I’m NOT one for complicated
diets and the mere thought of “calorie counting” depresses me beyond measure.
Like many people, I’m certainly aware that I’m a “little overweight” (a slight understatement
perhaps - granddaughters Iris+Rosa are far more blunt and simply tell me that I’m
“fat”!) and, ideally, would like to get below the 14st mark on the scales.
Actually, over the past
year, I HAVE lost some weight. At one stage, I think I’d reached 15st 7lb but am now a
stone lighter. I’m not entirely sure how this has come about – perhaps (much) less
use of the car and far more regular walking?Last Monday morning on the "Today" programme on Radio4, I listened to interviews with a professor and TV presenter Michael Mosley about the apparent benefits of including a limited amount of fasting within one’s regular weekly eating routine. Mosley had put himself to the test and had adopted a so-called 5:2 diet. As the name implies you eat normally 5 days a week, then two days a week you eat 500 calories if you are a woman, or 600 calories, if you are a man.
This is what he said: “There are no firm rules because so far there have been few proper human trials. I found that I could get through my fast days best if I had a light breakfast (scrambled eggs, thin slice of ham, lots of black tea, adding up to about 300 calories), lots of water and herbal tea during the day, then a light dinner (grilled fish with lots of vegetables) at night.
On my feed days I ate what I normally do and felt no need to gorge.
I stuck to this diet for 5 weeks, during which time I lost nearly a stone and my blood markers, like IGF-1, glucose and cholesterol, improved. If I can sustain that, it will greatly reduce my risk of contracting age-related diseases like cancer and diabetes”.
You can watch Mosley’s “Horizon” programme, entitled “Eat, Fast and Live Longer” by clicking here (I think it’ll be available on iPlayer until mid-September).
Well, I was so intrigued I’ve decided to “give it a go”.
From time to time (assuming my new food regime lasts for more than a couple of days!), I might let you know how it’s going!
PS: I've only blogged about this as a vague way of keeping me on track!
Of you want to do it the the old fashioned way, you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. In old Christian tradition, these were regular fast days: Friday being the day of the crucifixion and Wednesday the day of the betrayal. The practice can be traced as early as the Didache, late first century/early second century.
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