http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/intermittent-fasting-diets-are-gaining-acceptance/?_r=0 Valter Longo, the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, initially studied fasting in mice that showed that two to five days of fasting each month reduced biomarkers for diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The research has since been expanded to people, and scientists saw a similar reduction in disease risk factors. Dr. Longo said the health benefits of fasting might result from the fact that fasting lowers insulin and another hormone called insulinlike growth factor, or IGF-1, which is linked to cancer and diabetes. Lowering these hormones may slow cell growth and development, which in turn helps slow the aging process and reduces risk factors for disease. “When you have low insulin and low IGF-1, the body goes into a state of maintenance, a state of standby,” Dr. Longo said. “There is not a lot of push for cells to grow, and in general the cells enter a protected mode.” More at the link.
I've lost over 50 lbs now since restricting carbs from my diet. The blood sugar benefits mentioned in the article are real. The keto diet I follow is all about replacing most of the insulin in the body with ketones. For most of my adult life, I generally skipped breakfast and lunch and ate a big dinner. I drank a pot of coffee a day, too. These days , I drink 3-4 cups of coffee with 2 tbsp heavy cream in each. Typically I get 300 calories and 30g of fat this way. I eat great food. My dinner last night was a salmon and steak combo with double helping of broccoli smothered in butter and a side Caesar salad without croutons. As I was learning how the keto diet affected me, I had a few stalls where my weight would remain constant for 2-3 weeks. To combat these stalls, the diet experts recommend a fat fast. For two days, you restrict your intake to 1000 kcal/day of pure fat. For me, it was 5 cups of coffee and a half package of cream cheese. But over time I realized that these plateaus or stalls are normal and that sticking to the diet will eventually break the plateau and the weight loss resumes. I've also found that the intermittent fast helped break the plateaus quicker. Some days, I would eat a small lunch of salami, cheese, and almonds... Cutting those meals out kicks me into weight loss mode almost right away. I still eat those sorts of lunches when I am hungry - I'm satisfied I'll lose weight the following day, or soon enough. Anyhow, the intermittent fast described in the article is recommended by the keto diet experts. Good stuff.
So you eat nothing but cream cheese.... by itself..... when you're fasting? I like cream cheese as much as the next guy, but I don't know if I could do that.
I've done it maybe 3 days in the last 2 1/2 years. I like cream cheese. You can use any fat source you like, such as oil or butter. There are other recipes, such as fat bombs made of coconut oil, cocoa powder, and stevia. Some people add a tiny amount of carbs and/or protein, which gets you olives and certain kinds of nuts (macadamia for one). On the surface, the diet may seem restrictive, but it's actually not. Consider: http://eatketo.com/chicago-style-stuffed-pizza/
