Our Longevity Diet

We have now been living our intermittent fasting lifestyle for nine months, and are more convinced than ever that this is the healthiest way to live. Combine the health benefits with the fact that it is so easy to do, and lets us eat whatever we want AND we lost some weight, and it just doesn’t get much better than this.

When we started, we used to try to schedule more strenuous activities so they would occur during eating times, rather than fasting times. But now that has fallen by the wayside as unnecessary. We can do hard physical labor while fasting just easily as during eating periods — in fact it is easier, if anything — they body seems to react to fasting with a jolt of energy.

That makes sense from a biological-evolutionary perspective. When you haven’t eaten in a while is just when you need more energy, to find and process food. Since our fasts are only 23 hours long, there is no danger of muscle loss or any of the other negative effects seen in long-term fasting.

As for weight loss — it has not been dramatic, but then we really were not obese when we began — just a bit pudgy. We were each about 10% above our ideal weight according to the charts. Isabel is now very near her ideal weight, and I’m about halfway there (i.e. 5% over). The amazing thing is we have made zero effort to lose weight — it has just been a side-effect of our healthier lifestyle.

As I write this I need to pause from time to time because I am eating the last piece of Lemon Meringue pie from Thanksgiving — Isabel made two pies, and there are only the two of us. So, to make sure it doesn’t spoil, I’m foregoing my usual healthy breakfast, and having pie. Oh the sacrifices we are called upon to make!

So here is how our weights are, after nine months fasting, Thanksgiving and all:

Date - My weight (kilos) - Isabel’s Weight (kilos)

• 5 March 2008 - 99.2 - 65.9
• 2 Nov 2008 - 96.1 - 60.7
• 1 Dec 2008 - 94.5 - 61.6

Those of you who have been following along will remember my weight shot up 1.5 kilos in September and October, but all that was lost again this past month, plus another 1/10 kilo. Isabel, meanwhile, continues to fluctuate just above her ideal weight of 60 kilos, having gained 9/10 of a kilo last month.

So we are content and feeling good — now let me finish this pie…