The FastDay Forum

I said I wasn't going to read anymore of these kind of books but this sounds to good to pass up.
Thanks Rawkaren for posting your truncated version, on the what to eat list it described my type of diet since May 2011 apart from the grass fed meat. We have got a source from a farmer we know but it is a treat now and again due to the expense.
We take Bio-Kult which has 14 strains of probiotic, available on line through Amazon. The ones mentioned are included.
My Cholestrol ratio is continuing to drop as I entered on my diary page this week, so eating natural fats and cutting out sugar as much as possible is not doing me any harm. Caring for my mother with Alzhiemers is enough to keep me eating this way, but I am used to it now.
Chris x

It makes extreme sense to me having psoriasis for 30 years now gone is remarkable. Psoriasis is related to leaky gut syndrome And I have had years of wonky gut issues and not tolerated most breads and even oats which has frustrated me but that too has changed remarkably since being on 5:2. No wonder why my pain levels are reduced and no migraine headaches

Hardly having bread now and not eating boxed cereals and substituting seeds years ago. Cooking from scratch and slowly getting my head around ways to bake without wheat greatly helped along thanks to @FatDog and her wonderful thread. Feel the steps to eliminating grains out of my day to day diet will be doable and just little steps.

Again Karen et al thanks for this thread you have joined the dots for me. Just have to get my head around it and get cracking. Watch out plateau gonna smash you!!

I promised to post more nuggets on the rest of his protocol. He suggests week two you start to focus on exercise and week 3, sleep. By week 4, you put everything together.

Exercise
Nothing new on the exercise front. Suggests a minimum of 20 mins aerobic physical activity a day. Use the week to establish the routine that gets your heart rate up by at least 50% of your resting baseline. Advocates walking. Those already working out are encouraged to do more and at a minumum 30 mins a day at least 5 days a week.

Sleep
Key points are:
*Get into a regular sleep habit, ie go to bed and get up roughly the same time 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
*Have a consistent bedtime routine that helps you wind down. A bit like we have a bedtime ritual for children.
*Identify and manage ingredients hostile to sleep. eg meds, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.
*Time your dinner appropriately, leaving 3 hours between dinner and bedtime, being aware of food that can be problematic to digest easily before bed.
*Keep a regular eating routine.
*Try a bedtime snack if you suffer from nocturnal hypoglycemia as it can cause insomnia as us fasters well know. Have a small snack containing trypotophan, eg turkey, cottage cheese, chicken, eggs and nuts (especially almonds), but be careful of portion size.
*Take care of imposter stimulants. Some food colours and flavourings and refined carbs can act as stimulants, but if you are following the food protocol, this should not be an issue.
*Manage the bedroom. Keep electronics out of the bedroom, free of computers, tv, phones etc. Cultivate a mood for sleep. One to add from me is that I'm better by having an electronics curfew 3 hours before I go to sleep. Can't remember where I got that tip from.
*Use sleep aids prudently, eg prescription drugs and those with sedating antihistamines.

So that's about it folks. There is more, including a note about toiletries and beauty products containing gluten, which the skin can ingest.

Hope it has given you a flavour of what it's all about.

You are a star for doing all this and very many thanks from me honey.
Must. Walk. More!

What a thread - I'm going to be leaner just from being pulled so persistently in two directions...
Thanks, @rawkaren, for laying all this out. @miffy49, I'm so pleased that you could make such a radical improvement in your health with this approach!

I'm with all the voices that are saying moderation in all things. My family don't eat processed food. Mostly whole grains, very little "empty" carbs. Lots of fish and vegetables. But it would require a total lifestyle adjustment to do what is being suggested here. We like eating out. We travel. And, speaking of stress being a significant factor in so many diseases, it would be very stressful to make this total lifestyle adjustment at this point in time, when there are lots of stressful things going on in my life.

On the other hand, I'm dealing with my mother's Alzheimer's AND cancer right now (one of those stressful things I just mentioned).
Should I really be advocating moderation if making these extreme changes could save me from being in her position in 25 years? And do I even have faith that the changes would make a difference? Nutritional knowledge still seems to be in its infancy - shouldn't we as a society know more that we do by now?

One thing's for sure. I need more exercise, so my muscles, joints, and bones can handle you people dragging me this way and that!

A huge thank you from me, too, Karen.

As many others are saying, I am taking some of this to heart and will definitely continue cutting out (or cutting way back on) refined carbs and sugars and all the "baddies." I still eat oats (in oatmeal) but now have switched to steel-cut (don't know if the book says anything about that???).

Anyway, thanks again!

I gave up refined carbs at the beginning of my journey and gave up complex carbs when I hit target as I was craving them awfully when autumn hit. By reducing the carbs and increasing the fat, I've found a better balance and don't feel hungry all the time. That said, I still have to have my porridge breakfast... I've tried again and again to find a carb-free alternative that will keep me full til lunchtime like my porridge does and I still haven't found one. I just can't face eggs and/or bacon first thing....

Melinda_in_NC wrote: A huge thank you from me, too, Karen.

As many others are saying, I am taking some of this to heart and will definitely continue cutting out (or cutting way back on) refined carbs and sugars and all the "baddies." I still eat oats (in oatmeal) but now have switched to steel-cut (don't know if the book says anything about that???).

Anyway, thanks again!

Hi @Melinda_in_NC. Oats are often processed in a factory where other products are produced so the advice is to check the label to state they are gluten free. Nothing mentioned about steel cut. My own point of view is that if you are not gluten sensitive, then these are fine.

My take is that is the wheat-based stuff that's the worst.... refined flours etc. I eat jumbo oats so they are fibrous and chewy and I mix them with a 50/50 mix of ground almonds for my brekkie anyway.

I'm invariably a bit cynical about quick fix solutions to complex problems and a quick search around the Internet came up with this http://www.complaintsboard.com/complain ... 53220.html
Which shows that in at least one area of medicine this man could be a bit of a charlatan.
Any of us who have seen the devastation that Alzheimer's and Parkinson's can wreak would buy anything to try to prevent it happening to us, so if you can present a credible fix in a book you will have a best seller. I'm not sure how much I trust someone who is making a lot of money out of selling his theories.

Once again, thank you Karen for another concise bite of the book. I wholeheartedly agree with Wendyjane, the complete lifestyle transformation which would be required to adhere to this regime is daunting. Like a lot of other people on here I have already changed my diet quiet considerably, greatly reduced intake of bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, processed foods and sugar but can I really go the whole hog? If I don't, will I end up like my poor mother and have my brain melt and leak out of my bottom? Is it already too late for me? How can I tell? WJ, you are right, the worry in itself is stressful and I am torn! I am also not young so do I have enough time left to make a difference? I think I might just go back to bed for the day and worry about it tomorrow,


Ballerina x

@Lelibelle you had just posted seconds before I did so I had not read what you had to say. I now have and I must say it was VERY enlightening, so much so that I have decided not to return to bed and just get on with my day ( and life ) like a normal person, thank you. Still can't wait for Karen's next précis though.


Ballerina x

Have had some grain in last 48 hours to see how I feel and it is lousy, also it's Christmas so all the sugar laden temptations are out in force so right now Inam tired and cranky and my energy levels have plummeted. Both grains and sugar are wreaking havoc. Can't see my way to next fast with Christmas festivities.

I am keen to get the book and give the protocols a go to see how I feel. Is anyone else up for it in the new year?

When I began dieting I did cut off all carbs. No bread, pasta, rice, etc. My meal were very simple, coffee in the morning, lean chicken or fish and steam vegs and, from time to time, a 0% fat and no sugar of what we call here fromage blanc which could be translated by smooth cottage cheese. I did that for 4 months and I felt cranky, tired, bored out of my mind and I was ready to give up until I began 5:2

I am sorry to say, I love pasta, I love bread, and I couldn't stop tasting delicious fruits. Like I said, I cut back, a lot, now I only eat wholegrain and organic carbs and I limit them to once a day. I won't make my life miserable for something which may or may not happen in 20 something years. The principle to 5:2 is to NOT diet and for me, cut off a whole food group would be the worst diet ever.

I have cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart condition, cholesterol, and almost every illness in the book in my family. Should I worry that I may contract them ? Should I stop go for my ride every day because I may die in an accident ? Thanks but no thanks. My life is now.

Carpe Diem.

More like Carbo Diem for me