Tell me about fasting?

AMamaLana

Is there any scientific diet value on fasting?

A few weeks back I started trying the Almased diet.
I am already aware of what the general myfitnesspal consensus is on this diet.
I did find that sticking to the very strict "Three meals of Almased a day plus liquid snacks like broth" was NOT working for me in a sustainable diet sense alone. I felt guilty if I prevented a possible lunch date with the boyfriend from happening, I felt guilty if I gave in and ate some real food no matter how small or healthy, it was very hard to feed dinner to three children and sit there with an Almased shake, there were a few occasions where liquids were not enough to sustain me and I felt ill especially if I did more physical things that day, Almased is expensive to be consuming in large quantities such as that diet plan, I could keep going on! I am also fairly convinced Almased shakes sent me into a yeast infection, or maybe it was part of the detox process?
On the first week I went super hard core and did not slip up. I lost two pounds, from where I have been stuck above for a while, but like I said, it is not a diet I can mentally sustain! The following week I found myself binge eating more than once, definitely not the way to lose weight. My weight crept back up about a pound, damn.

However, the days that I have had success with:
Morning coffee at 8am, usually 1/2 a shake or a fried egg, or a small snack with it
an Almased shake (I do almond milk sometimes the coconut version, the powder mix, usually a squirt of honey, and a teaspoon flax seed) around 11am
a healthy snack around 1pm
Almased shake around 4
and a 600 calorie max dinner around 6:30

I usually feel really good. Perhaps it is just psychological, but I don't have intense cravings, I don't have strong desires to eat real food that begin to consume my every thought, I find myself satisfied with much smaller meals, more liquid diet has allowed me to taste real foods so much more (I've found myself actually more sensitive to high levels of any one ingredient especially salt), my heavy carb cravings are definitely way down and easier to appease, I wake with a much flatter stomach (I have this weird eat food=bloat thing I have not figured out yet), and my bathroom trips were getting on the most regular track they've ever been.
The Almased does seem to give me a bit of a "happy content" affect that some people have reported. I would guess this is not the Almased itself so much as the ability for it to cut my intense cravings and desire to binge eat and such, makes you mentally happier really.

So...is there any proven benefit to eating in such a way? Or, is there something about the way I have been eating that is satisfying something my body needed, and therefore it has made me feel much better?
Is there other products equivalent, or even better, you would recommend over Almased to achieve same results? Almased is a bit pricey, something a bit cheaper would be nice, and I really question the sugar content of the Almased (plus in the almond milk...I think it falls under the daily recommendations for sugar, but I am pretty convinced it is what pushed me into a yeast situation - or...detox?)

TeaBea

Are the shakes something you can see yourself drinking for the rest of your life? Are the shakes going to become part of your maintenance plan?

If shakes won't be part of maintenance, then you are still going to have the issues with cravings, eventually. After you lose the weight, you are going to have to figure out how to keep if off, because the shakes haven't taught you anything really.

As far as fasting.....check out the 5:2 diet. This is eating maintenance 5 days a week and eating 500 for 2 days a week. There are alternate fasting methods that allow you to eat (whatever) in a certain feeing window. These fasting methods incorporate some fasting as a permanent way of life.

There is some evidence of medical benefits.....but books and videos (MARKETING) have a way of making it sound like the proof is already in.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-19112549

WalkingAlong

Three good books on health and weight loss effects of fasting are ones by Drs. James Johnson, Michael Mosley and Krista Varady.

If you want less marketing and more hard science, read the many published articles of Varady, a PhD in nutrition and a professor at U of Illinois.

AMamaLana

Hmm, starting to read up on that 5:2 diet.
Doesn't sound to me like I would lose any weight (skimming through the "how to") as it states on the non fasting days you can eat as you please...someone who ate herself overweight shouldn't be told that hah. And, it lists a normal calorie daily diet of 2,000 for women with the idea that fast days you would cut in 1/4 (500 cal.) From what I have read, someone my size only needs about 1,200 calories a day, 1,000 if I am to get that caloric deficit to lose the extras.
How many spoonfuls of peanut butter equal 250 calories? Two? Haha, I can't imagine eating that little in a day. That would be like my morning cup of coffee and...some carrot sticks. Plain carrots.

There must be more out there on this, gotta keep looking.
I would consider keeping some kind of health shake in my diet long term. I'm pretty fond of the Almased actually. Being a busy single mom of special needs kids, this is also a really quick lunch, snack, breakfast, etc. Having one as the main component of my diet? Not long term, it is just too expensive, but once a day definitely maybe more.