The Fasting Pod

• Weekly Review
  • How are you doing with your weekly review ? Want to discuss. Get in touch [email protected] or fasting.pod on instagram
  • Down to 70.7kg and resting heart rate 60bpm
  • Grapefruit juice is the best thing ever. Keeping me warm
  
  
• Top 10 reason to buy a fitness monitor
  • 1. Automatic - fitness monitor will monitor all your stats automatically and synchronise with an app
  • 2. Consistency - consistent logging of the same data e.g. steps, distance, heart rate, sleep
  • 3. Track Progress - record activity on daily / weekly / monthly and work out key stats e.g. resting heart rate or sleep score
  • 4. Monitoring Health - constantly try and improve on your previous data
  • 5. Abnormal Behaviour - when you understand what normal is you recognise what abnormal is and you can take corrective action.
  • 6. Monitor Your Diet - monitor your calories in and what you have eaten.
  • 7. Weight Loss - monitor your weight to make sure that you are going in the right direction
  • 8. Stay Motivated - seeing your weight loss going down and your exercise improving gets you motivated to do more
  • 9. Accountability - by using community features you can share some of your data with friends and be accountable
  • 10. Build Better Habits - just by monitoring you improve naturally to build better habits.
  
  
• What do I use
  • Fitbit Charge 2 and Charge 3
  • Apple Watch 5
  • Suggestions
    • Budget Conscious - Fitbit Charge 3
    • Entry Level Smart Watch - Apple Watch 3
    • Best Smart Watch but at a price - Apple Watch 5
    
    
  • If you are interested please go to https://www.tdpod.com/Resources
  • Please note that the links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy following those links I will receive a small commission. This is at no cost to you.
  
  
• Next week part 3 of food for fasting mini series

• Get in touch
  • [email protected]
  • fasting.pod on Instagram
  
  
• Weekly Review
  • Weight 71.4 so down 500g (1 pound). Mainly due to lack of exercise.
  • Grapefruit juice good for warmth !!
  • Smoked salmon, kale and 2 poached eggs excellent choice for a fast meal
  
  
• Foods to eat on a non-fasting day
  • Foods you have promised yourself on a fast day
  • Vegetables rather than treats
    • Try wherever possible to add vegetables rather than treats. Not when you first start but as you get into things. 
    • Vegetables with higher calories
      • Avocados - great with balsamic vinegar or some grated parmesan
      • Parsnip - great roasted. Just par-boil them for 3 minutes and then add spray oil
      • Kale - My staple go to. Great with smoked salmon and poached eggs on a fast day. Always steam. Also great in smoothies
      • Peas - I am not a lover of peas not because I don’t like the taste but because they annoy me. These are great because they have a high calorific value. Steam them
      • Beet - goats cheese and citrus salad, beetroot risotto
      • Artichoke - Just eat them on their own. Chargrilled with lemon, artichoke salad, red onion and rosemary risotto
      • Brussels Sprout - with bacon and chestnuts, with pistachio and pomegranate, creamed with chestnuts
      • Dandelion - warm potato salad with shallot dressing
      • Crosne - with halibut
      • I try and do this during the week and let chocolate and alcohol in at the weekend !!
      
      
    
    
  • Always fully stock the freezer
    • Plan for at least 2 meals a week from the freezer
    • If you have had a hard day at work always have an easy fix in the freezer. No fix = takeaway = disaster
    • Plan what you like and works you
    • Buy on a monthly basis
    
    
  • Fridge Staples
    • Natural yoghurt - with jam or honey
    • Marscarpone - This is my go to item if I want to spruce up a basic bolognese sauce, as an accompaniment with strawberries or just add to some shallots and prawns for a lovely pasta, decadent sauce
    • Almond milk - with oats and honey or jam for great porridge
    • Jam
    • Stock of eggs
    
    
  • Stock up your cupboards
    • Risotto rice and rice packets
    • Pasta
    • Herbs and spices - Cajun etc
    • Honey
    • Tomato ketchup and brown sauce
    • Spray oil
    
    
  
  
• Next week we are going to look at fitness bands

• Mini series - Food for fasting
  • Top 10 foods / food types for a fasting day
  • Non-fasting days
  • Menu Planning and Shopping
  • Evaluation
  
  
• Weekly Review
  • How are you doing with your reviews ? Would love to hear from you [email protected] or https://www.instagram.com/fasting.pod/
  • What is difficult and what do you need help with ?
  
  
• Overview - Top 10 foods / food types for a fasting day
  • Have foods with low GI value because they are slowly digested and absorbed and cause a slower and smaller rise in blood sugar levels
  • Have lots of vegetables as they fill you up.
  • Steam vegetables rather than boiling
  • Try and have some fat but low fat
  • Add lots of herbs and spices
  
  
• Top 10 foods / food types for a fasting day
  • 10. Nuts - almonds, cashews - careful as they are high calorie
  • 9. Fruit - strawberries, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, grapefruit, water melon, blueberries for antioxidants - careful as they are also high calorie. 
  • 8. Fish - Salmon (try with water and parcel in silver foil in the oven or coat with pesto and put in the over), smoked salmon (great with a poached egg), tuna, smoked haddock (with poached egg and spinach), grilled kipper - Really good source of protein
  • 7. lentils, chickpeas (houmous), baked beans, butter beans, kidney beans (add passata, mushroom garlic, chilli and cumin and make a lovely vegetarian chilli ) Edamame beans, cannellini beans (try with tuna cherry tomatoes baby leaf spinach and topped with balsamic vinegar) - good source of dietary fibre and protein
  • 6. Soup - Make your own (ideally vegetable for maximum taste and minimum calories) or tinned soup. I can recommend Heinz soups. They are around 200 - 250 calories - Really good to eat as help you feel full and warm surprising hunger
  • 5. Quinoa (with prawns and avocado for a lovely salad), barley, pearl couscous, buckwheat (pancakes !!), semolina, bulgar - high in protein
  • 4. Dairy - yoghurt (with strawberries and honey), cottage cheese (with fig and pear), milk (be careful as this has high calories) - high in protein, calcium and vitamins
  • 3. Eggs ( I know dairy but so versatile get their own place on the list !!!) - boiled (with ham and tangerine), poached (with grilled tomato), scrambled (with smoked salmon), frittata (with mushrooms) - high quality protein
  • 2. Vegetables - broccoli, carrots, kale, spinach, chard, cabbage (lovely with a small amount of bacon or mushrooms and spices), mushrooms (used instead of minced beef) - good source of fibre and really fill you up
  • 1. Oats (porridge and overnight oats) - Nutritious, Slow releasing energy, Rich in antioxidants, Reducing LDL and cholesterol in general, Improve blood sugar control and skin care
  
  
• Next week what to have on fast days, planning for takeaway avoidance and stocking your freezer and cupboards
• Happy fasting

• Weekly Review
  • Went from 76.2 to 73.1 in 3 days !!!
  • Learning curve = Weigh weekly on the same day in the same place and roughly the same time !!!
  
  
•  5 reasons why you should walk
  • 1. Sitting - silent killer - may be causing cancer, diabetes and increased risk of heart disease according to research
  • 2. Build Stamina and improve balance
  • 3. Burn Calories - not the same as heavy exercise but makes your tummy rumble on a fast day and burns fat !!
  • 4. Healthy Heart - elevating your heart rate above normal
  • 5. Challenge yourself - try and beat what you recorded previous week or walk further / more time
  
  
• 5 reasons to motivate you to walk
  • 1. Four legged friend - get a dog if you have time for them. It is the best motivator !! You are accountable to someone else !!!
  • 2. Goal - find a reason to walk to somewhere like a village pub / cafe / restaurant ( not on fast day !!)
  • 3. Record your progress to encourage improvement and as you lose the weight it will get easierr
  • 4. Quicker to lose weight / encouragement to try something else - all additional exercise encourages more fat burn so better weight loss. Also may encourage you to try other things due to confidence and much fitter
  • 5 Good pair of shoes / socks - Look after your feet. Worth investing in good walking shoe / trainer and socks. Look at sock recommendation in https://www.tdpod.com/Resources
  
  
• How to go about it
  • If unsure whether your are able to ask a medical professional
  • Start small and build up 1 minute every other day to 30 minutes
  • Try 30 minutes for a few weeks / months
  • Try and build up to 45 minutes when you are confident
  • Try to do this daily
  • If you go out in the wet invest in a good, waterproof coat !!
  
  
• Ideas for new episodes / anything you would like to know
  • E-mail me at [email protected] or fasting.pod on instagram
  
  
• Next week
  • Looking at how to approach your fast days and non-fast days regarding menus and food
  
  
• May the fast be with you !!! 

• Secret Mission
  • I decided that over the festive season I would finally be a crash dummy !!!
  • I put on 7.2kg or 16 pounds so that I could understand how I felt about fasting after my normal festive season extended eating
  • The answer is I am looking forward to it !!
  
  
• 10 Reasons To Fast For 2020
  • 1. Much Easier Than Other Diets - you only have to fast 2 out 7 days and whilst it is initially hard you soon get used to it
  • 2. Improving your will power - each successful fast improves your will power
  • 3. Keeps you busy - prevent thinking about fasting and hunger. Get that project done that you have been meaning to do for ages !!
  • 4. Make Friends / Joining A Community - share your ideas / ask questions and make you accountable to stay on track
  • 5. Losing Weight - burns body fat, weight loss and increased stability
  • 6. Improve Your Health - Reduce insulin to reduce chance of type 2 diabetes or reverse type 2 diabetes diagnosis as well as an effective way to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation of the body, improving heart health, as an aid to prevent cancer, improving brain health and ultimately extending your lifespan.
  • 7. Cost - Eat less 75% less calories on 2 days saving money as well as better planning which means less food waste and eating from the freezer means less food waste as well as flexibility
  • 8. Think Clearer and More Energy - prevent lethargy and going to sleep in the afternoon. Get more energy from fasting.
  • 9. Taste - able to eat the full fat version of foods which is just pure joy
  • 10. Long Term - change of diet rather than going on a die
  
  
• Next week I will be looking at walking as an activity to aid fasting and your general health
• The rest of January and February will be focussed and giving you ideas of what to eat on fasting and non-fasting day
• May the fast be with you

• Weekly Review
  • Have you done your weekly review ?
  • Get in touch [email protected]
  
  
• 5 Reasons Why
  • Cost  - if you buy the right amount of food this saves you money
  • Minimise food waste by not buying too much - if you buy the right items with the right dates for your plan then you minimise the need to get rid of food not eaten
  • Nutrition - taking time out to plan means that you can really think about the impact of certain menus on your health and you are much more focussed
  • Forgotten Ingredients - There is nothing worse that looking forward all day to a really nice meal, especially if you have been fasting, to find you have forgotten that key ingredient you needed
  • Flexibility - Having a plan means that you can be flexible if your plans change. You can swap from a day when you were intending to cook to a day where you want much of an easier to prepare meal or vice versa
  
  
• When to plan ?
  • Plan before you go shopping
  
  
• How to plan ?
  • Plan your menus first. Only do fast days if this seems to daunting at first
  • Consider when you are in and out during the week and whether the meal should be quick or not
  • As a general rule of thumb I would try not to plan too many overcomplicated recipes in the week
  
  
• Identify ingredients
  • Go through each of your menus and get the ingredients
  • Work out which ones you already have whether or not in the freezer, store cupboard or fridge
  • Write a list of required ingredients
  • Go to the shops and get
  
  
• Other planning activity
  • Monthly Shop - go and get your freezer and dried food stocks once a month. It will give you a clear understanding as to what you get through in a month and also what you can improve in the future.
  • Batch Cook - make a few portions of the same thing and freeze them.
  
  
• Get in touch
  • Get in touch [email protected]
  
  

When I started fasting I sometimes wanted someone to tell me that I could finish that particular day as I thought that I would not make it.

This is the episode where I do exactly that for you.

Happy Fasting !!!

• Approach to the Festive Season
  • Have fun
  • Think about what you eat
  • If you have not started fasting start on 2nd January 2020 !!!
  •  If you have started fast when you can. Prepare yourself for January fasting !!!
  
  
• 5 Reasons to not monitor
  • No Time - make time
  • Blissful Ignorance - don’t put off weighing yourself. Start monitoring and dealing with your weight.
  • Too Complicated - find the right workflow to simplify the monitoring of your calories and weight. It might be an app, spreadsheet or pen and paper.
  • I don’t want to change the way I eat - that will make you happy in the short term but think instead how you can jazz up your existing foods or try new ones !!!
  • Sleep difficulties - there may be a short term period where things get worse. Many people have reported sleeping much better when starting to fast
  
  
• Why should we monitor ?
  • What gets measure gets managed
  • Progress -Tracking your progress will motivate you forward or give you an indicator if there is a bump in the road
  • Accountability - make your actions accountable to you and if you feel confident enough tell another person. If not you are more than welcome to send me an e-mail to [email protected] if you want to share.
  
  
• What should we monitor ?
  • Weight -Each week on a day of your choosing weigh yourself. Ideally get scales which also tell you your body fat% and BMI. See the resources section https://www.tdpod.com/Resources
  • Belly - optionally each week standing shoulder width apart measure around your belly from the belly button around. Keep the measuring tape as straight as you can and ensure that you are not allowing any skin to get depressed
  • Calories In - Accurate measure of the calories for any time you eat or drink during the day. Ideally also monitor your Fat intake including saturated fats, protein, carbohydrates including sugar and salt
  • Water Consumption - Monitor your water consumption each day and try and get to the point where you just drink it without thinking about it
  • Fitness Band - Get a fitness band to help you with other stats. It should measure heart rate and resting  heart rate, sleep quality, exercise, steps, floors, stand and move / active minutes
  • Blood Pressure Monitor - Get a blood pressure monitor. See more details on the resources page  https://www.tdpod.com/Resources
  
  
• Weekly Review
  • I don’t take enough time to do a weekly review
  • So I am going to make myself accountable to you that each week I will review starting from next week
  • Why don’t you commit to a weekly review and why not share that with someone
  • If you want that someone to be me I am more than happy for you to send an e-mail to [email protected]
  
  

• Tip 1 - Drink lots of water
  • The rationale behind more water is that you normally receive a lot of this through the food that you eat which you are not eating because you are fasting
  • Think about how you drink your water and your motivation
  • Chilly’s water bottles are a good motivator made from stainless steel, with great designs and great feel. Go to the resources section to see more https://www.tdpod.com/Resources
  • I find water makes you less hungry
  
  
• Tip 2 - Don’t Over Commit
  • Think about fasting in the short term initially. Concentrate on getting through your two fast days every week
  • Stick to your calories allocated each day and eat what feels comfortable. 
  
  
• Tip 3 - Busy, Busy, Busy
  • Try not to fast on a day where you are not busy
  • Try to keep busy by doing those tasks you keep putting off or that no one wants to do. Who knew that not only do you get the chance to lose weight and gain many health benefits that you can also get recognised at home or work for going the extra mile !!!
  
  
• Tip 4 - Track your progression
  • It is really important to monitor your progress
  • Weigh yourself and measure your waist each week
  
  
• Tip 5 - Understand your triggers
  • Think about what makes you hungry
  • This could be smells or association such as a bakery you walk past each day
  • Work out what triggers you and how to avoid it
  
  
• Tip 6 - Tea / Coffee and other hot drinks
  • Tea and coffee is good without milk and you can have as many as you like
  • Camelia’s Tea House is located at https://www.camelliasteahouse.com
  • South Lodge Hotel is located at https://www.exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge
  
  
• Tip 7 - Quieten your mind / give yourself permission to relax
  • Different people relax in different ways
  • Find your way but try to make sure that you don’t associate food with it
  • Amy Landino https://amylandino.com/why-i-write-every-morning/
  
  
• Tip 8 - Find a fasting buddy or community !!!
  • Get a fasting buddy
  • Fast 5:2 Community https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/
  
  
• Tip 9 - Reward yourself / take stock
  • Reward yourself for a short term goal that is 2 or 3 weeks away
  • Take stock and look back at what you have achieved on a regular basis
  
  
• Tip 10 - You Can Eat It Tomorrow
  • Thank you Mimi Spencer - co-author of the The Fasting 5:2 Diet for this top tip. 
  • I can’t tell you how many times I have come close to breaking the fast and I just think about this and everything is ok
  
  

• In this episode we go through a detailed overview of how to 5:2
  • Who can fast
  • Over committing !!
  • The nitty gritty of the diet
  • Monitoring
  
  
• Who can fast ? Fasting diets are not recommended for the following:-
  • People who are underweight or have an eating disorder
  • Children (under 18 years old)
  • Type 1 diabetics and diabetics taking medication for their diabetes (other than Metformin)
  • Pregnant women or breast feeding mothers
  • People recovering from surgery
  • Those who are frail or have a significant underlying medical condition should speak to their doctor first, as they would before embarking on any weight-loss regime.
  • Those who are not sure about whether it may affect their prescribed medications should to speak to their doctor first.
  • People feeling unwell or have a fever
  • Those taking Warfarin should consult their doctor first as it may increase their INR.
  • People with a history of serious mental health problems.
  
  
• Don’t Over Commit
  • Concentrate on the basics
  • When I started the 5:2 diet I committed to fasting twice a week and watching my calories on the other days
  
  
• The Calorie Bit Again. The week is divided into two sections:-
  • 5 days of the week you eat 2000 calories for females or 2500 calories for males
  • 2 days a week you eat 500 calories for females or 600 calories for males
  
  
• How many days to fast ?
  • Initially I would stick with 2 days of fasting and 5 days of non-fasting
  • I would pick the same days in the week to fast
  
  
• When to have your meals on a fast day
  • Ideally you want to get three twelve hour periods where you are not eating food.
  
  
• Plan your meals in advance
  • At the very least plan out your fasting meals each week
  
  
• Should my meals be super healthy ?
  • Ideally you should try and be as healthy as you can be but don’t give yourself another reason to fail
  
  
• What to drink ?
  • If you can you are best to stick to water
  
  
• Breaking a fast
  • I would strongly encourage you to follow through on a fast day and not break a fast. If you do it once for the wrong reason it is going to set you up to fail.
  
  
• Is it hard ?
  • Initially it does seem to be hard
  • Like any habit it does take 2 or 3 weeks to make it feel normal
  
  
• Preventing Temptation
  • Remember one of the main mantra’s you can always have it tomorrow. Thanks very much Mimi Spencer (co-author) of the Fast Diet
  
  
• Basic Monitoring
  • Weight yourself once a week
  • Take body measurements. (I wish I had)
  • Monitor your calories each day. I would use an app to do this. See advanced monitoring.
  
  
• Advanced Monitoring
  • Get a fitness tracker and scales to help you
  • Go to https://www.tdpod.com/Resources for more details.