The July/August 2012 issue of Health magazine reported that new scientific studies suggest that a daily 12-hour fast is the sure-fire way to shed pounds more readily. The rules of this 12-hour fast include a.) don't skip breakfast. Eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking. Basically, stop eating late at night. Stop eating 12 hours before your regular breakfast time. So if you're up and eating at 6:30 am, no eating after 6:30 pm. b.) The fast includes all food and beverages except water. c.) Eat at regular intervals, the same time every day, 3-5 hours apart. d.) Go to bed 2-3 hours after your final meal. e.) Evening exercise recommended but any time of day that's regular. f.) Eat a good healthy mix of lean protein, good carbs, and healthy fats at every meal.
I realized I mostly do all of this, except for the 12-hour fast. I'm used to my daily evening "treat"-- a bowl of plain greek yogurt with warm banana slices and 2 Tbsp walnuts, usually between 7-8 pm. I eat breakfast at 6:45 am. That meant that I needed to cut off my eating at 6:45 pm. According to the article, "Fasting at night can even override most of the negative effects of an unhealthy diet, including weight gain."
So the question remains: will what worked for test mice work for a 36-year old human female, namely ME?
Before I get into my own results, I will say I would recommend this to many of my clients, mostly because their biggest issue is late-night eating. I agreed with the article when it made the point that late night eating isn't just bad because your metabolism slows down at night, but also because when you're sleepy, you make poor decisions. You're too tired for will power and sound reasoning. For this reason, sleep is emphasized as an important weight loss strategy, and I 100% agree.I myself do not typically have problems with poor late-night munching. So I wasn't sure if this 12-hour fast would make that much of a difference. I had originally planned to try this out for 12 days, but summer fun got in the way & I only made it 5. Still, I wasn't impressed with my results. Each day, I stuck to my typical clean diet & got roughly 1400-1800 cal a day. I obviously still worked out and kept a very active schedule. Here are my stats on the scale (I figured I didn't do it long enough to track girth measurements):
after day 1: 129 lbs
after day 2: 128.6 (I got excited!)
after day 3: 129.2 (And then confused)
after day 4: 129.4 (And now disappointed)
after day 5: 129.8 (And now mad. Hence throwing the towel in.)
Obviously, I did exactly what I tell my clients not to do-- give up too soon! But I know my body so well, and if it's not responding the first few days (when you typically see the MOST progress), it's not working for me. I also struggled a bit with falling asleep because my tummy was so utterly empty. And I worried I would lose muscle by depriving it of some protein a little later in the day. Alas, the mice are luckier than I.
The next study I decided to put to the test was the 2-5 diet: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45587821/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/cutting-carbs-just-days-week-can-spur-weight-loss/#.T_dN4FIk98E
This study showed that women who ate very low carb just 2 days a week and sensibly the other 5 days, lost more weight than the women who moderately dieted every day. My hubby tried this one first prior to his second marathon. He wanted to lose weight to improve his running time (and beat Oprah's time of 4:31), and he and his work buddy thought this sounded do-able. Anyone can stick to just 2 hard days a week, right? He stocked his work fridge with shrimp, turkey, chicken, and lettuce. He ate no fruit, hardly any vegetables, and obviously no breads, pastas, rice, etc. He is a man of exactness, so he even swapped his regular protein powder for a zero carb; he wouldn't eat nuts because they had a couple carb grams. He got his carbs down to 14 grams (not counting some fiber grams) one day and lived to tell about it! And he lost weight. Even though the very next day, he'd be sitting on the couch with a bag of Doritos! It is probably the ideal man-diet. "Me eat meat! Nothing but meat. Next day, extra big sandwich, pizza, & beer! Lose lots of weight!"
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| my lean hubby & swollen me at the Ogden marathon finish (anyone else swell after 26.2??) |
So . . . it worked for the hubby. And yes, he finally beat Oprah! Question is: will it work for this (dare I say perimenopausal) woman? I've only just started, and I've survived 2 days. This week I chose Monday & Thursday. But in between was July 3-4, 2 days of family festivities full of food, and I took a treat day. Or rather a 24-hour treat period (I couldn't decide which family to offend, so as to not offend either family, I partook of treats from 7 pm on the 3rd to 7 pm on the 4th. Hopefully that's not cheating, but it's my challenge, so I get to invent the rules.) Obviously, the data is incomplete, as it is too early to report results. I will say that mentally, I do like the 2 days a week thing. It was not difficult to get through Monday or Thursday, even though on Monday I ended with 15% carbs, 59% protein, 26% fat. That ended up being 24 grams of non-fiber carbs, 147 grams of protein, and 1012 calories. That's drastically low for me on carbs & calories, especially since I did 20 minutes stairmill, 1 hour power yoga, and 1 hour Pilates. On Thursday, I got even tighter, ending with roughly 900 calories for the day (just because I lost my appetite-- excess turkey and lettuce will do that to a gal.) I ended Thursday at 11% carbs, 60% protein, 29% fat. 14 non-fiber carbs! I usually get that in breakfast alone! Surprisingly, I felt mostly okay, probably because I had carb-loaded at the family parties, so this day just balanced everything out.
Obviously, I would NEVER recommend cutting carbs this drastically on a regular basis. My typical macronutrients (when not training for a comp) is fairly equal: 35% protein 35% carb 30% fat, or 35% protein 40% carb 20% fat. By "fat", I mean walnuts, almond butter, salmon, and flax seed oil (again, a new thing I'm trying & I've decided it's not my favorite-- it gives food an unwelcome fishy flavor. I prefer grapeseed oil, but this bottle was expensive and by golly, I'm gonna finish it!) On a normal day, I aim for at least 100 grams of carbs, and that's actually tough to do. So I'm pretty shocked that I got my carb intake that low. But the protein kept me rather satisfied as far as fullness.
I'll keep you posted on my results. I plan on sticking to this 2-5 diet for at least 1 month. It's easier than the 12-hour fast for me. It's easier than the comp diet. And it's something I could probably do forever if I had to.
The point for you readers is this: don't trust everything you read as truth for your own body. There will always be a new study. One study will say coffee is bad; another that coffee is good. One that wine is bad; one that wine will save your life. One study will say work out at night, but most others say work out in the morning. One day soy is good; the next it's bad. Remember, it's important to know who is funding said study, which can greatly influence the results. It's also vital to remember that YOU are the boss of YOU. That your body is UNIQUE. So put it to the test! Any diet that cuts back calories in some way will allow you to lose weight. The question is: which one is do-able for YOU, mentally & physically? Which one fits your personality and preferences? And which one allows you to adopt a healthier lifestyle for the long haul? And remember, what worked in the past for you may not work this time around. Alas, you are a living, growing, changing and ever-mysterious body-- stay in awe, gratitude, and respect of it!
Good luck in all your health & fitness goals, & I'll keep you posted ;)
