Did
you manage to catch the program on BBC2 on Monday about intermittent fasting?
It was when journalist and presenter Michael Mosley tried out a couple of
methods to see if he could prevent future diseases, prolong ageing and get a
bit leaner in the process.
Here’s
the link if not.
The
majority of the program was well presented and informative. I was initially
worried that it would give the public the wrong impression. I was concerned that
people would think it was ok to just not eat whenever they wanted. That it
would get people doing crazy very low calorie diets thinking they would be ok
and good for health! But, it’s more structured than that and it does matter how
you do it.
The
first fast
Michael
began with a pretty tough challenge. He had to fast for 3 days! He was only
allowed water, tea and miso soup. Stupidly he sat with the crew in the
restaurant watching them eat. One rule of fasting… don’t surround yourself with
food!!
However,
he managed to do it and after he got his blood results back, he was told there
had been a dramatic improvement and his health had improved. But, unless he
made changes to his current relatively poor diet, these changes wouldn’t last,
and they didn’t, as he said later in the program. After he went back to how he
was eating before, they went back up again.
Not
being able to get his head around doing a fast like this every 1-2 months, he
went in search of something easier. This is when he discovered a study going on
in Chicago on alternate day fasting. This is when I started shouting at the TV!
Noooooooo!
It
involved eating one meal on the ‘fast day’, so wasn’t about total abstinence
from food. The following day was a ‘feed day’ where you could eat whatever you
wanted, quite literally it seemed. Where did he get taken the next day for
food? To a fast food drive through for burger, chips and ice-cream!
Apparently
as long as you stick to 400-600 calories on your fast day it didn’t matter
whether you ate a high or low fat diet! My god, HELLLOOOOOO! Calorie counting
is also flawed, but that’s another article!
Now
I’m sure you don’t need to be a fitness professional to realise that sounds
like utter madness. It absolutely does matter WHAT you eat in order to get
optimal health long term.
It
has of course been proven that ALL diets work, but whether they make you
healthy and feel great is another matter. Yes you can ‘lose weight’ by eating a
chocolate bar for breakfast, lunch and dinner but it will not nourish your body
and promote health.
Third
time lucky
Thankfully
Michael chose not to adopt this method and moved on to Baltimore, where they
were researching ageing on the brain to prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and
Dementia. They had found that mice were living longer than those fed on a high
sugar diet.
He
tried their 5:2 fasting plan for 5 weeks where he ate normally for 5 days and
ate just one meal for two of the days. The results were great and he said he
felt really good.
- He lost over a stone
- His body fat dropped from 27% to 19%
- His blood sugar dropped to normal from being pre-diabetic
- His cholesterol improved
- The growth hormone IGF-1 halved
- He cut his risk of developing diseases in the future
And
all this was done without the need for medication (the average 65 year old
takes 8 drugs a day!), and just by eating a bit less and eating REAL food.
In
all the searches he had done and programs he had made, he had finally found a
good, drug-free way of staying healthier for longer.
My
fasting experience
I
myself was aware of intermittent fasting about a year ago and my first reaction
was, ‘No way I could NEVER do that!’ so I dismissed it.
I
believed it wasn’t a good idea and that we were supposed to eat little and
often. We were supposed to never let our metabolism drop otherwise our bodies
would panic and go into starvation mode and pile weight back on after!
But,
with new research coming in it seemed that it might not be the case.
Many
of the fitness leaders that I follow had been trialling it out with their
clients with great health and fat loss results. My colleague Matt then tried it
too and also got great results. So, I thought I’d give it a go…
I
was to do an intermittent fast for 17-18 hours. That meant having dinner then
not eating till lunchtime the next day. For example, if I were to eat at 7pm, I
would then break my fast with some greens and a healthy meal the next day at
midday. I got myself into the right mind-set, took the idea on board and went
for it.
Well,
how did you think I felt? Starving? Was my tummy grumbling loudly? Did I feel
weak and faint?
Actually
I felt completely fine and was much easier than I expected it to be. I had a
couple of grumbles but it wasn’t hunger, merely the sound of my gut contracting
my empty intestine.
The
following day I felt less bloated and lighter. It made me realise that we
actually don’t need to eat as often as we think we do, that a lot of the time
the hunger is psychological. We are programmed to eat at certain times of the
day, regardless of whether we are actually hungry or in need of the next meal.
Small
babies are the only ones who eat only when they are hungry, and they let you
know about it! They don’t know about breakfast, lunch and dinner. They just let
you know when they need to eat next via their bodies letting them know. We need
to re-tune back into our own bodies and listen!
So,
I began to use intermittent fasting more often. I now look in my diary and see
what my busiest mornings are and plan fasts for those days when I can just get
up and go and keep busy. I probably do a couple a week. The rest of the time I
make sure I eat 2-3 really good quality meals that are made up of lots of green
veggies, proteins, good fats and occasional good quality carbohydrates such as
sweet potatoes, parsnips, quinoa, rice etc.
I
have found that when I eat this way I am more satisfied for longer. This is
because my body had been nourished with vitamins, minerals and fibre. It has no
need to send out signals such as hunger or cravings as all my needs are met.
This is because the food is real, fresh and not processed or full of additives.
I
do have a little of what I fancy and know that if I start gaining a little more
fat around my middle I need to cut back again. Life is for living but we need
to be realistic. We cannot eat whatever we want, when we want and expect to
stay healthy and lean.
The
Optimisation Plan
If
you’d like to learn how to eat for health, gain more energy and lose some body
fat as a side effect, then download our 28 day plan for free from www.OptimisationPlan.com
In
September we will also be running a support group to coach you through the plan
with information and motivational videos. You will also be able to interact
with all other members of the group and get inspiration for great recipes. I
will be sending out details very soon.
Please
note: we do not use intermittent fasting in this particular plan, but we do in
our more advanced nutrition program. It’s important to note that fasting does
not suit everyone, eg diabetics and pregnant women. If your diet is very poor
then healthy changes will need to be made before trying fasting for the first
time. The Optimisation Plan will help you do this.
Emma
Boffo
Personal
Trainer and Nutrition Coach
emma@optimiseu.com
