going to 1day/week as a plateau, in order to keep weight off long term

This topic contains 9 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by bcjmmac 7 years, 2 months ago.

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Lyle

5:07 pm
28 Aug 17
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I wanted to lose 30lbs, and am half-way to that goal. But I found myself getting a little cranky on fast days, and a little ravenous on non-fast days.

So I’m thinking of going to 1 fast day per week for a few weeks or a month in order to let my body stabilize. I’ve never dieted before, and am worried about taking it off then putting it all back on, like I hear is all too common.

What’s the thinking here? Is it better to just push ahead to the goal, then go on maintenance, or is taking a break to let the body adjust a good idea?

Thanks…Lyle

Amazon

6:02 pm
28 Aug 17
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Hi Lyle,

First of all well done on your loss.

What and when do you eat on FDS and what do you have on non FDs? Telling us might help someone to work out what the problem is and what you can do to solve it.

Have you taken a close look at what you are eating?
Cranky on fast days and ravenous on non FDs sounds to me like too many carbs/sugar in your diet.

bigbooty

10:38 pm
28 Aug 17
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Echo what Amazon said.

Lyle

12:35 am
29 Aug 17
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A typical Fast day:
– Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, 1 slice whole grain bread no butter
– Lunch: salad greens, 6 cherry tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1/2 can water packed Tuna, TBLspool Balsamac vinegar
– Dinner: Lean Cuisine frozen dinner, 250-300cal

A typical non-Fast day:
– Breakfast: 2eggs, 2 slices whole grain bread no butter
– Lunch: varies; half or whole chicken burrito, sandwich+salad, salmon teriyaki bowl
– Dinner: varies; maybe eat out; frozen fish dinner 400cal
– snacks: usually nuts

I’m not a big Burger&Fries or Pizza person. Eat generally healthy. Weakness for chocolate chip cookies 😉

Now how about my original question, essentially: spreading the weight-loss out over a longer period to let the body re-adjust it’s set-point?

Thanks….Lyle

dykask

12:49 am
29 Aug 17
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@lyle – You seem to have a lot of processed food in your diet. Those frozen dinners and the bread probably pack a lot of refined sugar. It is likely the sugar that makes you cranky. If you kick the refined sugar out of your diet you’ll have to eat more fruits and vegetables and you’ll probably find that the fasting will get easier.

bigbooty

2:03 am
29 Aug 17
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@lyle. Your set point is mostly governed by the food you eat and your weight. I cant see how spreading the weight loss out over a longer period will achieve what you want it to. Your body is governed by your endocrine system (hormones). The major players in weight control are insulin, ghrelin, leptin and then there is CCk and GLP. Also T3/4 and TSH from the thyroid. There are probably dozens more hormones.

Insulin spikes under the influence of glucose, a little due to protein and virtually no response to fat intake. Insulin directs excess glucose to be absorbed by the cells. When this is not possible because the cells are full (stored as glycogen) then the body directs it to be stored as fat. In the presence of insulin you will not be able to access stored fats. So you want to minimise insulin spiking foods. Most processed foods will spike insulin. Try not to have processed foods.

Ghrelin is your hunger hormone. When you stomach is empty ghrelin production is increased. Ghrelin production is also a learnt response, it goes up 30 minutes before your nominated meal times!! With long term training and eating healthy foods this response is diminished. I almost do not suffer from hunger pangs during my fast days as my body knows it will not be fed every Monday (my water fast day) so I suspect my ghrelin production has greatly ben reduced. Eating foods with lots of fibre means the food intake reaches the small intestines faster. Fibre, protein and fats entering the small intestines releases CCK and GLP which triggers a feeling of satiation. Glucose inhibits the production of CCK and GPL.

Leptin is produced by you adipose cells (fat). If you are overweight the leptin signal should be huge. It tells your brain not to panic if you don’t have a meal as you have lots of spare food available in the form of stored fat. Fructose (which is in everything) inhibits the leptin signal from reaching the brain. So glucose supresses CCK and GLP and fructose inhibits lepton. Double whammy!! As far as your brain is concerned your skinny and starving, and that’s probably not the case.

Short story. If you want to change your set point, eat healthy unprocessed foods. No sugar, no processed grain based foods. Eat veggies with lots of fibre.

Lyle

4:41 am
29 Aug 17
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Thank you both for the interesting input….Lyle

Lyle

3:49 pm
29 Aug 17
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I was thinking about this over night, so checked on the slice of whole-grain bread and the frozen dinner. The listed total for both is 8grams of sugar. I agree with the wisdom of cutting out refined sugars in general, and especially when fasting, but is 8grams a day that bad?

The frozen dinners are convenient and clearly list the calories, but I also agree that whole foods are much better for us.

Thanks…Lyle

bigbooty

11:02 pm
29 Aug 17
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I have very strong views about processed grain based products. I don’t think they are healthy and should be severely limited. But that’s your call. Read the list of ingredients, how many of the ingredients sound like chemical names which you have no idea what the heck they are? If you go whole foods there can be no ambiguity. Packaged foods there is always a question mark over their nutritional quality. The bread has 8g of sugar? Wow. What do they list the carb content as? The carbs are broken down into glucose before they leave your stomach. Big glucose hit. Your large intestines never get any of that. Basically your gut bacteria are starving to death. Choose foods high in fibre like beans, legumes cruciferous veggies. Keep doing the same thing and you will get the same results.

bcjmmac

11:22 pm
29 Aug 17
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For breakfast try 2 boiled eggs, no bread – fewer calories, no carbs & you will likely fell full longer (protein & fat). 2 eggs keeps me satisfied until dinner if I drink lots of water/herbal tea in the afternoon.