Re: Am i weird or what?

[Guest guest]

No, you're not wierd. I too happen to love the taste of plain, unsweetened,

etc. yogurt and also kefir. I find fresh cherries especially good with them in

the summertime. My only difference from what you posted is that I happen to

like my homemade yogurt better than the store yogurt and actually the reason is

I like the texture better - who knew? Anyway regarding fasting - I too

responded to that question with - well, it's easy, you just stop eating. I also

fasted in my youth - once at about 17 for 4 days and once in my early twenties

for 4 days - why? as you say, probably just to prove I could do it. I had no

deleterious effects, nothing fancy was done, all I did was drink water and then

break the fast with fruit juice and fruit the first day. I carried on my usual

routine although I also did not engage in any strenuous activity at the time.

The only benefit I derived from these experiences was very clear skin. However,

that's not enough motivation for me to fast now (I'm 48 and acne isn't exactly a

burning issue).

[Guest guest]

Hey Ben, that's one heck of a fast you did!

I would say that my own experiences with fasting corroborate your

own, in that hunger ceases after that first day. I believe it has

something to do with getting away from insulinemic fluctuations, but

whatever it is, it sure is an " unusual " state to be in, so far from

food and yet so far from hunger simultaneously.

A lot of people find the discussion of fasting to be abhorrent, I

guess those are the kind of people who schedule their bathroom breaks

during the day or something, the kind that go through the motions

of " three square meals " regardless of whether or not they are

actually hungry. I guess that kind of regularity regarding meals is

something instilled during childhood, perhaps.

In any case, I think that any approach to CR is valid and discussion-

worthy, and some people prefer to fast every now and then as their

method. It opens up the rest of the week for higher caloric intakes

that are somewhat more free from the constant vigilence that often

accompanies a more continuous brand of CR.

That said, there is a bit more research backing continuous CR, but I

believe no one is going to argue that the fasting method completely

nullifies CR benefits. Additionally, there is a smattering of

research that indicates the fasting method may be superior, but I

guess only time will tell.....

By the way, about a month or so ago, I bought some plain yogurt for

the first time in my life and took one taste, and threw it away,

telling myself " I'm never going to eat that " .......

Now, I can't even remember the last time I bought sweetened yogurt.

It seems that I too have come to have cravings for that tart,

cultured milk taste. (Now it's almost a problem, I want too much

unsweetened yogurt!)

It's interesting what CR will do for your taste preferences......

crdude35768@...

>

> I have read 2 posts on this list that made me think: Am i weird?

>

> Firstly, about Kefir and Yoghourt.

>

> john roberts said:

> " I suspect raw plain yogurt is likewise un-appealing "

>

> Are you kidding?

> It's delicious!

>

> I LOVE the clean sour taste of fresh, un-mucked-about-with yoghourt.

> I really think it's delicious.

>

> I must admit that i have never tasted Kefir, and will have to

investigate it

> (must look up that Kefir.net site), but if it's anything like

similar to

> Yoghourt, i reckon it will be good.

>

> If making Kefir is easier than making Yoghourt, it should be ok, as

i have

> had some experience with Yoghourt making, and found it fairly easy

to do:

> Mix milk with a spoonful of the previous batch of Yoghourt, keep

it warm

> (about body temp.) for about a day, and voila! (Although i have to

admit

> that i like the stuff i buy in the shops better than the stuff i

have made

> myself. Better texture, mainly). Starting it off is the hardest

part, you

> have to make sure you buy a LIVE yoghourt to seed your first home-

made ones,

> or you will get the wrong bacteria in it, and you _won't_ be happy.

>

> Taking the Yoghourt theme a bit further, I have found that low-fat

or no-fat

> Yoghourt, a couple of bananas and a small amount of something

alcoholic

> (Jamaican Rum is good), blended together and frozen to be a great

dessert.

> Keep stirring it every once in a while until it's frozen to get a

good

> texture.

>

> Maybe i should be posting this in the recipes section of the

website. How do

> i do this via email? Anyone know?

>

>

> My second point is about fasting.

> The question was: how do you fast?

>

> Mike Hester responded to this one with a good description of his

fasting

> routine. He said that he didn't have anyone else's experience to

compare it

> with, so i thought i'd contribute my totally different experience

(different

> in almost every way).

>

> I felt that Mike's post might possibly put some people off the idea

of

> fasting, as it seemed a bit involved. I'm not trying to criticise or

> anything, just present a contrasting view.

>

> My one experience of fasting (bear in mind that this was when i was

about 17

> yrs old) was remarkably easy, and my immediate reaction to the

original

> question was: " It's easy. You just stop eating! "

> Which is exactly what i did.

>

> I fasted for an entire week. In my youthful enthusiasm, i figured

that a

> week was not likely to be harmful, as it usually takes more than a

month to

> actually die of starvation (yes, i looked this up).

>

> As it happens, i was ok (please understand, i'm NOT advocating that

anyone

> tries to fast for a week. I am a long way from 17 now, and i

wouldn't even

> consider trying the same thing again).

> On reflection, maybe I was lucky that i didn't harm myself by

fasting for

> such a long time.

>

> But my point is, i didn't do anything special except stop eating,

and it was

> very easy.

>

> I ate normally the day before the fast, and the next morning,

simply had a

> glass of water instead of breakfast, and continued like that for

the whole

> week.

>

> I was hungry for a day or so, (although not ravenously), then i

just simply

> forgot about food. I don't remember feeling weak or faint or

anything. I

> continued my normal daily routine (nothing strenuous, as i was a

student at

> the time, and loafing was pretty high on my agenda), the only thing

> different was that i wasn't eating. And if anyone is wondering, No,

i wasn't

> cheating by getting calories via alcohol.

>

> After the week was up, i started drinking small amounts of fruit

juice, then

> small amounts of solid food, working my way up to my normal eating

habits

> gradually over the next day, so as not to shock my digestive system

too

> much.

>

> I was rather surprised at how easy it was, no uncontrollable urges

to eat,

> no stomach cramps or cravings or anything, so i just kept on until

the week

> was up. I believe i did have a bit of a gnarly breath for a little

while,

> but a bit of brushing and mouthwash soon coped with that. I

certainly didn't

> get people rearing back from me when i said HEllo. Oh, and now i

think of

> it, i did have a bit of headache on the first day, but that went

away quite

> quickly.

>

> The reason why i never repeated the experience was because i didn't

really

> feel any different for it, and i like eating, so basically i

thought what's

> the point? (I had never heard of CR back then, and to be honest life

> extension is probably going to be the last thing on the mind of a

seventeen

> year old male. I don't even remember why i tried it in the first

place. Just

> an experiment, to prove to myself that i could, probably).

>

> I think the message is that everyone IS different, so there is no

single

> answer. You have to find out what suits you for yourself. My

opinion is that

> if you don't eat for a day or two, it's no big deal. Our bodies are

quite

> capable of coping with short periods of no food without trouble.

Our species

> wouldn't have survived otherwise.

>

> So if you think fasting might benefit you, try it, is my advice.

>

> Just make sure you don't dehydrate, or you _will_ be in trouble.

>

> Don't be afraid of it, but do be cautious, and watch for warning

signs. My

> experience was probably the opposite end of the spectrum to the

woman that

> Mike mentioned, who passed out.

>

> Most people will probably be somewhere in between.

>

> And do bear in mind that i was young when i did this, and even

though i

> wasn't particularly robust (two pints of beer used to be enough to

give me a

> major hangover the next day), i think that my youth at the time

probably had

> a lot to do with how easy i found the experience.

>

> Any more fasting stories, anyone?

>

> BEN