Hello Pauw!
The Netherlands is a beautiful country, and I wish we had your bike lanes and biking enthusiasm here in the USA! I was just pondering the age issue, and it occurred to me that my cousin was 55 when he biked across most of Canada, and with his inspiration I have been going on bike trips, knowing that if Johnny can do it, so can we all :). So fear not, age shouldn’t hamper you a bit.
Yes, I as well was impressed with Michael’s success, and it got me on board as well! Glad you have excellent data to start with, and I wholeheartedly agree with you – this diet over meds any day! I was on the border between overweight and obese about a year ago, and now I’m well within the healthy range, so combining the fasting diet with exercise definitely works (and the results are quite surprising, you’ll be pleased I think as I am). Some of us may not respond quite the same as you know per the broadcast, our genetic makeup significantly affecting how well we respond, but in a relative sense to varying degrees of improvement, so it sounds to me like it’s worth it either way.
Sports – a great way to get the exercise, and hardly even realize it! Whichever sport you choose, the great thing is that just walking and standing, as with golf, provides great heath benefits (I recall the recommendation by Michael of 150 minutes per day of ‘up’ time). Today I was pondering that – all the Dutch could probably out-cycle me, even after a 120 Km trek! You are so lucky to live in a country where cycling is the norm; here’s it’s a bit of a feat, but we manage and things are changing slowly in a cycling direction.
Certainly any distraction helps while fasting, forum posts can be an amusing way to keep busy ;). Sounds like you’re keeping well on track, 300 calories is enough room to enjoy the bite to eat; one thing worth noting too is that if you do the vigorous exercises, you may be able to up your fast-day calories a little bit, which makes sense as the formula of 20-25% of daily caloric intake offers a little room for athletes, so as your fitness gets better, one may be able to enjoy a side-benefit.
Vegetable soup – how was that? I think veggie soup is a good choice, as it’s more filling than some options, while keeping the calories quite low. I’ve noticed a new ‘filling’ indicator on food guides, do you have something comparable in the Netherlands?
Glad you could join in, keep the blue and the orange smiling across the seas!
Cheers,
from Chuck.