Over the last 3 months I’ve lost 7 kilos. These are the five things I’ve done.
5:2 or Fast Diet.
Eat, Fast and Live Longer – Horizon.
Last year, my doctor recommended a diet which was first broadcast by Michael Mosley on Horizon and later on SBS.
The 5:2 diet (2 days fast and 5 days normal per week) has been found to significantly improve health (as shown in blood tests) and reduce weight.
The idea is to eat 600 Cal for men (500 Cals for women) on 2 fast days and ‘normally’ for the other 5 days of the week. The two fast days should be non-consecutive. Whatever suits you. Many people choose Monday and Thursday. I do.
The Horizon video ends with Mosley discovering ‘alternative’ day fasting. Subsequently, he found that strict ‘alternating’ was too difficult socially – too hard to do on weekends – and tried the 5:2 formula which appears to give the same benefits.
Helen and I have been following the 5:2 regime since Sept 2013. We have both lost weight – and my blood tests have swung into normal ranges again. One of the things that attracted us to this approach is the simplicity of the lifestyle change.
What do I eat? On fast days, I have 2 eggs for breakfast, a largish tin of tuna for lunch and a small piece of cheese and a banana at about 5:30pm. Helen has 2 eggs for breakfast, a small tuna salad for lunch and a piece of fruit at 5:30.
Do I get hungry? The first couple of fast days, yes. Since then, no.
“Eat Normally” needs more definition. You certainly cannot splurge to make up for lost food. You cannot eat a box of chocolates. See below.
(There is a book – Fast Diet.)
HIT High Intensity (Interval) Training
In another program Michael Mosley recommends High Intensity Interval Training – three lots of 20 seconds flat out three times a week. This significantly improves fitness and, once again, gets the bloods into line. The short 20 second burst of intense exercise also signals your body to release glycogens (glucose stores). See the BBC article
Another book ‘Fast Exercise‘ describes his recommended exercise routine: gentle warm up; 20 secs flat out cycle; 1-2 mins recover; 20 secs flat out cycle; recover; 20 seconds flat out again. Repeat 3 times a week. That is, just 3 minutes of exercise a week. Exercise on fast days can magnify the effect of both.
Eliminate sugar and most other carbohydrates
Sugar and carbohydrates are what generate the fatty acids that will form triglycerides and be stored in fat cells. Certainly stop eating (or drinking) sugar, and ditch all the carbohydrate food that has a Glycemic Index (GI) of more than about 80. There is a recommendation that you can eat all the protein that you can hold – but I’m still suspicious of that. Eating fat is just fine – we have been lied to by the food industry. Who would believe it!
There is yet another excellent book by Gary Taubes ‘Why We Get Fat and what to do about it’ in which he gives an excellent and understandable account of the biochemistry and the futility of constantly fasting or exercising. (Mosley does it in short spurts.)
Taubes also gave a talk on Radio National Health Report debunking the calories in and out theory.
Following Gary Taubes ideas, I’ve cut out most carbs – except peaches, mangoes and bananas. (Yes, I know that have sugars. I happen to be a sucker for peaches, mangoes and bananas.)
I actually had followed Taubes for about a month before I found the Mosley material. Strict Taubes (only protein and fat) is very difficult. My blood pressure and resting heart rate had dropped to the point I was almost passing out, I had very bad cramps and I was constipated. Much too hard. I abandoned the strict carbohydrate-free Taubes but did keep his ideas on protein and fat. I notice that those same ideas make up the background of the CSIRO Diet and the Fast Diet Cookbook.
Ditch the alcohol completely
I had plateaued at just under 89kg until I gave up alcohol completely. For many years, I’ve been having just one glass of wine a day. That turned out to be just enough to hold my weight on. When I gave up that glass a day, the weight began to fall off.
Alcohol is a very useful chemical in helping fatty acid molecules to bond into a triglyceride. Fatty acids are a great fuel and flow normally in the blood stream and can enter and leave fat (storage) cells without hindrance. However, if they form a triglyceride while they are in a fat cell (eg with the help of an alcohol molecule), that triglyceride cannot leave. It is too big to get out. It will not leave until it is reduced to single fatty acids again – which takes effort and is difficult. Fat cells store triglycerides until they are full – then they make another fat cell – which sets out to repeat the process. It is difficult (almost impossible) to get rid of fat cells. Once you have them, fat cells sit there waiting to be filled up again.
Cold showers
This bit Helen thinks is weird. I heard an ABC radio program (and in expanded form here) that said ‘cold showers could convert fat cells to brown fat’. Brown fat is great – it burns energy. We just have very little brown fat. I thought I would give it a go. I began with 20 seconds and worked my way up to 2 minutes. No where near the ‘shivering’ part that they require – but wonderful! I could be addicted to this.
Summary
It is usually fairly easy to lose weight. Just stop eating as much and don’t drink water. Most diets rely on a version of one of those. Unfortunately, it is just as easy to pile the weight back on when you stop the diet. For a permanent weight loss, some form of life style change is needed. Most suggested life style changes are impossible to maintain (eg not eating or drinking water). The 5:2 Fast diet offers a very easy an permanent life style change that shocks the body into losing weight. When you have lost enough weight, decrease to number of days of fasting per week – try 6:1 or 13:1. If the weight begins to come back – revert to 5:2 – too easy.
The High Intensity Interval Training also sounds too good to be true. By this method of 3 sets of 20 seconds three times a week really does increase your fitness (measured by your ability to deal with Oxygen) and does so much faster than any other way you do it. Much faster and more efficient than slogging away for hours.
Eliminating sugar and restricting carbs does not have to be a permanent life style change – just during the weight loss period. When the required weight target is reached, resume small amounts of sugar and carbs. Be careful of them, they are bad for you.
Ditto with alcohol.
I do like the cold showers – maybe not in winter.
Too easy – Good luck.
