Lately, a lot of people are asking me for Intermittent Fasting. That is why a couple weeks ago I wrote the post “Everything You Need to Know about Intermittent Fasting” and I promised you that every week I will post an interview, with somebody who is following IF and already has a solid experience with this way of eating! You could read the previous interviews about Intermittent Fasting– with Marianne Kane (here ), and Tsvetan Ivanov( here). Today I have the pleasure of introducing you Teodor Dimitrov. He is a professional baseball player, an avid gym “rat”, and a talented artistic person. We could talk a lot about his gifted personality, and probably I will take another interview with him in the future, so you could get to know him and all his activities better, but today our focus will be on his experience with Intermittent Fasting. He has pretty good knowledge about strength training and nutrition, and it was really interesting to get to know more about his take on IF!
Ines Subashka: How long have you been following Intermittent Fasting?
Teodor Dimitrov: I’ve been on Intermittent Fasting for about 2 months. Since I came to the USA, I decided that this is gonna be my way of eating. Some friends and my coach, encouraged me to try it!
IS: Did you need time to adapt to fasting, or was everything good right from the beginning?
TD: As with everything else, you need some time to adapt, to tune the hormonal paths and the feeling of hunger. It is strange that I had some problems with my head. When I was in class and I felt bored, I found it really hard to concentrate. If I was physically active or if I worked out I didn’t have any problems. It took me about 1-2 weeks and after that everything is normal. It might take some time, for your body to get used to digesting the bigger food quantities, that you will eat in one sitting.
IS: What were the positives you noticed, after you started IF?And what about the negatives?
TD: I will start with the negatives, before I’ve noticed just one, but it has to do more with my daily schedule. I have to eat immediately after my workout and my shake, because the lunch room closes at 2 p.m., and I work out around lunch. And more often than not, I force myself to eat after a workout, so I can keep up with the protocol!
The positives of IF are kind of interesting. Some experiments with rats, indicate lowered IFG-1, which is considered to be the main cause of cancer, because it is the reason your cells are constantly dividing, and there isn’t any time left for errors in your DNA to be repaired. When you are hungry, is the time when it is more economic for your cells to be formed, and that is when the cell is being repaired, instead of being divided.
The rats, that were put to IF, lived 2-3 times longer, than the rats that didn’t follow IF. The most interesting scientific research is with the brain. The rats on IF, showed better memory and cognitive skills, and besides that during the starvation window, the brain regenerated itself and produced new brain cells. The explanation is that you need more brain cells, because they will increase the brain function, which will make you a better hunter!
The positives, when it comes to me personally, have to do with my own observations! I like the flexibility of IF, that I could eat bigger food quantities in one sitting; that I don’t need to count calories; I can cheat more often, especially on training days. You have more energy for your workouts and you can get more out of them, as strange as this may sound. My first workouts after the fasting, were as if I used cocaine. And, NO, you are not gonna pass out or feel weak!
Ines Subashka: In your opinion what is the hardest part about following IF?
TD: The hardest part about being on IF is that your first meal should be the largest, or at least for me. Some people are too gluttonous and they can not endure their whole fasting window, others indulge in food when it is the feeding window. Personally the hardest thing for me is the size of my first meal!
Ines Subashka: How this way of eating reflected on your physique and your workouts?
First, IF is like a stimulant before a workout. You are more focused, you get tired slower and you have a lot more strength! You recover faster, you increase your muscle mass, comparatively fast, because all your calories are concentrated in your post workout window. Visually- you lean out quickly, if you are strict with your food. And if you are not (like me) you will lean out slower, but I still get to eat pizza+ fries+ chocolate+ 5 steaks, after a workout and still not get fat.
IS: What would be your advice to people, who want to try Intermittent Fasting? What could they expect?
TD: My advice to people, who are trying to start IF, would be to be patient, to get rid of the stereotypes about nutrition. Take some vitamin D, fish oil and just give it a try! If you don’t start feeling better after some period of IF- probably it is not for you. But you could always modify IF to fit your lifestyle!
Do you follow Intermittent fasting? What was the hardest part for you and what are the results you got? If you want to share more about your IF experience, write me on Facebook or e-mail me at isubashka@yahoo.com!
P.S. If you liked this post, please share it with your friends! I’d greatly appreciate it!
Don’t forget to join my Facebook page!
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the layout of
your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so
people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images.
Maybe you could space it out better?
Excellent website. A lot of helpful information here. I’m sending it to several
pals ans also sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks on
your effort!