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Eat, Fast and Live Longer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Hi, can anyone just advise on the fasting day - can you use your 400 calories through the day or is it just supposed to be one meal with copious amounts of black coffee and water to keep you going? also what about fruit, would you have to "count" that as part of the 400?
Would really like to try this

Many thanks
Lu
 
It's a research project with a few individual indicators. Whatever you do you are pioneering. But I don't think lots of black coffee is the key. I think having a high fat content will be more sustaining - like my nut porridge/drink, & if I did it, I would have 3 'meals' & lots of water in the form of green/black tea.
 
Thanks for that Ian - helpful, probably do me good to swap my coffee intake to green tea as well, drink far too much at the mo!!
Going to start tomorrow and think my fast days will be Monday and Thursday, I Zumba on Tuesdays and Bokwa on Wednesdays so no good to be fasting on those days, Fridays - well, you just have to have that end of week glass of wine and weekends - there is no hope of not eating normal bits and pieces!!

Fingers crossed and lets give it a go!!!
 
I'm also going to try 2 days a week with reduced calories. In fact I started yesterday.
I had 2 weetabix for breakfast, then nothing until 630pm, lentil daal. A few cups of peppermint tea through the day.
I work from home, so not a physical job, but need to have my wits about me. I was fading badly by the end of the afternoon and was struggling to think straight. Still after eating the daal felt great, and paradoxically I felt much more active and less tired through the evening.
Still, will try this for a few weeks and see how it goes.
I was impressed by the program, and as I work in science, appreciated the way the information was presented, leaving the watcher to draw their own conclusions.
 
Defren said:
I have worked out a days nutrition based on 2 Atkins shakes and a slim and save shake per fasting day:

467 Calories
19 Carbs
13 Fibre
47 Protein
16 Sugar
21 Fat
Click to expand...

Sounds good. I think we're gonna have to be SUPER careful with how we actually FAST. I'm pretty sure that for my first couple of FASTS, I'll fast completely (ie - only drink water) to make sure I'm shocking my body into understanding what is actually going on! I promise I'll be careful... :angel:

We need to be careful that we dont "frig the system" by trying to fast by calculating the largest volume of food that you can take in and remain below 500cals or so. This is probably going to negate the benefits of fasting. I believe that it is the volume/bulk of the food (or lack of!) that provides the body/brain with the benefits.

So eating 500cals worth of low fat food may not show any benefits. And I'd rather eat a couple of eggs or some cheese to keep me satisfied on a fasting day, anyway!

I've read a lot about intermittent fasting in the past, and it was something that I'd been meaning to try our POST-Newcastle diet. I figured that doing the newcastle diet for 2 days a week would give similar benefts of fasting completely.

I had considered doing a fast for 1 day a week. But the programme that started this all off (and has got me REALLY excited - if you can't tell! :thumbup: ) seemed to be advocating Alternate Day Fasting.

That is what I'll be aiming for. Starting with 1 fasting ga a week, and gradually building up. It won't be easy - but i have no doubt that it will be worthwhile.

I absolutely LOVE the idea that in response to fasting, the brain "re-generates", to make the hungry person a much more effective hunting machine!

Peace, love and Alternate Day Fasting!
 

On the programme, they did say that they'd found best results when all calories were taken in a single meal. The presenter said he usually took all of his calories at breakfast...

Fruit would definitely be counted in the 400cal. Other diets, where stuff like fruit and salad are considered "free", do not have the same philosophy as the fasting theory...
 
I fasted on Monday, last meal on Sunday evening, first meal Tuesday morning.

So on Monday my only food intake was vegetable soup = grated zucchini, carrot, onion, clove of garlic, simmered in water, added bouillon powder to it (I make my own but sometimes use Marigold or Kallo organic) then put it into a blender with a big handful of fresh herbs, I made 2 litres of this cuppa soup, I drank it during the day, also had ginger and lemon tea.

On fasting days I make sure that I dont have to drive anywhere because I can feel a bit light headed, but I go for a gentle stroll, meditate, do breathing exercises preferably whilst sitting on the beach/in a forest/middle of the moors, and generally relax and potter about the house, eg tend to my plants, talk to friends who sometimes join in with fasting.

I didnt feel hungry, slept like a top, on Tuesday morning I woke up happy, feeling so relaxed, cleansed and refreshed, it never fails to amaze me how this works.
Next fasting day is next week on Wednesday (I think). I only do one day a week for cleansing/regeneration purposes, and to keep my weight stable, I dont actually lose weight as a result of fasting one day.

I do light liquids only because I want to give my body a good rest, I dont like drinking those shakes they are full of chemical rubbish, I would sooner do myself a berry coconut milk smoothie instead.

Not sure how this would work for type 1 diabetics though, be careful people, dont hurt yourselves.
 
This is all really interesting. I am so interested in the Newcastle diet but I don't think I would be able to do it, at least not right now. I do find that low carbing I am so much less hungry that I used to be and I can imagine a day of not having breakfast and eating a meal around 12ish and then not having dinner. I am currently still breastfeeding though so I think I maybe shouldn't do it just yet.

But I won't worry if on some days I am not very hungry. I did Weightwatchers for many years (unsuccessfully...) and they were so adament about *always* eating that it messed with my head a bit and I find that sometimes I am eating when I am not hungry because I am so used to having to do so!

Please post your results as I will be really interested to see how you all get on - and also what you are actually doing.
 
TO ALL OF YOU CONSIDERING THIS FASTING METHOD

Are any of you on insulin? I am not sure how I can go about organising it with insulin?

Consultant has advised against it but I would like to hear from people who are living with it!

Many thanks, Judith :wave:
 
Jude said:
Hi Jo

Could you tell me if the shakes you have referred to are sweetened with sweeteners? I expect they are and straightaway that rules them out for me because of the ibs

Judith x
Click to expand...

Hi Judith, the Atkins shakes are sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame-K. Slim and save are sweetened with aspartame (contains phenylalanine). I am not on insulin, just Metformin and diet.

The one meal a day thing could well be right, and I have it wrong. I am testing myself out today doing just a day of shakes to see how I get on, it's fine to be cocky and think you did it for weeks so a couple of days will be easy, and already I am missing my yogurt and berries. I have added chia seeds to my shakes so far today and I think I will do the same again again tomorrow. I can then read how you are all doing on one meal a day ready for me start properly in September. :lol:

One thing I really do advise, while doing restrictive calories, please do stay hydrated, drink loads of water, tea or coffee with no milk, even diet soda's (not the best choice) but do drink loads.
 

Hi Judith I was thinking that as well. I'm type 1, but couldn't do anything at the moment because of ongoing stomach problems which are being investigated. It would be interesting to do ( if I didn't chickhen out and I know I would find it hard) as I need all the brain cells I can get lol, but I do not want to loose weight. ps I was going to talk to my DSN about it, but I know what she will say :shock: Best wishes RRB
 
For the T1's - can you fast safely? Providing you DON'T inject insulin, would you be alright? Hypo's usually happen when you inject too much insulin for what you've eaten, so if you're not eating at all, is it just a case of NOT injecting?

School me???
 
I have had one shake today with 5g of chia seeds, so have decided rather than three shakes I am not having any more and am going to use today as a proper fasting day. So with 191 calories and 5g of carbs, it's going to be tougher than it would be on a 400-600 calorie fast, but if I can do today then a higher calorie fast day should be easier.
 


No we still need insulin Patch.....that is why it's called Insulin Dependent Diabetes.
 
As reported in the Gulf news, writing about fasting and T1
“ If insulin is absent, the body begins to utilise fat as an energy source, leading to life threatening conditions. Too much or too little insulin can be dangerous as well"
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/healt ... -1.1056928




The safety or not of fasting for T1s depends on both the type of insulin they take and how well they are controlled before fasting.
The only evidence is from Ramadan fasting and showed a 4.7 fold increase in hypos and a 5 fold increase in hyperglycemia.. these were probably underestimated as they were those that resulted in hospital visits.(The rates were also increased for those with T2 with a 7.5fold increase in hypos)
This UK doc for nurses suggests that T1s on basal/bolus should be discouraged from fasting but gives some good info on dose reduction.
It also includes info on decreasing medication for people with T2.
http://library.nhsggc.org.uk/mediaAsset ... E_PACK.pdf

Another document from the US suggests that people on basal/bolus are in a better position (I agree with this I must say) and that people using pumps would be in the best position: I personally have no problems missing a meal for basal testing though suspect that more than twelve daylight hours would be more problematic.
The US advices says that It is unlikely that other regimens, including one or two injections of intermediate-, long-acting, or premixed insulin, would provide adequate insulin therapy

The US doc also gives info on safer practices for both T1 and T2 (again for Ramadan but could be generalised)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2909082/

On the diabetes UK site there is a filmed discussion about Ramadan fasting and diabetes. One of the things it stresses are that fasting may not be safe for all people with diabetes and is something to be discussed with your doctor.
 
Benedict

What about Type 2s on insulin - I cannot find anything about that. I am on Humalog 25 with breakfast and evening meal and am thinking about whether some sort of fasting may be helpful but need to know how to adjust my insulin.
Also this fasting 2 days with one meal of 500 calories - does it have to be one meal or can those calories be over 2 meals?

Thank you. Judith
 
thats a good idea, a thread of support for fasters (ok I made up that word lol). What whitby jet said about irbesartan and potassium levels worries me, I'm on them for high BP. :shock:
 
Sparklygal said:
thats a good idea, a thread of support for fasters (ok I made up that word lol). What whitby jet said about irbesartan and potassium levels worries me, I'm on them for high BP. :shock:
Click to expand...

Sparklygal - I have CKD, at the time it was stage 3-4, which meant that my kidneys were not good at excreting potassium. I was meant to be on a low potassium diet, yet my doctor prescribed Irbesartan which raises potassium levels.

If your kidneys are fine you dont need to worry about Irbesartan, sorry I scared you.
 
I always thought it was important for all diabetics to eat regular meals, hence the reason Muslims are exempt from fasting during Ramadam if they are diabetic




Off topic. Why is Ramadam not recognised in the spell check in Firefox? Oddly neither is Firefox :lol:
 
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