Review: Eat Stop Eat

"Eat Stop Eat" by Brad Pilon covers the idea of "intermittent fasting" as a method of fat loss. The book explains what to do, and why it works. In fact, the idea of intermittent fasting is really simple, and you don't need to buy the book to know what it is, you can get the basic idea by reading the sales blurbs for the book. Why it works, and how it works, form the meat of the book. It's so simple that I can't really go into any detail without giving away what's in the book!

I first encountered the concept of Intermittent Fasting on the PaNu blog dedicated to paleo/primal nutrition. It made sense, ancient and prehistoric humans didn't eat every day. Modern animals in the wild, especially predators (as humans are) don't eat every day either. But there was no recommendation on how to do it, how long to do it, how often, or why. Eat Stop Eat comprehensively answers these questions, even though it's a short book. I intend to introduce intermittent fasting into my new lifestyle regime.

Progress Report:
Still off the Coke, despite cravings for this stuff. Feeling pretty proud of myself. Kicking bread and fried potatoes is proving harder, in spite of the fact that there's really not a lot of difference between white flour, starch, and sugar as far as the body's response is concerned. It all turns into glucose in your bloodstream. I'll just have to remember that when confronted with such temptations. If it works for Coke, it'll work for bread.

I think that by kicking the Coke I've dramatically reduced my calorie intake. I used to drink 6-8 cans PER DAY of that stuff, and at 166 kcal/can, that's more than 1,000 kcal just from sugary drinks! I seem to be sleeping more the last few days, I think my body may be compensating for the much reduced calories by reducing my movement. I should probably eat more so my body doesn't go into "starvation mode" from the suddenly restricted calories.

To Order Poison In A Bar Would Not Be Logical

I've been addicted to Coca-Cola for years; I knew it was no good for me but I could not kick the habit. What really changed my behaviour was the detailed knowledge of how it was affecting me. Blood normally has about 1 teaspoon's worth of sugar in it. All of the litres of blood in your body, just 1 teaspoon's worth of sugar dissolved in it. Excessive blood sugar is poisonous, high levels are fatal pretty quickly. A can of Coke has 9 teaspoon's worth. Drinking Coke triggers hyperinsulinaemia, closing off fat cells and overworking the pancreas (with all kinds of negative effects like premature aging)... Today when I went to drink a Coke I remembered this and I just couldn't ignore it... If I'm an intelligent, logical person (and I like to think that I am) then drinking Coke just doesn't make sense.

Cogito, Egg Sum

One of the supposed benefits of low-carb eating is that you tend to eat less because you stay full for longer. This morning I ate three hard-boiled, free range eggs. 70 grams each, for around 210 grams total food. No hunger for ten hours. I would not have expected to stay satisfied for that long on such a small meal. In the past, a meal would consist of a chilli chicken burger and one or two cans of Coke, and have me hungry again a couple of hours later. So there seems to be something to that.

When hunger does hit me with this lifestyle, it hits me suddenly and hard - I feel compelled to eat, not because it's time to eat or because I'm simply bored, but because I'm damn hungry. But I don't need to think about how much I'm eating. I eat until I don't feel like eating any more, then I am not hungry for 8-10 hours again. This convinces me I'm on the right track. I've met a few people who were naturally slim and healthy and they just listened to their bodies about what and when to eat.

Coco's Seventh Birthday Present

On my daughter's sixth birthday, I gave her a soccer ball and a magnetic construction toy. We played together in the kid's playground. I wasn't fit enough to run around after the soccer ball. I wasn't strong enough to hold her easily up to the monkey bars.

For her seventh birthday, I'll give her a slim, strong Dad who can do those things. I've got nearly a year.

Currently, I weigh 125 kilos. My goal is to get it down to 80 kilos. It's ambitious and I'm not sure I'll get even close, but if you aim high and miss at least you won't shoot yourself in the foot. The method will be to adopt a "primal style" high-saturated-fat, high-protein, low-carb type diet.

Countdown clock: 361 days.