Been intermittent fasting for over 2 years now, am a plant based eater and all vegan. Did 6 months on just fruits, in 4 years I've gone from being obese at 235lbs to 170lbs now, so over 65lbs lost and I'm 6ft tall so still built. I'm still learning, adapting, and trying to find the best balance.
I only do one good meal a day, break fasts with fruits only, and eat fruits first always. Don't touch refined sugars or grains, those are killers for such a lifestyle, same with processed foods. I no longer follow any strict timings, guidelines, rules, or even bother counting calories/nutrients. 100 calories from a donut and 100 calories from a carrot are night and day, cooked food vs raw, processed vs not, all affect the nutrients and aren't accurate.
Sleep is a good topic, and the thing to understand is the mind controls the body, and the mind and body both need rest. There are many fasters who go by on 4hrs of sleep and counter with meditation or restfulness, we get tired because of constant thinking, evaluating, stress, etc... with our lives, and factor in all the city light messing peoples circadian rhythms and melanin levels, most don't even get a solid 3 hours of deep sleep let alone 7 or 8. Second are beds, mattresses place stress on our backs and veins, not allowing building blocks to get to muscles easily at night so some wake up tense or feeling like they didn't get a good rest. I've been sleeping on the floor for 3 years now, and dread the pain of a mattress now :lmao:
