Guest Post: Mix Up Your Fast Days

by Sabine

Hi! My name is Sabine, and I've been doing ADF for about five months. I'm female, mid-forties, don't exercise, and I started off about 50 pounds overweight. I also do primal low-carb, and though it makes me feel great when I eat that way, I found it hard to sustain long-term (cheats!) and hard to get back on after cheating. The biggest benefit I have seen from ADF is that it is now easy to get back on plan after I eat something I shouldn't instead of falling into a downward spiral that can take weeks or months to recover from. And, oh yeah, I'm down 25 pounds so far. I don't always do the same thing on my Down Days (the JUDDD term for fasting days). Here are some different types of Down Days, that are helpful to have in your toolbox:

Zero-Calorie (Water Fasting)
This is what most people think of when they hear "fasting." Water, that's all, right? But even eating nothing has some tricks to it. Have different kinds of water. No, don't go buy fancy bottles. But have regular water, have water with lemon juice and salt (8 cups water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp sweetener - great for maintaining your electrolyte balance), have a pitcher of water that has some cucumber slices floating in it. Switch off between your different types of water, and have some herbal tea, as well. The change in flavors, though subtle, really helps. 

Drink at least 12 glasses of water, shoot for 16. (Unless you have issues which make drinking lots of water unsafe. Rare, but it can happen. Know thyself!) Accept that you will be visiting the bathroom a lot. Brush your teeth every time you're in there, while you're at it. It really helps. Do not chew gum. It makes it worse. Don't feel that you need to "do nothing" while you are fasting. It is better to be busy. Plan projects, errands, any kind of physical activity. Mental activities, save for Up Days (the JUDDD term for feast days), at least in the beginning. There's something about having to think, that makes your body say, "Hey, let's eat!"

All-Liquid
You're still drinking, but you're getting some nutrition. The main reason for drinking your calories, is to minimize your "meal" experience. When you first start Down Days, you will be amazed at all the time you now have, that you used to spend eating, preparing food, cleaning up, and thinking about food. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with yourself! And sometimes you find that dealing with food at all, makes you want to go all the way, and have a meal, a real meal, and no, you don't want to wait until tomorrow, you want it NOW! This is when drinking a meal helps you out. You slug it down, and it's done, then you can stop thinking about it. Protein shakes are good here, probiotic drinks, and vegetable smoothies. And for those who like to have something going into their mouths all day, sipping on a nice iced coffee with milk or cream, can make the day a lot happier.

High-Fat
I started doing these kind of Down Days because I have had good success in the past with the Atkins Fat Fast. It gets you into ketosis (the good kind) super fast, and knocks cravings flat on their back. The challenge with High-Fat Down Days is that fat packs quite the caloric punch. You really can't eat a lot on these Down Days, but used wisely (after you have been low carb for a while, and are experienced with Down Days and their wiles) these can be great. One of my favorite "meals" is to cut a slice of liverwurst (~60 calories) into 24 little chunks, and eat them S-L-O-W-L-Y, letting them melt in my mouth. Unlike the All-Liquid Days, where you are trying not to think about food, High-Fat Days are all about savoring every bit of flavor in your mouth. Brie cheese, pork rinds with sour cream, macadamia nuts, and a spoon of peanut or almond butter are all favorites.

High-Protein
ADF is supposed to be muscle-sparing, but once in awhile you just start wondering: are my muscles wasting away? Protein to the rescue. At four calories per gram, you can get a lot of protein into a Down Day. Fish is great, because there's not much fat going along with it. Every bite is mostly protein. Protein shakes, of course. And jerky! I was amazed to discover how satisfying it is to tear into bites of jerky on a Down Day. Don't forget the humble egg. Double up on your whites, and save the yolks for your Up Day, or hard-boil them, and have egg-white egg salad. Amazingly good, especially when you consider that the best part (the yolk!) is missing. Also good is diet Jell-O (if you do chemicals) made with extra gelatin. I love being able to have a "dessert" on my Down Days sometimes.

Bulky
Sometimes, you just want to chew. Or stuff your face. And the fact that it is a Down Day, and you need to keep it to 500 calories or less, matters not. Vegetables are your friends. Those big bags of cut cabbage? They make great stir-fry. Yes, you CAN eat the whole bag yourself! Everyone has their favorites, but let me show you what 500 calories will get you in the produce aisle:

~56 kcal = 16 spears of asparagus
~20 kcal = a head of broccoli
~60 kcal = 4 cups shredded cabbage
~62 kcal = 2 big carrots
~26 kcal = 1/4 head of cauliflower
~24 kcal = 4 stalks of celery
~24 kcal = a bag of cut lettuce
~28 kcal =2 cucumbers
~48 kcal = 8 oz of mushrooms
~40 kcal = a nice big bell pepper
~36 kcal = a bag of spinach
~72 kcal = 20 cherry tomatoes
= ~496 calories TOTAL

You can eat on that all day and maybe even run out of time. Yes, there's no butter, or cheese, but it is one day! It can be done. And, amazingly, some days, you don't even want the butter. Your taste buds  and enjoyment of food DO change when you are doing ADF. I really look forward to my Down Days now, which I never would have thought would happen at the beginning. And if you have to have the butter or olive oil, well, drop the cucumbers and tomatoes, and stir-fry the rest up with 1 tablespoon of the butter or oil. You'll still have a huge quantity of food.

Mini-Meals
This is good for those days when you have a long, tedious project to do (think paperwork) and you will be desperate for breaks. In days past you might have had chips, or a candy bar, or a handful of nuts, or heck, all three, just a reason to get away from the project. You make real meals (yes you can have meals that are just ~140 calories) but you divide them even smaller. Just a bite or two. Say, one half of a deviled egg (made with sour cream and mustard in the yolks) which is ~40 calories. Forty calories, you say! That's crazy! But... you get 12 of these little meals. You're eating something every hour. And sometimes, it is okay to have just a bite. You enjoy it, you set the timer for another hour, and you head back to your project. Cherry tomatoes filled with cream cheese are especially good for this. You can have four of them for ~40 calories!

I'm-Not-Dieting-I-Just Feel-Like-a-Salad!
Sometimes you have to meet people for a meal on your Down Day. People you may not be interested in telling what you are doing. For whatever reason. I've had one too many eye rolls to judge anyone. You eat nothing else that day. You order water with lemon, or unsweetened iced tea. You order a salad with protein (chicken breast/steak/salmon) on top and not too many of the crazy extras (pineapple, craisins, nuts, croutons, you know what I mean) in it, and the dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing before you spear your bites, and exclaim over how fresh it all tastes. You ORDER A DESSERT to go, saying you are too full, but it all looks so good, you just can't resist. (You get to eat it tomorrow, not tonight. Or you can give it to someone.) No one who orders a dessert can possibly be on some weird fasting plan, right, so your secret is safe!

Three-Squares-a-Day
Yes, it can be done. Get out your calorie book, and start thinking. Here's one of mine for inspiration:

Breakfast: 1 poached egg (~70 kcal) served over 2 cups spinach (~12 kcal), steamed, and mixed with 1 tsp butter (~33 kcal). Total = 115 kcal

Lunch: 1 small salmon fillet (~100 kcal) with 1 tsp mayo (~33 kcal) and a squirt of lemon juice (~10 kcal) and a shake of dried dill (free!),1 small zucchini (~9 kcal), 4 mushrooms (~12 kcal) sauteed with 1 tsp butter (~33 kcal). Total = 197 kcal

Snack: 1/2 apple (~41 kcal) and 1 tsp peanut butter (~32 kcal). Total = 73 kcal

Dinner: Homemade vegetable soup (~60 kcal) and a dessert of diet Jell-O made with extra gelatin (~45 kcal). Total = 105 kcal

If I count correctly, that's ~490 calories. Go hog wild with the other 10!  :)


Hope these ideas have been useful for you. Down Days can be a challenge, but they can also be fun. Find the right kind of plan for your situation, and enjoy your food!

Sabine started the Alternate Day Fasting Support and Chat forum thread of Mark's Daily Apple, a website that is a hub of resources and discussions about healthy living and the primal lifestyle. I met her through the forum thread when I first started alternate day fasting and was looking for advice from other people practicing the ADF way of eating. For more information on primal eating and living, check out Mark's Daily Apple.

Help Fund Pediatric Brain Tumor Research

One of my general life goals is to give what I can (even if it is not that much) to help those that need it and to causes I think better the state of the planet and humanity. One of those causes is brain cancer research. Unfortunately there are few people that cancer does not impact, whether one gets cancer themselves or has a family member or friend that battles it. Brain cancer has impacted me by taking the life of one of my high school teachers a little over a year ago. I also have a friend that lives with an inoperable brain tumor.

So this year Zach and I are participating in the Run of Hope 3k in Seattle for pediatric brain tumor research. I am joining the team of my former co-worker Kris who lost her own 11 year-old daughter, Jocelyn, to brain cancer. Unfortunately, less than 4% of the money used for medical research is used for children. Team Jocelyn and I hope to raise as much money as we can to help fund the research needed so that hopefully someday we don't have to lose children to brain cancer.

Jocelyn, 1991 - 2003

You can support this effort by becoming a sponsor of my 3k walk with a secure online donation. Over the last four years participants in the Run of Hope 3k have raised over $1.1 million, 99.94% which went directly to Seattle Children's Hospital's research on pediatric brain tumors. Please chip in what you can because every little bit helps in the fight against child brain cancer. Thanks!

Mission Accomplished

Day 138, Feast Day #81 - Nine in a Row

I decided to forgo fasting this week as weight gain was not happening even at 6:1 for me and at -27 lbs (-12.2 kg) my wedding dress was fitting just a bit loosely. I was in a bit of a panic yesterday morning when I dropped another 2 lbs (0.9 kg) seemingly overnight (probably hormonal), which put me at -29 lbs (13.2 kg) lost overall in almost 20 weeks, despite being in maintenance mode for the last couple of weeks. This would be great if I was not trying to gain weight so my wedding dress fits this Saturday.

So yesterday I decided I was going to eat all day and not eat healthy in a last ditch attempt to put on a few pounds. So yesterday I started off my day with a pile of nuts, cheese, and beef jerky, followed by fried chicken and potato wedges drenched in ranch dressing for lunch (which made me feel quite queasy), and then for dinner a large Greek salad with goat cheese, a McFlurry with M&Ms, soda, and a Whopper Jr. hamburger. So I clocked in at over a whopping 3,200 calories yesterday, like a boss. Note: I do not recommend this diet, nor is it a healthy way to gain weight. It is apparently very effective though.

650 McCalories of soft serve and candy.

My fast food and comfort food boot camp boosted me up 3 lbs in a day (so back to -26 lbs or -11.8 kg). I hit my regaining goal, which is excellent. So I just hope I can hold on to some of that bloat for a couple days. Wine and cheese will be consumed tonight, so that should keep my calories up.

Week 19 Summary

Day 135, Feast Day #78 - Six in a Row

Well that pound I gained back after entering maintenance mode disappeared. So I am back to where I started before deciding to decrease my numbers fasting days for the sole purpose of fitting in my wedding dress without more alterations. So I am at -27 pounds (12.2 kg) since April 5 and of course, my dress is just a little too loose. Last week I only did one fast day and a medium day with five feast days, and still lost that darn pound.

So this week, I don't think I am going to fast at all. Even on maintenance mode, my caloric intake has been comparable to other 4:3 weeks I have had in the past. I have been eating out less this month to save money, so I think that has prevented me from eating insane numbers of calories. Now gaining weight is difficult for me. What a silly problem to have.

Gaining weight is difficult is because I have retrained my tastes and my brain has different food reward associations now after nearly 5 months of alternate day fasting. To be honest, I read that this happens in Dr. Michael Mosley's The FastDiet and thought there was no way I would not always want to eat bagels, fried food, processed food, etc. It happened though! the last time I really went nuts on calories and carbs I felt awful sick afterwards with bloating and stomach pain.

I have basically had to unlearn everything my brain liked about food, and retrained it to like food that gives me energy and a lot of nutrition, not empty calories. I crave greens like chard, peppers, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, not breads or pasta. The onion bagels toasting at work still smell good, but I don't crave them on my own without being exposed to good smells. I have been easing off of wheat products after scaring myself by reading Wheat Belly and not repurchased wheat products I've run out of (with an exception for beer) too. It is crazy how many calories you cut out once you stop eating bread, pastas, crackers, and the like.

Reducing my portion sizes and not eating after I am full is also becoming habit for me. These commons sense practices only become habit after lots and lots of conscious decision making and practice saying "no" the instinct to gorge.

I bought some bacon and have wine and cheese eating on my social calendar this week (aside from my wedding). So hopefully I can get one of those pounds back on!

Calories
Week 1: 1,437 kcal or 76% of baseline calories (-3,213 kcal/week)
Week 2: 1,938 kcal or 102% of baseline calories (+294 kcal/week)
Week 3: 1,680 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,512 kcal/week)
Week 4: 2,196 kcal or 116% of baseline calories (+2,100 kcal/week)
Week 5: 1,829 kcal or 96% of baseline calories (-469 kcal/week)
Week 6: 1,531 kcal or 81% of baseline calories (-2,555 kcal/week)
Week 7: 1,954 kcal or 103% of baseline calories (+406 kcal/week)
Week 8: 1,196 kcal or 63% of baseline calories (-4,900 kcal/week)
Week 9: 1,638 kcal or 86% of baseline calories (-1,806 kcal/week)
Week 10: 1,637 kcal or 86% of baseline calories (-1,813 kcal/week)
Week 11: 1,681 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,505 kcal/week)
Week 12*: 2,108 kcal or 111% of baseline calories (+1,484 kcal/week)
Week 13*: 2,649 kcal or 140% of baseline calories (+5,271 kcal/week)
Week 14: 1,882 kcal or 99% of baseline calories (-98 kcal/week)
Week 15: 1,280 kcal or 68% of baseline calories (-4,312 kcal/week)
Week 16: 1,861 kcal or 98% of baseline calories (-245 kcal/week)
Week 17: 1,684 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,484 kcal/week)
Week 18: 1,598 kcal or 84% of baseline calories (-2,086 kcal/week)
Week 19: 1,686 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,470 kcal/week)

While ADFing: 1,761 kcal or 93% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,732 kcal or 144% of baseline calories
All Fast Days: 435 kcal or 23% of baseline calories

For reference
Week 1: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 2: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 3: 4 feast days, 1 medium day, 1 fast day
Week 4: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 5: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 6: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 7: 4 feast days, 3 fast days,
Week 8: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 9: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 10: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 11: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 12: 5 feast days, 2 fast days*
Week 13: 5 feast days, 2 fast days*
Week 14: 4 feast days, 1 medium day, 2 fast days
Week 15: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 16: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 17: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 18: 5 feast days, 2 fast days - maintenance mode
Week 19: 5 feast days, 1 medium day, 1 fast day - maintenance mode

*Includes days during my bachelorette party weekend.