Fasting with food? Barbara Becker reveals how “fake fasting” works

Fitness expert Barbara Becker got her penchant for a balanced diet from her mother. Just like the idea for her latest book. “My mother started fasting when she was 50 to get her osteoarthritis under control. Since then she has fasted once or twice a year. I didn’t think I could do it myself at first – without any food,” says Barbara Becker (56), who has lived in the sunny US state of Florida for many years.

But the emphasis here is on “first”, because the ex-wife of tennis star Boris Becker (55) was somehow fascinated by the idea of ​​fasting. While doing research, she came across the book “The Longevity Diet” (in English: “Eat yourself young”) by the cell biologist and age researcher Valter Longo. Her attention was caught by the chapter “False fasting”. She liked the idea of ​​fasting but not having to give up food completely. And that’s how the idea for her five-day mock fasting program came about.

Barbara Becker: “Perseverance pays off”

But while scientist Longo has a package of ready-made meals for the five-day false fast, Barbara relies on fresh and healthy meals for her “Five Days Only” program – three times a day. “It’s not such an abrupt thing,” says Barbara, adding that she not only created the recipes with the help of co-author and nutritionist Franca Mangiameli, but also together with friends.

Of course, you can’t eat as much as you like. All portions are strictly weighed. But perseverance should pay off, according to Barbara. She herself loses “usually three to four kilograms” during the cure, which she does several times a year.

“It’s also about getting a different connection to food”

But doesn’t the yo-yo effect creep in afterwards? “Of course it depends on how you behave afterwards. During the fake fasting it’s also about getting a different connection to food and thus a responsibility for your own body. So not this incision ‘now I’ll eat little for five days’ should be in the foreground, but that you continue to eat consciously and healthily after the five days of fasting,” explains Barbara.

Sport is optional during mock fasting: “If you move, you feel better. Yoga, swimming and fascial stretching are good options, but you shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Because when fasting, the body has a lot to do with itself. For example, I usually feel a little weaker on day 4. Although I have to say that it gets better every time.” In addition to the loss of stubborn belly fat, the body’s own cells are also supposed to rejuvenate as a result of the sham fasting.

“I’ve heard from friends that their husbands have lost four to five kilos by fasting”

“It’s often women who feel like it, who are motivated to take part,” says Becker about the feedback on “Five Days Only”. “I always think it’s nice to hear one or the other man say: ‘Yes, I’ll definitely be there again!’ I’ve heard from friends, for example, that their e-men lost four to five kilos by fasting, which they carried around with them for years. Or that they sleep through the night again, snore less or are simply in a better mood. Not everyone succeeds in changing something overnight. But creeping movements are a wonderful thing.”

The original of this post “Fasting with food? Barbara Becker reveals how “fake fasting” works” comes from Bunte.de.