Hello everybody! Just thought I’d share… I’m starting a new plan as of this week (two days down!).
The facts of the matter are these… My low carb diet advised by my naturopath has given me a LOT of energy. My mental state has also improved dramatically. I’m full of beans and happy. My skin is clear and I have no headaches, aches or pains.
BUT
On the downside, my body HAS lost a little fat, but it seems to be a very s-l-o-w process. I’ve also only gained a tiny bit of muscle. Severely limiting carbs is very difficult to maintain as a way of life. I’m missing all of my lovely fruits, homemade soaked breads, nourishing desserts, homemade yoghurts, smoothies, soaked brown rice and legumes!! It’s not even that I am craving sugars or starches anymore… that stopped after the first week. I feel that cutting out groups of food isn’t healthy. I admit that simple carbs like refined flours and sugar are a NO NO. That’s obvious and has no part in a whole food diet. Cutting carbs this much… to me, I feel it is not acceptable. I want to be able to enjoy SOME carbohydrates other than just ONE apple or ONE glass of wine!! If I could have more fruit I would probably stick with it, but fruit negates KETOSIS! Hmmm…. why did so MANY cultures that lived long and well feature carbohydrates as a good part of their diet?
SO….
It all boils down to this. I’m going to continue with my supplementation regime, that is working so well for my nerves and mental state, but I’m not happy with the physical results of 3 and a half weeks of VERY strict low carb eating. (I also ate low carb, not so strict, prior to that for about 6 weeks.) My measurements have only changed negligibly.
So to start, I’ve measured my weight, fat percentages and taken body measurements to track my progress from now on.
WHAT AM I DOING…?
I’ve long been a fan of the short fast for energy and clarity. In my travels I’ve stumbled upon many variations of a fasting and eating cycling. These are a few: Intermittent Fasting (IF), Warrior Diet, Eat Stop Eat…. Has anyone here practiced or heard of these? I’m very interested to learn of your experiences regarding fasting, weight loss and muscle gain.
Most of the advocates of the above plans are athletes, fitness gurus and body builders, who seem to be very conscious of gaining muscle, strength and energy, while whittling down body fat percentages. These are exactly my goals!
I’ve tried to do IF before, but at the time, was too unbalanced mentally to continue. IF seems to ramp up your ‘fight or flight’ instincts, and for me last time that led to insomnia and anxiety, which led to me cutting even MORE calories (thinking maybe it would work better…) by trying to skip dinner too! (I know, totally missing the point, duh!) I DID feel much more energetic during the day, but the nights were hell. This time around, I’ve got my head in check, and am armed with lots of nervine herb teas if I need to slow down. I’m going to do the Warrior Diet way of eating this time around. So far, all is good, I LOVE the compensation of a lovely big warm meal at the end of an energetic day! Food tastes better and is SO much more relaxing. I CAN have my carbs after dinner if I need them. I’m going to eat mostly paleo though, I think it’s just the comfort of being able to that I like. One day on the weekend is going to be an ‘off’ day.
So far (day two), I’m enjoying it. I like the feeling of REAL hunger, not just ‘I could eat’ that you get around 5:30pm. It makes my dinner so much more satisfying. Last night I ate about 1200 calories over a four hour period, big steak with garlic cream sauce, LOTS of red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, homemade chutney, a mandarin, 1/2 banana, small chunk of dark chocolate, flat bread and two cups of tea. Woke up not hungry at all but full of beans. I even had time to hang out the washing before work because I didn’t have to cook breakfast!
I’ll keep you posted, I’m doing a two week test to compare the two styles and check I don’t start feeling anxious.
For all the naysayers here’s some links:
MYTH: Eating late at night is bad for you
MYTH: Skipping meals is unhealthy
FACT: Feeding cycles protect the body from disease
About the Author...
I've finally overcome my destructive eating habits by learning to accept myself, applying the WAPF nutritional principles daily. I'm now at a stable, healthy, slim weight, have lots of energy and no more guilt. I've been happily married for 7 years and am a graphic designer. In the near future I'm hoping to start a nutritional course and start practicing as a qualified nutritionist. At the moment it's all self education.
Jul 16th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I’m confused Louise! Your blurb says you are “at a stable, healthy, slim weight”. I haven’t read all of your posts. Perhaps you’ve gained a heap of weight since you wrote your first post.
How much weight do you want to lose? And…do you really need to lose it? I read another post you wrote that talked about your naturapath saying you were on the under side of normal weight (or something like that).
I’m thinking that skipping meals could throw you off your healthy course. I think I read in a post you wrote that you mentioned Eat Fat, Lose Fat. Perhaps that has some answers about skipping meals.
When I was younger (I’m 50 now), I went through a stage of fasting during the day and eating at night. Over time (maybe a few days or a week) I began to binge at night. Granted I didn’t eat the beautiful nourishing food you are eating (I didn’t know about WAPF nutrition then) but I still ate a good meal with the rest of the family and then, shortly afterwards I was wanting more. If you have to use will power to do this you’re fighting your body’s natural appetite and you could muck it up.
You mentioned eating over a period of four hours at night. Was that because you were still craving food? Be careful this doesn’t develop into a bingeing set up like I went through: always hungry and never satisfied.
I can understand that you’re not satisfied with the low carb diet. I remember doing that one too (when I was about 17). It worked for a time until I began craving carbs. All the weight I lost came back and more. Eat Fat, Lose Fat has something to say about those sorts of diets.
The best type of weight loss (if you really need to lose weight) is gradual. I wouldn’t be chopping and changing my diet too much if I were you. Don’t tip the balance. Maybe just cut back a bit and step up the exercise a tad. Be aware if you start obsessing over food, because if you do you’ll know you’re not eating enough (or often enough).
I still believe in a good breakfast. I have a kefir smoothie with coconut oil, banana and egg yolks most mornings. I eat late, around 10:30. That’s really satisfying and light on the stomach and lately I’ve been missing lunch because I’m just not hungry enough. Perhaps something like that could be a compromise.
Be careful!
Jul 17th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Thanks for your concern Robyn, it’s good to know someone is looking out for me! Yes I am at a stable, healthy and slim weight, but I have quite a high fat to muscle ratio. On the scale I weigh fine, but my muscle mass is way under, which is what I need to build up with this plan. So, if I lose fat and gain muscle I should still stay at much the same weight, I’ll just be stronger, more toned and hopefully my bone density should increase too (always a concern for women).
The idea behind the Warrior Diet is you fast for most of the day, then eat a hearty meal. If one hour later you are still hungry, you eat another meal. Same again after another hour. This will vary depending on my level of activity during the day, or it’s an exercise day.
I’m going to do this as a trial over two weeks and compare my results. If it doesn’t work, I’ll simply stop. I’m very aware I have to watch my obsessions… but so far, so good! My overall goal is to loose about 3kgs of body fat and gain about 3kgs of muscle, not much for my height. But I want to say, THANK YOU. I really appreciate your thoughts, it is always good to have an objective opinion.
Jul 18th, 2008 at 4:24 am
You’re welcome Louise! I’m thinking the fasting through the day might slow up your metabolism. I guess there’s only one way to find out if it suits you. Good luck with it!
Jul 21st, 2008 at 4:01 am
i have been doing the warrior diet for about 8 months now and the first thing i have to say to you is, read the book, undereating period does not mean a water fast everyday, eat if you according to your activity level and eat small raw fruit or veggies.
Jul 21st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Hi Nate, thanks for your comment, yes I’ve read the book. I’m having a little fruit along with some plain yogurt or a few bites of a whey protein bar or an egg through the day. I’m also drinking lots of water and herbal teas. I’m yet to try the vege juices, every time I go down to the cafe at work they’ve sold out!! Have you had good results doing WD? Please let me know of any pitfalls I may encounter, especially as I am just starting out.
Thanks, Louise
Jul 21st, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Louise, if you have more fat to muscle ratio then you should probably be lifting weights to increase your muscle.
Also, you said:
“My low carb diet advised by my naturopath has given me a LOT of energy. My mental state has also improved dramatically. I’m full of beans and happy. My skin is clear and I have no headaches, aches or pains.”
It seems like the low carb diet is very good for your health. A lot of the folks that practice IF also do low carb. You don’t have to low carb as strictly if it doesn’t suit - some eat up to 100g carbs daily.
Jul 21st, 2008 at 10:08 pm
This is interesting. I’ve not ever heard of the Warrior diet. I find it hard to believe that fasting all day/most of the day would increase muscle intake and decrease fat stores, as our bodies will eat muscle before fat when hungry. The best way I know to retain and encourage muscle growth is through high volume low rep weight training (which I’m guessing you’re doing some form of strength training) and eating a good ratio of carb/protein (and of course fats) through out the day in small portions. In order to lose fat an increase in your metabolism and an increase of energy output is what I’ve been taught. I’m curious to see what your body fat percentage turns out to be after you’ve finished your diet. I’m always looking for new ideas and new information. Thanks for posting about your journey.
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 am
Lacey, read Intermittent Fasting 01 - it shouldgive you some answers:
http://projectfit.org/iflifeblog/2008/02/27/intermittent-fasting-101-how-to-start-part-i/
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Hi Sue, ta for the advice, the warrior diet is a low carb eating plan. The carbs come from mostly fruits, veges and occasional starches, sugar is not encouraged. I was eating a VERY low carb diet to give me more energy and to help with a possible candida problem. I find that severely restricting carbs is extremely hard to maintain, especially as a long term plan! I’m hoping that the little bit extra on the WD will keep me happy! If I feel like some strawberries or some rice occasionally, I can have it. The worst thing about most diets is they restrict, which makes you feel deprived, which in turn eventually makes you reach for ‘comfort’ foods or to break your diet. This plan allows all of the food groups, with carbs moderately restricted. So far I’m doing well. Had a day off on Sunday (had to go to a funeral and PMS) when I just ate whatever I felt like, but back on it again this week. I’m not concerned about it, this is a long term plan and there’s no rules if I do want to have a break. Actually Ori (writer of WD) recommends cycling periods of WD with periods of small low carb meals (similar to Lacey’s way of eating) to mix it up a bit. It’s great to shock your body into action with change… changing your workout, intensity of your workout and eating patterns. Are you practicing IF?
Lacey: Chicks who weight-lift rock! My husband is a personal trainer and we’re doing a weights session twice a week. I’m trying to get into the habit of doing some exercise every day, lately that’s been very difficult in the cold weather… brrr! But baby steps, I’ll get there. As for high volume low rep training, the latest is that you don’t need to! High reps only put strain on the tissue increasing the risk of injury with no greater muscle gain. The best way to gain is by doing high intensity interval training (HIIT) check out wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training. There’s LOTS of resources online about this. It’s great because it means you don’t need to slog it out at the gym for hours anymore and you’ll get better results. Ideally your weight session should be over in under half an hour, but you’ll feel just as tired! Have you heard of Turbulence training? Here’s the site: http://www.turbulencetraining.com/. Anyway, keep an open mind, my husband was taught all about HIIT when he got his PT qualification and he was initially sceptical, but his clients results speak volumes.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Louise,
I don’t think I stated my post correctly. By high volume, low reps I meant high weight, with low reps or high work load until fatigue. I think we’re arguing the same thing here. I’m also a personal trainer, specializing in weight management and sports performance. I think it’s awesome that you’re taking such a holistic approach to your health. A functional and effective weight training program combined with a nourishing diet can only lead to success. Here’s a website your husband might enjoy if he isn’t familiar with it already. http://www.strengthcoach.com This is the website I go to for much of my training questions and insight. Several of the nations most experienced, brilliant coaches submit info and articles. Really great stuff.
Anyway, I checked into the IF diet. I’m not sold on it however. If our metabolism is best run on small intermittent meals, how is it beneficial to not eat for 9-15 hours at a time, or a whole day? I’ve heard of fasting through one meal for health (The Makers Diet by Joshua Rueben). It sounds as though you’ve modified it though by continuing to eat small bits here and there. I’ve seen and experienced the results of prolonged fasting in my clients and myself, and it usually leads to fatigue muscle loss, cravings and moodiness. As opposed to small proportioned meals that consists of low starch and good fat, protein and carbs. As a short term (like one week) I can see SOME benefits, but not over weeks at a time. Just my opinion. I’m not saying that I’m at all right. Just stating my personal experiences. Thanks again for journaling your journey, it’s always fun and beneficial to be challenged and learn!
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Hi Louise
A ketogenic diet won’t help you very much if you’re ‘normal’ weight but have a high body fat to muscle ratio. This usually occurrs from years of dieting and fasting. It’s also common in vegetarians. The only way to change it is eat Healthy and supply your body with all the nutrients your metabolism needs. Fasting and dieting will only make it worse. Resistance exercise will help to build new muscle but this will happen slowly over months to years. As your high fat ratio has probably occurred due to dieting, your body is not going to let you lose it by starving or dieting. Your body is geared to survival often at the expense of feeling good (your body’s aim is to keep you alive, how you feel is determined by your food choices). It’s going to hang on to that fat because your metabolism is going to be thinking “Oh dear, another famine is upon us, better slow things down again”. If your metabolism is damaged, your body will convert protein to fat stores to allow you to survive extended periods of time without food.
Short term fasting is disastrous for muscle no matter what other websites tell you. It is not physiologically possible for fasting to promote muscle gain. For the first few days of a fast your body will break down muscle for fuel and it’s only after this initial process that it will switch to breaking down body fat. Thus, 1 day fasts are not a good idea at all, you’ll simply eat your own muscle each time you do it. Fasting does not work for weight loss. Fasting to improve health is different and is best done supervised over a 7-10 day period. Dr Alec Burton, a ‘fasting guru’ who runs a health centre in Australia that conducts supervised medical fasts, admits that regular fasting will tend to increase body fat to muscle ratio and is very opposed to regular one day fasts because of the damage they do to your metabolism and your muscle.
There is no quick fix for improving body composition. You’ve got to focus on repairing your metabolism first - diets will only make it worse, including ketogenic diets.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
PS. Just some more food for thought. When you skip meals your body will release extra adrenalin. Adrenalin is like amphetamines - it gives you heaps of energy and makes you feel alert and full of beans. It’s the hormone that allows you to fight a sabre tooth tiger or run like crazy in the opposite direction. Adrenalin, like amphetamines is very addictive………
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Hey guys, thanks for your input, just to clear things up…. I’m not fasting all day, this plan includes a 4 hour eating ‘window’ when you can have as much food as you need to be satisfied. I’m getting the whole day’s calories in one hit, I’m definitely NOT under on calories each day. The idea behind this is you can combine the detoxifying and healing effects of a fast with proper nutrition. It’s like what you said Lacey (yes we are in agreement, sorry about the misunderstanding) when you work out in a short intense burst, you get greater results. When you cycle calories so dramatically, ie fasting and eating well, you shock your metabolism into burning more than if you eat small regular meals, which your body becomes accustomed to. All of this is conjecture until more data is released, but it’s looking good so far. I’m trying this as a test… if it is not working, I’ll stop.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
The Warrior Diet attempts to mimic the diet of our nomadic ancestors. They were physically very active, hunting during the day and eating at night. This is theory, but the evidence seems to support that they had these eating habits.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Go to the link I posted above (and will post again) it explains Intermittent Fasting fully:
http://projectfit.org/iflifeblog/2008/02/27/intermittent-fasting-101-how-to-start-part-i/
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Have you tried making Pemmican Louise. It is a nutrient dense food that Native Americans took with them hunting. http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/pemmican
One of the things I noticed with the Warrior diet was my desire for caffeine increased. Eventually this was the reason I stopped.
The point of the Warrior Diet, as far as I can tell is to avoid carbohydrates until after the first meal at the end of the day. The rest of the day should be protein and fat in small amounts just to satiate hunger until the large meal at the end of the day. Supposedly you store the energy from that meal as Glycogen and is used in the first part of the day the next day.
The Warrior Diet is surely easier on the digestive apparatus (the reason I tried it) but there is a risk of breaking the rules and using caffeine or carbohydrates during the day for quick energy instead of forcing the Liver to work better at releasing Glycogen.
That’s why I mentioned Pemmican. I used chunks of free range ham and tablespoons of raw cream. Started my meals at about 5pm with protein and fat and eventually having carbs (including starchy veges) when I was almost full. Maybe if I used Pemmican I wouldn’t have cheated.
I’m glad you’re off caffeine Louise I hope your hormones balance out quick enough to make this Warrior Diet experience easier for you. Changing from Adrenaline producing substances (and emotions) to more Nourishing sources of energy takes a bit.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Hmmm… Pemmican sounds INTERESTING. Meat and fruit… sounds a little strange, especially for an ex-vegetarian! But there’s a first time for everything. Actually Jo, Ori says in the WD book that during the fasting period you should eat fresh raw vegetable juices, whole fruits and a LITTLE protein. The emphasis is on the fruit and veg though. Not that I’ve been doing that, just herbal teas, bites of protein and the occasional small piece of fruit. I’m worried the fruit will send my blood sugar levels up and consequently make me hungry too soon in the day.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Hi guys
What a very interesting discussion this is sparking with everyone! I love exchange of ideas and information. You always learn something new.
I love the idea of the Warrior Diet……but……how many of us live warrior lifestyles? Our hunter gatherer and warrior ancestors would have been asleep not too long after the sun went down most of the time. They wouldn’t have spent their evenings under fluoro lighting sat at computers (your brain is one of the most fuel demanding organs, it needs constant nourishing with fuel), exercising at the gym, reading or working. They would have risen at dawn and started their day (when their cortisol levels where highest for maximum energy). Their day would have been filled to the brim with physical activity. Besides jobs such as landscaping, I don’t know too many people who could claim to live a warrior lifestyle.
Your diet really has to fit your life and your lifestyle. Our hunter gatherer ancestors never started their lives eating sugary breakfast cereals, poor quality fats, juices, soft drinks etc etc etc creating massive nutritional deficiencies and damaging metabolism. Many of us now are suffering the results of second and third generation nutrient deficiencies due to massive nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy - and we know that this can alter metabolism for the rest of your life.
Your metabolism also involves building things as well as breaking things down. Building hormones, nuerotransmitters, enzymes and new cells requires building materials and energy. If your body is healing from any type of chronic illness, your requirements for building materials (fat and protein) is going to be increased until healing is completed. (I love the idea of the pemmican to nibble on during the day.)
You need to work with your own unique physiology not assume that what and how your ancestors ate out of necessity is best for you. Your physiology and metabolism is affected by your ancestral heritage, your mother’s health and nutrient stores during pregnancy, your health and nutrition during childhood, current nutrient levels, level of activity, amount of sleep, stress levels, medications (past and present) as well as how much body fat and muscle you have.
Imagine if in 1000 years time our decendants looked back to when the human lifespan was extended to 80 odd years and thought to mimic our current lifestyle and diet thinking that it was responsible for the increased average lifespan?
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Wow, I hope you don’t feel attacked Louise! I think we’re all just genuinely concerned for your well being. I wanted to let you know how I admire your responses. You’re very factual and open to opinions and ideas. Something I think I lack! Thank you for being a good example! I am still very eager to hear of your findings with this diet. I am curious as to what activities you do during the day. You stated that you are weight training a few times a week. Are you fairly active the rest of the day? Do the days you train lend to higher caloric intake? How are your moods?
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Haha not at all Lacey, debate is healthy and fosters knowledge. As for your questions…. I try to walk every day as I am a graphic designer and am stuck in front of a computer screen for most of it. I also do weights twice a week. Training days do not (surprisingly) lead to me eating more. For me exercise dulls my appetite somewhat. I’m eating quite a lot of food, so I’m not sure if I could fit much more in anyway! Moods…. so far so good. I’ve had my period this week and I was due for some PMS last week, but all I had was one off day on Sunday. Usually I get VERY tired around this time. I’ve got as much energy as I did doing the low carb diet with regular meals, which is surprising, but probably something to do with the fasting state as Sarah mentioned a few posts ago. As for weight loss… I’m not weighing yet, I will at the end of two weeks. Weighing often is a bad idea. (We’ve all been there!) I’ll also take body measurements. So far, I feel much the same but we’ll see.
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Thanks Lacey
Yes you’re correct. Please don’t take my posts personally and I hope you don’t find them offensive or defensive (I have gemini in sun and mercury and sometimes have to pull back on my tendency to debate and argue facts, plus I’m sat at home writing today and relish every procrastinatory opportunity that your wonderful post brings up). I am concerned for your wellbeing, I work with people (usually women) every day who have damaged their metabolisms from varying eating disorders. As a result I am not a fan of any rigid dietary regime and am always striving to educate people to nourish their body, mind and spirit with nourishing foods, thoughts and actions. But that is just my experience, it’s easy to become blinkered to other options and forget that life is a journey. So is health and wellbeing and I guess we only learn wisdom through experience, trying lots of new things, keeping an open mind and taking on what works while discarding what doesn’t.
Good luck on your journey Louise (you have a dedicated team of nourishers only a mouse click away ready to show how much they all care in their own unique way).
Jul 24th, 2008 at 3:41 am
What our ancestors ate made them a lot healthier - when their bones are examined.
The fat phobia that is dished out by health authorities has not done our health any favours. Sarah, the women with damaged metabolisms are probably the low fat eaters and low calorie dieters. When you eat sufficient protein and fat you don’t damage your metabolism.
The Warrior diet is not rigid and you can individualise it.
Jul 24th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Thanks Sarah for bringing in the other lifestyle differences our hunter gatherer ancestors had from us. Your Gemini nature makes for very practical and thorough learning for the rest of us.
As for the more physically active part: Another blogger here, Henriette, is an archeologist. She mentioned that HGatherers used approx 2 hours per day to find their food and fire. Agriculturists used 6 hours per day. Having said that, there was other activities Hunter Gatherers did for fun that used the body. Wouldn’t that be nice.. Wake with the sun, spend a couple of hours gathering food and fire and spending the rest of the time playing, dancing, making yourself beautiful, planning ceremonies, exploring the landscape. Then gathering by the fire for stories and falling into a well earned sleep after the sun sets.
Our modern day schedule, however, goes a little more like this: Wake (after sunrise) to a blaring alarm, hurry through the shower while worrying about the day ahead, scoff down a adrenal gland hammering hot drink, rush out the door without so much as a deep breathe. Sit in traffic, pissed off, for anywhere between 30mins to an hour, perhaps driving through a junkfood shop for a bite. Working all day at a desk, using only fingers and stopping only for another adrenal gland hammering hot drink. Rushing home to sit in front of the television, sipping alcohol for longer than we should just to calm down from all the adrenal hammering. Finally taking ourselves to bed and talking ourselves into sleeping long after sundown.
What if, Sarah, we could start with a balanced system, a more relaxed yet active lifestyle and nutrient dense foods which are easy to digest? Then, do you think, the Warrior Diet would be appropriate.
I’m concerned about the juicing thing though, Louise. From a Chinese medicine perspective, raw vegetables and fruits are very ‘cooling’ for the digestive fire. The last thing a person with damaged digestion needs. Hence my suggestion to try Pemmican or at least raw dairy snacks during the day. You can get a nice Parmesan called Zanetti - imported from Italy - from Woolies cheaply. That and a nice free-range ham and some raw milk kefir will continue to nourish you during the day, without harming your digestion further.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Great idea! I’ll go get some this weekend. Have parmesan, will travel! I totally agree with your ideas Jo, the lifestyle you have described is exactly what I am going for! I want my body to work the way it was designed to by giving it nourishing fuel, moderate exercise every day and by taking time out to de-stress and relax. If I had my way we’d have no TV like you do, it’s the last thing you need at the end of a long day slogging it out on the keyboard. For now (appeasing the better half) we’ve settled on weekends only. Helps give us more ‘us’ time. The other night I made a lovely two course dinner which we enjoyed with a glass of wine, candlelight and music, something we’d rarely do otherwise. So I’m loving the WD so far… it definitely has it’s benefits!
Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Great post Joanne, I want to be a hunter gatherer! So long as I can hunt and gather somewhere warm and tropical!
I’d happily trade in my day job to apprentice to a medicine woman in a hunter gatherer tribe.
Yep I think that if we started the day with a more relaxed balanced system with nutritious easy to digest foods that this would be ideal. Chicken broth or chicken soup would be ideal plus a glass of raw milk kefir and maybe a raw egg yolk or too whipped through the chicken broth. If you’re nourishing your body well you actually won’t feel hungry until later in the day and as most really nourishing foods are far from low calorie the appetite suppression is not due to a depressed metabolism.
I wouldn’t reccomend the juices either (I think of the digestive system as a crock pot simmering away all day and pouring large volumes of cold liquid into it really does slow the digestive fire down - I’ve modified my Tiger’s Milk now to include the coconut oil dissolved in hot water added to the smoothie to make it nice and warm rather than cold). All fruit and root vegetable juices (the nice tasting ones) are far too taxing on the poor pancreas and will tend to elevate insulin levels and stimulate the adrenal glands. I think you’d be better off with an apple and a hunk of cheese (parmesan would be good or my fave…triple cream brie mmmmm)……or maybe a few big juicy wiggly witchedly grubs!
If your adrenal glands are fried and you stop all the stimulating foods like sugar, coffee, flour, juices etc you’ll recconnect to how tired and exhausted your body really is after living on adrenalin for so long. You’ll often crave the adrenal stimulants for a while as your metabolism adjusts and your body starts to heal (adrenalin is just like amphetamines and is just as addictive). So munching on the pemmican or parmesan every few hours (before the coffee cravings strike, if you leave it till they strike it’s usually too late) for the first few weeks might make the transition easier.
Avoiding all the grain based foods will most certainly allow a stressed and damaged digestive tract time out to heal and repair. It’ll also give your immune system a nice break too.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Sue, you are indeed correct the women I treat with damaged metabolisms are mostly the result of low fat diets. Sometimes they’re getting enough protein but never enough fat and all the wrong types of carbs.
However, I followed a sort of HG diet for many years purely by default. I was always a breakfast skipper, I never felt hungry in the mornings and thought this meant that I shouldn’t eat. I’d walk or run 10km in the mornings before work and like others have mentioned, I struggled with coffee cravings during the day. I would eat healthy foods come lunch and dinner (but not as high in fat or truly nourishing as they are now). Often I wouldn’t eat my lunch until 3pm though as this was when I’d first feel hungry. It’s only been in the last few years that I have recognised that having no appetite in the morning is a sign of being sympathetic dominant (the tendency to live in fight and flight mode). Once I discovered this I forced myself to eat food at breakfast (raw egg yolks, kefir and coconut oil and occassionaly porridge with heaps of cultured butter stirred through). The difference in how I felt those first few weeks was amazing. Once I got past the nausea from forcing myself to eat I found that my anxiety dissapeared and coffee cravings became controllable. I felt so much calmer and healthier but I had no energy to exercise and I started to pile on the pounds. I didn’t stop what I was doing, I felt I was on the right track because I felt so amazingly good (despite feeling tired and fat - that gives you an idea about the amazing difference in how I felt). I realised that I had damaged my metabolism from all the years (20 or so) of not eating breakfast even though I ate healthy foods later in the day. It took about 2 years for the weight to shift and my energy levels to pick back up again. It was a challenge to stick with it but I changed nothing and just waited to see what would happen. I still don’t exercise (but I have a fairly active lifestyle and I still practice remedial and pregnancy massage which is a good workout) but my weight has gone back down to what it used to be and continues to remain stable. I still don’t feel hungry in the mornings but would never go back to skipping breakfast - if I do the anxiety returns with full force. Well that’s my story and one of the reasons that I get concerned by eating regimes that reccomend skipping breakfast.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Sarah, as you say when you skipped breakfast the meals you had later were healthy but not so nourishing and lacking somewhat in fat. I believe it was the quality of your nourishment that caused your problem more so than the skipping breakfast. Possibly your meals were too low in calories.
Anyway, I’m not saying its right for everyone to miss breakfast - eating is individual. I have read by a few people that your body is still detoxing from the night before so your first meal should be very light and easily absorbed by the body. Probably best to be low in carbs too.
On the IF site there was a quote by Ori Hofmekler (author of the warrior diet). Here is his take on breakfast:
“When you wake-up, your body is already in an intense detox mode, clearing itself of endotoxins and digestive waste from the past evening meal.
During the morning hours, when digestion is fully completed (while you are on an empty stomach), a primal survival mechanism, known as fight or flight reaction to stress, is triggered, maximizing your body’s capacity to generate energy, be alert, resist fatigue and resist stress.
This highly geared survival mode is primarily dominated by part of the autonomic nervous system known as the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). At that state, the body is in its most energy-producing phase and that’s when most energy comes from fat burning. All that happens when you do not eat the typical morning meal.
If however you follow what “normal guys” do and eat your morning bagel and cereal and egg & bacon, you’ll most likely shut down the above energy producing system.
The SNS and its fight or flight mechanism will be substantially suppressed. Instead, your morning meal will trigger an antagonistic part of the automatic nervous system known as the PSNS (Para sympathetic nervous system), which makes you sleepy, slow and less resilient to fatigue and stress.
Instead of spending energy and burning fat, your body will be more geared towards storing energy and gaining fat. Under this state, detox would be inhibited. The overall metabolic stress would increase with toxins accumulating in the liver, giving the body another substantial reason to gain fat. (Fat tissues serve as a biological storage for toxins)
The overall suppressing effects of morning meals, can lead to energy crashes during the daily (working) hours, often with chronic cravings for pick-up foods, sweets, coffee and tobacco. Eating at the wrong time, would severely interrupt the body’s ability to be in tune with the circadian clock. The human body has never adapted to such interruptions. We are primarily pre-programmed to rotate between the two autonomic nervous system parts: the daily SNS and the nightly PSNS.
The SNS regulates alertness and action during the day, while PSNS regulates relaxation, digestion and sleep during the nightly hours. Any interruption in this primal daily cycle, may lead into sleepiness during the day followed by sleeping disorders at night.
Morning meals must be carefully designed not to suppress the SNS and its highly energetic state. Minimizing morning food intake to fruits, veggie soup or small amounts of fresh light protein foods, such as poached or boiled eggs, plain yogurt, or white cheese, will maintain the body in an undereating phase, while promoting the SNS with its energy producing properties.
*Note: Athletes who exercise in the morning should turn breakfast into a post-exercise recovery meal. Such meals should consist of small amounts of fresh protein plus carbs such as yogurt and banana, eggs plus a bowl of oatmeal, or cottage cheese with berries.
An insulin spike is necessary for effectively finalizing the anabolic actions of GH and IGF1 after exercise. Nonetheless, after the initial recovery meal, it’s highly recommended to maintain the body in an undereating phase by minimizing daily carb intake in the following meals. Applying small protein meals (minimum carbs) every couple of hours will keep sustaining the SNS during the daily hours while providing amino acids for protein synthesis in the muscle tissues, promoting a long lasting anabolic effect after exercise.
In conclusion, breakfast isn’t the most important meal of the day. The most important meals are post-exercise recovery meals. Saying that, for a WARRIOR every meal is a recovery meal helping to recuperate from either nutritional stress (undereating) or physical stress (exercise). It’s when you eat that makes what you eat matter. “
Jul 25th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Should also add that the daily fasting should not involve chronic caloric restriction.
This from Mike from IF:
“So What Do I Eat on the Fasting Days?”
“That’s the best part, you should be able to eat unlimited healthy foods (healthy proteins, fats, veggies, fruit, nuts…see Paleo Diet in the resources page). If you are eating more processed foods, breads and other high calorie intakes then you may have to monitor and control portions. Please know this is NOT about chronic calorie restriction or starving yourself. When I do weeks of eating 1-7pm, I am eating a ton of protein and veggies (complex carbs pwo also). I am hardly starving myself. I am not taking in 4000 cal a day however, so my daily average of say 2200-2500 cal is still low compared to the alternative. If you want to lose weight of course you will need a calorie deficit to pull the “stored energy” out of fat cells. That is the advantage to eating “Paleo”, you can’t over eat on protein, healthy fats, fruits (in moderation) and veggies. If you are making bad choices or starving yourself on IF, you may lose the effectiveness or slow progress. All goes back to the fact that if it is not working, then change something up! (there is always something that can be changed…and food choices is the #1 place to start!) I don’t count calories, and by eating natural foods that have been around for 100s of years….I don’t need to! (eating healthy natural foods will not only help you lose weight but also improve your health and lower your risks of diseases….so eating for health should always be the #1 goal in any program)
Hopefully this will give a good overview while trying to keep it simple. Remember it’s your journey to take, measure progress and adjust things that are not working. Start with one approach, and modify it. Who knows, your approach may change every couple months and that is ok. Life is always changing and so should your approach to health and fitness (as the body always responds better to change than sticking with the same eating/exercise approach for a long period of time).”
Jul 27th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Thanks Sue, that’s a good point about the typical morning meal that most people eat - all those cleverly marketed breakfast cereals don’t even qualify to be called food and are an insult to your body at any time of the day. Typical western style breakfasts are a major cause of fatigue, junk food cravings and poor tolerance to stress. I’d be interested to hear anyones experiences about going straight from a standard western diet with poor quality breakfasts to IF or the Warrior diet and what they experienced vs. eating a nourishing traditions style of diet and then transitioning to IF/Warrior diet.
For me it’s the breakfast that makes a difference. I have tried the last few mornings to skip it just to see what happens - but feel incredibly anxious and jittery by 1-2pm. My breakfast consists raw egg yolks and kefir - not standard breakfast fare. Since discovering Nourishing Traditions and significantly increasing fat in my diet the biggest change I’ve noticed is that I no longer need to graze. I don’t need midmorning and midafternoon snacks, 3 small but highly nutritious meals are all I need these days but this occurred over a transition period of about 6 months or so. I encourage clients to adopt similar breakfasts (some of the looks i’ve received at the mention of raw egg yollks are priceless) and have found that they report similar changes. Many comment that it’s the only time they can remember feeling hungry in their digestive tract later in the day as opposed to needing to eat to satisfy their brains need for fuel after a blood sugar crash or due to cravings. I agree that breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day for a healthy body but it is one of the most important meals that needs fixing for the majority of people and therefore becomes the most important meal of the day.
Also, I have always thought of fight and flight energy as being designed for short term use only (for hunting down prey or running from a predator) and not the ideal state to spend the whole day in to ensure adequate energy - interested to hear your thoughts on this.
This discussion is certainly triggering lots of food for thought.