Catch-up?

[Professor-Yaffle]

Hi all

How's everyone doing? Not much activity here recently.....

I've been doing some spaced apart 3, 4 and 5 day fasts to try to target some stubborn fat on my tummy. I've not been water fasting; I've been making broth from grass fed cow bones and lamb bones and drinking that daily. I'm also still having collagen in my decaffeinated coffee in the morning (for hair and anti-aging purposes) and omega 3 supplements and magnesium each day. I don't usually supplement but the magnesium has been helping with muscle twitches and I can't bear the thought of my Omega 3 intake tapering off.

It's working for visible fat loss but it's quite slow progress TBH. I'm pretty sure I haven't lost any muscle, in fact I've found my muscle mass seems to be increasing..... but I am maintaining my usual strength training routine so I guess that makes sense.

I'm finding I can fast pretty comfortably and I continue with my regular cognitive and exercise activities.

Took me a while to get the hang of "refeeding". The first time I fasted for 3 days I had really missed protein and ate some eggs as my first meal - big mistake! A teaspoon of nut butter works well for me and seems to prepare my stomach for other food. I really appreciate the flavours and textures of food after an extended fast.

I though about trying alternate day fasting but I find the first day a little bit more tricky that the rest so it seems a bit silly for me to do the first day over and over again.

It does worry me slightly that by about day 3 (and onwards) I feel like I could continue indefinitely and I actually feel really good. I can see how it could lead some down a disordered eating path if one was vulnerable to those sorts of disorders.

I've been doing a lot of French cooking when not fasting - plenty of amazing keto recipes in traditional french cuisine.

What's everyone else been up to?

[sunny369]

Hello, I was eating a lot of things like chilli, curries and soups a lot over the colder months (no rice or bread or such with them) with a side salad, but the past few weeks I have switched over to my summer eating pattern of enormous salads as the core of my meals, I never stint on things like nuts, seeds, cheese, eggs on my salads or a scattering of beans like edamame or chickpeas.I tend to follow a 5:2 pattern with a couple of very light days per week (two separate days) but I have never tried any extended fasts, or a water fast, I think juice and broth is my limit

[Whydothis]

What a shame about the way this group has gone so quiet - and little response to your attempt to get us talking again.I am tootling along very happily eating none of the foods that are eaten purely for their carbs (and fibre) but not worrying about the carbs in root veg or pulses. I eat enormous quantities of all types of veg, lots of eggs and cheese, and some meat, fish, lentils and beans.

When I am out and find myself eating more "conventionally" I really notice the difference - tight clothes and generally less comfortable. This diet is clearly good for me!

[over61andstilltrying]

Hello Professor-Yaffle, Good to see your post and sorry that I didn't reply to your last response in a thread from a while back. How's your running going? Mine has stopped 😔 due to a flare up in my knee. Probably, my previously torn medial meniscus from a gardening fall has been aggravated. Physiotherapist has given me exercises. We continue low carb/keto don't weigh foods except when following recipes. Still have unwanted middle mass but at 8stone 4lbs and 5foot 4inches I realise that I am a supposedly healthy weight, although I would prefer to lose my unwanted middle mass. My husband has found various sources of grass fed meat and we are trying to reduce our omega 6.Astounded at your fasting!Really not appealing! We really enjoy sharing meals!

[Pixielula]

I recently had to do a three day liquid fast for a medical procedure, to be fair the “thought” of not eating for three days was far worse than actually not eating for three days. I also make my own bone broth and had two bowls a day and my normal coffee and collagen creamer….

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Pixielula]

Sounds like we have a very similar style of fasting with the broth and collagen. I've found my poor knees have almost stopped creaking since I have massively upped my collagen consumption.

It was working ok for me to incorporate a couple of fasting days a week - seemed to be doing the job re belly fat reduction. I've got Covid 19 at the moment so I've decided to eat every day until I test negative.

[Pixielula in reply to Professor-Yaffle]

Oh no covid is rough, all I could eat the first week of covid was bone broth! I luckily had a stash in the freezer but used it all up. I do like to keep plenty so I can defrost and go. I have also noticed a massive difference in my hair nails joints and skin since introducing collagen…

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Pixielula]

Hi Pixielula.

Luckily Covid has been ok for me so far (touch wood). I had some mild confusion on the first day and no other symptoms yet....

I've not had it before so I was dreading losing my sense of taste and smell, but I've been really lucky and not had any problems in that department.

I have noticed that my hair and nails grow MUCH faster since I have been getting loads of collagen. I actually find the nails thing a bit annoying as I feel I'm constantly cutting and filing them now. My toenails look much nicer now though. I can see the difference between the new growth since the collagen (super smooth and shiny) and the old pre collagen growth (not so smooth and not shiny). That's quite satisfying.

My existing hairs grow really quick now and I've got quite a lot of new growth.

I'm unsure if it's benefited my skin - I should have taken before and after photos. My skin was the area I really wanted the collagen to do it's magic on - but hard to quantify without photos I think.

So I kind of went into it with vain "I want to look less wrinkly" reasons and ended up with the biggest benefit being in my joints - which is really amazing actually and I'll 100% continue with bone broth and supplemental collagen just for my joints alone.

What sort of difference have you noticed in your skin if you don't mind saying?

I also quite like making the bone broth; even though I order the bones in, I still feel like I'm being really thrifty by extracting all the goodness from the bits no-one else wants. And it makes the house smell very homely.

[Pixielula in reply to Professor-Yaffle]

My skin seems less dry and somewhat younger looking. although for my age so far my wrinkles are not too bad, the joints are a great improvement. Especially first thing In the mornings all the joint stiffness is gone

[Cosmo501]

Hi Professor-Yaffle and Pixielula , I hope you're both feeling fit and well now, and having a great start to the week. I'm very interested in your thoughts and any practical suggestions on bone broth and collagen. Just recently hit menopause, and although my hair and nails are still growing strong, I can see changes in the 'strength' of my skin, and also feeling my joints getting creaky. Also random muscles getting pulled or strained that had not happened before. I'm used to feeling physically strong so it's a bit scary to feel changes happening so quickly. How do you take collagen, and do you only make your own bone broth, or is it possible to source good quality bone broth with high levels of collagen?

Grateful for any thoughts or advice!

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Cosmo501]

Hi Cosmo501

Nice to hear from you.

I order frozen grass-fed lamb and beef bones from Pipers Farm - which is an online butcher. I make very large batches of broth using 3kg of bones in my biggest pan and then I freeze some. I add seasoning and flavour only at the reheating stage. The broth I just make with the (pre-roasted) bones and a bit of vinegar (which apparently helps the nutrients release from the bones?). When I reheat a portion I add smoked sea salt or a teaspoon of marmite.

I've never tried a pre-prepared broth so I can't comment. It's not very labour intensive to make your own - it just sits on the back hob lightly simmering (I simmer mine for 24 hours). The only bit I don't like, because it's fiddly and takes a while, is transferring it all to the fridge in smaller containers to cool and then some of the batch to the freezer.

You get a really nice layer of solid fat on top of the broth that can be removed when it's fridge cold and saved for roasting veg etc.

I have no idea about the collagen content of my home made broth - but safe to say it's got more collagen than most other stuff I eat.

I do also use a powdered bovine collagen supplement but I still have some reservations about it TBH. It's unequivically made a real difference to my hair, nails and joints but I sometimes worry about what else it contains. Some collagen supplements on the American market have unacceptably high levels of heavy metals - see Clean Label Project white paper on collagen supplements. I also worry about the animal welfare - the brand I take is made from cows that are grass fed when it's possible and they are occasionally fed "preserved grass".... No further information on the conditions for the animals is forthcoming....

I'll tell you the brand in a private message if you like.... they are not a company i'm comfortable giving free advertising too.

I'm not a big fan of supplements generally because of the lack of regulation.

The supplemental collagen (despite my reservations) is something it's hard for me to stop taking now because of the positive impact it's had..... I'm going through a bit of a vain "fear of looking older" stage and the collagen is a crutch to help me believe that I'm doing everything I can to keep my skin looking elastic and youthful.....

Hope you don't mind me talking about menopause ... it's an area i'm a bit involved in with my job and I like to be vocal about it. Some areas in the UK now have specialist menopause clinics under the NHS - lots of GPs don't realise this. For some women it's well worth hassling and pushing your GP till you get a referral for a chance to talk through symptoms and treatment options with a specialist. Most GPs are rubbish at dealing with menopause related concerns IMO (sorry GPs).

Louise Newson is an excellent Menopause doctor

newsonhealth.co.uk

who is unfortunately in private practice, but she distributes a lot of useful information and resources for free.

Have you seen the bar version of the Montezuma's 100% peanut chocolate? It's a new favourite of mine (up there with my other 13 favourites 😂).

[Cosmo501]

Thank-you for your lovely reply and so much information. I really appreciate it.It's also nice to see some chit chat on this forum again!

Yum... I'll check out the new Montezuma flavour. The last flavour you got me hooked on was the 100% cacao Easter eggs with the nut butter middle . They were far too good, and I ate them far too quickly...

I had a look at the Newson Health website, which is wonderful. Really useful resources and it's great to see an initiative like that up and running. I do hope they manage to have an impact on the provision of menopause care in the NHS. When I visited the GP 2 years ago I could not have had a more disinterested consultation. I was overheating day and night and having anxiety attacks from hormonal changes, which I researched and deduced, as opposed to being told by the GP I might have a heart condition. All heart checks were clear, and once they realised I was perimenopausal, the response was "go to your local health shop and ask. They'll have some supplements there". No discussion of what might be needed, or what I should be doing, and no suggestions as to what I should ask at the 'health shop'.

Luckily I threw myself into very low carb and the furnace feeling and anxiety attacks stopped straight away, thankfully, and have not returned. Just left with brain fog and insomnia now, so no trouble 😩 🤣

I must get myself organised to try making some bone broth. I'm back into IF daily again 16:8 , and I like to drink it when I'm fasting any longer than that. In the past I've just bought whatever good quality product I can find, but it is quite expensive.

Yes, please do send me the collagen company details. I'll do a bit of research and see what might suit me. I also am feeling a I want to hold back the years as long as possible. I have a young child and do not want to be mistaken for a granny at school pick-up time! It's reassuring to hear that you have had positive results for hair, nails and joints. It must be doing something good for your overall health.

Thanks again for your lovely response

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Cosmo501]

Hi Cosmo501

I have direct messaged you regarding the collagen.

Glad the website was helpful. I've heard so many horror stories about the way GPs deal with menopause!

Yes, I really recommend making bone broth. It's not too much hassle and works out loads cheaper. Let me know how it goes if you get round to making some.

Take care 💐

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Cosmo501]

I buy frozen bones.

I use 3 kg of beef and lamb bones.....

[Professor-Yaffle]

roast them in the oven.

roast them until very brown.

[Professor-Yaffle in reply to Professor-Yaffle]

simmer for about 24 hours with some vinegar and lots of water....

....in a very big pan

[Professor-Yaffle]

Once drained i store it in yogurt pots to cool in the fridge.

I find 3 kg makes about 3-4 large (1 kg) greek yogurt tubs worth of stock

[Professor-Yaffle]

Once fridge cold you can remove the fat layer and potion it up for freezing. Although it keeps in the fridge for about a week I think.... I add a little fat back in as I reheat it and I also season it with salt or marmite.

you get a nice layer of fat to use for cooking other things ...

[Cosmo501 in reply to Professor-Yaffle]

Amazing! thank-you so much for all the details. Very much appreciated! I'll let you know how I get on