Our Longevity Diet

For several years I have suffered from frequent cramping of my leg and foot muscles. Only very rarely did I have a full-blown ‘charlie horse’ where the big thigh muscle cramps, but almost every night I’d get cramps in the calf muscles or in my feet — either just before I fell asleep, or (much worse) waking me up from a sound sleep. I tried to solve this problem by drinking lots of water, and that was semi-successful — I had about half as many leg cramps as previously.

Since beginning this intermittent fasting regime, the leg cramps have disappeared completely. I haven’t had one in weeks. Not expecting this benefit, I didn’t notice when they stopped — it is only in hind-sight that I noticed. Am I drinking more water? Probably, since that is all I can ingest for about half of each day. Or is the fasting contributing to the cessation of cramps? That may be a factor too. Fasting clears out toxins and accumulated waste products, making the biological functions more efficient. Cramps are usually attributed to a deficiency in specific minerals (magnesium, potassium, calcium, or sodium). Since I am not eating any differently than before beginning the intermittent fasting regime, I’m certainly not ingesting any more of those minerals. But it may be that my body is more efficient at absorbing and using the needed minerals. I really don’t know.

All I’m sure of is that it works. The cramps are gone. I’m getting the same exercise, the same diet, and everything else in my life seems about the same. Only the timing of WHEN we eat has changed. We fast 23 hours out of every 48. We are also still losing weight — but I’ll leave that discussion for a future post.

The first two weeks of this intermittent fasting routine were a bit difficult. We were not used to going without food for any longer than a good night’s sleep. Thirty years ago, when I was in college, I went three days without consuming anything but water — so I knew 24 hours wasn’t going to kill us, but it still came as something of a shock to our systems. My stomach was grumbling so loud on fasting nights that it nearly woke the neighbors.

But it wasn’t too difficult. Just strange, and slightly uncomfortable. We felt a bit lethargic on fasting mornings, and Isabel claims I was a bit grumpy (who me? …  I’m sure she was right). But with time we grew more accustomed to our strange 48 hour time cycles. Yes there was a slight tendency to eat more during our first meal after fasting, because we were ’so hungry’ — and another tendency to eat a bit more at our last meal before a fast (i.e. the next main meal) because we knew it would be our last for a while — but the uncomfortable feeling of being ’stuffed’ broke us of that bad habit within the first week.

Also, as time went on, it didn’t seem so long between meals when we were in a fast period. My stomach still grumbles a little, but not so alarmingly loud as before. A big glass of water will usually quiet both the grumbling and slight tinges of hunger. By the time my stomach realizes it has been tricked, I’m either asleep or it is time for our next meal.

There is also a psychological effect. We no longer feel like slaves to our appetites. Missing a meal or two is no longer a big deal, in fact it is an everyday occurrence. We walk to town and see people eating while they walk, and notice how fat they are. Those poor people! Don’t they know they can get along just fine without food for a few hours? How can you possibly enjoy that ice-cream cone while walking down a busy street, talking to friends and dodging obstacles (Mexican sidewalks are filled with obstacles, from candy vendors and telephone poles, to huge piles of construction material and crowds of people standing around chatting)?

That reminds me of another benefit from this fast — when we do eat, especially that first meal after our fast — food tastes so good! I have always enjoyed Isabel’s cooking, but now I seem more aware of the subtle spices and can savor the rich flavors with greater appreciation.

Life is short, so we need to live with joy while we can. I can not imagine suffering through a 40% caloric restriction diet for the rest of my life — I would be miserable. What is the point of living a long time if you can’t enjoy it? This intermittent fast is so easy it is enjoyable. I feel stronger and healthier, have fewer of the age related aches and pains I’ve grown to expect, and I’m more aware — more awake — I feel more alive! I certainly never expected it to be like this.

Hi, I’m Andrew — that’s me in the picture at upper right. And standing next to me is my beautiful wife Isabel. I have lived in Mexico since 2000, and married Isabel in 2001 — she is a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

As you can see, neither of us are obese. In fact we both are just about 10% over our ideal weights, according to the charts. I’m 6′ 3″ (191 cm) tall and in my mid-50s. Isabel is 5′ 4″ (162 cm) and recently turned 40 — but don’t tell anyone that, it’s a state secret. When we were married in June 2001 we were both near our ideal weights, I was 197 pounds (89.5 kilos) and she was 126 pounds (57 kilos). ‘Scuse me if I don’t give the weights in pounds (or how about stones?) from here on — you can always convert those yourself if you are metric impaired.

A couple years ago I got up to 104 kilos and Isabel was just over 67 kilos. She is just too good of a cook! We tried a version of the Atkins diet, but actually gained a little weight. After that, I eschewed specific diets, but Isabel tried several others. I tried to eat a bit less and exercise more. Isabel tried several very restrictive diets, hated them all and lost very little weight. I refused to follow any diet that I could not see myself following for the rest of my life — so none of the one’s she came up with fit the bill.

As of March 5th, 2008 — the day we began this intermittent fasting — I weighed 99.2 kilos and Isabel was 65.9 kilos. She had just completed two months on a very restrictive diet, and had lost .3 kilo in those months. I recommended the intermittent fast for its health benefits, I didn’t really expect to lose any weight since we made no attempt to cut down on total calories. I was never much of a breakfast eater, so two meals a day was normal for me. Isabel was still concerned with losing weight, so tried to avoid snacking and limited the portions of high-calorie foods she ate.

Now, at the end of our first month with the intermittent fast, I weigh 97.7 kilos (a loss of 1.5 kilos, or 1.5% of my body weight) and Isabel weighs 63.6 kilos (a loss of 2.3 kilos, or 3.5% of her body weight). We were both amazed at that. I hadn’t expected to lose anything, and she felt like she was eating so much more than on that previous diet that she was afraid she would gain, rather than lose. That weight loss, plus the fact that this diet is so easy I can see it lasting a life-time with no qualms; caused me to start this blog to share with others this amazing discovery.