Wow. Another reason to fast.

From Scientific American:

Sometimes it’s not what you eat, but when you eat it. At least when it comes to longevity diets. For some time, scientists have known that animals kept on a strict diet live longer than their well-fed peers. But this Methuselah meal plan is no ordinary just-say-no-to-that-second-slice of pie kind of diet. To reap the life-extending benefits, some of these animals cut their calorie consumption in half. Such a diet might be do-able for captive mice and monkeys, but it would be a tough sell for people.

Then, five years ago, studies in mice suggested that intermittent fasting would work just as well. These mice abstained from eating every other day, and lived longer then their gluttonous comrades—without really skimping on the total calories they consumed.

Now, scientists at Kyoto University have found the same thing in worms that fasted every third day. And they found a gene that regulates the effect, results reported in the journal Nature. Like the mice, these fasting worms did not cut their total calorie intake. But they boosted their lifespan by 50 percent, and showed fewer signs of physical decline than their peers. So go ahead, enjoy that extra slice of pie. Because tomorrow’s another day. To not eat.

I've read about those extreme low calorie diets before, and have decided that longevity just isn't that important to me. But this finding, I'll admit, fascinates me. If I can get an extra, anti-aging, life-extending benefit from fasting—cool!

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Ringing out the old

I've discovered that shoveling lots of heavy snow is the best upper back workout I've ever done, and mighty effective for shoulders too. Yesterday my husband came home from work and hugged me, and everything was sore. I hadn't realized it until he began rubbing. A masseuse would really be appreciated right now—as if a rural-dwelling stay at home mother of seven could just toodle off for a massage!

Our family had a fun Christmas adventure last week. We packed up the Suburban and tow-along trailer with everything necessary for nine people for Christmas, and ventured 850 miles to a family cabin near the Canadian border. We had a fantastic time, it was a unique Christmas experience for us but certainly enjoyable and memorable. I fasted the day we drove up there (thereby missing all those greasy road trip foods, nice!) and the first day of our drive back, and it wasn't too bad at all.

But I did miss last week's weigh in. And though I wanted to, I was unable to fast yesterday. I was ravenously, insatiably hungry. And you wouldn't believe the huge box of sugary treats I have in the kitchen! *kicks leftover Christmas goodies* I'm so not good with resisting sugar.

Today is the last day of 2008. It has been a good year, has flown by so quickly; I'm amazed it's gone. But so many wonderful things have happened for me, and for my family. And I go into 2009 with hope and happiness, thanks to Eat Stop Eat. I began my "New Year's Resolution" months early, and I've already lost more than ten pounds. I've found lots of new ways to build strength (including snow shoveling :D ) and I will achieve my goals this year. And it won't take me all of 2009 to do it, either.

Thank you, 2008. You've been good to me.

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The biggest problem so far with the fasting

The leftovers are piling up. I eat leftovers for lunch (the kids are fond of peanut butter and I overdosed on that long ago) and now that I'm not eating much lunch, the fridge overfloweth. All of it looks so good, now on my eating days I usually eat leftovers for breakfast and lunch! :) But still I can't keep up.

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Joy to the Al :)

12.2 pounds in 10 weeks. Losing even though it's Christmas time! Can I tell you how great that is?

I feel Alyson's non-alcoholic version of a little hung over. I went to B's company's Christmas party last night and ate probably twice what I actually needed, including lots of sugar. I have a sugar headache today, sigh. Have a party tonight too, with friends, and I'd like to be strong and not eat any sugar (which will be very plentiful) so I don't feel even worse tomorrow. Sugar headaches totally suck because I know it's my fault I have them, and I feel somewhat guilty about eating sugar anyway (it should be a controlled substance for me, it's my brand of heroin!) without adding the headache in.

Anyway! W00T! I wore pants I haven't worn since last year to the party, and they were a little loose. :D

Eat Woot Eat!

I said in this post that particular fast felt "a bit like a pivot point—like this is the moment where I decide, 'I can do this, even if I don't always want to.'"

I've pivoted. I get it. I'm finally making it work for me. My fasts are now longer than 24 hours; I eat my last at dinner one evening, fast through the next day, and eat breakfast the following morning. Three meals, about 36 hours. Lots of water. The change is like night and day; the fasts are manageable, I don't bargain with myself that I can eat this much earlier or go this much longer, it just is what it is. And it's having an effect. Oh, yes, it's having an effect, which I'll document after my Saturday morning weigh in.

I said in this post that I can't eat "whatever I want" on non-fast days and still have success. But now I get it. I can! I can eat whatever I want. I just have to eat less of it. Monday was an eating day, and I had a little bit of chocolate, a little cup of Silk Nog (non-dairy soy nog), a bit of candy cane, a couple of pretzels; my meals were controlled portions of all of my favorite foods—curry rice, avocados... The trick was that my daily intake was still overwhelmingly made of whole, healthy foods, and I stayed in control with the little bits of other things. I don't have to go through the Christmas season without Silk Nog or christmas cookies; I can eat whatever I want, as long as I don't go nuts. (Why didn't I see that before?) And fasting really boosts the willpower: if I can go without everything but water, I can certainly limit myself to one small candy cane or one square of chocolate.

Anyway—very optimistic today. It's working, people. Don't be afraid to try Eat Stop Eat, and to try different variations of it, until you make it work for you.

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Brad Pilon is brilliant

Alright, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love food. I don't particularly like being hungry, and I'd much rather eat food (yum!) than fast. Sometimes my fasts are easy, and I hardly think about food or feel a pang. I think this would be the norm if I were outside the house or could avoid the kitchen during the day. But some fasting days I struggle more than others, because I am here all the time, home raising and schooling my children, and whether I'm fasting or not I'm preparing three meals every day.

• Thanksgiving dinner, made of yum and awesome.
  
• Five lovely meals of Thanksgiving leftovers, including desserts.
  
• My favorite dinner at P.F. Chang's Saturday after Christmas shopping.
  
• Party at church with a fantastic meal, Christmasy desserts (cookies, oh noes!), and hand-dipped chocolates.
  
• My 5YO daughter's birthday cake.

All of that in six days, people.

So I'm (1) feeling a little like food is controlling me instead of me controlling food, and (2) feeling a little like I'd rather eat than not. I needed inspiration. I spent a long while yesterday evening reading Brad Pilon's nutrition help blog, and it was just the thing. Seriously, don't we all need someone who has faith in us, and in our bodies? Who believes that losing fat is a simple process? Not easy, maybe, but simple—there's a difference between the two. After years of armchair research into nutrition and health and—yes—weight loss, I'll say that for me it's refreshing to read someone who says it is doable, it is adaptable, it isn't restrictive or compulsive—and who has the good research to back it up. It isn't a secret club to join, it isn't a formula so arcane and complex we'll never understand it. It's life. It's eating what we want (focusing on the healthy and whole more than the other), it's fasting twice a week, and it's strength training. Simple.

Fasting today. Feels a bit like a pivot point—like this is the moment where I decide, "I can do this, even if I don't always want to." Because I do want the results. And I feel like I've finally found The Truth, the owner's manual to my body, the way to unlock what I want.

It just all comes down to me, and doing it. Not always easy.

But simple.

A last note on Brad Pilon: I got an email from him on 11 November, filled with personal advice and encouragement. He said, "I have been following Eat Blog Eat," and "I’ve read every post." And then he quoted passages from my posts. He became my personal cheerleader for the day, at a moment when I badly needed one. I know he's got lots of people to cheerlead, but he got me through that day, which was another pivot point. A huge thanks to Brad for the research, for making the facts available to all of us, and for the personal note.

Rah rah!

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