The Fast Diet: The secret of intermittent fasting � lose weight, stay healthy, live longer (9 page)

Of course, you don’t need to dwell actively on any of this. It will happen anyway. If you are like me, then one day soon, you’ll arrive at a place where you say no to the cheesecake because you don’t fancy it, not because you are denying yourself a treat.

This is the baseline power of Intermittent Fasting: it encourages you to recheck your diet. And that’s your long-haul ticket to health.

So, yes, you’ll start to lose bad habits around food. But if you continue to fast – and feast – with awareness, all kinds of other changes should occur, some of them unlikely and unexpected.

You may, for instance, discover that you’ve been suffering from ‘portion distortion’ for years, thinking that the food piled on your plate is the quantity you really
need and want. With time, you’ll probably discover that you’ve been overdoing it. Muffins will start to look vast as they sit, fat and moist, under glass domes in coffee shops. A maxi bag of crisps becomes a monstrous prospect. You may go from Venti to Grande to wanting only half a cup, no sugar, no cream.

Soon, you’ll come to recognise the truth about how you’ve been eating and the wordless fibs you’ve told yourself for years. This is as much a part of the recalibrating process as anything else; you’ve changed your mind. Occasional fasting will train you in the art of ‘restrained eating’; in the last instance, this is the goal. It’s all part of the long game of behavioural change that means that the Fast Diet will ultimately become neither a fast, nor a diet, but a way of life.

After a while, you’ll have cultivated a new approach to eating – thoughtful, rational, responsible – without even knowing you’re doing it.

Intermittent Fasters also report a boost in their energy, together with an amplified sense of emotional wellbeing. Some talk of a ‘glow’ – the result, perhaps, of winning the battle for self-control, or of the smaller clothes and the compliments, or of something going on at a metabolic level that governs our moods. We may not yet know precisely why, but whatever it is, it feels good. Far better than cake. As one online devotee says, ‘Overall, fasting just seems right. It’s like a reset button for your entire body.’
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More subtly still, many fasters acknowledge a sense of relief as their fast days no longer revolve around food. Embrace it. There’s a certain liberty here, if you allow it to materialise. You may find, as we have, that you start to look forward to your fasts: a time to regroup and give feeding a rest.

A lot of men have contacted me over the last few months to let me know how much weight they have lost and also to say how surprised and delighted they are that Intermittent Fasting turns out to be so easy. They like its simplicity, the fact that you don’t have to give things up or try to remember complicated recipes. I also think they rather like the challenge.

The actor and comedian Dom Joly recently wrote that he’d lost two and a half stone after watching my
Horizon
programme and felt it was an approach he could imagine sticking to for the rest of his life.
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The attraction for him is that he knows he will be able to eat what he wants the following day. He even added that he now rather enjoys the fasting days, something I have heard from a
number of men. One of the things that men seem to like particularly about fasting is that they can fit it into their lives with minimal hassle. It doesn’t stop them working, travelling, socialising or exercising. In fact, some find it fuels performance (see page 121 for more on fasting and exercise).

In one Belgian study, men asked to eat a high-fat diet and exercise before breakfast on an empty stomach put on far less weight than a similar group of men on an identical diet who exercised after breakfast.
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This study adds support to the claim that exercising in a fasted state makes the body burn a greater percentage of fat for fuel. At least it does if you are a man.

For me, a fast day now follows a familiar routine. I start with a protein-rich breakfast, normally scrambled eggs or kippers. I drink several cups of black coffee and tea during the day, work happily through lunch and rarely feel any hunger pangs until well into the late afternoon. When they happen, I simply ignore them or go for a brief stroll until they pass.

In the evening I have a bit of meat or fish and piles of steamed vegetables. Having abstained since breakfast I find them particularly delicious.

I never have problems getting to sleep and most days wake up the next morning feeling no more peckish than normal.

While most men I know respond well to numbers and targets (with associated gadgets if at all possible), I’ve found that women tend to take a more holistic approach to fasting. As with much in life, we like to examine how it feels, knowing that our bodies are unique and will respond to any given stimulation in their own sweet way. We respond to shared stories and the support of friends. And, sometimes, we need a snack.

Personally, for instance, I like to consume my fast-day calories in two lots, one early, one late, bookending the day with my allowance and aiming for a longish gap in between to maximise the prospect of health gains and weight loss. But I do need a little something to keep me going in between. A fast-day breakfast is usually a
low-sugar
muesli, perhaps including some fresh strawberries and almonds, with semi-skimmed milk; there’ll be an apple ‘for lunch’ – hardly a feast, I know, but just enough to make a difference to the day. Then, supper: a substantial, interesting salad with heaps of leaves and some lean protein – perhaps smoked salmon or tuna or hummus – once the kids are in bed. Throughout the day, I drink San Pellegrino mineral water with a squeeze of lime, tons of herbal tea and plenty of black coffee. They just help the day tick by.

In the four months since I started the Fast Diet, I have lost 6kg, and my BMI has gone from 21.4 to 19.4. If you’re
struggling with bigger numbers than these, take strength from the fact that heavier subjects respond brilliantly to Intermittent Fasting, and the positive effects should be apparent in a relatively short time. These days, one fast a week (on Mondays) seems to suffice and keep me at a stable, happy weight.

Many women I encounter are well versed in dieting techniques (years of practice), and I’ve found that a couple of tips can come in handy on a fast day. I’d recommend, for instance, eating in small mouthfuls, chewing slowly and concentrating when eating. Why read a magazine, why tweet as you eat? If you’re only getting 500 calories, it makes sense to notice them as they go in.

I have found, like many Intermittent Fasters, that hunger is simply not an issue. For whatever reason – and one wonders whether it suits the food industry – we have developed a fear of hunger, fretting about low blood sugar and whatnot.

On the whole, for me, a day with little food feels emancipating rather than restrictive. That said, there are ups and downs: some days skim by like a stone on water; other days, I feel like I’m sinking, not swimming, perhaps because emotions or hormones or simply the tricky business of life have kicked in. See how you feel, and always give in gracefully if that particular day is not your day to fast.

1.
Know your weight, your BMI and your waist size from the get-go
. As we mentioned earlier, waist measurement is a simple and important measurement of internal fat and a powerful predictor of future health. People who do Intermittent Fasting soon lose those dangerous and unattractive inches. BMI is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in metres) squared; it may sound like a palaver, and an abstract one at that, but it’s a widely accepted tool for plotting a path to healthy weight loss. Do note that a BMI score takes no account of body type, age or ethnicity, so should be greeted with informed caution. Still, if you need a number, this is a useful one.

Weigh yourself regularly but not obsessively. After the initial stages, once a week should suffice. The mornings after fast days are best if you like to see falling figures. Researchers at the University of Illinois have noted that ‘weight measurements are drastically different from feed to fast day. This discrepancy in body weight is most likely due to the additional weight of food present in the gastrointestinal tract, and not changes in fat mass from day to day. As a potential solution, future trials should average body weight measurements taken from consecutive feed and fast days to attain a more accurate assessment of weight.’
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You might like to do the same, but don’t make weighing – yourself or your calories – a chore.

If you are someone who enjoys structure and clarity,
you may want to monitor your progress. Have a target in mind. Where do you want to be, and when? Be realistic: precipitous weight loss is not advised, so allow yourself time. Make a plan. Write it down.

Plenty of people recommend keeping a diet diary. Alongside the numbers, add your experiences; try to note down three good things that happen on each day. It’s a feel-good message that you can refer to as time goes by.

2.
Find a fast friend
. You need very few accoutrements to make this a success, but a supportive friend may well be one of them. Once you’re on the Fast Diet, tell people about it; you may find that they join in, and you’ll develop a network of common experience. Since the plan appeals to men and women equally, couples report that they find it more manageable to do it together. That way, you get mutual support, camaraderie, joint commitment and shared anecdotes; besides, meal times are made infinitely easier if you’re eating with someone who understands the rudiments of the plot. There are plenty of threads on online chat rooms too. Mumsnet is a great source of support and information. It’s remarkable how reassuring it is to know that you’re not alone.

3.
Prep your fast-day food in advance
so that you don’t go foraging and come across a leftover sausage lurking irresistibly in the fridge. Keep it simple, aiming for
fast-day
flavour without effort. Shop and cook on non-fast
days, so as not to taunt yourself with undue temptation (For simple, sustaining fast-day recipe ideas, see pages 139-61). Before you embark, clear the house of junk food. It will only croon and coo at you from the cupboards, making your fast day harder than it needs to be.

4.
Check calorie labels for portion size.
When the cereal box says ‘a 30g serving’, measure it. Go on. Be amazed. Then be honest. Since your calorie count on a fast day is necessarily fixed and limited, it’s important not to be blinkered about how much is actually going in. You’ll find a calorie counter for suggested fast-day foods on page 185. Or download a calorie counter app such as www.myfitnesspal.com. Nutratech.co.uk offers a useful online interactive food diary – go to www.nutratech.co.uk. Alternatively, www.nutritiondata.self.com includes specific search criteria to allow you to match your food choices not only to your calorie allocation but also to your nutritional needs. Way more importantly, don’t count calories on a non-fast day. You’ve got better things to do.

5.
Wait before you eat.
Try to resist for at least ten minutes, 15 if you can, to see if the hunger subsides (as it naturally tends to do). If you absolutely must snack, choose something that will not elevate your insulin levels. Try some julienned carrots, a handful of plain air-popped popcorn, an apple slice or some strawberries. But don’t pick and peck like a hen through the day; the calories
will soon stack up and your fast will be dashed. On fast days, eat with awareness, allowing yourself to fully absorb the fact that you’re eating (not as daft as it sounds, particularly if you have ever sat in a traffic jam popping M&Ms). Similarly, on off-duty days, stay gently alert. Eat until you’re satisfied, not until you’re full (this will come naturally after a few weeks’ practice). Work out what the concept of ‘fullness’ means for you – we are all different and it changes over time.

6.
Stay busy.
‘We humans are always looking for things to do between meals,’ said Leonard Cohen. Yes, and look where it’s got us. So fill your day, not your face. As fasting advocate Brad Pilon has noted, ‘No one’s hungry in the first few seconds of a sky dive.’ Engage in things other than food – not necessarily sky diving, but anything that appeals to you. Distraction is your best defence against the dark arts of the food industry, which has stationed donuts on every street corner and nachos at every turn. And remember, if you must have that donut, it will still be there tomorrow.

7.
Try the two-to-two
: fasting not from bedtime to bedtime, but from 2pm until 2pm. After lunch on day one, eat sparingly until a late lunch the following day. That way, you lose weight as you sleep and no single day feels uncomfortably deprived of food. It’s a clever trick, but it does require a modicum more concentration than the
whole-day option. Or perhaps fast from supper to supper, which again means that no day is All Fast and No Fun. The point is that this plan is ‘adjust to fit’. Just like your waistband in three weeks’ time…

8.
Don’t be afraid to think about food you like
. A psychological mechanism called ‘habituation’ – in which the more people have of something, the less value they attach to it – means that doing the opposite and trying to suppress thoughts of food is a ‘flawed strategy’.
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The critical thought process here is to treat food as a friend, not as a foe. Food is not magical, supernatural or dangerous. Don’t demonise it; normalise it. It’s only food.