Anyone who knows me, or follows this blog for a while, knows I spend much time experimenting on myself. While there are rules of thumb to follow for progress, I often find that my path to progress can frequently be the 'exception' to some of those rules.
Take, for example, weight loss / Fat Loss. The simplified narrative is 'eat less move more'. Cut your calories back, train often and the weight will move. Granted, that rule of thumb works for a bit, but it is waaaaay more complex for me (and probably for many others).
I've cut carbs, cut daily calories by 500+ per day, increased training (both high intensity and steady state). I had to go so far as jab myself with a blood sugar monitor for a fortnight, diarise EVERYTHING I put in my mouth, get my blood analysed, and even get my shit tested (gut bacteria profile) with the Zoe Programme, to begin to get an understanding of the effects of food on my body and weight loss/gain.
I increased my exercise significantly (6-10 hours per week), denied myself all manner of food I enjoy and still progress is slow. It's like my body is fighting me to hold onto it. I've Intermittent fasted 16:8 + 24 hour, and in isolation, progress has been slow. The science conflicts with genetics, lifestyle, etc which doesn't help. I've just has to test what works best for me and most importantly what I can build into a long-term lifestyle that's sustainable and consistent. It has meant living like a Monk.
After 3 Years of experiments I'm finding that I'm making some progress (albeit slow at times). It's been a puzzle that I think I'm just starting to figure out. But I still have a way to go over the next 10 weeks. I'm down to 95Kg and still have 5kg to go.
This means living like a Monk in more ways than one....
Monk Strategy....
I need to break the 95kg plateau and I need to break it fast.
Monk Training
My first tool to do this is higher intensity sessions. These have already started in my Summer training block. Strides and Hill Repeats are well underway. I've just added in 4 min work:rest VO2 running sets. Warm-up for 10, 5x 4min:4min (work:rest) runs, 10min cool down. Distances are ramping up now, back into the 60km per week zone. If I can build this up steadily over the next 6 weeks then I should be peaking around 120km per week by the end of August/Start Sept. That's a lot of time on my feet for someone with a busy career, young family, etc. My Training hours are limited so will be getting to 2-a-day sessions 2-3x a week soon enough.
Monk Eating / Monk Fasting
In just over 2 weeks I'll be on a 2 week all-inclusive holiday, which could be deadly LOL. That's going to be about damage limitation. Extreme circumstances all for extreme measures. My diet is already very clean and pretty low carb. The next tool is the Monk Fast.
This is a 36-40 hour water fast. Zero calories. Designed to shock the thrifty gene, rebalance the hormones, increase HGH, and reduce my insulin resistance (responsible for easy weight gain). I'm doing this for the next couple of weeks, twice a week. This week I've already just finished it. It was tough but doable and fit quite well around my training schedule as it allowed me to at least get one meal in before a higher intensity training day.
I won't lie though... it's pretty tough. I'm hoping the next two weeks will be easier. I certainly dropped water weight but time will tell on the impact on hormones etc.
Monk Holidaying
Let me start by saying there's no fucking way I'm fasting on holiday. I draw the line there as I need some recovery time. I will, however, be watching what I eat and drink and limit sugars and low grade carbs (bread, cake, potatoes, pasta, etc) as best I can. This is the damage limitation part.
There will be damage, but if i can sequence what I eat, and get to love vodka soda and lime, then I should make it through. I'll be training most days. Running early (and in an airconditioned gym if that's too much), as well as laps of a very big pool. The good intentions are there, anyway. Time will tell how it actually works out though...
Monk Recovery
Given the extra burden of training, intensity and diet shifts, I am committing to 8 hours sleep every day. My Sleep starts are pretty good according to my trusty Suunto. average of 7.5 hours, 80% sleep quality, 2.5 hours deep sleep and an average resting HR between 47 and 51 bpm. No signs of overtraining so far based on those stats, but keeping an eye on them as the work builds.
Monk Rehab
This is me, right? So it stands to reason that I still have issues. They may be permanent (and after 3 years it's feeling that way). I have to say that the Achilles, ankle and lower calf is still a balancing act, but I am working on these daily. It is improving, and the higher intensity work is building more strength in these areas and forcing my body to adapt. I'm running faster, more frequently and I can now go again the next day without running as if I've been kicked in the nuts.
All said and done, I have 7 weeks left to train for this 300km monster before I start to Taper. Those 7 weeks are going to take a bit more sacrifice and lot of effort to get through. I believe I can hit my weight target by the end of this period if my 'monk' lifestyle works, and that I can put the necessary distance, pace and bullet-proofing into my legs to make it to the end of the challenge.
What I do know is that there is little more I can do than to just follow this next couple of months through the best way I can and avoid screwing myself up on the way. I'm feeling pretty good about that right now as I'm doing what I can... the rest is up to the Trail Gods...
Thanks for reading.
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