Update on my fasting 16:8 for steadier mood

April 14, 2019 Leave a comment

It is hard to know if intermittent fasting does steady the mood. I am sure it helps with self-discipline and that has to be a good thing.

I believe the main benefits for me have been:

  1. Clearer thinking in the morning while stomach is empty
  2. Digestive system will be repairing better while stomach is empty
  3. Far less tempted by junk food as I am not eating between meals

My graph is looking busy as there are now a lot of points, as simply write in my diary the time I have my first and last food each day. Mostly first food is anywhere between 10am and 2pm. Last food is usually close to 6:30pm.

This next week I am going to be experimenting with finishing eating even earlier to see if that helps with sleep.

Intermittent fasting 16-8 update 2018-04-14th

 

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Fasting 16:8 for steadier mood

December 20, 2018 Leave a comment

As soon as I started taking prescription medications I started eating from early morning to late evening with hardly any breaks. It was something like a 8:16 diet, with at best only going 8 hours overnight without eating and sometimes eating at unearthly hours like 2am, 3am, 4am. This was not good for my body shape or my risk for diabetes.

It was not until several years after taking my last prescription medications that I felt able to tackle this excessive eating. Initially with later breakfast, then gradually further decreasing my eating window.

The outcome is that I am now averaging just under 8 hours between first food and last food and so on average going more than 16 hours per night with no food or calorific drinks.

It has taken effort and discipline, resisting early and late eating and making a note of first and last food times, to be able to share my progress graphically:

Intermittent fasting for improving mood and brain health

How might this help with stabilizing mood and improving health?

  1. Developing discipline would seem to be a good thing.
  2. Possibly the main benefit comes from being able to avoid almost all junk food, as having planned meal-times makes it easier to eat planned foods.

Am I going to stick with this?

  1. Yes
  2. Christmas time could prove tricky although I am certainly not going to get upset if I stray a little
  3. I am not planning to push this further such as 17 hours without food in each 24 although I believe I have proved that is within my grasp
  4. I may experiment with the occasional longer fast as that is said to be very good for health

I hope that by sharing this I am demonstrating just something that is possible as we leave extremes of mood behind us.

 

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Fasting responsibly to improve mood in longer term

August 4, 2017 Leave a comment

I’m not recommending the Master Fast System – just that this article and the 12 minute embedded video is making me think how, it seems, we have all been programmed to believe we cannot go for more than a few hours without eating.

Recently, I’ve been eating later in evening again and earlier in morning again and gut-pain, poor-sleep and troublesome-moods have returned. So, I’m going back to no food after 6pm and no food before 10am = 16 hours not eating and 8 hours eating. In recent times that is when I felt and functioned best.

Article and embedded video: http://www.corespirit.com/happened-body-didnt-eat-21-days/

If little time and prepared to hear the most gruesome bit then listen from 5m 30s… on to where Alanna Ketler says, “a foot and half long”.

This does highlight many of the benefits for those who have the willpower to fast for longer periods.

Best wishes

Roger

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Fat for Fuel – Dr Mercola – #Mercola

March 16, 2017 Leave a comment

Fat for Fuel is a New Book by Dr Mercola

I’ve not read it. I am not selling it. It is however, the way I have gradually been moving for sometime now. It is not only good for physical health but in the longer term is great for steadying moods. If you want to eliminate bipolar disorder then using fat for fuel is almost certainly going to help.

Mammals, and therefore all of us, work well while using fat as our main energy source. This is known as ketosis which is a word that to many people can sound bad. It is not bad, it is just what our bodies do automatically whenever we go without eating for 6 hours or so. (The exact number of hours varies from person to person.)

Question 1 of 2: In a typical 24 hours what is the longest you go without consuming any food or drink that contains carbohydrates or man-made chemicals?

I have found the easiest way to maximizing my time in fat-burning mode is not to eat or drink any carbohydrates in the morning. For me, this includes avoiding drinks with any kind of added milk, because milk contains sugar.

Whether I say I am skipping breakfast on days I do not eat before noon, or I say that I am having a very late ‘break-fast-meal’, it is the days I do this when I feel best and think most clearly.

Question 2 of 2: After reading about Fat for Fuel could you share, using the comments option, how going longer between meals and minimizing snacking helps you to be in the mood you want to be in?

A new website set up by Dr Mercola: www.fatforfuel.org

Just to make it clear… I am not being paid to advertise this… I simply believe most people would be healthier and less prone to mood disorders if eating less often and this requires us to burn fat for fuel.

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Fasting to improve mood

February 6, 2017 Leave a comment

I wrote about fasting to improve mood a month ago. I have made progress and am keen to share this.

Due to my blood sugar being a bit high (not diabetic but often higher than I want it to be) I have created a more ambitious plan for eating better quality food while overall eating less.

For 7 days now I have not eaten before noon. That is, no breakfast at all and no drinks that could be considered as food. This is a big change, for me, especially as I was brought up believing breakfast was essential. I also bought into the idea of “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” before I discovered this meme was invented by businesses that sell breakfast cereals!

I made this transition by initially eating until late in the evening. Gradually I am finishing all eating a little earlier each evening to create a genuine fast, with my first meal feeling like ‘breaking a fast’ rather than a meal called break-fast.

This is day 8. It is 12:45pm and so far not eaten today.

Before I say how I am feeling on this new regime, I want to make it clear that I am not starving myself at all. I am eating a little less but only because I find I am less hungry and more satisfied with the better quality, mainly organic, foods I am choosing.

Moods? Essentially, I am feeling mostly good. I have a little more energy, doing 10,000 steps per day, sleeping through the night and yesterday easily swam 100 lengths… okay, it was a small pool!

If you do not see an update from me within a month, please feel free to ask how my longer overnight fasting is going and how this is improving my health.

Here is my previous article on fasting to improve mood

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Intermittent Fasting to Improve Mood – Not just bipolar

January 4, 2017 6 Comments

Many psychiatric drugs have a side-effect of increased appetite.

As soon as I agreed to take Olanzapine I found I was getting hungry far more frequently while having less and less interest in exercising. On a combination of lithium and Olanzapine I steadied out at around 45 pounds heavier than my usual weight. I am sure I got off lightly as I know many people who about doubled their weight while taking Olanzapine.

I have said/blogged about how my weight came down as I reduced my lithium intake. Now, I believe the bigger factor was my being able to gradually reduce my intake of Olanzapine and eventually coming off all psychiatric drugs. My weight is now about what it was before starting on these drugs.

What has been bothering me for a while is that bad eating habits that set in while I was on Olanzapine keep coming back. Perhaps those habits have never left me.

I have read and watched lots and lots about the importance of fasting, or at least having several hours between meals and not eating when we should be sleeping. My scientific background allows me to feel I understand why eating less often is so beneficial, yet knowing stuff does not necessary make changing habits any easier.

After another stressful period I recently realized that I was again eating from early morning until late evening with perhaps a total of 12 meals/snacks! Not on any psychiatric drugs I’ve not been putting on weight but am sure all this eating has been doing me harm.

Since 1st January (yes, sounds like a New Year resolution) I have started to take overnight fasting seriously. A friend has reminded me of an info-graphic from Dr Mercola. See below.

My current plans are nowhere near so ambitious at this time. I am currently seeing getting past 9am without eating and not eating after about 7pm as great achievements and I am just starting to get benefits from this in terms of having more energy through eating less. Yes, sounds a bit bizarre, but by eating less often I mostly have more energy and feel better too.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is not a form of starvation but a way for you to time your meals to maximize your body’s ability to burn fat. Embed this info-graphic on your site to serve as a guide for you to create a healthy eating plan, and reap the many benefits of fasting done the right way. Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version… Intermittent fasting

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