The Savage Philosopher

What I really learned during a 46 hour fast. Over the past two months or so I have been trying to fast for 24 hours straight. Each day that I have attempted it, I have failed horribly. The reasons behind doing the fast in the first place is to simply to do the fast. To prove to myself that I can conquer my Hunger. Well this strategy completely failed. More recently, I've had a dramatic change in motivation. I have been forced to shed about 10 lbs of unnecessary fat. This is an external motivation that is internally desired. Meaning that I wish to fill the requirement, but the requirement came from an external source. With this new found motivation I was able Conqueror the first 24 hours without even thinking about it. It was so easy. When the second 24 hours past I was worried that food may not ever be needed. I was seriously beginning to consider the link to hunger is more connected to our emotional state than to actually needing nutrients. After 36 hours I started to realise

Humans have been able to dominate this planet because of our ability to create and use advanced tools. The smartphone is no different. The ability of technology to enhance our capability dramatically increases our productivity. Right now I am forced to write this blog using my phone. Last month, my primary computer died, and I have been at a loss on how to effectively get my thoughts out of my head and onto a blog. I am able to draft this post in Google Docs and use Google Voice to text feature to get the majority of the text on the page. Then as I read through, I can make simple edits using the keyboard. My typing skills are very adequate at 55 words per minute, but I can speak at 150 words per minute. As long as I can focus my thoughts on what I want to say, voice to text is 3 times more efficient on getting words on paper. The majority of the work to ensure a quality blog has always been in the editing process anyways. The unification of the voice to text and using Google Docs for

All authority must be given and cannot be taken. Those in charge may be disillusioned that somehow they ‘forced’ their authority, but in reality it was a choice by the person being ‘ruled’ to choose to be ruled. This begs the question, “how is control obtained?” What is it that the ruled do to specifically give others authority over them. My answer: Obligation When we agree to an obligation we are giving over our control to the obligation. We give over our control in our; promises to ourselves, promises to others, and promises to God. The promises we make to ourselves generally fall into changing the type of person we are. We want to be a better person, a healthy person, or a charitable person. Every day I strive to be a better friend, parent, and spouse. I’m not always as successful as I would like, and when that occurs I feel like a ‘failure’. I feel that I failed to live up to the obligation I set before myself. This pain is a point of control. I make stives to eat well,

I am not sure if the Reaper came knocking or just did a drive by, I decided not to take the chance and ended my Fast. I started it officially on Monday evening at 1900 and ended on Friday at 1600; a total of 93 hours without food. My only consumption was lots of water, black coffee, and a 20 oz Gatorade split over two days diluted in the water. I went from 230.6 pounds to 222.4 pounds in that time frame and slept about 40% less than normal. I also worked out every day. Other than what was reported, on Thursday I jogged with a 12 pound weighted vest for 25 minutes in 100 degree weather followed by 10 minute rest and another set of 35 minute speed walking. Then on Friday, I took an easy and inclined walked for 20 minutes at a moderate pace without the vest followed by 20 minute sauna time. Bottom Line: I learned that I can control my hunger and push myself physically and mentally much further than I ever thought. I learned that by having big goals and not small ones are the key to a

Overall, day two went very well. I was really tired by the afternoon because I didn't sleep the night before. In contrast, last night I had a great sleep. I woke up feeling really rested and ready for the day. I will confess that getting to sleep wasn't all roses. I finally passed out after many trips to the bathroom and I did not wake up exactly when I wanted to. Drinking lots of water throughout the day really helped, I just need to work on my ability to fall asleep more easily. Day two's workout was awesome. I ran for two miles with a 12 pound vest at maximum speed. I basically ran as fast and far as I could before stopping to catch my breath. Then I hit the weights increasing my load by 10 pounds on all four exercises, and felt awesome afterward. I was surprised by the lack of hunger I had during the day. I wasn't even hungry during my normal feeding time. The only thing I missed out was on some birthday cake near the end of the day. Let's be clear, my mouth

Day 1 complete. I probably should've picked a different day to start my fast. Starting it on the Fourth of July was a true test of self control. All day at the festival they were selling hot dogs, hamburgers, funnel cake, waffles, brats, lumpia, etc. All day I sat there letting my family enjoy all the delicious food. All day I thought to myself, “if I get through today, the rest will be easy.” Well, mission accomplished. I enjoyed the holiday without incident. The only thing I realize that I didn’t do was drink enough water. Not because I was hungry, but because I was so dehydrated. It probably prevented me from getting any real sleep last night. Lesson 1: Drink much more water than I think I need. As for any hunger issues. My hypothesis was correct. The fact that I am on an OMAD diet fixed any hunger pains I had to only early afternoon. After that, I was good regardless of the temptation. Around 1600, I started my planned workout. I got through half before it was

Am I a Human or an Animal? This question is one of the central themes of this blog. We know biologically that we are part of the Homo Sapien species in the Animalia kingdom. This classification only helps us with taxonomy, but not it’s meaning. I believe that the only way to truly define what it means to be a Human is through experience and self awareness. This brings me to my current test to see if I am more Human or more Animal. To help me figure that out, I have started a seven day fast. That is right. Seven days of only water and black coffee. I’ve done all the research and will break the fast if I think the reaper is coming for me. The Plan. I expect that I will start to get hungry around lunch time. I have been on the One Meal A Day program now for two months and my body knows when it is feeding time. Specifically, the Ghrelin hormone (the reason you feel hungry at just before meal time) will spike between 1030 and 1130. I will need to just wait for the hormone to f