Intermittent Fasting
 

Anyone have any experience doing this? I plan to start on Monday.


I have researched it quite a bit and am willing to give it a try. I will probably do the 16:8 plan. Sixteen hours fasting, eight hour window to eat. My plan, and it will probably change, is to eat two meals totaling around 1600 calories between 11 AM-7PM. I plan on drinking a shit ton of water to help and possible supplement an occasional caffeine pill in the morning.

I don't eat on Thursdays. All I do is drink beer. Then I just piss that out of my ass. So I get a poor mans colostomy to boot.

A clean colon is a happy colon.

I’ve eaten this way for years now. My feeding window is noon to 8 pm. I workout mid afternoon after consuming a small 200-300 calorie “meal” to break my fast at noon.

Tons of people on this board do it. Used to be a frequent topic on the workout thread.

People used to think we were nuts for doing it 5 years ago. Now it’s become a popular “diet.” Lots of ways to go about it. I do more alternate day fasting in the model of Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon with longer fasts (on true fast days I stop eating by 8pm night before and don’t eat until 7pm next day). Though I end up fasting most weekdays because I tend to just have more energy and feel better while fasted during the day

I am back on the Keto Diet.... Very similar to Atkins. My blood glucose numbers have went up and I need to drop about 30 lbs as well. After about 8 days being on it my BG numbers are close to normal

Dr. Berg on Youtube... look him up

Yep, currently doing the 16:8, working my way towards actually fasting where you don't eat for a day or longer. Still researching that because it feels weird to not eat at all.

I do a fast once a week usually. Some weeks I am unable to.

I've been doing a 5/2 intermittent fast since October... It's reset my sleep cycle and I've lost 40 lbs.

Not eating for 24 hours is actually pretty easy.

Your hunger will peak around your usual breakfast time and around lunch, but will go away after a while.

I've done 24 hours fasts many times and I feel like I could go for way longer after that 24th hour.

I don’t see the need for a 24 hour fast but also nothing wrong with doing it.

Sometimes I’ll go 20 hours without eating if it’s a long day at work and I skip lunch. My feeding window then shrinks from 4-8 pm. I don’t do that often though.

Yep, If I'm doing 16:8, I generally don't gain any weight, regardless of what I eat. I can really slim down doing it if I eat well.

There is a Canadian doctor, Jason Fung, who advocates IF for treatment of diabetes.

My current treatment regimen is not really controlling it, so I am considering this, but i would have to build up to it.

He has his worst diabetes patients fast for 7 to 21 days to start, then move either an every other day IF, or a 16:8 fasting window.

He wrote a book about it that I am currently starting on my kindle.

Fasting scares me, I tend to be a dick when I get really, really hungry, but I feel like I need to do something radical to help get my A1C and blood sugar down.

Don't know shit about it,was concerned it could promote diabetes guess I was wrong about it

I really don't understand fasting. I get you would not want to eat to lose weight (cuz, yanno, you aren't eating any calories during a fast), but what if you don't want to lose weight. Just want to be healthy. Why would you fast? Back when I read a lot about working out and nutrition 8 years ago, fasting seemed like a terrible idea. I'm willing to acknowledge there have been new studies and new schools of thought that has emerged, but not eating will promote fat storage. We were hunters and gatherers, perusing on whatever we can find. So when your body doesn't get what it is expecting, it goes into fat storage mode thinking the next feast might be difficult. Also, fasting then eating a bunch wouldn't be good for your insulin levels I wouldn't think. I had always read eating small meals very often was the absolute best way to have the least amount of fat storage and to maintain the best insulin levels. Why would this not be accurate?

I think fasting forces the body to burn fat reserves instead of storing more

I have been using this since right after Christmas, and have dropped at least 12 pounds. I don't know what my high weight was, but it was probably 232 at least, if not 235. I am now at 220 and dropping. Minimal exercise at this time too. When the weather warms up... March or April, I plan to add a bit of walking/jogging eventually into my routine... but I am hoping I am nearing the 200 mark by that point in time. I'm shooting to get down to the 185-190 range, and then hold it by staying on the 16:8 once I get there.

Why wait?

I'm doing the same diet as lewdog ,except with Vodka.

My uncle lost 130 pounds eating nothing but green beans and drinking beer everyday.

Ive heard many good things about this Dr. Berg on you tube. On the other hand, I`m old enough to have seen so many fads and diets come and go that I am more convinced than ever they are all marketing gimmicks to make some folks very wealthy. In the end, it is calories in, calories out. Everything is fine but keep it in moderation. Weight loss needed? Eat less. Want to feel more energy? Get out and move a little whether it be walking, jogging, running, biking or swimming or whatever. Key word is MODERATION. Unfortunately most of us, me included, go overboard most of the time with the wrong foods or drinks.

The one and only diet that worked best for weight loss for me was the "Throat cancer weight loss diet" lol.......If you dont eat very much for roughly 4 months, you`ll lose about 40-50 lbs garaunteed haha. I`ve gained half of that back now and want to hold it where I am today.

I like to fast for 2, maybe 3 hrs max.

I go to work before sunup, and get home not long before sundown. Waiting for it to warm up a bit too! Too lazy to walk in the dark and cold! :D

I can tell you my Dr. would freak if I tried doing the fasting bit....what I have bolded above is what he told me would be best for me being a type 2 diabetic.

Following his instructions I have lost 54 lbs.....taken my A1C down, and maintained a blood sugar level in the 80's.

It's basically Atkins with more green veggies ... Don't count calories, put your body in ketosis and the weight will melt away... Sure you can lose weight starving all the time but you are also more likely to quit than on this way of eating... Dump the potatoes and bread and sugar or anything that turns to sugars (carbs) in your system... Get your limited carbs from low carb green veggies (see glycemic index ) and you have no other choice but lose weight... I have to go low carb because I am diabetic, I can't eat those breads , oatmeal and stuff like that , they jack my Blood Glucose up.

Yep, and your hunger melts away. My problem is I like beer so I'll do Keto for 30 days and doing great but then I have some beer and then two weeks later I'm still on beer . the cycles suck. So again I'm starting Keto tomorrow. Always after football season.

I know I love beer too but I am taking a hiatus from it... I got lazy with my Blood Glucose numbers and don't want to be a ticking time bomb... This shit killed my Mom, she got so bad she had a toe amputated in the Dr's office that was so dead they didn't even have to numb her foot... Even though I have had the shit for 11 years, I have suffered no complications from it to date

Facesitting should always be done intermittently.

Day one down. Lost 2.8 pounds. Realize this is mainly water weight.

When I fast for a whole day I'm not really even hungry the next morning. Usually that afternoon a little.

How is the sugar free/white Monster considered during IF? I gotta have some caffeine in the morning and I'm not a fan of warm/hot drinks like black coffee.

Not sure about Monster, but I use these as a change up to plain ol water.

http://www.makeitmio.com/

I’ve had them before and I think they’re fine. Some people might not though.

Yeah Mio's are pretty good. I had a caffeinated one a few months ago and probably used a little too much.

I kind of cheat. I am prescribed Modafinil (Provigil). Shit will kill your appetite if you're not used to it. I cycle between taking Modafinil and caffeine pills in the AM. Both will curb your appetite which is exactly what I need to get me started on IF.

Sometimes I do 24 hours as fast as I can. Other times I do it at normal speed.

How much does it cost you? I buy mine from Indian..not exactly prescribed.

I'm more scared of it than caffeine. Which is dumb, should be the other way around. I would probably be much healthier if I popped modafinil 4 times a week instead of an energy drink. Just have no idea about long term effects really just yet of it, so only take it on 10-15 times a year.

I pay $10 for 30 pills (200 mg). I have been taking it daily for a year and haven't had any side effects.

Great low carb meal... Crack Slaw... Google it if interested

https://i.imgur.com/sI1dhRI.jpg

I don't fast to lose weight. Partly to maintain and mainly to reduce free-radical damage. It's healthy for you per some health gurus.

And I could never do Atkins. Tried it once in high school, just to lose 5 lbs for summer, and it gave me the shakes. I need a certain amount of carbs.

I one time ate only steak, chicken, spam & meatballs for two weeks. Cycle back and forth between no carb and low carb diets. Was really able to cut my body fat that way, so I was always a believer in that diet. But the saturated fat wouldve probably give me a heart attack early in life.

You need nowhere near the carbs you think you need. I am no expert but look for Dr. Berg on youtube

How do you know how many carbs my body needs? You're assuming I eat a lot of carbs too. I believe in eating based on blood type and Atkins does not suit me or others well at all. There is no one size fits diet. Sorry disagree.

Spam? People actually do eat it? :Lin:

If I diet to lose weight, which I sometimes do just before summer to take off 5 lbs., I do better going vegan two days/vegetarian two days (but with no cheese, meat, or eggs for protein). That is 1.25 lbs weighed raw in non-starchy vegetables, no vinegars or sugars and lots of pure water—70 ozs daily. Then I slowly add fish, chicken, pork, beef, nuts and cheeses.

But I don't fast for this reason and I don't believe in long-term fasting either. Just a one day a week fast usually. It helps with free radical destruction which helps with aging. I can pass for ten years younger.

No idea what you eat but you said you need a certain amount of carbs.... Just like a friend of mine said he can't do without sweets...

I do need a certain amount and it's been determined with nutritional testing too. I feel better with a certain amount and too little gives me the shakes.

Good Lord, do I even want to know..?

That feeling leaves you after a while.. Everybody feels better carbed up at the start but when you get your body in ketosis and start burning your own fat reserves that feels pretty amazing too

Open your mind up. It's just based on the individual's metabolism. Not everyone requires the same amount of carbs, protein and fat daily.

I don't carb up either. My preferred ratios are about a third, a third and a third—carb, fat and protein.

I don't like getting the shakes.

It's based on bullshit.

More:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-b...94T0XD20130530

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893150/

But it contains so much truthiness!

Ladies Home Journal handing out nutrition advice again?

Do you know how to read scientific research?

You don't have to get the shakes and go ultra low carb because a carb is a carb is a carb regardless of the source but when you get your carbs from the complex cab list vs the simple carb list your body slow burns it and it's much better for you... You could live a healthy lean lifestyle if you never ate anything again but meat and salads... Your body does not need bread or potato's it craves them, white sugar is basically poison to our bodies. Don't think that I am trying to be some holier than thou health nut, I am learning this stuff all over again but I have a more at stake than just my sexy body... I have Diabetes and have had it since 2007 and even though I stay below the level required to be a truck driver I am still considered to have uncontrolled Diabetes, I now have my blood glucose levels close to a normal non diabetic person ... I am a lucky one so far, no loss of feeling in any parts of my body and good circulation in my feet, no viagra needed. My Dr told me years ago if I lost 50 lbs it would change my life. I am going to lose 50 lbs and change my life. Diabetes love people with fat on their bodies, it makes the insulin your body produces less effective. Skinny people can be type 2 as well though . My risk of a heart attack or stroke doubles when my blood sugar is high .. I will be diabetic all my life and I will die one day but flour bread potato's just to name a few is not important enough to me to risk checking out way before my time because of it.

I heard that fasting for 3 days straight would reset your immune system. So I fasted for 4 days straight. Nothing but water for 4 days. After 2 days, my hunger completely disappeared. I never felt a hint of hunger the last 2 days. Bizzare.

It was also weird not to take a dump the last day. I was empty. It also felt really weird to eat after 4 days without food.

I did pray to God to take away my hunger, so believe it or don't. Either he did or I didn't need him to. It was enlighteneng to know I could go 4 days without food with no headaches or fatigue or other symptoms. I felt great actually. Who knows if it jump started my immune system.

I really need to get on a fasting meal program. Daily, every other day, 5:2 or otherwise.

I find daily to not work at all. I am always ready for meals at irregular times outside the eating window. I think every other day would work better, but what happens to daily coffee?

You can drink black coffee.

I do fine for the first two days but usually hit the wall on the third and then feel like death warmed over. It takes three days to deplete the glycogen from your liver through fasting so I imagine that's what's happening.

I frequently do a 4:3 form of alternate day fasting (ADF). Most ADF plans allow up to 500 calories on the "fasting" days so you could incorporate that with the coffee if you don't drink it black.

Yes. You're hitting ketosis at that point and basically getting what people call the "keto flu." If you power through that, you'll really start to reap the rewards as your body starts burning those fat reserves.

The problem is that once the glycogen is gone, your body has to turn to protein for the glucose it does need and if you are fasting, that means muscle eventually (once autophagy cleans up the extra).

I did very low carb (basically zero carb) for more than a year and never really got over the keto flu completely. Some people adapt well and some don't and I'm apparently of the latter. I did lose a fair amount of weight doing that but nuked my thyroid in the process so avoid VLC now, short of a one day fast.

I'm pretty much ADF as well (we've talked about it in the Fitness thread I'm sure). Though really I do what people are calling "fasting" these days almost daily (16-8). All that really requires is skipping breakfast. I do almost 23 hour fasts on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I usually fast (though not strictly) on Tuesdays and Thursday as well, but I'll sometimes eat breakfast or lunch if I feel like it.

My wife and I were just talking about fasting last night. We've been (along with a lot of other folks on the old Workout threads) fasting for like 6 or 7 years. People used to tell us were unhealthy and crazy (conventional wisdom at that time was the graze on small portions throughout the day). It's been really entertaining to see a lot of those same people now tell us all about their new fasting diet that they're doing (forgetting that we've been doing it for a good while and that they used to think we were weird for it).

It's really become quite a fad as of late, though, once again, I'm not sure about the 16:8 fast that everyone is doing. Doesn't really seem like a fast to me, but I haven't really read the science on it.

I thought thread title said “Intermittent Fisting”



I clicked on it because I thought it was about the chiefs and their playoff record

Why would you need to do that? Were you on chemo or something?

I try not to eat at all on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, though if I get super hungry I'll allow myself up to 500 cals (usually some eggs or fat free Greek yogurt) then eat what I want on the other days. It works out to a 36 hour fast and then a 12 hour eating window over two days, though Friday and Saturday are both "Up Days".

I've tried the forms of IF with daily eating windows like 16:8 and Fast 5 but don't do that well with them. For one thing, I can still pack away a bunch of food in those windows. :D

I feel amazing when doing 4:3. Lots of energy and it seems to help a lot with some arthritic joint pain. Physically, it's pretty easy. The struggle is the mental aspect (wanting to eat just because) and fitting into other people's schedule.

I get a lot of that too and basically don't tell people what I'm doing. My parents, for one, are the "OMG, you have to eat breakfast every day or you'll die!" types so IF doesn't come up when we visit. However, a recent study shows that true ADF beats classic dieting and is as safe, so I am getting more ammo for the doubters.

I can't even comprehend not eating 3 out of 7 days of the week. Witchcraft.

You've got to learn to be hungry.

Hunger comes and goes but doesn't hang around long each time.

Dieting three days a week beats dieting seven days a week hands down.

It's only been 5 days, but does it get any easier as time goes on?

Yes

Starts to feel normal and actually good around 2 weeks.

I actually feel like I have more energy at work During my morning fast.

Nice. What time frame do you eat?

Noon-8pm.

I workout between 1:30-2:30 usually as well 3-4x per week.

How many days do you fast? Is 16/8 good everyday or should you break it up?

I am on day 4 and find it normal. No real hunger pains, just cravings. The joys of working around food all day.

I fast 16/8 pretty much every day. Sometimes on a weekend I'll cook a nice breakfast and eat around 8 a.m. but that's rare.

I don't see a need for 24 hour fasts.

I also honestly just enjoy eating like this now. No having to take time with breakfast before work or packing some extravagant lunch. I don't have to work my day around food any more which makes me more efficient getting things done.

From who?

Is there any difference between working out before or after you break your fast?

While I don't know about resetting your immune system, there is some evidence that extended fasts (and extended ketosis, I believe) cause autophagy in precancer cells.

I totally buy that…and that makes sense.

it was that 'resetting' that sounded fishy…even if you could 'reset' your immune system I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a good thing

I had read a study recently that the three day fast causes your stem cells to create all new white blood cells. It sounded like it would invigorate a now-defunct immune system, which is why I asked him if he was on chemo or something. Unless you’re elderly or have cancer it wouldn’t make much sense to put in the effort.

I personally do it right before.