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PERIODIC FASTING AND CALORIC RESTRICTION FOR LIFE EXTENSION, TREATMENT
OF DISEASE,
AND ENHANCED CREATIVITY.
(clinical and experimental data)
You
can achieve a low-calorie lifestyle in two alternative ways:
(a) Regular (continuous)
caloric restriction, the same calorie-level every day;
or
(b) Periodic total-fasting days, with normal calorie-level
on other days.
Which of these two approaches is better?
Although regular caloric restriction
has been proved to be an effective life-extending technique,
we in fact strongly recommend you to choose the alternative
approach (periodic fasting). Below we set out some reasons
for this.
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If you are serious about achieving
optimum results by means of caloric restriction, there
are several important reasons to choose the PERIODIC FASTING
method, rather than simply a constant calorie-level each
day.
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Fasting
can not only extend the lifespan and have beneficial preventive
action, it can also be an effective curative and treatment
method. While fasting, the whole organism has an opportunity
to cure itself, due to an intensification of natural repair
processes. Caloric restriction has not been proven to have
such powerful curative benefits. |
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Pleasure of eating.
To take an example, if you are aiming for an 1800 kcal daily
average and fasting 100 days per year, then on the other
days you do not need to restrict yourself to 1800 kcal a
day; you can eat a "normal" 2500 kcal ration of
daily meals. (You should of course in any case take care
to eat healthy, high-quality food). |
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Psychological benefits.
After the second day of fasting you normally do not feel
hunger; whereas, while on a calorie-restricted diet, it
is not uncommon to feel hunger every day. With experience,
it is much easier to get used to fasting. |
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Religious aspects.
In almost every religion there are prescribed fasting-days.
If you are a believer you can fast in accordance with the
religious calendar, and experience the spiritual benefits
as well as the physical ones. |
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Time saving. While
on an ordinary caloric-restriction regime you have to spend
time eating meals 365 days per year. But with the alternative
method you save that time on fast-days. If fasting 100 days
per year, you only spend time eating on the remaining 265
days. |
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To help
in implementing your new caloric-restriction lifestyle,
below we present some simple practical calculations which
we hope will make these ideas more specific. You can use
one of these ready-made plans, or develop your own. We just
want to help you to get started! We outline 5 basic plans,
with variants, for several calorie-intakes (1000 - 1500
kcal/day, average) and with different amounts and durations
of fasting (nearly all the plans include fasting days).
We recommend plan III as a good starting-point; but you
can choose the one which appears most suitable, and then
perhaps modify it in the light of experience. |
I. WITHOUT
LONG FASTING PERIODS
This plan is more suitable for women as the caloric intake
is generally too low for males. The program is recommended
for disease prevention.
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a)
.
On each of the 365 days of the year your intake is 1000
kcal. Total calories per week: (7 x 1000 kcal).
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b)
. On each "full feeding day" (6 per
week) one should take
[7000 / 6].
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c)
. On each "full feeding day" (5 per
week) one should take
[7000 / 5].
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II.
WITHOUT LONG FASTING PERIODS
This program is recommended for disease prevention.
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a)
.
Each day (365 days per year) your intake is 1500 kcal. Total
calories per week:
[7 x 1500 kcal].
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b)
. On each "full feeding day" (6 per
week) one should take
[10500 / 6].
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c)
. On each "full feeding day" (5 per
week) one should take
[10500 / 5].
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III.
WITH MODERATE FASTING (program for one year)
This program is recommended both for disease prevention
and disease treatment.
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The program
comprises 4 cycles per year (Fig. 1).
The length of one cycle is 13 weeks, comprising: 1 "", 1 "" and 11 "").
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Arithmetic:
"" comprises 7 days
of 0 kcal; total 0 kcal
""
comprises 7 days of gradually-increasing caloric intake
(see below); total 5200 kcal
)
plus 1 fasting day (0 kcal). (We suggest Tuesday or Friday
for the fasting day.) Total 12000 kcal per week in these
weeks.
So total caloric consumption in one 13-week cycle is 137,200
kcal [= 0 + 5200 + (12000 x 11)], and total intake in
1 year is 548,800 kcal [137,200 x 4 cycles]. The average
caloric intake over the year is [548,800 / 365] = 1504
kcal/day (approximately 1500 kcal).
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We suggest choosing
this program as a good starting-point. It comprises (7 + 7 + 7 + 7 days) and
this is probably easiest to follow as these form a regular
pattern. The fasting periods are evenly distributed within
the year (Fig. 1).
As alternative variants, you could choose a program with
(7 + 7 + 14 fasting days);
or (either 14 + 14 fasting
days, or 7 + 21 days). |
(for 1500 kcal/day plan). After the 7 day total
fast the recovery period ("recovery week") will
also be 7 days. On the first day after the end of the fast
(the 8th day after the start of the fast) you should take
200 kcal; on the 2nd day 300 kcal; on the 3rd day 400; on
the 4th, 600; on the 5th, 900; on the 6th, 1200; and on
the 7th day 1600 kcal. So during these 7 "recovery
days" your total intake will be 5200 kcal. |
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Fig.1 Time pattern
of caloric intake for Plan III
(average 1500 kcal/day, moderate fasting program with 4 total-fast
weeks per year).
Intake is shown for each day for the whole year.
Total no. of fasting days: 72 per year. |
IV.
WITH MODERATE FASTING (program for one year)
This program is highly recommended both for disease
prevention and for disease treatment. In most cases
it is equally suitable for people with low body-weight.
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The
program comprises 4 cycles per year. The length of
one cycle is 13 weeks (1 "fasting week",
1 "recovery week" and 11 "ordinary
weeks". |
Arithmetic:
" comprises
7 days of 0 kcal; total 0 kcal.
""
comprises 7 days of gradually increasing caloric
intake; total 4500 kcal (see below).
""
comprises 6 full-feeding days (1450 kcal/day) plus
1 extra fasting day (0 kcal). (We suggest Tuesday
or Friday for the fasting day.) Total intake: 8700
kcal per week in these weeks.
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Total caloric
intake in 1 cycle (13 weeks) is 100,200 kcal [0 +
4500 + (8700 x 11)]. Total intake in 1 year is 400,800
kcal [100,200 x 4 cycles]. Average caloric intake
is [400,800 / 365] = 1098 kcal/day (approximately
1100 kcal).
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(for 1100 kcal/day plan). After the 7
day total fasting period (0 kcal/daily) the recovery
period is also 7 days. On the first day after the
end of a 7 day fast (the 8th day after starting the
fast) you should take 200 kcal; on the 2nd day 300
kcal; on the 3rd day 400; on the 4th, 600; on the
5th, 800; on the 6th, 1000; and on the 7th day 1200
kcal. So for the 7 days of the "recovery week"
your total intake will be 4500 kcal.
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V.
WITH CURATIVE FASTING (program for one year)
This program (suitable for both men and women)
is highly recommended for treatment of many chronic
diseases.
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The
program comprises 2 cycles per year. The length of
one cycle is 26 weeks, containing a total of 3 fasting
weeks and 20 "ordinary weeks", as follows:
1 "fasting week" plus 1 "recovery week",
then 8 "ordinary weeks"; then 1 "fasting
fortnight" plus 1 "recovery fortnight",
and finally 12 "ordinary weeks". See Fig.
2.
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Arithmetic:
"" and "" comprise
7 days and 14 days of 0 kcal/day; total 0 kcal.
""
comprises 7 days of gradually increasing caloric
intake (see below); total 5100 kcal.
""
comprises 14 days of gradually increasing caloric
intake (see below); total 10200 kcal.
""
comprises 5 full-feeding days (1700 kcal/day) plus
2 extra fasting days (0 kcal). (We suggest Wednesday
and Friday for the fasting days.) Total intake 8500
kcal/week in these weeks.
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Total caloric
consumption in 1 cycle (26 weeks) is 185,300 kcal
[0 + 5100 + 0 + 10200 + (8500x20)]. Total intake in
1 year is 370,600 kcal [185,300 x 2 cycles]. Average
caloric intake over the year is [370,600 / 365] =
1015 kcal/day (approximately 1000 kcal).
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. After the 7 day fast the recovery
period is also 7 days. On the first day after the
end of the fast (the 8th day after the start of the
fast) you should take 200 kcal; on the 2nd day 300
kcal; on the 3rd day, 400; on the 4th, 600; on the
5th, 900; on the 6th, 1200; and on the 7th day 1500
kcal. So during the 7 days of this "recovery
week" your total intake will be 5100 kcal.
After the 14 day fast the recovery period is correspondingly
longer, and consists of 14 days with daily intakes
of 200 + 200 + 300 + 300 + 400 + 400 + 600 + 600 +
900 + 900 + 1200 + 1200 + 1500 + 1500 kcal. So during
this 14 day recovery period your total intake will
be 10200 kcal. |
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Fig.2 Time
pattern of caloric intake for Plan V
(average 1000 kcal/day; curative fasting program with 6
total-fast weeks per year).
Intake is shown for each day for the whole year.
Total no. of fasting days: 122 per year |
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