Here is a picture showing my current diet experiment.  I’m using my own Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) eating plan which is based on Dr. Johnson’s Up Day Down Day Diet (JUDDD); and Dr. Varady’s  Every Other Day (EOD) diet; and Dr. Daugirdas’ QOD diet.

Dr. Fung’s blog, (see DietHobby’s RESOURCES, Links for a link to his blog, Intensive Dietary Management) inspired me to do additional experimentation with Intermittent Fasting.

Previously, I’ve written several articles about Intermittent Fasting diet plans here at DietHobby.  You can do a search of DietHobby for them, or you can go to DietHobby’s BLOG CATEGORIES, Fasting to find them. (Look near the middle of the right hand side of this DietHobby page to find the heading: Blog Categories.)

Much of the fasting research that is quoted by Dr. Fung in his blog and new book, The Obesity Code is from Dr. Varady’s research and experimentation of her Every Other Day diet.

The plan alternates “fasting” days with “eating” days.  Dr. Johnson refers to “fasting” days as “Down” days, and “eating” days as “Up” days.  Dr. Varady refers to “fasting” days as “Fast” days, and “eating” days sometimes as “Fed” days and sometimes as “Feast” days.  Dr, Daygurdas refers to the fasting - eating days as “On” and “Off” days.

During UP or FEAST days, total calories are to be a “normal” amount … ideally they will be no more than 10% above an individual’s Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). 

During DOWN or FAST days, total calories are to be only about 25% of  an individual’s Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

For the mythical average woman whose TDEE is 2,000 calories, an UP day would be from 2,000 (up to 2,200) calories; and a DOWN day would be no higher than 500 calories.  Alternating Up days with Down days results in a 2 week pattern of rotation making a 14 day period in which the average calorie intake would be 1250 calories daily ….then repeat, indefinitely.

MY OWN PLAN:
My UP days are based on my own personal Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is close to 1,000 calories.  Adding 10% brings it up to a total of about 1,100.  My plan calls for 3 weekly UP days.

My DOWN days of about 300 calories are close to ¼ (25%) of my TDEE.  My plan calls for 3 weekly DOWN days.

1,100 plus 300 equals 1,400 divided by 2 equals 700 calories… Therefore a 2 week rotation of this pattern would result in a total Average calorie intake of 700 calories daily.

Each week I am including one MEDIUM day of about 700 calories in order to keep every week’s rotation of individual Up & Down days consistent.

My ADF Plan includes two alternatives to my “Basic” plan.  Alternative 1 has 2 consecutive UP days on Saturday & Sunday, and Alternative 2 is has 2 consecutive UP days on Friday and Saturday.  See picture above for details.

I am 71 years old, 5'0" tall, and an inactive, reduced obese female (high weight 271 lbs) who has been maintaining a normal BMI for 10+ years, and my individual TDEE of about 1,000 is low, but not “abnormally” low.

For ME, an average daily intake of 700 calories should create a daily deficit of about 300 calories, and … according to the 3,500 calorie rule… result in a weight-loss of about ½ pound per week.

FOR PERSPECTIVE:
To bring my calorie counts into proper perspective... note that the well-known and often-used  Mifflin formula gives an "AVERAGE" person of my age, size, and activity level, a (RMR) TDEE of 1150 calories, and a BMR of 985.  I've been keeping computer records of my calorie intake & weight every day now for about 12 years, and so I know that my own TDEE is about 100 calories or so below the "AVERAGE".  Women who are younger, taller, heavier, and more active often have very little understanding or knowledge of how low the TDEE is for a short, light, inactive elderly woman... and of course, it is even less for a "reduced obese" one. 

For those people who think my TDEE calculation is too low.... HERE's a little personal lesson. Follow this link to an online calculator that uses Mifflin to determine both BMR & RMR (TDEE).  If you are a female use it to run your own numbers. After you've done that .... try changing your own age to 71, and moving yourself to "Inactive"... Look at your numbers change.  Now, change your height to 5'0".... Quite a difference, right?...  Now give yourself ...as an elderly, short, inactive person... a BMI of around 22.5 (which is somewhere near the middle of a "normal"  BMI)  by setting your weight at 115 pounds.... Now, look at the resulting numbers.... which should be around 985 BMR, and 1150 RMR or TDEE.

Emotional eating is normal behavior.  We don’t need to feel bad about it; find out WHY it happens; or stop doing it.

This past few weeks here at DietHobby,  I’ve been Scrapbooking silent gif images, mostly film clips with superimposed dialogue about food and eating, in order to illustrate the fact that our bodies are designed to make Eating Food involve our Emotions. 

It isn’t accurate to define our eating behaviors as “emotional”  or  “physical.”  The process of Eating Food, …including our Food Choices…, is BOTH physical and emotional,  in differing degrees and combinations. 

Everything we eat affects us physically AND emotionally.  All food affects our blood sugar and gives us sensual pleasure …makes us feel good.  Like all other body processes that are designed to make us feel good, it’s impossible to separate food from emotion. 

Food is not “just fuel”, just like sex is not “just reproduction”.  The body’s relationship with food, like the body’s relationship with sex, is interwoven, and driven by both physical and emotional desire. Labeling our food choices as motivated by one or the other is neither practical nor realistic.  This type of thinking about food and eating is an inaccurate, oversimplification of a complicated biological process.

“There are about seven people in the world who righteously use food as fuel.
Six of them are professional marathon runners from Kenya... ”

Our physical and emotional hungers work together …including our need and desire for food.  We receive information from all of our feelings of hunger.  Our bodies are designed to make Eating Food emotionally satisfying, as well as physically satisfying.

Eating IS emotional. Food, like sex, has an impact on the way we feel. The effects may be temporary, but they still exist, and we are allowed to utilize food as a coping mechanism if we so choose.

Everything we do in life involves CHOICE. Even refusing to choose is a choice. All of our Behaviors are based on the personal, individual choices we make as we follow our own true life VALUES.  Each of us has the mental power and the physical ability to make and follow through with personal and individual choices about our own Behaviors, despite feelings of physical or emotional hunger, ….including what, when, and how much food we will eat at any particular time.

Some might be thinking…
........“But where do I draw the line? If I let myself eat emotionally I’d NEVER STOP.”
And the answer is
........“Each one of us individually gets to draw the line.”
Where ever we want to draw it.

Every human behavior brings consequences, either positive, negative or both.  Although we have the ability to control our BEHAVIORS, we have NO ability to control our RESULTS, …the eventual outcomes of our Behaviors. 

Human bodies have many genetic differences, including height, skin color, eye color, facial features, muscle development,  placement of fat deposits.  No matter what eating and/or exercise choices we make, our bodies are limited by our genetics, and less than 2% of the population can ever become a slender, shapely model such as we see in advertisements.

Despite our individual differences, specific physical Behaviors will guarantee certain specific physical Results.  If we CONSISTENTLY eat LESS food than our individual body needs, that body will become thin, weak, tired, and hungry.  If we CONSISTENTLY eat MORE food than our individual body can use, we will store it as fat.  This is a Physical Fact of Life that Can’t be Changed.   People, however, do have the ability to choose their own Attitude as well as the positive or negative Values they place on being “Thin” or  “Fat”.

However we do it, …“eating”  …including “overeating” or “undereating”… is not a vile behavior that is supposed to lead to feelings of shame.  Each of us is free to eat however we choose at the time, for whatever reason.  

Bottom Line:   We are adults, and we can do whatever the F*** we want.

Eating is Emotional

Our Brains Generate Feelings of Satisfaction, Comfort, and Well-being when we Eat Tasty Food.