Cyclical Fasting

A Cyclical Protein Sparing Modifying

Fast for Extreme Weight Loss
Introduction
What is the fastest way to lose weight? Starvation of course! Is this a healthy course to follow in order to
achieve your body weight goals? Absolutely not. But what is so harmful about starvation? The problem is
that when we go into starvation our body tends to consume large amounts of muscle, turning it into energy
to supply or fuel demands. In addition, without important minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and
calcium, our bodies can become severely sick, leading to fatigue, confusion, heart arrhythmias, and even
death. There are lots of other important vitamins and minerals that are necessary for proper bodily functions
as well. Is there a way that we can provide our bodies with all the essential nutrients while at the same time
harnessing the rapid weight loss of effects of a near fast? Indeed, there is, and it is a scientifically proven
way of diet that can help you lose 5-10 pounds within the first week on this diet and 10-20 pounds within
the first month!
Why do diets fail?
Diets fail for one of three reasons. One, the diet is too restrictive, leading too non-compliance, cheating, and
binge eating. I mean, who can eat nothing but dry chicken and steamed broccoli for weeks on end? Two,
weight loss is too slow. It’s discouraging to step on the scale after dieting for a week and only see the dial
turn ¼ of a pound when you have 40 pounds of weight to lose. At that rate it would take you 160 weeks
(or 13 years) to achieve your goal! The last reason diets fail, is that they fail to teach you how to eat
normally so that you don’t immediately gain all that hard-earned weight you just spend weeks to months
losing.
Why do we overconsume?
Overconsumption of food is a first-world luxury that is making us sick and killing us. The reason we
overconsume is twofold: One, the foods we eat in a Standard American Diet (or SAD diet), especially
processed foods, are EXTREMELY calorie dense. What happens when foods are processed, they are
stripped of their nutrients, the water and fiber is removed, and the calories are more concentrated. Another
reason diets fail is because they fail to address satiety. Satiety is the quality or state of being fed or gratified
to or beyond capacity. Essentially, it’s the feeling of fullness. When dieters attempt to calorie count as a
form of weight loss, they find that after eating just half a bagel with cream cheese and a small yogurt, they
are starving about 2 hours later and have already consumed a whopping 600 calories! Satiety can only
partly be explained by the nutrient density of the foods we eat. For example, most people feel some
sensation of fullness after eating a food high in fat, like a few almonds or other nuts. A bigger contributor to
satiety is the pressure receptors in our stomach that signal that our stomach is full. See the image below
comparing 500 calories of different foods. In which scenario do you think you will feel fuller?

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This is not to say that we must eat nothing but pure
vegetables. However, we can harness the power of nutrient-
dense, calorie-dilute foods to help us achieve satiety while
dieting. Lots of research has been performed in order to
determine which foods are more satiating than others. In
fact, just by eating foods that are 600 calories or less per
pound has been shown to cause weight loss without any
attempt to control portions.
Portion control is not the answer to long term weight loss
and health! Our bodies were made to large quantities of
nutrient-dense, calorie-dilute foods – with all the water, fiber,
and nutrients within whole-foods.

The second reason we overconsume is that we eat mindlessly. How many of our meals are consumed on-
the-go – while driving, in front of a computer, during meetings, or while watching T.V.? The antidote to
mindless eating is mindful eating.
In a large review study it was found that, on average, eating while distracted increases the amount eaten by
about 10 percent. But it also increased the amount a person ate at a later meal by more than 25 percent.
In contrast, enhancing memories of food consumed at an earlier meal reduced the amount consumed at a
subsequent meal by about 10 percent. That is a difference of 45% in calories when comparing the 2
groups!
So how do we eat mindfully and enjoy our food more fully. For starters, all meals should be consumed
sitting at the dinner table without any TV, phone, computer, or other distractors. Its just you and your food!
It’s about time you got more acquainted. Below are some other ideas of how to eat mindfully.

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Is cabbage soup the answer?
A popular fad diet in the 1990’s was the Cabbage Soup Diet. This was an extremely restricted diet where
food groups were eating in a cyclical fashion, i.e. on Monday fruit was eaten, on Tuesday vegetables,
Wednesday was proteins, etc. The cornerstone of the diet was that each day the dieters could consume an
unlimited amount of a very low calorie cabbage soup. Why cabbage soup? Because it helped the dieters
achieve satiety with a very low calorie food. Soups, in general are wonderful for helping dieters achieve
satiety on a restricted diet. We will be incorporating vegetable soups into our diet as well.
Practice Normal Eating
A groundbreaking and depressing study showed that 95 percent of people who lose weight on a diet regain
it within a few months or years. This is simply because people go back to their normal eating habits as soon
as they finish the diet. What a diet should do is to help you achieve a lifestyle change – a new way of eating
to which you are committed to the rest of your life. This is not the restricted diet that helped you achieve the
weight loss. This is a balanced, fulfilling, and healthy form of eating you will help you to maintain your hard-
earned weight loss. We will be practicing normal eating 1-2 times per week on this diet.
What is the optimal diet?
This is a topic that is beyond the scope of this booklet. In short, recent science has determined that a
whole-foods, plant-based diet is the optimal diet for health, longevity, and maintaining ideal body weight.
This means that you avoid processed foods and eat foods only in their whole form and that you obtain the
majority of your nutrients from plant-based sources, such as vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, and starches.
All of these foods are nutrient dense, calorie dilute foods.

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Setting up the diet-
#1 – Finding your ideal body weight
Use the chart below to find your ideal body weight. My guess is that your ideal body weight is below what
you thought it should be. This is because or culture have shifted where what we consider normal is a body
weight well above what is ideal for health. However, use the chart below as a guide. You decide, preferably
with the help of your doctor, what your ideal body weight will be.

My current body weight is: _________________________

My ideal body weight is:___________________________
Weight loss goal (in pounds)________________________

#2 – Determining calorie consumption at your ideal body weight

Using your ideal body weight above, how many calories should you be consuming to maintain that body
weight? You need to practice eating this level of calories 1-2 times a week throughout this diet. You will
need to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Use the following calculator to determine
your TDEE: https://tdeecalculator.net/
My TDEE at my Ideal Body Weight is:____________________

#3 – Setting up the fast

This diet is a cyclical fast. You will be restricting your diet to lean proteins and vegetables for 2-3 days at a
time, followed by a day of eating a well-balanced diet at the calories calculated above. For the fast you will
be eating 1 serving of protein listed in the first column 3-4 times a day. Fibrous vegetables are essentially
unlimited. I highly recommended making a batch of soup out of the listed vegetables that will last you 2-3
days, seasoning it how you would like it with different spices (no seasonings that contain sugar!), and
consuming your delicious soup as much as you’d like throughout the day.

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 Proteins Fibrous Vegetables
Skinless Chicken Breast Cabbage
Egg Whites Celery
Extra lean ground beef (95-98%) Green beans
Low-fat tofu Broccoli
Fat-free cottage cheese Cauliflower
Fat-free cheese Asparagus
Low-fat seafood (tilapia, tuna, cod, halibut, shrimp, Spinach
etc.) Zucchini
Protein powders (preferably plant-based) Brussel sprouts
Lentils (limit to 1 serving per day) Onions
Tomatoes
Jalapenos
Peppers (green, red, yellow)

#4 – Supplementation
During each day of the fast, you must consume either a Fish Oil of Flaxseed supplement, as well as a
Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium supplement. This is extremely important to avoid the negative side
effects of electrolyte depletion.

#5 – Eating “normal”
1-2 times a week you will practice eating maintenance calories at your ideal body weight. Mind you, since
you weigh above your ideal body weight, calorie consumption at this level will still leave you in a calorie
deficit, and this, you will continue to lose weight during your normal days! However, do expect a slight
weight increase the day following eating “normal” as your glycogen stores will be replete, leading to your
body holding on to more water. The important thing is that even with this minor weight jump, your body
continues to lose fat. Generally, only weigh yourself twice a week before your first meal on your normal
eating days.
During your normal eating days, use a Mobile app tracking device such as MyFitnessPal to track your
calories on these days. MyFitnessPal’s current default goals distribute calories as follows: 50% from
carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat. This is a pretty good starting point. Again, you must
decide what your ideal diet will look like for the rest of your life, preferably in consultation with your doctor.
My recommendation would be a diet based around whole-foods (cutting out all processed foods, white flour,
sugar, and oils) and most of your foods being from plant sources, such as vegetables, fruits, whole-grains,
and starches.

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#6 – How to plan your diet
The diet will be structured in the following manner:
Day 1 - Weight before first meal: ____________________________
Normal day of eating
Day 2 - Fasting diet + Supplements
Day 3 - Fasting diet + Supplements
Day 4 - Weight before first meal: ____________________________
Normal day of eating
Day 5 - Fasting diet + Supplements
Day 6 - Fasting diet + Supplements
Day 7 - Fasting diet + Supplements

#7 – Exercise
A minimum of 30 minutes of formal exercise should be a daily commitment for the rest of your life.
Cardiovascular work is important for heart health, but weight bearing exercises have the benefit of preventing
osteoporosis, stimulating your metabolism, and adding muscle to your frame. A combination of both
cardiovascular work and weight training is ideal.