B00AFYX78I EBOK (13 page)

I
find that I sleep much deeper on starving nights and wake up feeling more fresh
than normal. Also, the sun seems brighter, the sky bluer and the song of birds
more beautiful on the day after starving. ;)

Sunil, 34

On Feast Days you can eat ‘normally’ – but what does that
actually mean? One of the things I’ve discovered since starting this lifestyle
is that I did eat much more than I realised. So while my own ‘doll’s house
portions’ on Fast Days seem ludicrously small, the portions served in
restaurants now often seem obscenely super-sized.

For me, the view of what a ‘portion’ of food is has become
skewed and that’s one of the reasons many of us have suffered weight problems.
So, although you can eat all the things you love on your normal days, there’s
clearly a sensible balance. This diet will probably re-educate you by stealth.
You’ll become fuller sooner, and you’ll enjoy your favourite foods but perhaps
not in the same quantities.  It won’t happen overnight but most of us who’re
doing this long-term have noticed the effect. It’s almost like a reset button
on an electronic appliance that’s gone haywire – fasting has made me work
properly again, still enjoying food, but eating what I need and no more.

If you are aiming to lose weight, you’ll still need that
calorie deficit we discussed in
Chapter Two
: but the reset effect means
most
people don’t need to calorie count on Feast Days to achieve that.

The work done by Krista Varady at the University of Illinois
compared alternate day fasters who ate a low-fat diet on their feast day, with
those who ate a ‘normal’ high-fat diet when they weren’t fasting. Surprisingly
– and happily – the reduction in weight and cholesterol was as good, if not
better, in those participants who were encouraged to eat all their favourite
dishes, including pizza and burgers.

‘Rebound’ eating or over-compensation simply didn’t happen
on the feast days.

It’s a finding backed up by the software engineers who’ve
clubbed together to track their experiences on 5:2.

We
have seen no difference in effect if you eat high fat or low fat food on
non-fasting days. In fact, where some of us have been away on holiday, we have
temporarily stopped and then restarted with little overall effect.

Andrew, 42

Of course, what you eat is one thing. How much is another
matter. I admit that in the first week or two, I was tempted to over-eat the
things I loved. But that soon wore off, as it has for other 5:2 dieters.  Even
eating your Daily Calorie Requirement (DCR) - just under 2000 calories in my
case - feels like such a feast compared to the fasting, that you probably won’t
feel the need to exceed it and, on many occasions, you’ll eat less than you
used to.

Mindful Eating

One tip while you’re adapting would be to use the same
tactic many of us use on the Fast Days - to eat very slowly, with no other
distractions. So, no TV, work or multi-tasking. Savouring your food rather than
throwing it down means you’ll probably be less tempted to overeat. But you
certainly don’t need to record what you’re eating on the Feast Days.

Mindfulness – a form of meditation – can be a very useful
tool in both controlling appetite and feeling positive and calm about the
changes you’re making. A friend recommended the getsomeheadspace.com  site,
which offers a free introductory trial of meditations, as well as some really
useful downloads, including one on mindful eating. There are also links in the
resources section to interesting articles in
The Independent
and
The
New York Times
about this.

What if I’m not losing enough weight?

If you have lost weight but it’s slowed down, you could
consider increasing from 5:2 to 4:3 or ADF to speed things along.

But if you’ve not lost anything a few weeks down the line,
it’s worth using MyFitnessPal or a calorie counting book to double-check your
calorie consumption on a typical  Feast Day.  Obviously, as we saw in
Chapter
Two
, fasting will cut anything from 3,000 to 6,000 calories from your weekly
consumption, but if you do find you are bingeing or over-compensating, then the
weight loss could be slow.  

The good news is that most people find the Fast and Feast
pattern helps them find a natural balance of enjoying food without
overindulging. If someone had told me that at the beginning, I’d have been
sceptical, but it really does happen.

It gets easier!

If you find your Fast Day tough, then take comfort from the
fact that most of us have found they get  easier
– much
easier. Many
dieters look forward to Fast Days as they love the feeling of lightness and
euphoria– feeling good physically, but also psychologically, knowing that
you’re doing something good for your body.

Reviewing and Planning your Next Fasts

The first few weeks are about experimenting with what works
for you - the best mealtimes, the most satisfying foods, plus any hints to
reduce any side-effects you might be feeling.

Get into the habit of planning the days you’ll be fasting
the next week, and preparing by buying any ready meals, or the ingredients for
home-made dishes. Check the food section of this book for lots of ideas.

One thing to consider is whether you’re someone who craves
variety or a person who will be happy with the same foods on your Fast Day?
I’ve mentioned my huge beetroot-fest that lasted for about a month during the
diet, without any side effects. Then gradually, and naturally, I switched to
something else.

If the idea of eating the same thing on Fast Days will
damage your motivation, then experiment and go onto forums to check out what
ideas people have, especially for eating seasonally (which is also likely to be
cheaper!).

Exercise and 5:2

Many people avoid vigorous exercise at first during Fast
Days - until they’ve discovered how their bodies react to the calorie
restriction.

I started doing my gym visits on Fast Days about a month
after I began the diet. At first, I did feel light-headed at times, and reduced
the pace a little, but I’ve found that I can now keep up the same exercise
intensity on Fast and Feast Days.

One thing to note if you do exercise – don’t eat extra on
Fast Days to compensate for the calories burned.

I typically jog 6km 4 times a week. It
makes no difference if that is a diet day.

Stephen, 47

On fasting days I do thirty minutes on
the treadmill at 2mph. As I have arthritis at the moment this is the most I can
do without bringing on an 'episode' of arthritis, but I hope to build it up as
I lose weight/get fitter. I try to do this every day but if I feel sore I will
rest for a day or two.

Sally, 49

I haven't found it easy to exercise on
Fast Days, but on other days I will spend two to three evenings a week in the
gym doing weights, cardio and swimming.

Claire, 43

I've maintained my usual routine of daily
exercise (mostly cycling to work). I generally avoid tough workouts on fasting
days.

James, 43

I run about four times a week – thirty
mins each time. It doesn't really matter if I do it on Fast or Non Fast Days
because it doesn't increase my appetite. I don't factor it into my calorie
restriction because I don't think it makes that much difference.

Sarah, 37

There’s a debate about whether exercising on Fast Days, or
on an empty stomach before breakfast, for example, might have benefits (
bit.ly/Tv2owD
) although an analysis (
bit.ly/Vgv6Uh
) on the NHS website suggests that it’s
too early to draw conclusions. For now it’s good to do what feels right for you
but do be wary of pushing yourself too hard at first, and consult your doctor
if you have any doubts at all.

Weighing In

Most diets recommend weighing yourself no more than once a
week, because fluid levels and weight fluctuates so much, especially for women,
during the monthly menstrual cycle. But Dr Mosley has suggested daily weigh-ins
as a tool for monitoring progress.

One of the first dieters in the Facebook group, Linda, has
produced an amazing graph recording her weight every non-Fast day since she
began, which she’s kindly allowed me to reproduce. The bottom shows the passage
of time and illustrates the variations very graphically – as well as showing
the overall downward trend (we’ve kept the exact weights off – as Linda says, ‘a
lady has to keep SOME secrets!’).

Linda explains how the graph has helped –and occasionally
hindered – her.

There is quite a lot of variation from
day to day. There are lots of reasons for the daily
fluctuation: loss of water on fasting days due to depletion of stored glycogen;
less gut content, fluid levels in the body, etc, as well as weight loss. In
fact, fat loss will account for very little of the daily weight loss and is
easily disguised by variations in stored glycogen and gut content. I also hit a
period where food was going in but not much was coming out (to put it
delicately) and there's a period there where I didn't fast because I had a cold
and couldn't face it, and Xmas, of course.

Linda has fasted 32 times with a 500 calorie limit – which
adds up to a calorie deficit overall of 48,000 calories, which should then
equate to a loss of almost 14 pounds in total. In fact, she’s lost more,
possibly because her DCR is a bit higher than average, so potentially she could
have eaten slightly more on Fast Days.

For her, (and for us!), keeping such a detailed record has
been enlightening. But she also advises:

Please don't be despondent and give up if
you weigh yourself after a fast or a week where you have been "good"
and don't see as much of a loss as you might expect.

The risk of despondency is the reason I don’t weigh myself
every day. To me, it would be a  rollercoaster, even though I know there are
good reasons for fluctuation. Sally feels the same:

I was tempted  to weigh myself every day
(and did!) when I started, but it can be a bit soul destroying as you'll find
you'll lose weight on fasting days then appear to put it back on again on
feasting days. It's best to weigh once a week.

Sally, 49

It may be a generalisation, but I suspect that daily
weigh-ins may suit men better, as they like to know where they are and may be
less likely to have an emotional reaction!

If you can bear it, weigh every day, fast
and non-fast, because you can track what’s happening and the pattern of losing
weight. Provided you stick to it, it’ll still be downwards…

Kevin, 40

However often you decide to do it, record the figure in a
notebook or on a site like MyFitnessPal (which will later produce a graph for
you, hopefully showing your excellent progress!).

In terms of which day, or time of day, I tend to weigh the
morning after the second Fast Day of a week, first thing, before I’ve eaten. At
first it felt like cheating but so long as you always do it at the same time,
then the progress or otherwise will become clear.

Rewarding Yourself

Any lifestyle change can be tricky, and it makes sense to
find ways to reward yourself that don’t involve food - the standard advice is
things like a long hot bath, a massage, new clothes.

But if you’re not into girly (or man) treats, or you haven’t
reached your goal weight, brainstorm other rewards - a new DVD box set or even
a fitness DVD; a great novel; tickets for a gig or a gallery; whatever you love
doing that you don’t always give yourself time to enjoy.

You could put aside the money you’re saving from your
grocery bill to pay for the treats.

I have even been known to reward myself with a new recipe
book, for the days when I can enjoy cooking without feeling guilty. There’s
pleasure in the gloriously illogical knowledge that weight loss is contributing
to my next delicious meal on a Feast Day!

The Gift of Food

I’d like to share one story from forty-three-year-old Jenny,
who is finding that her fasts are making her see the world differently, too.

It really is a very good way of eating (I
don't call it a diet!) and have to say, on a vaguely hippy level, I feel
humbled by the fact that I can choose to go hungry.  A homeless girl stopped me
in the street the other day and asked if I could spare her a pound for a hot
drink.  I've never been approached directly like that before.  But something in
my brain pinged and I realised that I had chosen not to nip out of the office
for a sarnie and pot of fruit since it was a fasting day.  So I gave her the
fiver I'd have spent on lunch.  You'd think I'd given a wheelbarrow full of
treasure.  It's funny how things strike you at just the right time - homeless
people are a factor in any big town or city yet being approached by that girl
seems like proper synchronicity.