Body hacks: The Fast Diet, aka The 5:2 diet

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#1125601 10-Sep-2014 10:18

I'm pushing 120KGs and not happy at all with my weight. I used to be able to down a pizza and not have to worry. Well, it's all caught up on me.

I too am a Coke per day user...I keep it to one per day (maybe two if there is some sort of celebration) but from what it sounds like, this is what is keeping me at the weight I am. In saying that, I don't really eat well at all. I find myself too busy to cook most days, but when I do the math I find it's more just an excuse the other side of my brain uses to be lazy all the time. I never ever eat breakfast. I find if I try, I actually feel sick afterwards.

I hardly ever drink water. I don't know why, I've just never really get super thirsty. About the only time I drink it is sparkling water with a non alcoholic mixer. I don't drink alcohol, never have, probably never will. I think this is something I need to change. (Not the drinking alcohol part)

I have a 1.1KM metal driveway on a hill. I might start ditching the Coke and try jogging down and back up every evening and see where that gets me. Would wearing extra weight help me burn it quicker? I've got tactical vests, bags, pouches and heavy dress I could put on if it speeds up the process. I won't do it if it's going to hinder my results though.

I have that Samsung health app thing that measures my steps. I have my phone on my all day and I get to the "half way mark" of 5000 steps by the end of the day usually. Not sure how accurate it is though!

So in a nutshell:

- Axe Coke
- Run 2.2KM per day (half of that up hill) and increase over time (but how often?)
- Take lunch to work instead of buying it , also not buying dinner and cooking it instead.
- Eat vegetables that aren't bathed in fat from the roast shop.
- Go to bed at an appropriate time (like 10:30PM rather than 2:00AM)

I don't think I'm ready to just not eat for two days out of the week!

EDIT: I've recently re-watched a documentary called "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" with Joe Cross. He is big in to juicing and has a massive following. I might also try that. That's probably for another thread. It might get me in to the habit of going to various farmer's markets in the area and get quality vegetables rather than the one sitting on the shelf in supermarkets rotting away.

timmmay

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#1125628 10-Sep-2014 10:51

Start by fixing your diet - you can't outrun your mouth. Fresh, whole foods, vegetables, eggs, meats, fish. Easy on the sauces and cheese. Use www.myfitnesspal.com and put EVERYTHING you eat into there including fats things are cooked in, sauces, etc, along with your exercise. Don't eat anything with sugar or flour in it, and don't eat rice, potatoes, pasta, or bread. Atkins has the right idea, but less extreme.

Diet is 70% of the problem. Once you've done that you need to do 30-60 minutes of exercise per day. Hill walking is very effective exercise, steps are great. Jogging isn't necessary especially to start with or when you're quite large, you can hurt yourself more easily because there's a lot of force on your body. The gym can help, but most people go too easy - get a trainer, start easy, but work up to the point where vomiting is a real possibility at every session. Go hard or go home.

Fasting helps a lot. Most people just eat too much, and eat rubbish.

You'll get heaps of advice, much of it wrong, or maybe wrong for you. I've done almost every diet, Atkins worked great, fasting worked great, low calorie worked well if the calories were protein, the others didn't help much.

jumcc87

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#1125637 10-Sep-2014 11:15

Hi David

I read your message and was really compelled to reply. Health and Fitness is a bit of a passion of mine. The situation you are in is not too dissimilar to so many people, and I know how easy it can be for things to creep up on you. I agree with you that the fast diet is not the way to start. I do believe the science behind fasting, but the way it has been offered in the media as a quick weight loss solution is dangerous in my opinion. Fasting does work, there is no doubt, but if you are going to do it you first need to have the big blocks in place like a sound nutrition plan, some kind of exercise routine, stress reduction and sleeping well etc. What happens is people go from their bad diets, high stress jobs and no exercise and suddenly try to fast 2 days a week and the body goes WHAT IS GOING ON!! More often than not it will lead to binges, bad relationships with food and inevitable rebound weight. If you are going to fast you need a handle on your food, exercise and lifestyle and fasting would then be a tool to shift the last few pounds, and then return to a routine that you can maintain FOR LIFE - something sustainable. After all, whats the point of losing a whole lot of weight to then put it back on plus some.

With regards to what you plan to do to get healthier, the biggest impact with your weight will come from what you put in your mouth. Exercise also is effective but packs nowhere near as much punch as cleaning up your diet. For example a couple of biscuits might have 300 calories in them, which would equate to a 20 min run (very loose calculations there but just to illustrate my point). It is so much easier to cut these things out of the diet than to try and out-exercise them. Most importantly, get your nutrition right. If I had someone come to me that was following their nutrition to a tee with no exercise, and another person who wasn't but was exercising - the person with the good diet would have more success with their weight loss. I'm not saying exercise is not beneficial and it is essential for a healthy body, but when embarking on a new routine and changing habits it is best to put your energy into the things that are going to make the biggest impact.

There is a lot of evidence to suggest the breakfast is not essential and if you find you don't like it, don't eat it. Little do you know you are actually doing a kind of fasting by skipping breakfast! The only reason you might consider having it is if at the moment you are ravenous by lunch which causes you to search out bad food.

Focus on these things when building your meals:

First, lean protein - to make it easy you can buy roast chicken, smoked salmon, etc (eat the breast on top which is the leanest part, cans of tuna/salmon/chicken) even deli meats like roast beef, ham, shredded chicken (however try to limit these as they can be high in sodium).
Secondly - try to get some green vege on the plate. I know it can be hard but they are so good for your body. Brocolli, cauliflower, spinach, salad greens, cucumber etc. Beware of corn, pees, potatoes, kumara, as these are high in starch and carbohydrate. For dressing use a good olive oil or balsamic vinegar - just enough to give some taste
Thirdly and optional - a source of good fat like avocado, a small handfull of nuts, small piece of cheese

It really is as easy as that. Try not to make it too complicated as you will find if it is, you will not stay on plan. If you buy your food on the go always go for a meat and vege choice like a big salad, cooked chicken, burger - throw away the bun and eat the patty.

One thing that you need to understand is that carbohydrates (sugar, bread, pasta, cereals, etc) release a hormone in your body called insulin. Insulin role is storage in the body - so when insulin is released, your body is in storage mode - storing the food in your muscles or in your fat cells. When insulin is released, all fat burning is shut off. Fat is released when your body is in a low insulin state. Protein only raises insulin slightly and is essential for your body and is also filling, green veges have little effect on insulin and fat (note good natural sources of fat like avocado, fatty fish etc) have next to no effect on insulin, Contrary to what we have been told, good fats are also essential and good for the body, they are the building blocks of our cells, hair, nails, skin, so many benefits. There is a big turnaround in the nutrition world at the moment with this. See one of the latest time covers which has a stick of butter on it.

For exercise, start with any movement, like walking up your driveway. Once you've mastered that consider doing some bodyweight exercise variations like bodyweight squats, push ups, pull ups on a ow bar with your feet on the ground so you are only lifting some of your bodyweight.

When you are limiting you calories to lose fat, the last thing you want to do is lose muscle. If you do, you will just end up a smaller version of yourself and very soft. To make sure that your body is losing fat only and limiting any muscle loss you need to make your body think that you need the muscle. For example if you do some push ups, step ups, squats your body will be sent the message ' i better not get rid of this muscle as I might need it in the future to lift some heavy stuff'.

This was long but I just wanted to explain it all as well as keep it simple as I can see that you are at the place where staying the same is more painful than making a change and I wanted to give you some knowledge to go forward with that.

If you have any questions let me know!

Keep it simple, and remember with all this stuff consistency is key - it is better to be 80% compliant for 6 months than be 100% compliant then go off the rails , jump back on etc.

You can do this!!

DravidDavid

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#1136687 24-Sep-2014 16:14

jumcc87: Hi David

I read your message and was really compelled to reply. Health and Fitness is a bit of a passion of mine. The situation you are in is not too dissimilar to so many people, and I know how easy it can be for things to creep up on you. I agree with you that the fast diet is not the way to start. I do believe the science behind fasting, but the way it has been offered in the media as a quick weight loss solution is dangerous in my opinion. Fasting does work, there is no doubt, but if you are going to do it you first need to have the big blocks in place like a sound nutrition plan, some kind of exercise routine, stress reduction and sleeping well etc. What happens is people go from their bad diets, high stress jobs and no exercise and suddenly try to fast 2 days a week and the body goes WHAT IS GOING ON!! More often than not it will lead to binges, bad relationships with food and inevitable rebound weight. If you are going to fast you need a handle on your food, exercise and lifestyle and fasting would then be a tool to shift the last few pounds, and then return to a routine that you can maintain FOR LIFE - something sustainable. After all, whats the point of losing a whole lot of weight to then put it back on plus some.

With regards to what you plan to do to get healthier, the biggest impact with your weight will come from what you put in your mouth. Exercise also is effective but packs nowhere near as much punch as cleaning up your diet. For example a couple of biscuits might have 300 calories in them, which would equate to a 20 min run (very loose calculations there but just to illustrate my point). It is so much easier to cut these things out of the diet than to try and out-exercise them. Most importantly, get your nutrition right. If I had someone come to me that was following their nutrition to a tee with no exercise, and another person who wasn't but was exercising - the person with the good diet would have more success with their weight loss. I'm not saying exercise is not beneficial and it is essential for a healthy body, but when embarking on a new routine and changing habits it is best to put your energy into the things that are going to make the biggest impact.

There is a lot of evidence to suggest the breakfast is not essential and if you find you don't like it, don't eat it. Little do you know you are actually doing a kind of fasting by skipping breakfast! The only reason you might consider having it is if at the moment you are ravenous by lunch which causes you to search out bad food.

Focus on these things when building your meals:

First, lean protein - to make it easy you can buy roast chicken, smoked salmon, etc (eat the breast on top which is the leanest part, cans of tuna/salmon/chicken) even deli meats like roast beef, ham, shredded chicken (however try to limit these as they can be high in sodium).
Secondly - try to get some green vege on the plate. I know it can be hard but they are so good for your body. Brocolli, cauliflower, spinach, salad greens, cucumber etc. Beware of corn, pees, potatoes, kumara, as these are high in starch and carbohydrate. For dressing use a good olive oil or balsamic vinegar - just enough to give some taste
Thirdly and optional - a source of good fat like avocado, a small handfull of nuts, small piece of cheese

It really is as easy as that. Try not to make it too complicated as you will find if it is, you will not stay on plan. If you buy your food on the go always go for a meat and vege choice like a big salad, cooked chicken, burger - throw away the bun and eat the patty.

One thing that you need to understand is that carbohydrates (sugar, bread, pasta, cereals, etc) release a hormone in your body called insulin. Insulin role is storage in the body - so when insulin is released, your body is in storage mode - storing the food in your muscles or in your fat cells. When insulin is released, all fat burning is shut off. Fat is released when your body is in a low insulin state. Protein only raises insulin slightly and is essential for your body and is also filling, green veges have little effect on insulin and fat (note good natural sources of fat like avocado, fatty fish etc) have next to no effect on insulin, Contrary to what we have been told, good fats are also essential and good for the body, they are the building blocks of our cells, hair, nails, skin, so many benefits. There is a big turnaround in the nutrition world at the moment with this. See one of the latest time covers which has a stick of butter on it.

For exercise, start with any movement, like walking up your driveway. Once you've mastered that consider doing some body weight exercise variations like body weight squats, push ups, pull ups on a ow bar with your feet on the ground so you are only lifting some of your body weight.

When you are limiting you calories to lose fat, the last thing you want to do is lose muscle. If you do, you will just end up a smaller version of yourself and very soft. To make sure that your body is losing fat only and limiting any muscle loss you need to make your body think that you need the muscle. For example if you do some push ups, step ups, squats your body will be sent the message ' i better not get rid of this muscle as I might need it in the future to lift some heavy stuff'.

This was long but I just wanted to explain it all as well as keep it simple as I can see that you are at the place where staying the same is more painful than making a change and I wanted to give you some knowledge to go forward with that.

If you have any questions let me know!

Keep it simple, and remember with all this stuff consistency is key - it is better to be 80% compliant for 6 months than be 100% compliant then go off the rails , jump back on etc.

You can do this!!

Wow! Such a detailed reply! I've only just read though it now, so I guess it's time for an update.

I've gone back to shopping and I've learned (somewhat) how to cook. My girlfriend is amazed to say the least. I'll tell you what, healthy eating isn't cheap! No wonder people gravitate towards Pizza Hut.

We both started eating healthy together...The first couple of days were a nightmare. I stopped drinking Coke all together which may have been a mistake. Dropped the biscuts, the chips, sausage roll, big ben pies...everything. My girlfriend stopped the morning McDonalds stops at the same time. She described the feeling the next morning as if she was hit by a car in the middle of the night. I woke up fine, but towards the 11AM mark I was craving that caffeine/sugar combo.

I had the biggest headache I think I've ever experienced in my life. I'm one of those people that can't take pain killers, so it was really tempting to just end it all by drinking a can of drink. After the first day was over, I woke up even worse. I almost passed out a few times at work and an ex-ambulence driver told me I was probably suffering from low blood sugar. I had cut everything and gone from eating and drinking no water and lots of sugar to no sugar at all and 3L of water per day. He told my boss not to give my car keys back to me until I'd eaten a full meal and had some sort of sugary drink. Probably saved my life!

He was right. After one can of coke and sugary porridge I'd never felt better in years. From then on, I drank one can every two days and the last one I had was last Sunday evening. I do feel better, but get headaches, where as I NEVER had any before, it was a very rare troubling occurrence to me that meant a potential doctors visit. I figured I must be severely deficient in something and started taking mens multi vitamin and a separate 1000mg Vitimin C tablet separately twice daily for a boost.

Last night I followed the 1/4 meat 3/4 vegetables rule. Instead of lots of potato chips, I had potato cubes mixed in with steamed vegetables. I feel as if I have much more energy in the morning but it tapers off VERY fast towards the afternoon to the point where I actually need a nap most days. I don't feel as if I'm eating enough, but don't want to eat too much at the same time.

I have 2 apples, 1 carrot, 2 sandwiches and a bottle of water for lunch and often steak/vegetables and a small amount of potato for dinner.

I haven't followed up on my exercise promise. I'm waiting for daylight savings to kick in. I get home when it's almost dark and even walking on my lose metal driveway is a sprained ankle waiting to happen trying to traverse the pot holes in the dark!
In terms of my weight, it's dropped off my face quite a bit. My face is back to where it used to be, but my belly is still the same, haha! I feel as if my body is using the reserves, but it's hard to tell since I've been so tired lately, even though I've been going to bed at 11PM, 30 minutes short of my 10:30PM target. I have noticed my inner thighs (or upper leg, I have no idea what it's actually called) don't rub together when walking anymore, which used to be the norm.

I was 116 KG the day after my last post in this thread. I'm 109KG right now. I'm not sure if that is good or not, but I'm trying. According to my BMI, I'm "supposed" to be more like 75 - 78KG. I've been over 100KG for as long as I can remember so that number just seems totally unrealistic to me!

Thank you so much for the advice! It's paying off to some degree. I guess I'll see what happens next. :)

timmmay

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#1136776 24-Sep-2014 17:32

Wow that's a sudden change! Well done. Tapering off caffeine works better, nurofen helps with the headaches.

Suggest you keep the carbs down - potato is better than chips, but carrot and broccoli is better than both. I'm about to make a stir fry, typical for me, with broccoli, carrots, capsicum, tofu (chicken/beef for most people), and satay sauce. No rice, no potato, no sugar (bit in the satay maybe).

Keep up the good work, and if you fail at one meal don't go mental all day and eat whatever you want, just get back on the wagon and keep going. Oh and stay off alcohol, that stuff is weight gain in a glass.

DravidDavid

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#1136903 24-Sep-2014 20:34

timmmay: Wow that's a sudden change! Well done. Tapering off caffeine works better, nurofen helps with the headaches.

Suggest you keep the carbs down - potato is better than chips, but carrot and broccoli is better than both. I'm about to make a stir fry, typical for me, with broccoli, carrots, capsicum, tofu (chicken/beef for most people), and satay sauce. No rice, no potato, no sugar (bit in the satay maybe).

Keep up the good work, and if you fail at one meal don't go mental all day and eat whatever you want, just get back on the wagon and keep going. Oh and stay off alcohol, that stuff is weight gain in a glass.

You just made me hungry! Potato isn't an every night thing. If we have it, it's because we want chips or it's in the mixed vegetables. I've never had a drop of alcohol in my life. Probably a good idea that I don't start any time soon. :)

DravidDavid

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#1144793 1-Oct-2014 12:35

Quick update.

Was 109.8 as of the 23rd (last post) and am now 104.3 as of today! I'm on the cusp of a healthy weight again in less than a month, with zero exercise. I pledged to start as of daylight saving, but I put my back out last Saturday which has only just started recovering. I'm going to be doing 50 crunches, 50 pushups and 100 situps per night as of tonight after my 2KM run. We will see how that impacts the weight loss! Go hard or go home right?

For the first time ever yesterday I went to the supermarket to buy...green stuff only. I would usually shoot down to grab a bag of biscuits I could demolish that night, or ice cream. This time around, it was a bag of carrots, mandarins, apples, bananas and bread. It felt so weird and also short changed as ice cream and biscuits would have been $10 or so...and the healthy stuff hit the high $25.00 mark.

I do still enjoy CokaCola, but so far it's been once a fortnight, rather than twice per day. I have ice cream in the freezer, which has so far been untouched since last week. Will probably save it for this weekend as a treat. I find it odd...My girlfriend mentioned she was going to the bakery and asked if I wanted anything. The thought of my usual cream donut and large sausage roll actually made me feel kinda' queezy, where as not even a month ago, my brain would be jumping for joy at the thought of going down there for Saturday lunch.

Sometimes foods are actually sometimes foods now, rather than all the time foods.

I can also get out of bed! It's easy and I wake up before my alarm most days now. I am still going to bed at about 12AM, but slowly working it down. In the past on very rare occasions, I would lack the will power so much I would call in late and blame the nearest animal. Can't see that happening anymore.

To the future!

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timmmay

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#1144796 1-Oct-2014 12:40

That's excellent progress :) Note though to be in the healthy weight range at 100kg you'd have to be over 7 feet tall, unless you're exceptionally well muscled.

Walking up hills and stairs is excellent exercise.

Things will keep getting better and easier as you lose weight, keep up the good work :)

DravidDavid

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#1144798 1-Oct-2014 12:43

timmmay: That's excellent progress :) Note though to be in the healthy weight range at 100kg you'd have to be over 7 feet tall, unless you're exceptionally well muscled.

Walking up hills and stairs is excellent exercise.

Things will keep getting better and easier as you lose weight, keep up the good work :)

I started at 119 and need to be 95ish to be at a healthy weight. I'm still not familiar with what to expect in terms of weight loss. Some people loose 2KG per month, some loose 2KG per week. I am 6 foot 1. I have no muscle haha, but I wish!

timmmay

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#1144801 1-Oct-2014 12:50

How tall are you? 119 to 104 is a really significant loss. The bigger you are the faster you lose, 2-4kg per week initially, then down to 1-2kg per week, eventually .25kg per week once you're close to your ideal weight and BMI in the normal range.

I'm 5'6", at my heaviest I was around 100kg. On Atkins I went down to 68kg in 3-4 months, I had to buy new clothes three times because the old ones wouldn't stay up. That was ten years ago, I've fluctuated since then, but mostly do pretty well. I know how hard it is.

DravidDavid

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#1144823 1-Oct-2014 13:52

timmmay: How tall are you?

I am 186cm / 1865mm / 6.118 feet.

So far loosing the weight has been the easiest part. Changing the diet...Man, that has been enough to kill a man.

EDIT: Apparently to be within normal weight, I've got another 18KGs to loose. I'm pretty sure I can smash that before the year is out.
EDIT2: Now I'm just depressed...The computer just told me I was technically Obese. :( I thought a healthy weight for my height was mid 90's for some reason. Apparently it's mid 70's to low 80's.

timmmay

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#1144839 1-Oct-2014 14:30

My BMI puts me in the overweight category, but even when I was so lean there was no fat on my waist my BMI was 24.9. I'm reasonably muscular though. So don't worry too much about the categorisation, worry more about how you look and feel. Belly fat is most important for guys, and the hardest to remove.

According to one calculator you should be 77kg. I'm 6 inches shorter than you and that's only slightly more than what I weigh. 80 - 85kg, and you should be pretty lean then, but honestly any weight lost is a win. Keep at it :)

DravidDavid

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#1144910 1-Oct-2014 15:45

timmmay: My BMI puts me in the overweight category, but even when I was so lean there was no fat on my waist my BMI was 24.9. I'm reasonably muscular though. So don't worry too much about the categorisation, worry more about how you look and feel. Belly fat is most important for guys, and the hardest to remove.

According to one calculator you should be 77kg. I'm 6 inches shorter than you and that's only slightly more than what I weigh. 80 - 85kg, and you should be pretty lean then, but honestly any weight lost is a win. Keep at it :)

That makes me feel a bit better.

I agree with the belly fat being the hardest to loose. It's essentially where all of my fat sits. Nothing on my arms, legs, neck...ect. It's all in my gut. I'm hoping I can tone it up a bit!

Another plus side to healthy eating is the fact I'm not sick when all other employees around me are!

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#1778763 9-May-2017 21:09

From Lifehacker, with a link to the original article "Effect of Alternate-Day Fasting on Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Cardioprotection Among Metabolically Healthy Obese Adults":

Question Is alternate-day fasting more effective for weight loss and weight maintenance compared with daily calorie restriction?

Findings This randomized clinical trial included 100 metabolically healthy obese adults. Weight loss after 1 year in the alternate-day fasting group (6.0%) was not significantly different from that of the daily calorie restriction group (5.3%), relative to the no-intervention control group.

Meaning Alternate-day fasting does not produce superior weight loss or weight maintenance compared with daily calorie restriction.

cruxis

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#1778787 9-May-2017 21:38

Participants in the alternate-day fasting group ate more than prescribed on fast days, and less than prescribed on feast days, while those in the daily calorie restriction group generally met their prescribed energy goals.

Basically the fasting group were all fails and did not actually meet fasting conditions. As fasting is difficult as it requires a strength of will to override the hunger.

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