If you can't reduce your weight by 2Kg a year then you may as well just call the whole thing off.
I can reduce my weight by much more than 2kg in a year. but as soon as something goes wrong in my life and stress or misery gets going, I gain it all back, with interest, and much faster than it's lost.
It just doesn't work like that.
I know, trust me on that. I have a weight loss graph since 1997 that is a pure sine-wave.
The trouble is, with calorie-deficit diets, you suppress your metabolism, slowly and inexorably, until even your reduced calories are enough to maintain it.
Simultaneously your body goes into overtime with "hunger hormones" making you hungrier than you ever were, all day, every day.
That double whammy means that when you increase your calorie intake you pile on weight much quicker (due to your lower calorific needs) and you enter a hormone driven feeding frenzy. It's not your fault...your hormones changed to make you eat..and eat
It's why Weight-watchers et al have a dismal long-term success rate (despite a good 3-6 month success rate*).
*Success shouldn't be based on 3-6 months.
I recognised this pattern in myself and have done much research into why it happens. I'm now convinced that Fasting will help me.
I'm one month into it and 8kg down (1st 3lb).
There is so much bullshit talked about "Starvation mode" and "Muscle loss" but that mostly comes from the purveyors of food. There's no profit in Fasting, it's a zero cost option.
Here's a summary of what I've learned so far:
- Fasting can be done for as long as you like and it has positive benefits over a 7-day reduced calorie regime. 1 day, 2 days a week (5:2), using 600kcals on your Fast days or nothing, even longer.
- It can be seen as a "miracle cure" for many people with Type 2 Diabetes (Where sufferers are propped up on Insulin supplements)
- Consider Type 2 Diabetes. It's a disease where the patient has become desensitised to Insulin, over long periods of being naturally "flooded" with Insulin to combat a sugary diet. The "Cure" is to supplement the "flood" of natural insulin with externally administered Insulin. Does that strike anyone as odd? A disease of too much Insulin treated with more Insulin?
Fasting turns off (to a large degree) natural Insulin production. It's not required, there's no sugar coming in (remember that Bread and Pasta = Carbs = Sugar, not just Coke and Mars Bars).
Fasting allows the body to become sensitive to Insulin again.
Anyway, see the Michael Moseley Youtube (and Jason Fung Youtubes) for a full description of why it works and considerations before trying it.
- I don't feel hungry. Yes, that's weird. I find that reduced calories or 600kcal Fasting just makes me crave more (there are hormonal reasons remember) so I just don't eat anything on Fasting days.
- I feel more active. Yes, that's weird. Reduced calories made me feel cold and lethargic. There are hormonal reasons why Fasting makes you feel more active (Growth hormone is released, Adrenalin is released, brain activity goes up..etc).
- Think about how we evolved rather than what we've done in the last 100 years (when food became ever more available). We woke up in a cave, chased a Wildebeest across a plain for a few hours, then ate the f*** out of it when we finally caught it. We're actually designed to burn fat not carbohydrate. Carbs are just a short term luxury that (should) come along infrequently, not every 2 hours from the fridge. When you're low on Wildebeest the body releases hormones to make you think clearer and perform better, in order to catch Wildebeest. It doesn't slow you down when you haven't eaten Wildebeest for a few days, that would have been species suicide.
- It targets fat. After the first day of Fasting you've used up your Carbs (Glycogen stores), there's only around 2,500kCals of it in your Liver and blood. Once Glycogen is gone you enter Ketosis, where fat is metabolised as fuel (any Audax rider should have an efficient Ketosis system because carbs alone don't get you around a 400km ride. I think Audax riders will find it less "painful" to Fast as their bodies will be used to Ketosis being switched on).
Anything you do from Day 2 onwards is (mostly) Fat-fuelled.
I'm on another Day 2 right now. The hunger is gone, I feel fine and I may try 3 or 4 days this time. I did 3 last week and it was fine. On the 3rd day I attended a high power Wattbike Class and went for a 30 mile ride. I felt fine, nothing to worry about, I'm burning fat and I have shit loads left.
The best thing for me is that I don't crave food now and I don't feel cold. Having zero food triggers the reverse hormonal effect as having reduced food. Why would I want to eat just a little piece of Cake? That's like giving up smoking except for one puff on a ciggy ....it's torture.
Caveat. I'm in the early stages, the easy part. I've been this weight before (but usually with the help of PBP preparation/qualification regime. You can eat anything in PBP year and lose weight). This is the first time I've lost weight so consistently without huge cycling miles.
Anyway I recommend you watch this (especially if Type 2 Diabetes is a concern). It's a summary by Jason Fung. There are many more of his lectures to link to. I find them fascinating and motivational.
We've all been fed such bullshit by the food companies and the diet industry.
Please watch before coming back with comments based on Old-Wives tales though.
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https://youtu.be/ETkwZIi3R7w <<<<