How I lost over a Stone in 5 days! (see conclusion for how much more!).
In my last post I was amazed and impressed by the content of one Doctor on YouTube.
So often with YT you can take the advice with a pinch of salt. More often than not it is copy/paste or spoken by people who really have no idea other than poaching other peoples content to cash in on it.
Dr Ekberg is very different, and for me what YouTube was made for. He teaches you in his many videos here https://www.youtube.com/c/drekberg Some of the most important things to help with our food choices and the impact sugar has on our lives. Now some may say, “yeah, yeah they all do!” Well, here he uses a whiteboard and a PowerPoint screen , and evidence from published clinical data/trials, his own medical practice and his expertise is staggering! He does not patronise yet makes it easy to understand.
His understanding of the human body and how it functions is truly an education. Lets take this video… If you want to understand cancer and what it does and how to help slow it down or prevent it watch this.
But his true hobby horse is sugar and how cutting it out has so many benefits. In many of his videos he explains that in simple terms. If you eat sugar and carbs, your insulin spikes and this stores unused energy as fat (on the gut and body). If you intermittently fast. Say have a day off the next day with just water or only eat for one hour a day 23/1. Your body’s insulin drops and you go into Ketosis, where the body takes fat from the stored cells and burns it. And you lose weight but also this lowering of sugar helps in so many other ways even cholesterol, watching his video on cholesterol and how to understand it and that statins are not what they seem is an eyeopener. I suggest you take a look at his channel in more depth, Especially the best foods to eat and why.
Listen, I have tried many diets over the years, and many are good, the ‘spuddy diet’ works (especially for vegetarians and vegans)! It loses weight, but it is carbs. I have even created some recipes on this blog, and there is a link over there on the right to them (Potato Diet recipes) so take a look, and it does work. But I now need to do more. And as I age I have to be aware of Type 2 Diabetes risks, Heart Disease and Pancreatic Cancer. As that sadly runs in the family. Hence my interest in the above video.
Clearly weight loss is an important factor to just enjoying life, and being able to just move around and be independent as we age. However, it is very difficult losing weight as we get older.
I thought as an experiment I would try fasting, now I DON NOT suggest anyone copies me, this is your choice! I, five days ago stopped eating and drunk water (plenty of it) with a pinch of salt in it (electrolytes), I had black decaf coffee, and black tea with no sugar or milk (yuk I know but better than nothing as it is tasty). I didnt use and sweetener either not even stevia sweetener (stevia is the best one btw). I thought I would see how long I could last as a benchmark for taking intermittent fasting forwards, As if I could last days then alternate day fasting would be a breeze! I had a goal of 5 days. Simply because my lifestyle was getting out of control, wine, chocolate, chips, rice…
Well today is day 6 and although I could have kept going! I have just eaten a bowl of (recommended) unrefined sugar free fresh oats cooked from raw (in water) with a stevia sweetener in a little semi skimmed milk (although Full fat is recommended I need to use this up). I know right Keto diets are so strange you can eat butter and bacon? And it loses more weight on your off break fast days. I also put some mixed berries stirred in to the porridge. It was very filling! As I write this I am thinking I don’t really need lunch so will make a chicken and chickpea curry with salad for my evening meal and no alcohol even though I could have 10 ounces of wine (Pinot Noir is the best), so that’s a 10 hour fast just there and should burn the breakfast. I have also taken the vitamin supplements today (as I didn’t want to trigger the insulin during the 5 days, in some cases even sweetness on the tongue can fool the body, Vit D MultiVit E and B (plus a Omega 3 Fish oil capsule). This will clearly break my fast. But I have to be careful as this 5 day run was and experiment to test my boundaries. After this I will probably tomorrow start a 2/3 day fast water only just because at present I want to lose weight. Once I am at my goal weight, I will probably do a 23/1 or 1 day on one day off. So on my ‘on days’ I can eat what I want albeit avoiding sugar and processed foods like flour, sugar, and carbs. Rather eat plenty of meat, leafy veg, seeds and nuts.
Conclusion of this fasting experiment
It has been fun and truly an education, and as an ex chef kinda exciting to fall in love with healthy food again. And I thank Dr Ekberg for being the catalyst I needed to help me with my health and life goals. So now I suspect you are wondering what weight did I lose in those 5 days?
well….wait for it!
1.7 Stones (24 Pounds!) IN 5 DAYS!!! And I feel great. YES! So as they say the proof is in the pudding (carbs in pudding! LOL [GROAN!]. I owe this and my new outlook to Dr Ekberg… He literally has changed my life! 🙂 So go subscribe to him and enjoy learning he is very easy to understand even for us diet dummies! Remember 5 days was just a test for me and not how I will continue. I just needed to know that if I can do 5 then 2 is a breeze!
Even if you do not take his advice much of what he talks about is important to your/our longevity!
Have fun and happy weight loss and high energy and good health!
Surfwidow
