Wednesday 22 May 2013

The Fast Diet - Week Two Summary

Birthday platter for (cough) 1.2
It wasn't me that ate the bread
Week two of the fast diet is now history. It was my birthday week so the fasting was mixed with some celebration. Here's how it went.

Week Two

Monday May 13 100.2kg (15st12lb)
Monday May 20 99.4kg (15st10lb)
Total loss 0.8kg (2lb)

Considering I'd partied pretty hard, had eaten out a few times during the week and sunk a few beers, I was surprised I hadn't put weight on.

Fasting

My fasting days have evolved over the last two weeks with my body's changes. I either have one meal, or if I do struggle, two meals, during the day. Typically I don't struggle at all. I'm extremely productive on Fast days. For this week I fasted on Monday and Wednesday.

Eating on Fast days

A controlled fasting day starts the night before with a balanced but light meal about 9PM. I then eat one meal about 3PM on the fast day. And then again at 9AM on the post fast day. This works really well for me. If I struggle I'll break the one meal into two, eating about 1PM and 5PM. I drink about 3litres of water on a fast day, black coffee, black tea and occasionally zero calorie ginger beer.

Fasting meals

I have three set meals I rotate through on Fast days. If I'm eating two meals I'll eat porridge with superberry granola as meal one about 1PM. At 5PM I'll eat chicken stir fry.

If I'm eating one meal, which is increasingly the choice, I eat a pot of chilli mince about 3PM in the afternoon. The combination of proteins, fats and carbs make this a meal that takes a long time to digest.

Non-Fast days

This week has been a birthday week so I ate out several times. Cake was consumed and some celebratory sweets and sundries, including a big bag of delicious toffee popcorn while watching a movie. Starving myself on my birthday was never part of the plan.

Outside these indulgences I'm mostly a creature of convenience, which means I'm driven by habit. So porridge starts non-fast days, usually with a pot of chilli for lunch and a chicken stir fry for dinner. I snack less and less on non-fast days because I'm much more aware of how often I had before. Sometimes I succumb but always with awareness.

Exercise

I had planned on doing more exercise this week but I ended up doing less, clocking up just one 7k run midweek. I did the one run having not eaten for 18 hours. I managed up my best per kilometre average time, courtesy of an improved cardiovascular fitness. I felt good throughout.

Alcohol

I drank above the recommended weekly units. I had a great time. Week three will be back to more moderate ways.

Extra Fast days

I only did the two Fast days but on two days I was extremely busy during the day and didn't eat a thing until mid-afternoon, which effectively meant I skipped breakfast. This had no detrimental impact.

Overall

I was very surprised I lost any weight at all. Overall the positives were my increased familiarity with fasting and the routine I have built around the days. My body has responded will to it.

Next week

I plan on fasting three days and running three times.


My Fast Diet introduction
My notes on Fast Day One
My notes on Fast Day Two
Fast Diet Week One Summary

The Fast Diet website
The Fast Diet on Amazon UK
Horizon

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