valshealthblog.com

Hi,

This post continues our saga about fasting for weight loss.

We have found that you can lose weight on a fast, just as

you can lose weight on a diet.  The problem with both is

our metabolisms.

With both fasting and dieting your metabolism will slow

down.  Eventually you will stop losing weight and start

regaining it.  This is your body’s natural defense and

survival mechanisms kicking in.

At this point in time and to my knowledge there are no

studies showing exactly where this weight loss comes from. 

Is it from fat loss, muscle loss, chemical loss or even

bone loss?  No one knows. 

But, we can make some educated guesses. 

My guess, based upon past research and my own experiences

is that it comes from muscle loss. 

Almost every physiologist will tell you that weight loss on

a diet comes from fat and muscle loss. 

That is why exercise is always recommended by scientists as

part of an overall weight loss program. 

Just dieting, and fasting, will make you smaller not more

muscular.

Yes, you will lose weight and you saw in the last post that

a fast one time per week could help extend the weight loss

time period. 

But, it can’t work forever.  Just like a diet can’t work

forever.

My own experience with a fasting and exercise protocol are

in line with this.

This program had me fasting every 5 days and exercising

every day, including weights and high intensity aerobics. 

And I did lose weight.  I lost 5 pounds and I got smaller. 

My chest, thigh and biceps all got smaller.  My waist

stayed the same. 

These were not the kind of results I was looking for. 

Especially since the program stated that it was a body fat

loss program.  For the last little bit around the waist.

I do not have a six pack.  I do have a four pack and

sometimes you can barely see the outlines of a six pack. 

So I figured I would give this program a try.  At the end,

my muscles were smaller, I still didn’t have a six pack and

worst of all I had absolutely no energy. 

That was not fun.  And actually that wasn’t the worst of

all.  When I went back to my normal non fasting eating

patterns all the weight went to my waist. 

I was still exercising and doing intense cardio, but it

took almost 3 months for me to get back to my pre “fat 

burning exercise – fasting” regimen. 

I will say though that I was surprised that the first

couple of weeks I did not feel a drop in energy on the

fasting days.  But, as it continued, it did take its toll.

So do I recommend fasting?

I do, but with certain guidelines.  First off, if you have

any kind of medical conditions see your doctor.  If you are

a diabetic or prone to it, do not fast without your

doctor’s guidelines. 

Your blood sugar could drop quite a bit on your fast days. 

If you are pregnant, do not fast period.  You and your baby

need all the nutrients it can get and extra calories. 

If you want to try it, start out slow.  Try fasting for

short periods of time.

Now, almost all of us fast for 8-12 hours a day already. 

This is when you sleep.

You can increase this time, by making sure you don’t eat

anything 2-3 hours before you go to bed. 

Even though I believe in eating a full breakfast, if you

are not used to doing that, then skip eating when you get

up to add a couple of extra hours before you eat anything. 

I would not try to fast more than 1 time per week.  And I

would start with skipping a meal.  You might skip dinner or

a lunch 1 time per week. 

If that seems to be okay then try skipping both a lunch and

dinner 1 time per week. 

And you do have to exercise.  That includes a strength

building portion and a cardio portion.  I have written

about these in previous posts. 

You want to reduce the fat and keep the muscle.  You can

not do that just by dieting or fasting. 

Bottom line is that fasting for weight loss is okay to try

within the guidelines mentioned. 

 Thanks,

Mike Val

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Hi,

Are there really any weight loss foods?  In other words, can you lose weight by eating certain foods vs. other foods.

Well, according to an article I read awhile back the answer is yes.  I am not so convinced. 

Basically this article said that if you ate more millet, asparagus, pomegranates, pine nuts and green tea your waistline would shrink.   

While I have no problem with these foods and drinks from a health standpoint, there are a couple of problems.

First is that no food by itself is a weight loss food.  Specific foods have nothing to do with weight loss or weight gain.  How much you eat will control what you weigh – to a point.  Which leads us to the other problem.

That eating a healthy diet and weight loss have nothing to do with each other. 

Now you might think I am a little crazy to say that.  After all eating a healthy diet should help you lose weight – right?

Sorry, but losing weight has to do with how much you eat and how your hormones react to the food. 

Of course eating healthy is better for you.  But, if you ate nothing but steak and broccoli you could gain weight and become fat. 

On the other hand, if you ate nothing but cookies and ice cream, you could lose weight. 

It has to do with how much you eat. 

So under the above circumstances, the cookies and ice cream would be weight loss foods and the steak and broccoli would be weight gain foods. 

However, even if the cookies and ice cream helped you lose weight, it still would not be healthy for you to eat all the time. 

If you ate nothing but cookies and ice cream you will more than likely die much sooner and have more health problems than if you ate steak and broccoli.  This has to do with how your body reacts and uses the food you ingest. 

But Mike, you might say, what about the insulin spike?  Won’t the ice cream and cookies diet cause you to gain weight because more sugar in your blood stream gets stored as fat?

Good point.  However, it isn’t as clear cut as that.  After all there are plenty of diabetics who are not fat.  One of my friends is strong, muscular and ripped.  Yet he has to take insulin shots every day. 

So diabetes is not 100% directly correlated with eating too much sugar. 

The other point is that everything we eat gets broken down into sugars anyhow.  The body only functions with blood sugars – mostly glucose. 

Even the steak and broccoli gets broken down into glucose.  So too much steak and broccoli can raise your blood sugar levels also and cause insulin to spike in its attempt to lower your blood sugar levels.

Now it will take a lot of steak and broccoli to do that, but the point is that you can’t just make blanket statement like certain foods are weight loss foods. 

Losing weight can be simple, but you have to have the correct information to do so.  You can get that by reading this blog and subscribing to my ezine. 

Sign up here: ezine

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Hi,

Your brain on sugar is not a pretty site.  

Most people think that too much sugar only affects their body.  It might make you hyperactive and it can eventually give you diabetes.  Those are common facts that most people are aware of. 

But, most people don’t think it affects their brain.  The brain, in turn, affects your actions. 

Here are some of the actions of sugar.  It causes blood sugar levels to spike and of course what goes up comes down just as fast, so you crash.  

The crash drains you of energy and brain power.  You actually are a little dumber after a sugar crash.   You are also tired, irritable and feel like you are in a fog most of the time.  Does the term “space cadet” ring a bell?

Eating too much sugar impairs your brains cognitive functions.  This comes from Dr. Daniel Amen, author of “Change Your Brain, Change Your Body”.

If your brain is impaired even slightly, this also affects the rest of your body.  If you are an athlete, you will not react as quickly and your mind will not be in the game. 

If you are an engineer getting your mid afternoon candy snack, after your peak your brain will slow down and you will actually be more tired and less alert. 

Yes, your brain does need sugar to function.  Your body needs sugar to function.  You just don’t need 14 pounds a day of it (a little exaggeration). 

You can get all the energy you need from the food you eat.  Natural foods.  Foods like vegetables and fruits.  Foods that have protein and a little fat in them. 

Skip the candies, sodas, cakes and carb snack foods and you will go a long way to feeling better.

And your brain will thank you for it.

You don’t want your brain on sugar.  Too much impairs it. 

Thanks,

Mike Val 

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