Well done Bay. I’m with you, “water weight” is such an odd concept. We who weigh often, and have recorded for a number of years, can see the things that influence weight gain and loss. You would hardly have “over indulged” last night, hence the weight drop.

My understanding, like Bay, Carol, is that sugar spikes are not good for anyone. We need to try to keep bloid sugars steady with how, what and when we eat. Let us know if you find the data re food combos. Mr P swears fish negates the spike effect of other foods, although it could just be justification to have dessert!. P😊🐡🐠🐟

I’ve just caught up on the flurry of posts since my last drop-in.

Carol and Happy, I’m not giving up coffee either. In the original fasting documentary, I’d understood Dr M to recommend re-considering the daily ritual of commercially bought coffee as it’s highly calorific (the ones he liked were lattes, etc which obviously have lots of milk). Surely coffee, per se, contains no sugar so latte drinkers can’t blame the coffee for the sugar. I have read that caffeine can make insulin less responsive which could cause blood sugar to rise.

The body is designed to cope with whatever we put in it. To a point. The key to long-term health in my view is to reduce the incidence of insulin spiking and keep blood sugar steady as Purple says. I’ve been doing a rotten job of that lately and consequently my luck with 6:1 has come to an end today after 5 months. I’m looking forward to a day of discipline with some cleansing broths and will stick with 5:2 until I get it right.

Bay, can you offer any insight in this? The past week or so I just seem to crave sugar and some evenings have even resorted to a bowl of cereal with yoghurt after dinner. Deadly. Can you give me any good alternatives that would satisfy the sugar craving or do I just have to suck it up and work through it? What could cause this after doing so well for so long? I gained 500 gms following Sunday’s fast and another 600 gms yesterday. Like you, I don’t accept this as ‘water weight’. It’s a runaway train that needs to be stopped hence I’m back to a Wednesday fast.

Hi Thin
I find (and so does “the boy” with the sweeter tooth) that 2 fasts a week, even if you eat up to 800 cal in the evening, seems to adjust the desire for sweet foods. On fast nights, Mr P always has plain yogurt, berries, almonds and cinnamon to satisfy that “need for sweet”. Has been doing so for 3 years.
I’ve played around with only 6:1 and find my appetite gradually increases again. I need two dips a week to keep under the 60kg limit, even if they aren’t strictly 1/4 TDEE but are 24 hours with no food (including milk in coffee or tea 😉).
Good luck with your experiments. P 😊

Nice one, BigBooty! 😊

Hi Thin
33.6 deg here at present. Not ideal for walking.
Regarding fasts. Our Monday fast is usually pretty strict, ending aftet 24 hours, with fish and salad and soda water (and his dessert). Thursday tends to be more flexible, but always a 24 water only fast before dinner. Never wine or white carbs. I don’t count carbs any more as I am guided by our daily weights and his daily bloodsugar test. I probably put more salad on than before. We tend to eat to need these days.
Yesterday, a normal day, we had several eat sessions, including wine, before 11.45, then nothing until 7.
We usually skip breakfast whenever we plan an outing, but yesterday turned upside down. One needs to be flexible without overeating. I’d rather conserve cals for another glass of wine 🍷🍷 if I can. 😁
All the best with getting back in the swing.
Cheers P

Re: combining food. It’s the reason why a whole Orange is better for you than just the juice – the juice without the fibre causes a greater blood sugar response in the body.

Sugars and simple carbs obviously raise blood sugar, but I’ve read that protein does too… And hormones… And stress… And people respond differently to different foods.

As Mr P so ably demonstrates, fasting gives us better blood sugar/ insulin control!

I suspect the advice to all of us would be: if you’re eating a healthy diet, low in refined carbs and sugars, with fruit and veg, and healthy fats, and you’re maintaining a healthy weight, fasting regularly, don’t get too bogged down with the minutiae!

Happy…just drinking a mug of strong coffee 🙂

Thanks Happy and Annette
Eat a variety of whole foods. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Apply the KISS philosophy… no need to complicate our happy maintaining lives. 😆😆😆 P

Thin, if I ate at 3.30, I wouldn’t stop! 24 hours is good discipline and saves enough cals for a decent meal before bed.
Record breaking hottest April day in history, here, today. 😥

Marvellous article Happy, thank you. Saves the best ’til last – “KEEP UP THE COFFEE. Coffee is sometimes thought of as unhealthy, but it is packed with antioxidants and minerals and studies show it can reduce your risk of diabetes and guard against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s …….” two of my greatest fears!

Purple, after your 24 hr fasting effort, you could potentially have anything for dinner, right? You guys are tough. You’ve also dispensed with the necessity to count calories or worry about what happens on FDs when on holiday. Just add water! I’m impressed.

Happy, you’re right – coffee is totally non-negotiable, even if it’s MM wot says it. So there!
P, I continue to revere your stamina and approach to fast days!! For those weaker sisters (and any brothers lurking) may I encourage you by confessing that I usually start eating (small amount of plain yoghurt, fruit and cinnamon) around mid-morning on a FD, then eat again ( slightly larger amount of protein with veg or salad) around 5pm? I know I won’t be getting the benefits of really extended fasting that P and Mr P do – or the convenience of ‘just add water’, or more calories to save for the evening – but it’s what I can manage, and as long as total cals don’t exceed 500 – 600 (if doing 5:2 – a stricter 500 if 6:1) it works for us. I sure we’d be stricter if we had to cope with diabetes,mand Mr P is a real inspiration, but my DH isn’t as compliant as Mr P – if I insisted on fasting for 24 hours the resulting mutiny would lose him from this woe altogether! We tend to be early eaters in the evenings anyway, unless we’re eating out (ingrained habit from years of evening work meetings) and retirement (sorry again, Happy!) means that these days we rarely breakfast before 8, so I guess we normally do at least a 13-14 hour overnight fast, rising to 16 on FD and the day after a FD – so perhaps not as far off as it might be.
Hasn’t stopped either of us from reaching goal weight, although perhaps it’s taken longer – we started 5:2 in March 2013; i reached goal (3 stone lost) in June 14 and then promptly lost another stone, which has stayed off. DH had less to lose (2.5 stone target) but cheats(!)!so has taken longer, but has just got there. Rah, rah!!🤗🤗🤗. Best thing about this woe? It works – and goes on working . Second best thing: you can do it in whatever way works round your own needs and limitations, as long as you make an informed choice about your priorities and how to achieve them.

Hi Carol. I searched Dolphin Manor Hawaii and found the place, so don’t worry about email address. Thanks, Bay 🎉🎉🎉😉😉😉😎😎⛳️💐😎😎 very hot here today.

Hermaj, can’t believe it’s Autumn because of the heat and no rain. All the leaves are turning a glorious colour and dropping within a week. Good thing you didn’t come to look this year.

Cheers, Bay 😎😎🌺🌺

Maintainers, can I just say how much I admire your stamina and stick-to-itiveness. I know that only a relatively small percentage of people manage to maintain weightloss, and you DO. Very inspiring to us newbies!

Good luck,
Austrian

I would have thought the same Bay. Then again, because we normally eat dinner between 5 and 6pm, I was only 2 hours off completing a 24 hour fast today. So, thinking about a 24 hr fast, this also means that you never have a day without at least one ‘proper’ meal. So which is more beneficial from the fasting perspective, 36 hr fast on 500 cals or 24 hr fast with coffee/water only?

Congrats to your OH, Fast. Absolutely agree – whatever works.

Hi Austrian (I always read your handle as Australian! )
This way of life is easily doable. The myth of not maintaining weight loss is just not true. It is simply a negative thought implanted by some (add any adjective) people. Stick to your guns. You WILL reach goal and stay there. Practice and discipline and, whichever method works for you, becomes second nature; habit.
I actually find the late afternoon weakness much easier with Mr P retired as I don’t have to wait for him to arrive home. We can get busy in the late afternoon. Distraction is everything.
Thursday fast day here. Have a good one. ☺P

😁😁 Another “joy” of retirement H.
Remember when we maintainers all made a pact to do a 24 hour fast about 18 months ago? And we all achieved it! The power of group will. P

Up to you, Fast 😉

Hi Thin

It doesn’t matter which us better, as I do both. After my 24 hour fast I eat less than 400 calories, until the following morning. So I get a genuine 24 hour fast, in the midst of a 5:2 fast day, which equals 36 hours.

Anyone Lurking out there, 😉😉

I think it’s important to say that I lost all my weight on normal 5:2 and didn’t begin 24 hour fasts until a year into fasting. In the beginning I ate a poached egg and spinach for breakfast. Then I learnt to stop nibbles of any kind with the occasional raw carrot and celery, and then had a fast day dinner.

Cheers, Bay 🌺🌺🌺🌺

Interesting article Happy, thank you. I also happen to love cinnamon and chia seeds, both of which get a positive mention in the article. I noticed though the coffee didn’t look much like a cappuccino! 😀☕️

Bay and Purple you are inspirational! I have decided I will have a go next week at a 24 hour. I must admit I sometimes need to have a drink of milk before I go to bed on FD because I am so hungry because I had half my calories mid afternoon, so a 400 cal night meal makes sense.

Just need to control those little voices and make sure I keep my bitchy pants off! ( am partial to getting a little snakey when I’m hungry 😊).

Hi Carol

Purple was my inspiration. The good part of this is you don’t need to succeed in the full 24 hour fast the first time you try. Just practice going longer each fast day. Keep records and pat yourself on the back each time you extend your fasting time.

Bay 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Good advice Bay!

Thin, I usually have an egg with some veg as the night meal. That comes in at about 150cals or thereabouts which leaves me a bit of room for the milk if I need it. Cottage cheese would be another good option though.

What’s going on with your weight Thin? That’s crazy, gaining after a FD and 1.3 in a few days. Very odd, hope you can get to the bottom of it.

Speaking of bottoms, thought I would share this info with you all – heard yesterday about an acquaintance who discovered a melanoma on her bottom! So, need to be very cautious! Those little devils can come up anywhere it seems!

Just below the parapet, a slow day at work today so catching up with the posts.

Ducks – yes, Hermaj made the comment about having hers in a row with the Glasgow Tenement House book, hence the offer of food for them 🙂 as a reward for a job well done. No ideas to offer, sorry.

The Scottish influence is stronger in some parts of New Zealand than others (Dunedin is known as the Edinburgh of the South). Few Scots in my ancestry, though, but my g grandmother was a McClintock and I have found the tartan.

I’m with you on coffee, Happy. The calories for the milk are included in FD totals (not that I count calories, but I add them in to the day’s theoretical total – one coffee, one tea, one miso for lunch, then all sorts of things on the salad in the evening, feta, avocado and some cooked meat boosting the total to about….mmm. Enough to be effective, anyway.

We are always going to get insulin spikes, as there will always be sugars (natural or otherwise) in our diets. The objective is to allow the body to come to resting position between intakes. I’ve been through all of Jason Fung’s blogs, and find him wonderfully knowledgeable on IF, diabetes etc. He’s at http://www.intensivedietarymanagement.com/blog

Oh, dear, I have just realised that I missed a whole page of posts when I answered above. Am catching up now 🙂

Thanks Carol

This article explains the connection between insulin and obesity.
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/power-comparison-fasting-vs-low-carb-fasting-26/