Is Fasting Every Other Day For You?

There's a lot of talk these days about eating less, calorie restriction and fasting. Not just because of Lent, but finding easy, or easier ways to have less food so that weight loss and weight maintenance can at last be achieved.Please post a comment below - tell us if you've been fasting, or thought about it. What was your experience? What have you learned?I wrote about this in March; here's the initial column on Fasting Every Other Day (click here).

Yes, there are a few research projects and studies about calorie restriction, and how it increases life span in rodents. It's not proven to extend lives in humans, however. That's where the scant research has been centered, on lengthening lives, not losing weight per se.
Here's a report from the University of California, Berkeley from 2005.

So, in consideration of the "Fasting Every Other Day" subject... it seems to be about eating anything and all you want one day, and then reducing intake, or fasting entirely the next. There's even an acronym for it, ADF, "Alternate Day Fasting." There was a study done by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular in 2007, here's a news report about it in Science Daily, click here. Again, this study was only on lab rodents, and stated that the forced fasting could control obesity and assist with Type II diabetes, but did not help for fat reduction or weight loss.

Here what I think: I do believe that eating fewer calories if you are overweight or obese is a good idea. Also, increasing physical activity is really great. However, I think calorie-lowering and increasing activity must always be in moderation. Having been on a lot of fasts in my life, and experiencing mixed results (sometime feeling starved, dizzy, etc.) it's not something I do much anymore.

Rather, I pray to God and ask Him to help me abstain from compulsive overeating. In effect, that amounts to mini-fasts. I do this throughout the day, in my efforts to always eat only just as much as my body needs - not what my desires or thoughts dictate.At night, to solve my nighttime eating challenge, I will have only a little amount and then do without any more even though I often want more. That's a "mini fast" in my estimation. Anything more than doing my best with God's help to maintain moderation is all I am capable of doing. Fasting every other day makes me too hungry to manage, and is not for me.

Sources : http://www.beliefnet.com/Blogs/index.aspx (by Dr Norris Chumley)

Is fruit good or bad for fat loss ?

There's no debate that fruit is good for you with the large amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes. However, there does seem to be a debate out there about whether fruit is good or bad for fat loss.

Some people claim that fruit is mostly sugar, so it will spike your blood sugar and insulin levels and prevent fat loss.I disagree.I do agree that fruit juices and processed canned fruit are NOT good choices and CAN hamper your fat loss. However, whole fresh fruit is an entirely different story.Yes, fruit is mostly made up of sugar (natural fructose and other sugars). However, whole fresh fruit also contains a good dose of fiber to keep the digestion of those sugars at a moderate pace and control blood sugar.

A typical orange, apple, pear, or peach typically contains 3-5 grams of fiber depending on the size. In addition, the sugars in whole fresh fruit typically have much lower glycemic responses than processed sugars or refined starches in white breads and cereals. Also, it would be VERY hard for you to eat enough quantities of whole fresh fruit to ingest any significant amount of calories.

Consider that those typical sized oranges, apples, pears, and peaches usually average between 60-100 calories each.You could eat a couple cookies, cakes, or a donut and eat 500 calories without even thinking about it. However, to try to get 500 calories from whole fresh fruit, you'd have to eat 5-8 pieces of medium sized fruit in one sitting... this is pretty hard to do as that's a high volume of food in general for most people.

My point of this is that a couple servings of whole fresh fruit daily (preferrably organic if possible) are not going to ruin your fat loss efforts. In fact, it will usually help due to the fiber and high nutrient density of fruits, so they help to stave off cravings for other sweets.

My top rated fruits: any and all berries... blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, etc... they generally have some of the highest ratios of fiber to total carbohydrates, and also have the highest quantities of antioxidants.However, each type of fruit has specific nutrients that others may lack, so don't be afraid to mix up your fruit intake for variety and to keep yourself interested. A couple of my favorites are kiwi, fresh whole pineapple, yellow mangos, and whole pomegranate.


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sources :
Mike GearyCertified Nutrition SpecialistCertified Personal TrainerFounder - http://truthaboutabs.com/ & http://busymanfitness.com/