Starvation = Focus? | Hacker News Reader

Starvation = Focus?

6 pointsdelinquentme16 comments

So i dont have any RESEARCH to back this up. This is all completely personal experience... but I've experienced this twice now:

( two periods of ~ 2 day introduction period followed by 2 subsequent days of "starvation" )

limiting caloric intake SERIOUSLY switches up my focus what its like while working. ( noticeable increase )

DISCLAIMER: - I don't hold back on gratuitous intake of BLACK coffee, the occasional TEA, and water. Also multivitamins and intake of protein ( I'm not in this to lose MUSCLE )

Now I don't recommend this if you're seriously underweight .. I'd say I've got ~10 lbs of extra body fat.

NOTE 1: the first 2 days are HELL, your body HATES YOU. After than I've been eating no more than 1 meal a day @ sub 600 cal

NOTE 2: I also consistently break out 10 - 20 pushups at work, home, wherever ( also a good practice for the intro period to get your mind off the hunger pains )

The focus that i experience is sooo wonderfully even keel and persistent, though I'd recommend having LOTS of work to do ( multiple projects to switch back and forth between )

you'll need it, especially for the first two days =]

It is called "intermittent fasting." Doing it properly works wonders and does not result in muslce loss, I used to do 24 hours fasts once a week. I'll post links when I'm not on my mobile...

I do 24 hours 1-3x a week but with a twist. Most people think "24 hours" and think "in the same day." I will eat breakfast and lunch one day and then nothing until dinner time the following evening. It still accomplishes the 24 hours (more like 27-29).

I also generally exercise at the start of the fast to burn off my glycogen stores so my body relies on stored fat for energy the next day.

I do it differently, I eat dinner then don't eat again until the following dinner. I find that not eating breakfast helps keep hunger at bay.

Another popular option is the 8-hour eating window / 16 hour fast.

And intermittent fasting does seem a nice way to retain muscle mass: http://www.leangains.com/2011/03/intermittent-fasting-for-we...

is this a weight loss thing .. or just for focus?

It is more of a healthy living type of thing, doing it properly doesn't result in health loss. Here's a good overview of the health benefits of IF: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-benefits-of-intermitte...

For me, when I'm on a 24 hour fast- I feel more focused, more "alive" and not hungry at all (just make sure to drink plenty of water).

You are killing your muscle mass by doing this:

Let me make a few recommendations if i may, that would give you the same result while still allowing you to preserve most of your muscle mass. And possibly lose fat.

- Instead of eating less calories, eat less carbs. (It brings you the same level of focus as you would have if you had been starving yourself. Trust me.)

- Do NOT do any form of anaerobic excercise without having had atleast 250 grams of carbs within that day.

- Drink A LOT of water, pretty obvious but still.

actually proper intermittent fasting doesn't result in muscle loss (look it up). I agree with eating less carbs- but you should specify the carbs- the bad carbs are the ones that come from processed foods and grains, the good carbs are fruits and veggies.

So i think this needs to get back a bit to the calorie restriction / intermittent fasting / "starvation"

and not so much dieting ( theres plenty of that elsewhere )

Particularly id like to know how long anyones sustained it and what are you like say 6 -10 days in

so far my max has been 3 before breaking out and eating a full meal ( 900 ish cal )

Yeah, works for me.

I've never done this deliberately, but I have noticed this effect.

Drink loads of coffee as well for a double boost: it reduces appetite.

After a few days you will burn out though - only use at critical times.

Also, please avoid the " this isn't healthy " commentary.

I'm doing it.

It's perfectly healthy. as a sidenote: you can mimic those effects through exercise (and a smaller window of caloric restriction). I've had some great mid-distance runs on no calories for the prior 6-8 hours (they felt great.. but I couldn't have gone much further given the low glycogen).

The people who've posted here might also be interested in checking out PaleoHacks, they've had some interesting threads on IF: http://paleohacks.com/search?q=intermittent+fasting#axzz1I0z...

absolutely! swimming but i just thought its kind of wild how after a certain point the body acclimates.

I find that WHEN YOU gratuitously use CAPITAL letters in your HACKER NEWS posts, it radically lowers READING speed and annoys THE everloving shit OUT OF most people trying to parse WHAT THE hell you're trying to SAY.

That said, I agree that minimal variation of blood sugar levels tends to result in greater focus, though the route to getting there doesn't necessarily have to be through starvation.

So you're saying that you think better when you're hungry?

Makes sense. Right? Your body wants to survive so it allows the brain to function a little better so you can find some food.

Kinda reminds me of something I used to hear BASE jumpers saying back in the 90's: "life gets real simple three seconds to impact".

yeah! and i've heard this as like a survival thing... which makes sense right? .. you're needing to be razored up for your next kill ( running on all 8 cylinders so to speak )

base jumping = win.

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