day. Maybe the restriction of calories together with the longer fasting period was just too much stress at the same time.

It's wonderful that CR is working so well for you: congrats! I find loads of energy in the CR space, too, and feel like it's this secret that not many people choose to explore. It's really not that difficult of a discipline, and it becomes a way of life. I have to be careful to not to drop my weight too low -- I'm very active & full of energy.

Maybe the restriction of calories together with the longer fasting period was just too much stress at the same time.

This seems to be a popular sentiment that has turned many away from intermittent fasting recently. A lot of people hopped on the IF bandwagon and burned out because they pushed the fasts too long, and found that they felt better either shortening the fast to about 16 hours or nixing it altogether.

A lot of people hopped on the IF bandwagon and burned out because they pushed the fasts too long, and found that they felt better either shortening the fast to about 16 hours or nixing it altogether.

"Burnout" is actually the perfect word to describe that feeling I had. I wasn't hungry and my blood glucose was stable. It actually was a little bit too high for my taste, most of the time creeping to almost 100 in the mornings. Well, it sounded all so good and I just had to try it, now I know it's not for me.
Edited by Dolph, 22 July 2013 - 08:12 PM.

I have been eating a CR diet for several years and in my experience the positive feelings never subside.

I get a significant portion of my calories from fruits and nuts. I try to avoid processed carbs. I own a landscaping company so I get lots of exercise.
Those things may (or may not) be part of the equation.

Good luck with CR!
Edited by DR01D, 02 August 2013 - 04:38 AM.

I get a significant portion of my calories from fruits and nuts.

Yes, I think that's an important point. A few times during the last months I thought I just had to have some pasta. But these days I almost always felt really ravenous hungry in the evenings. Low calory density seems to be an absolute must to stay satisfied the whole day long. So I usually get about a good pound of fruit and two pounds of low starch vegetables alone. I also very much love some raw almonds here and there to satisfy my appetite for good fats.
So that really seems to be a viable strategy.

I also very much love some raw almonds here and there to satisfy my appetite for good fats.

Yep. Every morning I include in my breakfast...

25 pistachio kernels (84 calories, 6.8 fat)
12 almond kernels (82 calories, 7 fat)
20 peanut kernels (59 calories, 10.2 fat)
10 pecan halves (98 calories, 10.2 fat)

I love em!! 8-)

They keep me full and the fat is healthy.