The FastDay Forum

Over the last few weeks I’ve read a fair amount of stuff online about why eating a paleo/low carb diet is a good idea, main sources have been Mark’s Daily Apple (as recommended by Mosely in his Fast diet book), Gary Taubes and Peter Attia in his eatingacademy.com blog. At a high level this diet moves us towards reliance on fat as our primary energy source and reduces our dependence on carbs. In turn we lose weight and reduce the chances of being afflicted with diabetes, cancers and heart disease etc etc. Adopting this diet plus throwing in some exercise which also has the benefits of increasing insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, a shift towards increased fat burning, raised BDNF levels and an increased sense of well being , it seems to me that you get the same benefits as following an IF regime? The one benefit that IF potentially gives is lowered IGF-1 but do we know enough yet about potential adverse effects of low IGF-1 and with all the benefits previously mentioned is it really that important to lower IGF-1?

The downsides of IF for me have been cold on fast days, irritability, poor sleeping (maybe IF linked) and sometimes constipation. My feeling is that with 5:2ing my body is not following a regular eating pattern and upsets my circadian rhythm and whilst I may be getting benefits on a fast day I abruptly dump myself back into my normal state on feed days. These effects, especially the cold over the last few months, make me think that it would be better to give up regular IF, instead throw in the odd day where I miss a meal and look at changing my diet to low carb/paleo plus maintain my current exercise regime.
Sound sensible?

http://eatingacademy.com/quick-faq#count-calories
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome- ... z2Li58sufm
http://garytaubes.com/

From next week, I will be doing Crossfit classes and as you will probably know, they advocate a Paleo diet.

However, I will be sticking with IF as it suits me down to the ground, I feel great and I'm losing weight very slowly which is good. I will be happy to incorporate some Paleo thinking as I tend to look at all the available info and use it to advantage but I'm not changing something that works well for me.

I'm sleeping like a log and bowel issues are managed by eating a salad/stew/pulses regularly on fast days. IF is fab, but you have manage the diet properly and Paleo thinking will help with this, particularly as a lot of the info on IF is on their websites too.

Horses for courses...

I've no wish to restrict my diet and other than feeling cold I've had no side effects from 5:2 at all. The whole point of 5:2 for me is that you're not constantly worried about eating the "wrong" foods. Also I love bread, rice, pasta and chips.

oh yes, that too, if I start to restrict food groups, I'll get cravings and get heavier again...

It's the lack of mental shackles that means I can sustain this. Plus I'm sharper mentally too!

from what I have read on this forum most people are doing 5:2 because like me they like and enjoy all food and want to be able to carry on enjoying food. I'm a self confessed foodie and cutting out or down on any food group makes me unhappy and crave the forbidden and eventually I will cave in and then feel guilty. I'm sure thats why I will be successful on 5:2 there is no forbidden.

I've no wish to restrict my diet and other than feeling cold I've had no side effects from 5:2 at all. The whole point of 5:2 for me is that you're not constantly worried about eating the "wrong" foods. Also I love bread, rice, pasta and chips.

^^this!

from what I have read on this forum most people are doing 5:2 because like me they like and enjoy all food and want to be able to carry on enjoying food. I'm a self confessed foodie and cutting out or down on any food group makes me unhappy and crave the forbidden and eventually I will cave in and then feel guilty. I'm sure thats why I will be successful on 5:2 there is no forbidden.

this too

I'm always wary of a diet that says you need a "cheat day" every week to give you the nutrients that you need.

Personally, I'm quite happy on 5:2, but if Paleo works for other people then go for it!

Ive tried the harcombe diet which is quite similar - they basically dont combine carbs with protiens - you eat one or the other, but very low/virtually nil carbs. I did lose weight but it gets incredibly boring and you can not realistically eat out doing this plan. At the end of the day Im just not ready to give up pizza which is why I love 5:2

[Moogie]

If it works for you then that's brilliant but I for one love my carbs too much and am not keen on exercise, I do as little as possible. 5:2 is so easy and simple, I don't feel restricted at all which is why I feel like I could do this forever. I don't think paleo/low carb/exercise is a combo for me, but well done if you've found something else which works for you and is sustainable!

I tried Harcombe too! I have all the books, low GI low GL etc etc but like others I am a foodie, I do not want to consume chemicals and I want to eat out. 5:2 makes complete sense. Cutting out whole food groups is not sustainable for me. I really enjoy my breakfast of porridge and toast and it stops me snacking. I agree we have to do what is right for us but I for one feel this is right for me. Yes I feel cold on fast days and at the moment am suffering migraines, 3 this week. This will settle down. It is still early days for me and I am determined to stick with it.

I've had a look at Mark's Daily Apple, a while back which was the initial place I started learning of IF. It seems like something very doable from what I understand, particularly if you feel like combining that with any sort of IF regimen...be it 5:2, Eat Stop Eat, ADF etc.

I think the reason why it's such a big hit is that Mark inadvertenlty advocates the need for an 80/20 rule. It's not that extreme in the sense that he does advocate a more flexible approach to Paleo living. However I might add it can be a bit expensive having to incorporate free range, organic meat on a daily basis into your diet.

OP have a go for it, attempt the 30 day challenge, and throw in the odd fast day as I don't think calorie-counting is involved in Paleo eating and see how you do. No harm in combining both in my opinion, I think plenty of people ( if you read through his blog) have successfully been able to combine IF with a Paleo lifestyle.

Personally I wouldn't be able to handle that much meat and fat lol, so i've stuck to a moderate approach, as I love my carbs. If you think about it by fasting twice a week, one would already be cutting their carbs drastically compared to the average SAD (standard american diet. So I thinkn 5:2 is great all round and is just as comparable to Paleo, if not a bit more flexible

[wildmissus]

It was a friend who mentioned the Horizon programme to me before Christmas and at the same time he told me he had gone paleo.

I looked into both firstly by buying the Practical Paleo book which is a rather comprehensive book. Having read the book I no longer buy low fat/calorie versions of food, eg. I buy Kerrygold butter (from grass fed cows) and I've made a huge effort to cook from scratch, so I have taken some good things from it.

I'm afraid the minute the say to stop eating something, especially grains and legumes, then it is a diet. Which means for me that on a particular day I start a diet and then I stop the diet when I give in to things I'm not allowed.

I then researched IF and I'm completely hooked on it as a way of life. I think paleo is a great thing if you can stick to it but its not for me in its entirety. I do hope that as time goes by I will be able to incorporate more of their ways.

Even my friend, who has great will power, says it is a boring way of eating.

I believe it is important to have foods from every food group.

Why not stick with 5:2 and buy a coat, some gloves & a scarf, everyones a winner!