Fast-5 Diet and Lifestyle: Re: [fast5] Enjoying The Process

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Re: [fast5] Enjoying The Process

The core principle of Fast-5 is the natural reduction in calories consumed on a daily basis because of the compressed time during which food is available. This is why the book chooses to focus so much on this aspect, rather than considerations of specific foods etc that other WOE typically major on. This isn't to say that these other factors aren't significant in other ways, but rather that they aren't the key to reducing or maintaining body-fat levels per se. Changing long-term calorie balance is the major principle.

With this in mind, issues of window timing or variability should be considered primarily in this context: how can I still adhere to my core principle of restricting calories to a reduced window if I vary the timing? As de Vie emphasises, this will come down in the end to the individual approach; speaking personally, experience has taught me that I'm usually able to do this, if demanded by social situations, without too much disruption. For example, Monday nights at 7-9pm are choir practice, which I find I perform better on a not-too-full stomach, so I get my window over by 5pm (I usually don't break my fast until around 6pm). Occasionally it's important to join people for lunch, so I'll adopt an even earlier window that day. At times, by contrast, I've stretched a fast until 8-9pm because of the vagaries of scheduling. I've managed both to lose fat, and to maintain body composition, on this basis, although my habitual (say 90%) window is 6-9pm.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, I suspect that - after adaptation - Fast-5 actually makes this kind of variable meal timing considerably easier than if one is committed to a frequent eating pattern, because of reduced dependence on a constant flow of nutrients (better adaptation to utilising fat stores). For example, I was fortunate enough to be hill-walking in the English Lakes last week (a surprise 60th birthday treat from my wife) and we did some 8-9 mile hikes, over pretty vertical terrain at times (fabulous views!). After changing for dinner, I typically didn't get to break my fast until 7-8pm, and this after expending a bunch of extra calories on the hike, but energy levels and appetite-suppression through the day flexed to fit pretty effortlessly (I ate pretty heartily at dinner though!). I've often had this experience on other activity-based vacations.

So don't worry, flexibility to fit the life you lead is one of the best features of Fast-5, as long as you use its principles to achieve the core objective - i.e. eat less calories overall, consistent with your energy expenditure. Of course, there may still be times you have to reassure yourself, as somebody recently pointed out, that the occasional twinge that we in the developed world call "hunger" isn't in fact the emergency it is for the truly under-nourished. And also remember, in your endeavours, that you are an "experiment of one"!

David

On 16 March 2010 01:48, Kathy Lowe <mslalowe@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for you post de Vie and congratualtions on your success with your WOE and WOL! There is one point in your message that I'd like to hear more input on from you and others on the list, as well as Dr. Herring:

On 15 March 2010 14:53, de Vie <de_vie@post.harvard.edu> wrote:

I hope that everyone trying Fast-5 knows that the idea of the plan is ANY 5-hour
window is fine; IT DOES NOT have to be in the evening, nor does it
have to be at a fixed time every day.

I understood from what I have read so far that changing the time of our 5-hour window around wasn't recommended. I'm asking because this weekend, and later this month when I'm going on vacation, I'll be in situations where it might be easier to do that, but I was concenred that doing so might cause a setback.

Any thoughts on this? I'd appreciate hearing others' experiences with this. Thanks!

Kathy