The Fast Diet - Fast Day One (Monday May 6)

To recap, by fasting on 600 calories for two days in every seven, our body is forced to slow down and run repairs. It is this process that increases our resistance to illnesses such as diabetes and cancer. A side effect of fasting means we improve our eating habits, overall health and reduce our weight.

The background and science is extremely interesting, having been formulated by the BBC while researching an episode of Horizon. I highly recommend you either check out the refreshingly subscription free website or the book. The Kindle version is very cheap. Both are linked at the bottom of this post.

You can read my introduction post here.

Getting a Baseline

So we can compare the outwardly physical effects in five weeks time here's where this 45 year old was on Monday morning.

Weight 102.9Kg (16st4lb)
BMI 32.1
Bodyfat 31%

Height 177cm (5ft10")
Neck 41cm (16")
Chest 113cm (45")
Waist 124cm (49")
Hips 109cm (43")

Monday May 6 (2013) Fast day one

Meal One - 13:00

13 hours had passed since the last slice of cold pizza on Sunday night. Porridge and Jordans granola have been my staple breakfast for years. To meet the 300 calorie limit I used water instead of semi-skimmed milk and less Jordans.

300 calories of taste bud
delirium

Meal Two - 20:30

I prepared the ingredients for this immediately after the first meal, while I was full. When I cooked it I just bundled everything into the frying pan with a couple of one cal fat sprays. It would be at least another 13 hours after this meal before I ate again on Tuesday morning.

Hunger

I experienced some hunger during the day. It is best described as a nagging hunger over a consuming need. I easily forgot by keeping busy. Repeatedly during the day I found myself habitually reaching for snacks.

Mood and Vitality

I can get moody if struggling with the needy type of hunger but never experienced this during the fast day. The interesting aspect was how active my mind was. I was extremely productive to the point of feeling really on the game writing in the morning and the evening. I got some long put aside tech. projects finished too.

Exercise

One of the key aspects noted during the Horizon programme's research was the lack of falloff in physical activity during fast days. I decided to give this a test and went for a 6K jog (avg. pace 6:38) in the evening.

I started out feeling hungry but guess that was my body figuring where it's energy was coming from. I ran well through the first 3K which was flat or a slight gradient downhill. The second half was the equal gradient uphill and harder. This was my third run in a week after a eight month lay off. My cardiovascular fitness was the issue, not a lack of food.

I didn't experience any sense of fatigue in my legs or dizzyness. I felt good.

Mistakes and Observations

I drank 20 accidental calories through the day including the run - I thought the squash was calorie free. It was no added sugar. Lesson learned.

At the end of the run I had a mildly uncomfortable sense of bile or acid at the top of my stomach. This lasted through to an hour after I ate meal two. I was aware of it more than inconvenienced by it. My wife thought it was caused by the particularly strong mix of squash I took on the run.

Calorie summary for the day

The next fast day: Wednesday May 8

The Fast Diet website
The Fast Diet on Amazon UK
Horizon