Juice Fast Adventure

[Aussie_Don]

In Australia we get a lot of BBC programs on TV. There was one recently that may be of interest. (But I'm not
sure where you'd get access to it in the USA -- perhaps your local PBS station might be a possibility, or one of
the cable channels.

The program was titled, "Eat, Fast, and Live Longer"

In it the presenter, who had been told that he had a problem with cholesterol, triglyceride, and a reduced
insulin sensitivity, went off to three universities in the US looking for ways to improve his situation. The
first place, Washington University, in St Louis advocated long term reduced calorie intake -- little meat, lots
of veggies, little or no processed sugars, etc.

He did a test of his readings versus those of someone who'd been doing the diet for several years, and the
difference was dramatic. But, as the presenter commented, you might live longer doing this diet, but it
would seem like it was a l-o-t longer.

Next he was off to California (I think it was LA, but I cannot remember exactly which Uni) There they
suggested that he do a 5 to 7 day fast, with only around 50 Kcal/day. At the end of the fast, he'd improved
his readings all around. So it was a good thing -- unfortunately the readings returned to where they'd been
in about a month.

The final stop was Chicago. (Again, I'm sorry that I don't recall the name of the Uni) Here, they were
advocating a system of fasting two days per week. It's only for a day, so it is not all that hard. The overall
results, in terms of the medically important readings, were similar to the results of either long term
reduced intake or fasting for 1 week per month. I think that he was allowed around 3-400 Kcal on the fast
days.

On the eating days, the people in their experiments were permitted to eat whatever they wanted in
whatever quantity they wanted. In fact, in the show they went off to a fast food place on one of the eating
days. So this seemed like a more sustainable idea -- fast some days, but be able to eat some "fun" things
occasionally. Seems to me that this gets around one of the big problems of a lot of diets. I do well and lose
weight while I'm dieting and being careful about what I eat. But, when I stop, I gradually go back to the
unhealthy stuff (because, if I'm honest - I have to say that I like it -- it tastes good) and the weight comes
back. Being able to have some of the unhealthy stuff and maintain weight seems like a win to me. I seem
to recall reading someone saying that calories are a measure of how good things taste.

I, too have been working at losing some weight. At Easter I pulled out the kilt and had to put it on the last
holes on the straps. I was up to about 112Kg. As a former tight-head prop, I feel your pain. But, since I was
trying to lose weight as well as reduce blood pressure and all of those test measures, I decided to try
fasting three days/week as well as weight training in the gym. Since the start of April I'm down to about
98Kg, blood pressure is down also -- haven't been game to get a cholesterol/etc. check yet - but soon.

So it's all working for me, as well. The one day fasts aren't as bad as I initially thought they might be. One
useful trick that I can pass on is herb tea with Stevia sweetener and two or three spoons of low calorie
fibre supplement stirred in. If you're hungry, it can be just filling enough to help at less than 30 Kcal.

I've currently plateaued just a bit, partially due to getting a bit slack in what I'm letting myself eat on the
eating days. It's OK to eat normally or even a bit more than "normal", but binging is not a good move.
(Though, that having been said, all that has happened is that I don't lose as much.)

Good luck to you. And remember that while the weight loss is important, getting the rest of your body
chemistry in line is also important.

-Don