Ok folks, on the back of my previous post here’s my program for the coming two or three weeks. This was to have been one long post, but as there is a lot of ground to cover, I will break it up into more manageable chunks. But before we go there here’s a little background.
I am 69 years old, weigh 176 pounds and my waist to measurement is 39”. I wear 34” pants, but the tape showed my delusion. My goal weight is 161lb. I am not diabetic and have been following a (largely) low carb high fat diet for years; generally following what my grandparents ate. I am pretty fit, regularly swimming 3 times a week 50 lengths of a 25 metre pool and cycling 11.5 miles. If I’m in the mood I swim up to 150 lengths (and could literally swim all day without eating) and cycle 23 miles. I will typically follow a swim with a ride. So, no problems with fitness. I am also an active microlight pilot. However, I have been carrying weight that I have been uncomfortable with forever. I have a fondness for white wine; was that the problem? Gave it up for 6 months last year expecting the weight to disappear. Didn’t move a pound. So, where's the problem?
We are told that so long as you keep the fat up, carbs down, then weight will naturally fall off without calorie counting. Well in my case, this isn’t the case. And the only thing I can put it down to is overconsumption of fat. As I’ve mentioned previously, we consume(d) rivers of double cream in coffee here, and 4 cups will give you nearly the entire calorie retirement for the average woman. I could go on, but will leave it there as I’m sure you get the gist.
What follows is NOT something I’m advocating for anyone else. This is a N=1 experiment for ME.
So rather than going down the anecdotal route, I am going down a scientific road. This is chemistry and physics.
So, I know the science, know the problem, how am I going to go about addressing the issue? Well, sad to say I am going on a calorie controlled LCHF diet of 800 per day. One or two pounds a week doesn’t do it for me, so I’m going hardcore; incorporating very low carb/calorie along with exercise. Now, I am well aware that you cannot outrun a bad diet (a 40-minute swim for me takes the energy in a Snickers bar) however, on a diet of 800 calories a day, exercise becomes a VERY important tool. Then there is the fasting aspect, this is big - HUGE, as I shall explain a little later.
So, here are the nuts and bolts.
Firstly, no alcohol whatsoever, no bread, potatoes, rice or pasta. I will be eating twice a day within a 6 hour window. First meal no earlier (though could be later) at noon, last meal no later than 6 pm. This means a daily fast of at least 18 hours.
It should be emphasised that hunger will not be a problem as I will be eating my own body fat with insulin being super low. This will chime with my body moving towards it’s set point - my natural weight. I will have a cheat day on a Saturday, as the family eat at my mother in law’s and I eat and enjoy what’s put in front of me, but that will be my only meal of the day. I will be exercising within the fasted period as that will have more impact the body’s recycling mechanism - autophagy - as well as the massive advantage of ramping up metabolic rate. Rather than metabolic rate decreasing, as you might expect when food is scarce, it goes UP - by some 14% according to Dr. Fung, so more bang for your buck! Some of you here may be aware that I am an ambassador for the Public Health Collaboration, a charity that advocates and promotes LCHF to the public and medical bodies, so I owe it to them to be in the best possible shape I can be before I ask others to accept advice I might advocate.
So, that’s enough for now, more to follow and I hope at the least you’re being entertained.
How tall are you?
Getting head around eating fat
Weight loss slow- I don’t think I’m doing it right