Cole

I just watched a 35-minute video on youtube on a guy named Dr. Nun S. Amen RA. He is a 50-55-year-old vegan powerlifter and he holds a few world records for 600+ lb deadlifts in his division. The big catch is that for the last 15 years he and his wife have only consumed 1000-1500 calories each per day. They fast for 23 hours, then have a meal in the evening. He's seriously in great shape and his main objective is to slow down the aging process, not to become a great powerlifter. He's superbly educated and he's a vegan. He meditates and does yoga. He walks around with a stick like he's in a tribe. I also saw in another video where he's writing hieroglyphics. He seems legit to me, but his story just broke about 11 days ago so its hard to be sure. Anyone who lifts knows how effective the right diet can be to seeing results. This guy is turning all the rules upside down and only eating one meal each day which only supplies 1000-1500 calories. His theories and research indicate that the body starts to boost human growth hormone after a certain amount of time without eating, which, when coupled with other variables, afford him the ability to gain muscle under such a caloric restriction. He also speaks of the health benefits associated with his regime which could be very beneficial if what he's saying is true. I'm not sure if I can post a link so I didn't. Not really sure if I believe this can work for the average guy, but it is definitely a new and interesting idea to me. What do you guys think?

@cirkussmile Absolutely. @Siim Land I'm very interested in his system, but I won't be implementing the caloric restrictions until I know more about it. I did, however, start a fast today, and it feels good. I plan on going 16-18 hours depending on how I feel. More information about him is coming out. He looks really big in the pictures and videos, but he's actually about 5'-6", which explains partly why he can get by with only 1000-1500 calories. He's probably gradually progressed down to that level of fasting and caloric restriction over time.

@Beam I was thinking about giving the fasting window a try on a smaller scale. I started researching intermittent fasting and found several videos and articles. I may try a shorter fast window of 12 to 16 hours. Depending on how well that works I may integrate it into the days I work, and progress over time if I'm getting the results I desire. @ChimpBrain I agree that he's naturally strong. I'm very impressed with is size, given his caloric consumption. I still have a hard time believing he can maintain and grow that much muscle with only 1000-1500 calories a day.

Popi, I started just walking to get some fresh air. Then I decided I wanted to throw a little sprint into my walk so I did. Then I decided I wanted to try to jog more, and go longer, so I did. Then I said let me see if I can do this consistently and I did. You'll notice in the beginning that its nice just to take a walk. After a while that isn't quite as satisfying and you kinda build over time. As you progress be sure to monitor how your joints feel, don't feel bad for taking a day or even a week off if you start to get sore. You can always do some light upper body workouts in the gym which will take the load off your legs while they rest. Its good to have options when you work out, so that you're not always using the same muscles, tendons, joints, etc to the point where it leads to injury. Also just to echo what Siim Land said about nutrition, you can't outexercise a bad diet. Its not hard to get into a healthy habit of running or what I just call jogging, because I jog for the most part, and I slow down to walk when I'm tired or feel my joints are about to become a little stressed. The hardest thing to do is to do it in moderation so you don't get an injury, but that is the key to longevity and getting to the point where you could potentially run the whole way, but I haven't got there yet, I'm still good where I'm at. A few notes, running shoes help, also some good breathable shorts if its hot. A great psychological benefit I noticed in the beginning was that I could get myself directly out of a mental funk by just getting up, throwing on my shoes, and going for a quick walk or jog, its just good for a change of environment or a change of pace. In other words I always feel better afterwards. I was watching a video on Steph Curry and they said that sometimes he'll just go to the gym at 3:00am because he's just that dedicated, and hearing that reminded me of how dedicated I've been in the past. It made me get off of my ass in that moment and go for a run and it was like 11:30 pm I think. I remember that night I had a little piece that was really explosive, and I went faster than I'd ever gone up to that point. What would have happened if I had stayed there sitting on my ass? ha. See. Another thing to help you stay away from injury is to try to only jog or run when your going up hill. When you're going down hill (even a slight decline) the pressure it puts on your knees increases from the way you land, not that it can't be done, just that its not that easy until you reach a good running weight, your legs and ankles have strengthened enough, and you have good form and technique. So in the beginning only jog up hill and walk down hill. You can google all the health and well being benefits, I don't know them off hand. I just know its good for you as long as you take it slow, and give your body the rest it needs along the way. Anyways, hope this helps.

I also gave up coffee for 3 months, and drinking for 6 months, and I've never really drank like I used to since then. I also wouldn't allow myself to be around anyone who's smoking because I didn't want to set off any triggers. People will respect your wanting to quit and wish they could as well.

Hey I have some advice/my story I'd love to share. I smoked for over 10 years at almost a pack a day. I've been quit for over 6 years now. I used to drink at least twice a week which led to heavier cigarette usage. I just woke up one morning and I could feel and hear the wheezing in my chest from this punishment I'd been putting myself through. I decided I wanted to quit. I went online and found whyquit.com. It looks like a little rinky-dink website, but its honestly loaded with tons of information and stories about people who quit, people who quit and relapsed, and people who died from cigarettes. It will show you the brain scans they did on people after smoking 1 cigarette, 6 months of smoking, a year of smoking, and someone who's smoked for like 20+ years, and how the dopamine receptors in the brain increase with increased cigarette usage. Sounds like you've already found similar information which is key to your quit. The main reason I was able to quit in the beginning was that after doing my research I understood exactly what was happening inside my brain every time I smoked a cigarette. When I saw and understood how the process worked on a scientific level and how my emotions were attached to the chemical process in my brain, I decided I wanted out for good. This new found knowledge gave me the power to withstand the extreme cravings that came and passed, proving that I could become stronger than this natural insecticide of the tobacco plant. I got stronger over time, and its still something I'm passionate about and love to help others with. Another thing they tell you about on that site is how manipulative the tobacco companies are. I was so mad when I found out that the patches and gums actually buy their nicotine from the same source the cigarettes come from. The success rate is ridiculously higher when you quit cold turkey vs patch or gum and the tobacco companies know this which is why they promote quitting via a patch or gum. The website is a cold turkey website. Joel is the founder of the website and he was a professional cessation coach who traveled doing seminars for over 30 years helping people quit smoking. He retired and put all his information online for free. I planned my quit about 2.5 weeks in advance. I picked a day I could remember. I bought a basic 24 speed bicycle for less than $70 new at academy outdoors. I told my best friend that I wanted to quit and he was excited to hear about it, and agreed that I might need to vent or talk through a craving or two, and it just helps to have some form of a support group to get your mind off it. More things that empowered me or pissed me off and made me resolve to fucking break free of these motherfuckers making money off me killing myself: the amount of shit they put in the cigarettes // look up the health benefits of quitting smoking for 6 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, a month, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years etc.. you'll be surprised how much your health improves in just 2 weeks, look at the percentages // check out how cigarettes have been labeled for sale in other countries (this product is bad for you in big bold letters). When you go on the site, there will be some revolving yellow bricks around topics, those are more fundamental, click on them. Read everything you desire to. I think what you're doing with the calming supplements is beneficial, just make sure to stay away from nicotine. I quit cold turkey, but I had the empowering knowledge I found on this website. And for someone who's still smoking (speaking generally), having a plan is a good thing, you don't have to just quit that second, make a strategy, gather resources, then put it in action. If I had to do it again I would probably get a fresh spiral notebook and just write down all the empowering information I could gather and just take it with me in the car, to work, back home, to the grocery store, etc., so when I did have a craving, I would be able to physically calm down and take comfort that its just emotions and its a natural part of the process. Anyways, hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this.