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1. I understand that the plan doesn't necessarily call for a 24 hour fasting period, but reading another thread it seems that there are essentially two schools of thought. The first being a complete caloric fast and the second being the 5/2 method that you can eat 600 cals on the fast day. I wanted to try to make it 24 hours without anything to see how it was before I decided how I wanted to proceed. Are there extended benefits of a 0 calorie fast vs. a 600 calorie fast day?
For weight loss, I think your results would be similar using either method. For health reasons (assuming you are healthy enough to fast that long) the method without the meal is much better. The theory is you want to reach a stage called autop ha g y. I spaced the word because texags blocks those four letters. It is thought to be a phase where your body breaks down old damaged proteins and cells and grows new stem cells which will rebuild once you are feeding again. I saw this breakdown of what happens during a fast
18 hours - HGH starts to skyrocket (Growth Hormone)
24 hours - autop h a gy begins
36 hours - autoph agy 300% increase
48 hours - autoph agy increases 30% more
immune system reset and regeneration
increased reduction in inflammatory response
72 hours - Autoph agy maxes out
I think I have decided to do a 4/3 fast weekly. Eat four days, fast 3 days. Three fasts per week of 47 hours should put me in a good autoph agy range 3 times per week and hopefully provide some great health benefits. At least that is my hope. I'm confident the weight will come off, but I mostly want to try this to help with joint inflammation. Might not work, but I'm going to give the free HGH and stem cells a shot. It doesn't cost any money.
If you stop eating at 7 pm on 1/1, do a fast the entire day on 1/2, and resume eating at 6pm on 1/3, you fasted for 47 hours. It is supposed to give good health benefits. It's somewhat mysterious and the exact times are estimated I think. If you eat the 500 cal meal, I'm not sure if you will reach the autoph agy stage and you may not achieve those benefits. The day isn't the deal, it's the number of hours fasted. Again, I think your weight loss might not be all that much different. Figure out what your goals are, and pick a way and go for it. You can change it up if you aren't having the desired success.
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2. Aside from the book are there any other specific materials you would suggest to read, including any caloric count sites that guide you to what to eat on the fasting days? I haven't yet purchased the book suggested in the OP, and plan on doing so, but was curious if there was anything that has helped you along?
I don't worry about calories. Last night I had two pork chops, thick ones, with mashed potatoes with real butter, lots of butter, two rolls with real butter, and a salad with real ranch dressing. If I'm eating one meal a day, or one every other day, it is going to be a good one.
I read a book called Delay, Don't Deny by Gin Stevens that was recommended by a friend. She's not a doctor, but she breaks it down in simple terms and it is an easy read. I did it on audiobook and a few commutes will cover it. I'm about to start a book called The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. He's a kidney specialist in Toronto who kind of put all this stuff together. He has a ton of videos out on Youtube and he explains how it all works.
Hope this helps.
