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Thoughts after two weeks of JUDDD, or Alternate Day Dieting
Results, 1.2 lbs lost for the week and a total of 8 lbs lost. This is the same weight loss pattern I have when doing Low Carb with a 20 net carb limit and ~1500 calories per day. However, with 500-600 calories on the "down" day and 1600-1800 on the up day, I have had well over 100 gr net carbs on some of those days. Somehow this high level of carbs did not unleash any cravings or feelings of blood sugar highs and lows - much to my surprise. I wish I had a blood glucose meter to know what is really going on.
I won't say it's always easy to do or I didn't want to quit on one or two of the down days. But it is just ONE day to hang on and get through. I think about what I will have on the next day; one day I was looking forward to grapefruit. I have some cookies I really like in the house, but decided I'd rather have some peanuts on the up day. With this diet there really are no restrictions on the up day, but they do suggest that you should try to avoid gorging yourself. I have been tracking my up days to see where my calories and carbs will fall and it turns out that I get full, really full at about 1800 calories. The calorie estimator (based on age, height, weight, sex and activity level) at the JUDDD site says I should maintain on 2300 calories. Yes it is only an estimate and could be wrong for me, but if it is true then I am undereating even on my up days. I do "gain back" up to 1 lb after the up day, but always lose after a down day.
I believe this method is helping me change the head game that had evolved from too many years of dieting (and regain), where "forbidden foods" tended to make me go overboard when I caved and indulged. And this is phenomenon happening quite quickly. I have an artichoke and an ear of corn I'm really looking forward to eating, and am less concerned about some chocolate and those cookies which are sitting in plain sight in my kitchen. Because in fact I can have them or not. They've lost their "charge" and thrill. Also I've noticed that sweet stuff almost tastes disgustingly sweet.
For folks that are interested, Dr. Johnson's program favors low fat, doesn't find anything wrong with artificial sweeteners. He says you can lose weight having up to 50% of your normal calories on your down day. He also says if you get bored with it, switch to eating your meals within an 8 hour window and you may still lose weight without having any severely reduced calorie days. His study shows a vast improvement for asthma patients with the alternate day diet. Dr. Varady favors a high protein approach on the down days and seems less concerned about fats. She has an interview with Dr. Mercola available on youtube. She has done most of the research on this method of dietary restriction and continues to do more. I'm impressed with the interesting questions she has about why this works and why it reduces inflammation, cholesterol and blood sugar and the studies she designs to explore it.
Going forward, I'm moving to 600-700 calories on the down days and better carb choices on my up days.
Diet Calendar Entry for 22 April 2016:
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709 kcal
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Fat: 38.75g | Prot: 52.18g | Carb: 38.57g.
Breakfast: Tangerine, Best Foods Mayonnaise Dressing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon, Trader Joe's Half & Half, Coffee, The Happy Egg Co. Large Brown Free Range Eggs. Lunch: Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter, Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese, San Luis Sourdough Sourdough Cracked Wheat Bread (28g). Dinner: Hellmann's Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cooked Artichoke (from Fresh), Pork Loin (Tenderloin). more...
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