Day 4 - All Mixed Up

Day 4 Update:

Well, Mike and I certainly had different experiences on "The Day After The Fast." Mike recovered nicely. Although being tired, he only ate breakfast (with me), a big lunch, and a normal dinner. He was feeling good about the experience as a whole.

I, on the other hand, was hungry every 2 hours. At 9:30am, only a meager hour and a half after my cream of wheat breakfast, my brain would not shut up...nor would my stomach. "EAT! YOU'RE HUNGRY! EAT!" So I had a bowl of Lucky Charms. Then at 11am, I was hungry again. So I ate some leftover macaroni and cheese. At 3pm, I ate a half serving of leftover risotto. I just couldn't stop eating today! I even had a larger than normal dinner serving. Clearly, my body's reaction to fasting is, "Okay, there's food around. NOW EAT!! EAT IT ALL!!!" According to Dr. Michael Mosley, this is totally normal because that's what our ancestors went through. Feast then famine then feast then famine. And this is all programmed into our genes. I'm just doing what my body has been programmed to do. Maybe Mike's genes are just better than mine, better programmed to feast and famine events. LOL!

Interesting Facts:

IGF-1 is a hormone that tells your body to produce new cells. Sounds good, right? Sure, you need new cells when you're young and growing. Yet as you age, you really don't need as much IGF-1. Then you're like a car. You can't keep driving it forever. It needs oil changes, parts need to be replaced, etc.

Now consider: When IGF-1 levels are high, your body does not repair existing cells. High IGF-1 levels are also associated with many different cancers! The western diet really encourages people to eat lots of protein and protein keeps IGF-1 levels high. You need protein, but you don't need half as much as people have you believe. According to The Fast Diet, it is recommended that you eat 0.8g of protein for every kilogram you weigh. Yes, you're going to have to convert pounds to kilograms.

Why do I mention this? Because during fasting, IGF-1 levels decrease and therefore, your  body realizes, "Oh, I don't need new cells. I need to repair what I've got so that I can survive through this period with a lack of calories." And THAT'S a big reason why Mike and I are doing the 5:2 diet. Lower IGF-1 levels means we're less prone to cancers, we're letting our bodies repair themselves as they were genetically designed to do during feast-famine conditions, and we may very well live healthier longer because of it.