Calorie Restriction

Momine · May 2013

I have seen various articles on calorie restriction and how it might help prevent cancer, diabetes and cholesterol problems. The stuff I saw talked about restricting calories 2 days a week, on those days eating only 600 calories and staying away from carbs.

When I finished treatment, 15 months ago, I was very thin and weak, so I figured it was not a good time to try this.

Now I have been steadily exercising for a year and I have gained several kilos, to the point that I definitely don't want to gain anymore.

So I started today.

My plan is to eat the following:

Breakfast: 3oz fat-free, Greek yogurt with spices added as a dip for raw cauliflower or other low-carb veggies plus my usual coffee with low-fat milk. According to fitness pal, this amounts to 110 calories.

Lunch: A large salad of assorted salad greens with a dressing made from roasted garlic, parsley and lemon juice (no oil). I may add a small amount of plain chicken breast, if the calories work out.

Dinner: No-fat broth with some veggies.

I will see what else I can come up with for things to eat, but it seems doable. My idea is to add strong flavors and lots of bulky, low-carb and low-calorie veggies to make it seem like I am eating something. I just had the breakfast and feel very full. I also plan to do the days separately, not one after the other.

chrissyb · May 2013

Momine, I have also read about the restricted calorie diet and agree it sounds great and very doable. The recommendations that I read were that the restricted days were at least two days apart and not one after the other for best results.

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you.

Love n hugs. Chrissy

Momine · May 2013

Thanks Chrissy, I think I can do this. I have never done diets before and find it quite tedious. But 2 days a week seems much easier to me than watching what I eat daily. My motivation is also to keep sugar and cholesterol in check. It is pretty easy to use fitness pal for this, and if anyone else is on that and would like to follow along with what I eat and share info, feel free to PM me.

Anonymous · May 2013

Momine, I got excited when I saw this post because I just decided to do this myself...it's called IF (intermittent fasting). If you google Dr. Michael Moseley and PBS, you'll find an hour long program on this very topic.

I started this past Wed. I stopped eating at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. I woke up around 6 Wed and had my usual coffees and then a slug (about 3 oz) of organic veggie juice about mid-morning. I didn't eat again till 1 p.m. (kale salad), then had a small snack more veggies, then 1.5 cups of venison chili on top of a bed of lettuce and raw veggies. Stopped eating at 7 again.

The next day I had more organic veggie juice (the spicy is very satisfying) and nothing else till 7:30, when I had two cups of hot and sour soup that I made myself. I had a package of seaweed snack (35 cal) following that and didn't eat again till Friday a.m.

It was NOT hard. I went to a very intense bikram practice Thursday at 5:30 and felt stronger than normal (this after fasting all day); before that, I lifted weights at the gym and ran a mile.

There have been so many good results with IF: lower blood sugar, more fat burned, starves cancer cells, etc. The best thing I've found is that I know that I can eat normally for 5 days, and I do--luckily I already eat like a VB6 (vegan before 6 p.m.), so I don't go out and stuff with McDonald's cheesburgers anyway.

Let me know how it goes for you. I'm committed to IF for at least two months.

Claire

Momine · May 2013

Claire, great to have some company! I did see that program, which was quite interesting, but had already read about the approach somewhere, specifically in connection with breast cancer (the way I remember it anyway).

Anonymous · May 2013

Momine, I find when I'm working actively I don't necessarily eat three meals a day anyway...get up early and start working (I work a lot from home) then I might have a kale smoothie around 1030 when I take a break and then a low cal snack mid-afternoon, then a meal around 6. So it seems I've already been doing it.

i've noticed some post-meno "fat" around my waist that I've never noticed before, in spite of my active lifestyle and partial vegan eating. I don't like it, and I hope that actively IF'ing every week will help in that area as well, without always having to count my calories religiously as I was doing (and it wasn't helping me lose, either!)

Claire

Heidihill · May 2013

Momine, I was hoping you would start a thread like this.

I was thinking of starting a 2-day 600 calorie protocol, too, but I really don't care for counting calories with meal planning and was trying to think of how to get around that. Two ideas: using store-bought baby food or smoothies. Just to start with. But now I can just follow your plan! And it sounds delicious.

Claire, 2 and half years ago I went on a daily IF with a 7-hour window of eating. Just coffee for breakfast, go to the gym, have lunch, dinner and nothing more after 7 pm. I managed to lose some weight but started gaining because of more frequent gorging during the window, so I stopped it after a year. Fortunately I've maintained my weight since.

I'll try for 600 tomorrow!

Momine · May 2013

Heidi, go for it! I had some fresh turkey breast in the freezer, that the butcher had sliced for me in 3.5oz (100g) slices. I took a slice and poached in plain water with a bay leaf, lemon peel and pepper corns. I ate half the meat in my salad for lunch.

Then I strained the liquid, added a broth cube (veggie broth from the crunchy-granola store, but knorrs would presumably so), the remaining turkey in small cubes, a small cubed zucchini (100g) and 2 large cubed mushrooms (150g). That was dinner.

I do already look forward to my breakfast tomorrow, but it really hasn't been too bad. Eating the broth helps me feel like there is something in my belly, ditto for the pile of salad greens.

According to fitness pal, breakfast was 110 calories, lunch 190 and dinner 125, so well within the limit.

Momine · May 2013

I am also thinking that soups made simply from pureed veggies, with some herbs, ginger or spices to liven it up, should also work. I will experiment and update. Soups like that can easily be made in batches and frozen in ready portions.

Momine · May 2013

So, the first day was OK. The soup I made in the evening was 3-4 small bowls' worth, so I ate one bowl around 6, another at 7 and so on.

I felt fine the whole day and walked my usual 10,000 steps. It was tough at night. I did have a bit of trouble falling asleep, thanks to hunger pangs. Woke up feeling fine, had a big breakfast and am looking forward to lunch already, lol.

chrissyb · May 2013

The first day is always the hardest. With each that passes we learn how to handle it better. A large glass of water does help with the hunger pangs a bit.

Love n hugs. Chrissy

Momine · May 2013

Yes, very true, Chrissy. Thanks for the encouragement.

Momine · May 2013

OK, I will post what I eat on the fasting days, in case it is of help to someone.

Day 2;

Breakfast: 1/4 container (the full container is 6oz) Greek, zero-fat yogurt, with a lot of finely chopped parsley mixed in, salt and pepper, with a yellow pepper in strips that I dipped in the yogurt. 5 almonds. Coffee with low-fat milk. 120 calories.

Lunch: Creamy cauliflower soup. I took about 1 cup cauliflower and a large carrot. Boiled that in veggie broth (cube) along with a little seaweed (I had it on the shelf and it adds a bit of taste and minerals). Pureed it with the blender. Then took another 1/4 cup of the non-fat yogurt with herbs etc and stirred that into the soup. 150 calories and it actually tasted pretty good and felt like a meal.

Dinner: 3 cups salad greens with 3oz poached turkey breast, dressed with parsley/lemon/garlic puree (no oil). 175 calories.

Snacks: Raw cucumber. 3-4 inches of English cucumber is around 25 calories.

chrissyb · May 2013

Wow Momine! you are doing really well with your calorie controll and that creamy cauliflower soup sounds delicious.........I'll give that a go I think. Well done you!

Love n hugs. Chrissy

Momine · May 2013

Thanks Chrissy, yes, the soup was really not bad. I think cauliflower will become a stand-by, because it is very low in calories, yet filling. It also goes with many different flavors, so you can vary it a fair bit.

kaza · May 2013

Hi special ladies, i have been doing the reduced calorie diet now for 2months 5 and 2 diet. I must say it is getting easier, it becomes part of life, may even look forward to fast days, i feel for me it is something i can control, if it helps with overall health then give anything a go. I have lost a few pounds but nothing major, i look forward to normal eating days when i can have a snicker chocolate bar, and not feel guilty. I rearly do feel good on this diet as i said it does get easier, as you go along.

chrissyb.....i make vegetable soup for fast days, x

chrissyb · May 2013

Kaza, I'm not doing the fast days as I'm on a very restricted diet.......no gluten, sugar or dairy from my doc but I do try to look for more recipes and ideas for doing veg.....lol. The yoghurt for me is no good so I would substitute coconut cream but the added herbs are just fine. I would probably add some onion and garlic as well. Mmm, its making me hungry just running it through my head.....lol.

Dieting for any reason is not easy so its always good to know that there is someone cheering you on.

Love n hugs. Chrissy

kaza · May 2013

chrissyb.....love vegetables also, i grow many herbs, love garlic and ginger spring onions with med veg.....thankyou for all your wonderful support and encouragement, you certainly give me a real lift with your sincere posts. love kaza xxxxxx

Anonymous · May 2013

Today is my weekly fast day...started yesterday at 7 p.m. I plan on having coffee with a splash of almond milk, 8-12 oz of organic veggie juice (Hansen's), tea, water, and 1 pkg hot and sour soup (70 cals tot) tonight after my bikram yoga practice. I'll break my fast sometime tomorrow.

I'm working on an art project so that keeps my mind off eating; truly, I've found I'm not so hungry, and I kind of like not having to worry about what to eat, when, meal planning etc.

Claire

kaza · May 2013

claireinaz......i know what you mean about not having to plan meals, saves money to x

Heidihill · May 2013

I tried a 600-calorie day last Sunday and overshot by around 200, I think. I overshot because I was feeling dizzy after 30 minutes of yoga and had to have a snack. Next time I should only work out after having coffee. The good news is that I didn't overcompensate the following days and kept my weight steady. I'll try to do another 600 day tomorrow. The good thing about having a goal like that is you are most likely still in energy deficit even if you overshoot. I'll be running errands on my bike tomorrow so I'll probably overshoot again. I've got my Greek yoghurt and yellow pepper ready for breakfast. Thanks for the ideas, Momine.

Nice to know it gets easier, Kaza.

Claire, that's real calorie restriction!

Nanam · May 2013

If you google "fast diet" you'll find lots of info, menus etc. The English Dr. Michael Mosley started it. I've been on it for about a month and its a lot easier to stick with than other diets because its only 2 days a week.

Momine · June 2013

Day 3:

Breakfast: 1 red pepper, 8 almonds, coffee with low-fat milk; 140 calories.

Lunch: I was out, so only ate a tomato with a slice of onion; 45 calories.

Snack: 5 walnut halves and a piece of cucumber; 100 calories.

Dinner: A small bowl of cauliflower soup (80 cal), 3oz fresh, steamed turkey breast (80 cal), 1/2 container 0% yogurt mixed with a handful of cilantro (60). Ate some of the yogurt in the soup, the rest as a spread/sauce for the turkey; 220 calories.

Snack: 5 almonds; 35 calories.

Total 540 calories.

Heidihill · June 2013

Thanks for the tip, Nanam. I didn't realize this was now the latest diet craze.

Momine, nice work. I thought 600 was doable but 500 is tough.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521193952.htm

They say it's the activation of SIRT1 during fasting that makes it beneficial for weight loss. According to this article there's a drug that can activate SIRT1. It delays neurodegeneration in mice in the same way calorie restriction does. Think it can kill cancer cells, too?

Heidihill · June 2013

I drank a bit too much orange juice, so was probably over 600 on my second fast day.

Momine · June 2013

Heidi, the only link I could find quickly is from the Daily Mail, commonly called the "Daily Fail," because of its poor quality. However, the study the article references is the first one I saw about fasting 2 days a week: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317856/Strict-diet-days-week-cuts-risk-breast-cancer-40-cent.html

Momine · June 2013

Ah, here is a better article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8946505/Two-day-diet-could-reduce-breast-cancer-risk.html

And a more recent one with a decent overview: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-24/news/ct-x-0424-trice-column-20130424_1_brain-cells-michelle-harvie-alternate-day-fasting

Heidihill · June 2013

Thanks for the links!

I probably went over 700 yesterday. But then again I was working out (mostly dancing) for 4 hours. I lost half a kilo from my efforts according to the scale this morning. Hoping to lose a whole kilo for the week ending this Wednesday. Thanks for helping me get started on this, Momine!

Momine · June 2013

Heidi, I am delighted to have some company in this experiment.

kaza · June 2013

Hi, i had a bowl of porridge made with water and a handfull chopped prunes for breakfast...must say i did have a little semi skimmed milk over porridge......

"2 hard boiled eggs and a large mixed salad and a large orange for my evening meal

Rearly dont feel that hungry, lots of water as well throughout the day.....

How are others doing ....what are you eating xx

Heidihill · June 2013

Yesterday I had rice porridge with peas, coffee with milk and 1 hard boiled egg for breakfast. Skipped lunch. A packet of crackers and a cereal bar for snacks. For dinner I had whole wheat pasta with peppers and asparagus and spinach soup.

Calorie Restriction

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