Goodbye calorie restriction - Hello intermittent fasting!

Hey everyone,

As I mentioned in my insomnia post, my whole attempt at calorie restriction has been a huge fail.  I think I ate a chocolate croissant right after I finished the post.  A good alternative to calorie restriction is intermittent fasting.  This is what I am doing today.  I have not eaten since yesterday at dinner.  I do not plan on eating or drinking anything but water until tomorrow morning.  Why?  Because it is extremely healthy.  I haven't decided how often I will fast.  In one study, it was found that men saw the most benefits when fasting every second day while women saw the most benefits when fasting every eight days.  I think I will start with once a month and make my way down gradually to once every eight days.

Apparently Mormons are among the healthiest group of Americans and it is suspected that the cause is the low smoking rates and the fact that they fast on the first Sunday of every month.  A study by the American Heart Association also did a study on the benefits of fasting while controlling for drug use, alcohol and tobacco.  The result: the individuals who fasted were always better off.

I think this is all pretty logical: think of our hunter gatherer days.  People wouldn't have antelope just hanging around all the time waiting to be chewed.  People had to chase their pray.  This meant that you would eat when you could but there were periods without food.  I was reminded by this while reading "Pillars of the Earth" which takes place in 12th Century Europe.  I won't give the novel away - but I'll say that many of the characters go for extended periods of time without eating much.

The most impressive part of intermittent fasting is that it can help prevent cancer and can even help indivduals going through chemotherapy.   I think this is really important so here is the full article:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20080331/fasting_may_improve_cancer_chemotherapy

There are two aspects to the protective and healing effect of fasting with respect to cancer.

1) There are less errors made in the regeneration of cells when you are fasting.  It is believed that a major cause is that the body is able to put more energy towards regeneration.  Eating is actually very taxing for your body and also produces many oxidants.

2) As the article above notes, fasting may protect healthy cells when you are undergoing chemotherapy.

A study from the National Institute on Aging also has conducted tests (with mice) which had led researchers to conclude that Calorie Restriction and Intermittent Fasting dietary regimens can ameliorate age-related deficits such as Alzheimer's disease.
 
How am I feeling right now?  Generally I feel ok - maybe a little irritable, but I know that I will just need to adapt.  Apparently this diet is especially hard if you eat a carb heavy diet which I do.  Most proponents of this diet try to follow a primal diet which consists of fruit, vegetables, meat and a small amount of nuts and grains.  Where's the chocolate?

I encourage you to do this slowly.  I'll keep you posted on my results.
Until next time... Free yourself!