.... now I've got your attention, it's not a rude word at all, at least not in my book, but I'm going to talk about FASTING - to be precise, the latest "craze" in weight loss which is Intermittent Fasting aka the 5:2 diet or The Fast Diet.
Now although I've always felt blessed with a size 12 figure, at only 5ft 2", currently weighing in a 9st 10lbs, I am on the heavy side for a short arse and I carry most of my excess weight around my middle. I'm well aware of how unhealthy this is, plus I could be carrying who knows how much fat on the INSIDE of my body, I figure it's time to get myself sorted. My BMI is 23.8 (according to the scales at Boots) which is acceptable but could definitely be lower and therefore healthier. I've even got the tape measure out and horror of horrors, my waist measures 38 inches!!!! I am being brave and sharing this with you all in the interests of research and transparency, to see if this diet actually works. I hope to be reporting losses as the weeks go by. I hereby pledge to stick with it for 12 weeks and see how it goes. Can I live with it? Does it actually work?
It is called a diet but I do prefer to think of it as a STRATEGY. The basics are that on 5 days a week you eat normally and on 2 non-consecutive days you Fast, consuming just 500 calories if you are a women and 600 calories if you are a man. I'm currently reading The Fast Diet book and it is very persuasive stuff, claiming health benefits that include:
- weight loss of 1-2lb a week,
- improvements in blood pressure,
- improvements in cholesterol levels,
- reduced risk of age related disease, such as cancer,
- reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and dementia,
- a greater sense of wellbeing and happiness!
On the cancer subject, the book refers to research undertaken at the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre in Manchester where a study of women showed that those on a 2 day diet lost twice as much weight as those on a full-time diet - interrrrrrresting!
So taking all the above into account, myself and the Hubster have started on The Fast Diet. The beauty of it is, that you choose whichever 2 days fit in with your coming week the best. You don't have to stick to the same 2 days. So this week I have fasted on Tuesday and today (Friday). I must be honest, that Friday is not a great day to only allow yourself 500 calories, but as yesterday my mum was round for dinner plus I had a hospital appointment (just a check-up), I felt today would fit better. So, yes I have felt deprived of my usual Friday glass of wine, but tomorrow is another day and I can have one or 2 if I like, then!
Today I have eaten:
Breakfast - 2 boiled eggs and 4 asparagus spears (to dip)
No lunch
Dinner - one lightly dusted Cod Fillet with 3 Broccoli florets and about 50g of steamed spinach
Drinks - MANY!!! lots of herbal tea or water (hot and cold) - my downfall here is that I can't bear herbal tea unsweetened - I tried today and it was grim!! So I use a sweetener called Agave Nectar which is similar to runny honey but has lower calories and a lower GI. However if I have that every time I have a drink, the calories soon rack up.
Snacks - 1 satsuma
The above totals 525 calories - it is quite tricky to keep it at 500, however practice makes perfect. On Tuesday (my 1st fast day) I had 562 but that was because I really couldn't sleep and got up to eat a chocolate covered rice cake!! I'm hoping tonight I will do better on the sleep front.
Today has been quite tough if I'm honest. I have been home all day pretty much, other than the school runs. I have kept myself busy with household chores etc, but I think next time I fast I'll make sure I get out and about more. This is early days though right - the book promises that after a few weeks you get used to it and the feeling of hunger barely registers. So I've got to stick with it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. And tomorrow is another day - one in which I can eat whatever I like AND have some vino. I should point out though, I'm not a fan of junk/fast food. We have very occasional take aways and the closest we get to junk food is a pizza from the freezer once every couple of weeks. So, when I say I can eat whatever I like, I won't be going on a junk food bender and stuffing my face silly on unhealthy food. Cos that would obviously undo all today's hard work.
Have you given this diet a go? I would love to hear from you with your experiences and any tips.
Have you given this diet a go? I would love to hear from you with your experiences and any tips.
I have heard about the diet and don't know how I'd cope with fasting, I get to 4pm and if I haven't had my mid-afternoon shake I get all grumpy. We've been trying to eat more real food, so the last thing I cut out was pasta (we still have bread) and that really helped me feel better.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your diet, I hope it's successful for you.
Maybe with all this exercise you're going to switch out fat for muscle :D
Hi G, thanks for reading. Yes I think you're probably right about the muscle thing. It's early days so I will keep going and try my best to whittle away my tummy. Just stopped by your blog, I didn't know it was there. You should write some more, I liked the poem! Xox
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