"The best of all medicines are rest and fasting." Benjamin Franklin
*ADF is alternate day fasting. For more information, see this post or click on the ADF label on the right side of the page.
I'm fasting today. In general, I have given myself permission to decide on the morning of any scheduled fasting day whether I will actually fast or eat. I've done this because my day-to-day reactions to recent family-driven stress vary--on some mornings, it actually makes fasting easier but on others the idea of fasting seems to add more stress. Which I really don't need.
Note: Since you've probably had enough of my vague clues, please know that my teen-aged grandson is being quite self-destructive, doing risky things and not seeing that they are risky--a situation that could last for years. I cannot change the situation much and I cannot turn my back, therefore I must cope.
Here are a few other things I've noticed about ADF:
FACT #1: By evening on a fasting day, my blood glucose sits right around 70.
SO FAR: This is the real difference I have seen between IF (intermittent fasting) and ADF, as my fasting blood sugar never went that low on IF and I have sensed/seen deeper bodily healing on ADF--I now have no symptoms from eating wheat (although I don't intend to make that a habit,) the new "groove" at my waist has become more distinct and my gums/tongue have improved color.
Regarding my waist, the circumference of belly/kidney fat had gradually decreased throughout the past 10 months but there was one long arc with no groove at my waist; after 2 weeks of ADF I noticed a distinct groove and my midriff and belly fat pads are now independent arcs.
My blood sugar has never dropped below 70 and I haven't experienced any "low blood sugar" symptoms at all even if I go shopping or take a long walk with my dogs (that evening or the next morning.)
FACT #2: My first few fasting days MAY have caused some sleep disruption but I didn't notice any fatigue; it simply took longer to fall asleep and I woke up once or twice. It's hard to tell if it affected my serenity as there were multiple incidents with the grandkid that definitely caused upsets. In fact, I'm not sure if the sleep disruption was actually caused by the ADF, the incidents or a combination of both.
SO FAR: I am watching this but since my overall reaction to ADF is very positive I don't think minor sleep disruption is a reason to stop. My mood and energy levels have been great during and after fasting days. So far today (fingers crossed) my stress level is mild and I'll be interested to see what happens at bed time tonight.
FACT #3: I don't like black coffee. I either need to ditch the coffee or use heavy cream/coconut oil and (possibly) ditch the honey I add to those fats on eating days.
SO FAR: I tried black-coffee-only on 3 different fasting days. Not going to work. I seem able to cope with cream-only, though, and in recent experiments I've found adding a little coconut oil too is "okay" but not an improvement. I now put the coconut oil in the first mug only. It tends to pool on the surface so I use a spoon to drink it plus coffee first and then drink the remaining coffee and cream normally. I do miss my honey, though, which actually makes the coffee taste GOOD.
Calorie-wise, ADF allows up to 25% of typical calorie intake. I KNOW this isn't intended to be cream and honey, okay? The cream's actually okay as it has very little of either protein or carbs and shouldn't interfere with either ketosis or (protein) autophagy in small quantities. The honey is a sweetener and is officially an "avoid" whether I'm eating or fasting. So far today I'm doing okay without the honey but I may add a little to my last mug of the day.
Here in the southern tip of Nevada the current morning temps in which I am walking my dogs are in the mid- to high-50s. When they rise another 10 degrees or so I may lose my interest in coffee and shift to water with a wedge of lime.
FACT #4: One reason to continue drinking coffee is that it seems to inhibit hunger pangs.
SO FAR: I usually drink 3 mugs of coffee, sometimes 2 and sometimes 4 but usually 3. I sip it fairly slowly so it's mid-day when I reach my "enough" point. At times I'll notice hunger before drinking coffee but I never have any while I'm sipping some or for 1-3 hours afterward.
FACT #5: Even with cream and honey, I don't have a strong blood glucose response to the coffee--usually it's around 93-94 and, if I test again, gradually drops back to the 80s.
FACT #6: I usually have some hunger pangs between mid-afternoon and early evening on a fasting day.
SO FAR: Mild hunger pangs and "time to eat" brain impulses are easy to ignore in the absence of new mental upsets and they are gone by 7 pm as I'm usually done eating for the day between 4 and 6 pm.
FACT #7: When I am fasting, the presence of bananas, berries and other fresh produce in the house isn't an issue and neither are my grandson's neolithic treats. Having lots of fresh produce does increase my pleasant anticipation of eating the next day.
Showing posts with label ADF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADF. Show all posts
March 14, 2012
March 1, 2012
Monthly Update: March
The March mug shot appears at the right of the strip and my waist was a little less than an inch down from last month. One difference I've noted is that I lost relatively more fat from my limbs this past month. I don't know if that would've happened anyhow or whether fasting somehow caused that but it's very nice because I happen to be someone who carries more fat on my arms and legs than many women in proportion to my torso/butt fat. I don't think my new mug shot looks much different than the last 2, but in real life my cheek pads and throat do look a little leaner to me. Also, as mentioned before, my clothes are noticeably looser lately in the arms and legs.
When I first read about ADF (alternate day fasting) they said most people wind up eating about 120% of their normal 1-day intake prior to ADF on their feed days--and 20-25% on their fast days--and they lose weight. I quickly found I eat 100% of my pre-ADF intake on my feed days and, of course, 0% on my fast days. The latter is because I've always hated "diet" meals and if I ate a meal of 300-500 calories on a fast day that would actually be harder for me than not eating at all. As it is, about once an hour on a fast day I get an instant impulse to eat and I give the impulse a condescending mental smile and it goes away. My particular body is REALLY good at fasting and I feel as good as I can imagine feeling.
Until yesterday, I fasted when scheduled and ate sensibly (translation: whole foods) when scheduled. Yesterday I wound up eating in the evening so I will have only 2 fast days on record this week. I'm mulling whether to go for 2 or 3 fasting days next week; yesterday it started to feel like there was too much deprivation too fast and I may just shift to 2 days based on how I feel. Or, I may fast 3 times but try the 300-calorie meal recommended in the write-ups for fast days. Or, a 3rd option, I may do 3 zero-calorie days one week and then eat for a week straight. You see what I'm doing here? I'm reserving the right to experiment and find what suits me best before settling into anything long term.
I've now had 2 ADF weekends. On the first, I fasted on Saturday and ate on Sunday because I started ADF on a Thursday. During that weekend, through routine reading I discovered many people fast 3 days per week and I immediately realized I'd like that better than having my fast days vary every week. I could just hear myself asking, "Was yesterday a fast day or a feed day?" When I used to take medicine for GERD, I had to buy one of those day-of-week dispensers because I was never sure if I'd taken it that morning or not.
I designated my fast days as Monday, Wednesday and Friday so this past weekend I ate both days. Going into the second weekend, I wondered how I would react to eating both days. Would I be hungrier and eat more the second day? Would it be harder to resume fasting on Monday? Would I lose the deep feeling of physical calm that appeared during the first week of 2-day cycles?
No, no and no. I enjoyed being able to eat again and that was it. All day Sunday I was aware of Monday as an upcoming fast day but there was no urge to binge in preparation and when Monday came it was just another fast day meaning black coffee still doesn't do it for me but it's not quite as bad as it was the first time.
The really interesting measurements will be next month--will I continue to lose fat at the current rate or will adaptive responses cause weight loss to slow/stop? What will my blood glucose/pressure do as I continue ADF?
There are no negatives here, only the thrill of self-discovery (and the joy of more time to read/knit/walk.)
When I first read about ADF (alternate day fasting) they said most people wind up eating about 120% of their normal 1-day intake prior to ADF on their feed days--and 20-25% on their fast days--and they lose weight. I quickly found I eat 100% of my pre-ADF intake on my feed days and, of course, 0% on my fast days. The latter is because I've always hated "diet" meals and if I ate a meal of 300-500 calories on a fast day that would actually be harder for me than not eating at all. As it is, about once an hour on a fast day I get an instant impulse to eat and I give the impulse a condescending mental smile and it goes away. My particular body is REALLY good at fasting and I feel as good as I can imagine feeling.
Until yesterday, I fasted when scheduled and ate sensibly (translation: whole foods) when scheduled. Yesterday I wound up eating in the evening so I will have only 2 fast days on record this week. I'm mulling whether to go for 2 or 3 fasting days next week; yesterday it started to feel like there was too much deprivation too fast and I may just shift to 2 days based on how I feel. Or, I may fast 3 times but try the 300-calorie meal recommended in the write-ups for fast days. Or, a 3rd option, I may do 3 zero-calorie days one week and then eat for a week straight. You see what I'm doing here? I'm reserving the right to experiment and find what suits me best before settling into anything long term.
I've now had 2 ADF weekends. On the first, I fasted on Saturday and ate on Sunday because I started ADF on a Thursday. During that weekend, through routine reading I discovered many people fast 3 days per week and I immediately realized I'd like that better than having my fast days vary every week. I could just hear myself asking, "Was yesterday a fast day or a feed day?" When I used to take medicine for GERD, I had to buy one of those day-of-week dispensers because I was never sure if I'd taken it that morning or not.
I designated my fast days as Monday, Wednesday and Friday so this past weekend I ate both days. Going into the second weekend, I wondered how I would react to eating both days. Would I be hungrier and eat more the second day? Would it be harder to resume fasting on Monday? Would I lose the deep feeling of physical calm that appeared during the first week of 2-day cycles?
No, no and no. I enjoyed being able to eat again and that was it. All day Sunday I was aware of Monday as an upcoming fast day but there was no urge to binge in preparation and when Monday came it was just another fast day meaning black coffee still doesn't do it for me but it's not quite as bad as it was the first time.
The really interesting measurements will be next month--will I continue to lose fat at the current rate or will adaptive responses cause weight loss to slow/stop? What will my blood glucose/pressure do as I continue ADF?
There are no negatives here, only the thrill of self-discovery (and the joy of more time to read/knit/walk.)
February 25, 2012
The Tastes of ADF
"Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is nature's ancient,
universal 'remedy' for many problems. Animals instictively fast when ill." Elson Haas, M.D. in Staying Healthy with Nutrition
Today happens to be my 10th day of ADF (alternate day fasting.) If you haven't read my last 2 posts, I'll explain quickly that I limit my intake to water and black coffee on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the other 4 days I can eat as desired but I am trying to lose weight as well as optimize my blood glucose/pressure so my "feed" days so far have included only whole real foods.
On my fast day yesterday I was high energy so I did many chores and errands. At one point I went to Safeway with my son and grandson and I'm happy to report being surrounded by food didn't stress me at all because I knew I could eat until happily full today. Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be the first time I have eaten 2 days in a row since I started ADF because at first I followed a true 2-day cycle pattern. After the first weekend I decided it would be simpler and easier to follow ADF if my fasting days were always the same days each week.
So, this was my 5th "feed" day and I ate 2 meals. Actually, I ate exactly the same meals/amounts as when I ate daily. I broke my fast by sipping 2 mugs of coffee with heavy cream and honey. My breakfast at about 9 am was a banana, a handful of berries, some cinnamon and about 1/2 cup of home-made Bulgarian yogurt. Now, you may think you've had some great meals but let me just say when you haven't eaten in about 42 hours yogurt and fruit taste GREAT.
I was not feeling urgent hunger so I spent the day visiting with my son and then my friends and I didn't have my main meal until about 6 pm. I forgot to eat a grapefruit, my usual appetizer, but since I had fruit this morning no biggie. I started my meal with a 4-5 cup leafy salad; the only dense ingredient was a few stuffed olives. I usually find when I finish a salad that there is some liquid--oil, vinegar and water--left in the dish. Usually I just pour that liquid down the drain but today it became the "magic ingredient" for my main dish (pictured below.)
I slow-fried (setting 4 out of 10 on my induction cooktop) a pound of grassfed ground beef. I removed the cooked beef from the skillet and melted a chunk of Kerrygold butter--between 1 and 2 tbsp. I had rough-chopped about 1/3 of a fresh fennel bulb and had cut a bunch of asparagus into 1-inch pieces; I added those to the skillet and slow-fried them in the melted butter.
To finish my main dish I mixed the vegetables into the crumbled beef AND poured my leftover salad liquid into the dish. I put half of it into the fridge for tomorrow or Tuesday and ate the other half. WOW! The mixture of flavors really worked. In some bites the dominant flavor was fennel and in others there was a hint of the salad liquid. Still others were pure beef or asparagus. I'm glad I have half of this dish left over and I will definitely use my salad liquids in my main dishes on a regular basis.
On the health front, which is why I decided to practice ADF for a couple months in the first place, I am truly amazed at the difference the first 10 days have made. Until the recent family-related stresses affected my blood glucose/pressure I had considered my overall health much improved after 9 months of quality nutrition, but honestly I have never felt THIS good in my life. Not as a child or teen or young adult or middle-ager. This morning I "sensed" every part of my body and could not identify one single complaint. If I had to decide right now I would definitely choose to stay on ADF permanently, although I still intend to shift to 2 fasting days per week in April.
UPDATE: For day 2 of my eating weekend, I sauteed some cauliflower in butter then poured the leftover dish from yesterday on top and covered the pan to re-heat the leftovers. I barely managed to take the photos below before attacking the food:
Today happens to be my 10th day of ADF (alternate day fasting.) If you haven't read my last 2 posts, I'll explain quickly that I limit my intake to water and black coffee on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the other 4 days I can eat as desired but I am trying to lose weight as well as optimize my blood glucose/pressure so my "feed" days so far have included only whole real foods.
On my fast day yesterday I was high energy so I did many chores and errands. At one point I went to Safeway with my son and grandson and I'm happy to report being surrounded by food didn't stress me at all because I knew I could eat until happily full today. Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be the first time I have eaten 2 days in a row since I started ADF because at first I followed a true 2-day cycle pattern. After the first weekend I decided it would be simpler and easier to follow ADF if my fasting days were always the same days each week.
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| Yogurt and Fruit (archive photo) |
I was not feeling urgent hunger so I spent the day visiting with my son and then my friends and I didn't have my main meal until about 6 pm. I forgot to eat a grapefruit, my usual appetizer, but since I had fruit this morning no biggie. I started my meal with a 4-5 cup leafy salad; the only dense ingredient was a few stuffed olives. I usually find when I finish a salad that there is some liquid--oil, vinegar and water--left in the dish. Usually I just pour that liquid down the drain but today it became the "magic ingredient" for my main dish (pictured below.)
I slow-fried (setting 4 out of 10 on my induction cooktop) a pound of grassfed ground beef. I removed the cooked beef from the skillet and melted a chunk of Kerrygold butter--between 1 and 2 tbsp. I had rough-chopped about 1/3 of a fresh fennel bulb and had cut a bunch of asparagus into 1-inch pieces; I added those to the skillet and slow-fried them in the melted butter.
 |
| Ground beef, asparagus and fennel |
To finish my main dish I mixed the vegetables into the crumbled beef AND poured my leftover salad liquid into the dish. I put half of it into the fridge for tomorrow or Tuesday and ate the other half. WOW! The mixture of flavors really worked. In some bites the dominant flavor was fennel and in others there was a hint of the salad liquid. Still others were pure beef or asparagus. I'm glad I have half of this dish left over and I will definitely use my salad liquids in my main dishes on a regular basis.
On the health front, which is why I decided to practice ADF for a couple months in the first place, I am truly amazed at the difference the first 10 days have made. Until the recent family-related stresses affected my blood glucose/pressure I had considered my overall health much improved after 9 months of quality nutrition, but honestly I have never felt THIS good in my life. Not as a child or teen or young adult or middle-ager. This morning I "sensed" every part of my body and could not identify one single complaint. If I had to decide right now I would definitely choose to stay on ADF permanently, although I still intend to shift to 2 fasting days per week in April.
UPDATE: For day 2 of my eating weekend, I sauteed some cauliflower in butter then poured the leftover dish from yesterday on top and covered the pan to re-heat the leftovers. I barely managed to take the photos below before attacking the food:
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| Today's Leafy Salad |
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| Beef, asparagus and fennel with cauliflower added |
Note: With the addition of cauliflower this was again a large batch of food so I ate half and refrigerated the other half for my grandson tonight or my meal on Tuesday. Since I was eating less meat (divided again) I also ate a can of sardines, which went very well with the other flavors.
February 23, 2012
A Gift of Time
"A good meal ought to begin with hunger." French proverb
Did you ever wish you had 2 hours more per day to do what needed doing or what you wanted to do?
Another area that might concern other people considering ADF is bowel movements. I've always gone too often in my opinion--1 to 3 times per day. Very healthy consistency but too frequent for convenience. I eat 2 pieces of fruit per feeding day plus a large serving of cooked veggies and a large bowl of leafy, crunchy salad. Happily, I'm only going once per day now and I actually skipped one day. I can see where that might scare you if you only go every 2 to 3 days when you're eating every day.
Did you ever wish you had 2 hours more per day to do what needed doing or what you wanted to do?
Well, on ADF (alternate day fasting) I'm finding I have that time and it's really fun deciding how to best take advantage of it. Think of it--on a typical day of eating, I dish out yogurt and add fruit and maybe a couple of eggs. For my main meal, I peel a grapefruit and chop/slice a large leafy salad, cook (usually fresh) vegetables and cook or re-heat a little meat. I then eat my meal and have to wash the dishes and pans. I'd estimate I spend at least an hour, and usually closer to 2, on meal-related activities.
Now contrast that to my fasting days--I spend 5 minutes re-loading the coffeemaker for the next day. Period. Oh, I pour a few glasses of water from a pitcher in the fridge but I do the same on eating days too so that one's a wash, as is the 10-minute daily water kefir routine (on fasting days, I don't drink water kefir. I bottle it so on eating days I have a little fresh and a bottle of carbonated. And my home-made yogurt lasts twice as long so the time spent on that is also cut in half.
I won't lie--on my fasting days, there are times when I get sudden, wistful thoughts of eating but I divert my thoughts to what I'll eat the next day. I'm not distressed or low-energy. I do feel happy anticipation about what I'll fix and eat tomorrow.
On my feeding days, I obviously enjoy the meal-related activities a great deal--not to mention the meal--but I also find myself thinking about how I'll use my gift of time on the fasting day. Another round of happy anticipation. I find it's easier to remember to chew thoroughly and eat mindfully since I know the food is all I'll have for a long time.
I assume this eating pattern is not for everyone as many people would hate having to go completely without calories 3 days per week but right now it suits me perfectly. My gut is happy, happy. It might be less happy if I were hitting junk food on feeding days but since I'm eating healthy meals of whole foods my body relishes them. The last 2 mornings, my waking blood glucose has been 93 and 76 which is a great improvement.
Warning: I'm about to describe bathroom matters. Perhaps because I eat a lot of watery fruits and vegetables, I've never been a very thirsty person. If I drink, I pee and it seems liquids go straight through me. Even if we include the time I was pregnant, I don't think I've had puffy ankles in my life. So it's something of a relief that even though I make an effort to drink water (and morning black coffee) on fasting days I don't seem to have to pee quite so often as before. It's as if my body is seizing the liquid and making use of it so I don't need to pee so much. To give my stomach a break on fasting days, I dilute my black coffee to about half-strength since it won't be followed by food.
Another area that might concern other people considering ADF is bowel movements. I've always gone too often in my opinion--1 to 3 times per day. Very healthy consistency but too frequent for convenience. I eat 2 pieces of fruit per feeding day plus a large serving of cooked veggies and a large bowl of leafy, crunchy salad. Happily, I'm only going once per day now and I actually skipped one day. I can see where that might scare you if you only go every 2 to 3 days when you're eating every day.
So, did you ever wish you had 2 hours more per day to do what needed doing or whatever you wanted to do?
February 19, 2012
Making Lemonade ...
"If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Dale Carnegie
Everything was going so great. I was sailing along, enjoying ancestral eating and looking forward to my physical since I've lost weight. Yes, there'd been moderate to high family-related stress for months involving my son and grandson but I handled it well--or so I thought. Well, okay, I'd noticed gradual increases in my blood glucose and blood pressure readings but they were still in the normal ranges, just creeping toward the upper regions of normal. I'd given some thought to how I might adjust my routines to encourage those readings to return to their previous levels. For the record, until last week at least half of my ongoing stress came from life/health issues my son was experiencing.
Then, as I was pulling into my doctor's parking lot for my physical, I got a call from the grand-kid's high school--he was being suspended for 3 days. It wasn't really a great surprise that I walked into the doctor's office and had the highest blood pressure I've ever had. It took almost 4 hours for my blood pressure to return to anything like my normal levels and my blood glucose readings were also unusually high that day and the next morning. I haven't had the follow-up tests yet but as far as I know I am in good overall health. Just very, very stressed. To be clear on the events, I was called to the school one day to take the boy home and had to return the next day for a disciplinary conference.
SO--I decided it was time to give top priority to me and to nurture me. I actively avoided anything likely to increase my stress levels (other than the afore-mentioned grandson and son) so I didn't read my usual list of web sites or join conversations on Paleohacks. I also decided not to do any blogging here until I "felt like it." Let's just call it what it was--I POUTED. But you know, I happen to think pouting can be a healthy reaction to excessive stress. And my pout only lasted about 24 hours anyhow.
Despite being very upset and physically out of whack, I didn't suffer a migraine attack and the only specific symptom of the incident was that I needed extra sleep after returning home from the conference. I rarely nap but I took a very long one and still slept all night.
To complete the background info before addressing the ancestral eating topic of this post, I have mentioned before that I have done a lot of intermittent fasting (IF.) My practice for months was to eat one large meal per day so that I was well nourished but my GI tract had periods of rest. I find IF calming and it served me well in the early months of this stressful period. There were some days where I casually skipped my meal altogether because I was busy. I had recently started eating yogurt and fruit as a small second meal, which I enjoyed but which gave my system less resting time. Because of mounting stress, 2 weeks ago I had discontinued the second meal.
Anyhow, to the business of "making lemonade." The day after the conference I sat down at my PC and started reading about non-prescription strategies people use to deal with blood pressure/glucose issues. It is important to me to avoid the need for prescribed medications as long as I possibly can. As I did searches and read both blog posts and research abstracts, one subject kept coming up over and over--fasting. While a somewhat scary concept for many Americans, fasting is actually a natural remedy that's been used all over the world throughout history. And while it's not a cure for the common cold--that's a joke, okay?--there are studies that have confirmed that fasting can in fact have a positive impact on both blood pressure and glucose levels. It's also supposed to allow significant healing and repair of the GI tract and joints which are also issues for me.
Without boring you with too many details, I'll just say that 2 types of fasting were explained. One was long-term fasting, 5, 10, 21 or even 40 days of water-only or juice-only. I was quite intrigued but that didn't sound like something I wanted to try on my own. I watched some YouTube videos by professionals and individuals and if I were going to try a long water fast I'd want to check myself into a clinic where I could be monitored. Since I can't afford that I decided against a long water fast. AND I couldn't imagine leaving the kid and the pets for 3 weeks.
However, another type of fasting also is backed by research and is safe to try at home: alternate-day fasting (ADF.) Several variations of ADF are explained and recommended by various studies and sites. The gentlest version involves eating at least one meal per day and skipping 2 meals every other day. Another version rules out full-sized meals on the "fast" day but allows one small meal of 20-25% of your usual food intake. The classic version requires a no-calorie approach every other day with a "whatever you want" allowance on the feeding day.
People who've been eating the usual American diet find ADF a radical change. They tend to go with the 25% fasting days and their first 2 weeks of feeding days are pretty much junk food binges. Those who adapt well start eating more sensibly but many stick with the 25% fasting days or the "have dinner every day" approach. Many people reported successfully following ADF for months or years.
In my case, after 9 months of ancestral eating and intermittent fasting I am already well adapted to skipping meals. I decided to try ADF for 8 weeks and to go with no-calorie fasting days; I start the fasting day with black coffee and drink water as desired. On my feeding days, I just eat my usual ancestral foods. So far, I haven't needed extra-large portions or extra meals. If I've had a problem, it's that I'm not particularly hungry for food on my feeding days but I assume that will change as I continue to eat only every other day. I've made sure I eat a large fruit-salad-meat-veggies meal on each of my feeding days and I also put cream and honey into my coffee on those days.
And here we are. The important news--the lemonade if you will--is that I've had amazing results so far. Day 1 of ADF, my first fasting day, was the day I was still stressed and pouting while searching for options via PC. On my first feeding day I felt better and my blood pressure and glucose were better but not ideal. On day 3, my second fasting day, I felt FABULOUS--my mood was great and I was high-energy all day. Nearly all my blood pressure/glucose measurements were down to my lifelong norms and I felt the last of my stress leaching out as my body and GI tract rested from dealing with food. This morning, my 2nd feed day, my waking blood glucose was 70--yes, 70! And I had bp to match. I also noticed that my gums look MUCH happier.
I've now completed two 2-day cycles of fasting/feeding. Frankly, I wish I'd tried this a couple months ago. I spend my fasting days happily using my extra time (not taken up by meal prep and cleanup) to do errands, chores and craft projects. My fasting days are also my exercise days since I've eaten the day before--although I've already learned this may not be important. I've always performed well fasted and I've found I don't have any low energy days on ADF. I just have more time on fasting days.
Right now, my plan is to continue with 7 more weeks of ADF. In mid-April, I will either continue ADF for a longer period or switch to a long-term pattern of 2 fast days per week. I haven't yet mentioned weight loss, have I? Losing weight is not my primary goal but I'm happy to report I'm noticeably losing fat on ADF.
The research studies reported that overweight/obese subjects had a start-up loss and then a slower continued loss throughout the study period. People of normal weight stabilized quickly and ate enough on their feeding days to maintain their weights--also, the normal-weight subjects were only on ADF for a short period.
Here's a link to a timely article on the subject of ADF.
Unlike Friday, I had a robust appetite today. I ate blueberries, grapefruit, banana, a leafy salad, beets and roast Cornish game hen. Yum! I was happily stuffed, but only for about 30 minutes and then I noticed a rapid clearing of my stomach. My 2-hour blood glucose was 112.
If you've tried or stayed on ADF, I'd love to hear from you.
Everything was going so great. I was sailing along, enjoying ancestral eating and looking forward to my physical since I've lost weight. Yes, there'd been moderate to high family-related stress for months involving my son and grandson but I handled it well--or so I thought. Well, okay, I'd noticed gradual increases in my blood glucose and blood pressure readings but they were still in the normal ranges, just creeping toward the upper regions of normal. I'd given some thought to how I might adjust my routines to encourage those readings to return to their previous levels. For the record, until last week at least half of my ongoing stress came from life/health issues my son was experiencing.
Then, as I was pulling into my doctor's parking lot for my physical, I got a call from the grand-kid's high school--he was being suspended for 3 days. It wasn't really a great surprise that I walked into the doctor's office and had the highest blood pressure I've ever had. It took almost 4 hours for my blood pressure to return to anything like my normal levels and my blood glucose readings were also unusually high that day and the next morning. I haven't had the follow-up tests yet but as far as I know I am in good overall health. Just very, very stressed. To be clear on the events, I was called to the school one day to take the boy home and had to return the next day for a disciplinary conference.
SO--I decided it was time to give top priority to me and to nurture me. I actively avoided anything likely to increase my stress levels (other than the afore-mentioned grandson and son) so I didn't read my usual list of web sites or join conversations on Paleohacks. I also decided not to do any blogging here until I "felt like it." Let's just call it what it was--I POUTED. But you know, I happen to think pouting can be a healthy reaction to excessive stress. And my pout only lasted about 24 hours anyhow.
Despite being very upset and physically out of whack, I didn't suffer a migraine attack and the only specific symptom of the incident was that I needed extra sleep after returning home from the conference. I rarely nap but I took a very long one and still slept all night.
To complete the background info before addressing the ancestral eating topic of this post, I have mentioned before that I have done a lot of intermittent fasting (IF.) My practice for months was to eat one large meal per day so that I was well nourished but my GI tract had periods of rest. I find IF calming and it served me well in the early months of this stressful period. There were some days where I casually skipped my meal altogether because I was busy. I had recently started eating yogurt and fruit as a small second meal, which I enjoyed but which gave my system less resting time. Because of mounting stress, 2 weeks ago I had discontinued the second meal.
Anyhow, to the business of "making lemonade." The day after the conference I sat down at my PC and started reading about non-prescription strategies people use to deal with blood pressure/glucose issues. It is important to me to avoid the need for prescribed medications as long as I possibly can. As I did searches and read both blog posts and research abstracts, one subject kept coming up over and over--fasting. While a somewhat scary concept for many Americans, fasting is actually a natural remedy that's been used all over the world throughout history. And while it's not a cure for the common cold--that's a joke, okay?--there are studies that have confirmed that fasting can in fact have a positive impact on both blood pressure and glucose levels. It's also supposed to allow significant healing and repair of the GI tract and joints which are also issues for me.
Without boring you with too many details, I'll just say that 2 types of fasting were explained. One was long-term fasting, 5, 10, 21 or even 40 days of water-only or juice-only. I was quite intrigued but that didn't sound like something I wanted to try on my own. I watched some YouTube videos by professionals and individuals and if I were going to try a long water fast I'd want to check myself into a clinic where I could be monitored. Since I can't afford that I decided against a long water fast. AND I couldn't imagine leaving the kid and the pets for 3 weeks.
However, another type of fasting also is backed by research and is safe to try at home: alternate-day fasting (ADF.) Several variations of ADF are explained and recommended by various studies and sites. The gentlest version involves eating at least one meal per day and skipping 2 meals every other day. Another version rules out full-sized meals on the "fast" day but allows one small meal of 20-25% of your usual food intake. The classic version requires a no-calorie approach every other day with a "whatever you want" allowance on the feeding day.
People who've been eating the usual American diet find ADF a radical change. They tend to go with the 25% fasting days and their first 2 weeks of feeding days are pretty much junk food binges. Those who adapt well start eating more sensibly but many stick with the 25% fasting days or the "have dinner every day" approach. Many people reported successfully following ADF for months or years.
In my case, after 9 months of ancestral eating and intermittent fasting I am already well adapted to skipping meals. I decided to try ADF for 8 weeks and to go with no-calorie fasting days; I start the fasting day with black coffee and drink water as desired. On my feeding days, I just eat my usual ancestral foods. So far, I haven't needed extra-large portions or extra meals. If I've had a problem, it's that I'm not particularly hungry for food on my feeding days but I assume that will change as I continue to eat only every other day. I've made sure I eat a large fruit-salad-meat-veggies meal on each of my feeding days and I also put cream and honey into my coffee on those days.
And here we are. The important news--the lemonade if you will--is that I've had amazing results so far. Day 1 of ADF, my first fasting day, was the day I was still stressed and pouting while searching for options via PC. On my first feeding day I felt better and my blood pressure and glucose were better but not ideal. On day 3, my second fasting day, I felt FABULOUS--my mood was great and I was high-energy all day. Nearly all my blood pressure/glucose measurements were down to my lifelong norms and I felt the last of my stress leaching out as my body and GI tract rested from dealing with food. This morning, my 2nd feed day, my waking blood glucose was 70--yes, 70! And I had bp to match. I also noticed that my gums look MUCH happier.
I've now completed two 2-day cycles of fasting/feeding. Frankly, I wish I'd tried this a couple months ago. I spend my fasting days happily using my extra time (not taken up by meal prep and cleanup) to do errands, chores and craft projects. My fasting days are also my exercise days since I've eaten the day before--although I've already learned this may not be important. I've always performed well fasted and I've found I don't have any low energy days on ADF. I just have more time on fasting days.
Right now, my plan is to continue with 7 more weeks of ADF. In mid-April, I will either continue ADF for a longer period or switch to a long-term pattern of 2 fast days per week. I haven't yet mentioned weight loss, have I? Losing weight is not my primary goal but I'm happy to report I'm noticeably losing fat on ADF.
The research studies reported that overweight/obese subjects had a start-up loss and then a slower continued loss throughout the study period. People of normal weight stabilized quickly and ate enough on their feeding days to maintain their weights--also, the normal-weight subjects were only on ADF for a short period.
Here's a link to a timely article on the subject of ADF.
Unlike Friday, I had a robust appetite today. I ate blueberries, grapefruit, banana, a leafy salad, beets and roast Cornish game hen. Yum! I was happily stuffed, but only for about 30 minutes and then I noticed a rapid clearing of my stomach. My 2-hour blood glucose was 112.
If you've tried or stayed on ADF, I'd love to hear from you.
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