The second week of my new healthy eating regime and I'm feeling good. The two days of fasting (Mon 21st/Tues 22nd) were much easier and with no headaches this time around. I still felt the urge about 4pm to jump into the fridge and eat everything but I found it was just a matter of being disciplined and drinking lots more liquid.
Last week I spread my calorie intake between three meals (100/100/300 calories) This week I chose breakfasts that were about 160-170 calories (bigger than the first week) and just had Miso soup at lunchtime (30 calories) and had a 300 calorie dinner. I found that this worked better for me as I was leaving a 12 hour gap between my meals eating at 6.30am + 6.30pm.
According to the research this is the best way to get your body to turn to its own fat stores. The body chooses to get its energy from the food consumed in the previous few hours but if the food intake is reduced then it turns its own fat stores into fuel (yippee!) A by product of this process is ketones which are excreted in the urine. These can be tested for using a urine dip-stick which are available through pharmacies. We got a box of these sticks when Byron had his kidney stones as a way of seeing if the blood in his urine was resolving. It was very satisfying to test during the fast and see the ketones appearing in the evening of the first fast day and continue to be present right through the second fast day.
One of the main aims of intermittent fasting is to reduce levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which is the growth hormone currently being studied for its involvement in Cancer and Alzheimer's and Dementia type diseases. It is possible to have your IGF-1 levels tested through a simple blood test. In Australia it costs $130 (after you get your Medicare rebates) You would need a minimum of two blood tests, one at the beginning of the program and at least one a few weeks or months down the track to see if you are reducing your levels. If I had a spare $260 I'd be happy to have these tests done but for now I have to content myself with the cheaper ketone testing, weighing scales and how I feel in myself.
So far I feel that I have challenged my attitude to my "need" for food. I have always believed that I needed to eat small regular snacks or I would get "wobbly" and get headaches etc. The first week reinforced this belief as I did get headaches and wobbles both days. It made me question if this form of lifestyle change suited me and if it could be a long term way of improving my Dementia, Stroke + Cancer risk factors. This second week was much, much easier. The hunger grumbles never got unbearable and were easily dampened down by drinking a glass of water. I had no headaches this week and the more I read about Dr Michael Mosley and the research he has been studying the more it strengthened my resolve to really give it a good go.
As a weight loss diet I can't say that I have had a huge change in the numbers on the weighing scale. Day to day my weight has fluctuated wildly but I have to remember that after the fast days I have significantly less waste product working its way through my intestine (giving very exciting readings on the scales) but over days 3-7 as the amount of waste product returns to normal levels then obviously the scale readings reflect this. Over the 2 weeks I have lost about 1kg but I really have been eating lots on my non-fasting days and I haven't done any exercise. As I settle into the rhythm of this new eating pattern I would like to re-introduce some simple exercise and maybe cut down on the muffins and chocolate and all the late evening nibbles that we find ourselves tucking into in front of the tv on days 3-7!
I want these changes to happen gently and get used to one step at a time. Although I have felt better this week during my fast days I do not think that I would have enough energy to exercise on these days. I think it would be more sensible to spread the exercise over days 3-7. If I want to follow through with my plans to be healthier as I turn 40 in August then I can't just go mad with new eating patterns and a big exercise plan because I know that a couple of months in I will fall over exhausted and return to bad habits.
I really hope that these changes will be sustainable into the long-term future as this is not really just about loosing the wobble on my waistline. This is about trying to learn from cutting edge research on how to massively reduce my chances of developing Dementia, Stroke, Cardiac diseases and Cancer. For anyone reading this who wants to know more I really recommend watching the BBC documentary Horizon: Eat, Fast and Live Longer or reading Dr Michael Mosley's book The Fast Diet.
I will continue to let you know how I get on over the coming weeks, especially as I make more of an effort to start some simple exercise too. The kids go back to school over the coming week which will leave me with no excuses! It's good telling all you lot about my resolutions as I feel I want to be able to have friends to be accountable to! Watch this space...
Happy Australia Day one and all!
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As I drive my car around my local area being taxi to my kids and their social lives I have sometimes caught a glimpse of something strange on an electricity pole. Every time I pass it takes me by surprise and I make a mental note to stop and take a photo next time we are driving through. Is it a collection of something natural or man made? Giant Aussie moths? Or maybe some wacky art?
Now that I have got to the bottom of the second box of Christmas Quality Street can you guess what my primary New Years resolution is going to be this year?
And this was what we made when we finished our picking at the farm...
It must be time to go to the Blueberry farm!
Today was a lovely day spent in the company of relatively new friends. 18 months ago we knew two other local families to smile to but due to the different ages of our kids we had never really spent much time socially together. Then something magical happened to tie us all together with a thread that I hope will never be broken.
There was an exchange of phone numbers with a heavily pregnant lady after church one Saturday. A phone call late one night for help. A friendship that went from polite to real as each contraction strengthened. A baby born in an ambulance. A beautiful baby girl who was baptised with two Godmothers. And that is how we three women became friends and our three families have become intertwined.
Today we got together in one home. There was swimming in the pool, a delicious BBQ and a glass of white wine that went down ever so easily. There was watching nine kids from toddler to teenager play together. Finding the balance between letting them work things out and kissing sore bits when they fell off the swing.
Byron loves cricket. Come to think about it he loves to watch anything that vaguely falls under the title of sport, preferably in the company of other like minded blokes and while holding a cold beer! And so on a boys night out back in December someone mentioned a trip to Sydney in the New Year. Today was the day. Five of them set out bright and early and by 10 o'clock they were sitting happily beer in hand ready for 8 hours of watching men run around in ridiculous heat. Their idea of perfect!
Sian and myself babysat my brothers three kids tonight while he was at a wedding. They were all staying with Grandma who lives near us so we opted to look after them there where beds, cots and all the nappy changing paraphernalia were close to hand. Byron joined us there on his way home from work and we were all hands on deck playing, feeding, bathing and putting to bed these three little live-wires!
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...5 cousins and Uncle Joe in the swimming pool. (While Aunty Rhonda and Gina look on from the dry comfort of the seats!)
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