This week's episode is a day by day diary of an experiment in extended fasting that Ian and March did in November of this year. Their plan was to fast for five days using a protocol created by Dr. Valter Longo, an expert on the positive health effects of fasting. Fasting is known to have a host of benefits ranging from helping to correct metabolic diseases like diabetes to strengthening the immune system and reducing the risk of cancer. Dr. Longo's fast mimicking diet involves eating only a few hundred calories of food each day for 5 days. This makes it easier to maintain than a water-only fast while having many of the same health benefits. So let's hear how they got on!
Show Notes
- 00:00 - What is a fast mimicking diet and why would you do it?
- 01:40 - March & Ian discuss doing a 5 day fast
- 03:58 - Ian hatches the plan to record the fasting daily diary for the show
- 04:37 - Ian wants March's warnings about what to expect - including hunger pangs and the 'keto flu'
- 10:55 - Ian wants to know if he can exercise while fasting
- 11:57 - Day 1 diary
- 12:47 - March had a foggy day, maybe not enough coffee?
- 15:12 - A fan tells Ian the seaweed snack from our meal plan is super popular in Taiwan
- 16:10 - Day 2 diary
- 16:45 - March's sleep starts to get way better while fasting
- 17:06 - Ian suffers through eating vast quantities of spinach
- 18:08 - Something weird happens to Ian's teeth
- 21:29 - Ian starts measuring his ketones & blood glucose
- 24:16 - Day 3 diary
- 24:51 - Ian and March are delighted to realize their fast will end on Friday night, not Saturday!
- 26:50 - March makes the mistake of watching The Great British Bake-Off while fasting
- 28:20 - Ian wakes up feeling pretty shaky
- 29:39 - Ian figures out the mystery of his weird teeth thing
- 32:00 - Day 4 diary
- 32:46 - Ian has heart palpitations and is understandably freaked out
- 38:02 - Day 5 diary
- 38:36 - We find out whether Ian's racing heart caused him to quit the fast early
- 40:17 - Ian & March discuss missing food and their new found empathy for anyone who goes hungry
- 49:41 - How to measure poverty and how hunger fits into it
- 52:40 - Conclusions
- 52:30 - Ian & March have a bumpy end to their five day fasts
- 1:01:00 - The risks of fasting & dieting for people suffering from disordered eating
- 1:03:10 - Ian & March talk about whether they'll do another fast in the future
Mentions
Ian & March's 5 Day FMD meal plan
Green tea & water ad libitum
DAY 1 (1180 KCAL)
- 2 avocado 322kcal
- 57g salted macadamia nuts 408kcal
- 100g spinach (raw
or lightly steamed) 46 kcal
- 200g steamed broccoli 34kcal
- 1 bouillon
cube 16kcal
- 2 cloves steamed garlic 8kcal
- 5g package dried seaweed 24kcal
DAY 2-5 (858 KCAL)
- 1 avocado 322kcal
- 57g salted macadamia nuts 408kcal
- 100g spinach (raw or lightly steamed) 46 kcal
- 200g steamed broccoli 34kcal
- 1 bouillon cube 16kcal
- 2 cloves steamed garlic 8kcal
- 5g package dried seaweed 24 kcal
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