Fasting days

RolandPHX

Hello all,

My question is not on intermittent fasting, but rather actual fasting from dinner to breakfast. So for example, eating normal size dinner on Monday, then fasting all Tuesday, and starting normal eating on Wednesday morning.

I am suggesting that this should be done every week, but lets say doing this once a month. I am also not suggesting doing this for longer than a day (I know that it is more than 24 hours). I am also not suggesting binging pre or post the fast. I also understand that if you have an eating disorder, or a physical/mental illness this should not be done.

However, people fasted for thousands of years. And if we think about being a hunter in pre-ages, people had to fast once in a while. I am thinking this may be a good way to reset the system without killing your metabolism.

I've done this a couple of times. I do not feel tragically hungry on the fast day, and I feel good the day after the fast.

What do you guys think? Does anyone do this?

Please keep it civil. I can see people having very strong opinions on this topic.
Thank you!

kclay1021

I used to but I would be absolutely miserable on the fasting day . . . so I stopped. I find that there are better ways for me to maintain and even "reset" my system than a complete fast which causes me to want to kill everyone in my path but to each their own.

KrunchyMama

I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about this. I've often thought about it, because like you said this would have been common in our history. I just can't seem to go more than one meal before getting shakey though, so I've never attempted to go longer than that.

LBuehrle8

Hey to each their own, but I know myself and if I didn't eat for that long of a time period I wouldn't be able to function! I am one that eats dinner and then really doesn't eat breakfast I'm just not too hungry so lunch is my first main meal at around 11:30.

segacs

Nope. I fast once a year for religious reasons and I find that it actually makes me eat bigger meals before and after. As a weight loss technique, I think it's not very smart for me, since I find it easier to eat steadily and regularly.

RoxieDawn

NOOOO I do not do this... only if I have the FLU...

DeadliftAddict

I would probably be in jail for punching someone in the face on the fasted day. This is coming from a guy who follows the 16:8 IF protocol. I've fasted for 18 hrs before because I knew I was going to have a big meal later that day and wanted to have as many calories as possible. That got rough towards the end of the 18 hours. Not sure I could go 24 hours without food just because I want to lose some weight.

AlabasterVerve

I fast because I think it's healthful and a good way to manage my calories on occasion. When I tried to fast on a schedule it became increasingly difficult for me, even though it was easy at first, so I stopped (I tried 5:2). I probably fast two or three times a year now and those fasts range from 1-3 days long.

Anything more than that would be forced and not comfortable so weekly or monthly fasts are out of the question for me.

SciranBG

I used to highly recommend this to people, but realized I don't have the willpower to do it myself anymore.
If you can do it and not binge afterwards, its great!

tulips_and_tea

Not for weight loss, but I do occasionally fast due to a defective digestive system. I never feel sickly hungry and I don't binge either before or after so it serves its purpose for me. However, I got sucked into a fasting thread yesterday that did not end well, so I'm out of this one now.

Need2Exerc1se

I used to fast for a day every now and then. I did it for weight control, but not on any type of schedule. I'd just feel my pants getting snug, or feel like I'd been eating too much junk, or too much in general, so I'd just not eat the next day. I never felt the need to binge or even really felt it was difficult. I should probably consider getting back into that habit. I was never close to overweight back then.

scookbey

I just fast from 12am yesterday to 8am today and it wasn't too bad. Of course I craved and wanted foods but I didn't budge. I drank a lot of water and this morning I felt great. I still feel great. I ate some oranges and peanut butter this morning and just came back from a walk after cleaning my apartment. I feel good

sullus

I do this .. maybe every 10 days or so .. depending on dinner and breakfast timing, the fast is usually 30-40 hours. I find that I'm thinking more clearly, feel great, and every cardio/endurance personal best I have had has come fasted.

I recommend it.

freeoscar

I'm doing the math and I can't figure out how this can make a meaningful difference. And that's assuming that you don't let the fast day affect your eating immediately before and after (unlikely) or the rest of the month (again unlikely).
We do full day fasts twice a year for religious reasons, and several other minor fasts (sunup to sundown), and when I look around my synagogue it's not exactly filled with skinny people

ElizabethElane

I find myself not eating at all when I am stressed and just drinking some water to get through the day as well as possibly a doctor pepper in order to keep my energy up. I have never officially fasted however, and I have always been curious to as if it is different from just not eating when you get stressed or nervous.

Kaylinerst3663

Honestly this is still intermittent fasting (I consider anything under 36 hours intermittent), specifically, I believe it is the Eat, Stop, Eat method, except I believe that method has you fasting twice a week for 24 hours.

I don't have problems with it, I can go without food for 24 hours pretty easily and it can be an effective tool for weight loss. I don't use it currently though. I just eat when I feel like it. If i dont feel like eating that day, I don't.

Upstate_Dunadan

I fasted Monday (just as an IF since it was a day off from the gym) and on Tuesday had a horrible workout at the gym. It might not be related, but it's the first workout in months where I just didn't feel like I had any energy. I still increased on most of my lifts, but my head/heart wasn't in it. That's the last time I go a day without eating, I can tell you that.

cwolfman13

Outside of religious/spiritual beliefs, I don't see the point. Your system does not need resetting. I always like the "our ancestors did X, Y, and Z" stuff too...as if they had a choice in the matter.

I'll kill a mo-fo if I don't have food for 24 hours...

sullus

freeoscar wrote: »

I'm doing the math and I can't figure out how this can make a meaningful difference. And that's assuming that you don't let the fast day affect your eating immediately before and after (unlikely) or the rest of the month (again unlikely).
We do full day fasts twice a year for religious reasons, and several other minor fasts (sunup to sundown), and when I look around my synagogue it's not exactly filled with skinny people

Lets assume your maintenance calories are 2400/day. If you lose a day of calories and do nothing else, you have created an average 350 cal/day deficit .. or about 3/4 of a pound per week loss. That seems like a meaningful difference.

Need2Exerc1se

freeoscar wrote: »

I'm doing the math and I can't figure out how this can make a meaningful difference. And that's assuming that you don't let the fast day affect your eating immediately before and after (unlikely) or the rest of the month (again unlikely).
We do full day fasts twice a year for religious reasons, and several other minor fasts (sunup to sundown), and when I look around my synagogue it's not exactly filled with skinny people

What you do on non-fast days is obviously going to be a huge contributor.

jaga13

I've fasted on religious holidays and I wasn't exactly a bouncing ball of energy. I also can't see myself doing something that I wouldn't recommend to my kids. I like to model healthy eating behaviors and they would definitely question this. It's not for me, but to each his own.

sullus

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Outside of religious/spiritual beliefs, I don't see the point. Your system does not need resetting. I always like the "our ancestors did X, Y, and Z" stuff too...as if they had a choice in the matter.

I'll kill a mo-fo if I don't have food for 24 hours...

There's some research showing that fasting can increase autophagy and may be related to longer life span.

TimothyFish

I have nothing against fasting. It helps us to see how dependent we are on God. But I don't see it as a way to reset your metabolism.

cwolfman13

sullus wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Outside of religious/spiritual beliefs, I don't see the point. Your system does not need resetting. I always like the "our ancestors did X, Y, and Z" stuff too...as if they had a choice in the matter.

I'll kill a mo-fo if I don't have food for 24 hours...

There's some research showing that fasting can increase autophagy and may be related to longer life span.

cool story...

there's some research showing that eating a well balanced and nutritious diet and getting regular exercise may be related to longer life span...so I'll just stick with that...thanks anyway.

freeoscar

sullus wrote: »

freeoscar wrote: »

I'm doing the math and I can't figure out how this can make a meaningful difference. And that's assuming that you don't let the fast day affect your eating immediately before and after (unlikely) or the rest of the month (again unlikely).
We do full day fasts twice a year for religious reasons, and several other minor fasts (sunup to sundown), and when I look around my synagogue it's not exactly filled with skinny people

Lets assume your maintenance calories are 2400/day. If you lose a day of calories and do nothing else, you have created an average 350 cal/day deficit .. or about 3/4 of a pound per week loss. That seems like a meaningful difference.

that's if you do it once per week. The OP suggested once a month, so that's less than 1/4 lb. And again, that's assuming no change to your eating habits as a result of it, which I find unlikely.

Kaylinerst3663

Obviously, eating or not eating effects people very differently. Some people aren't bothered by it and some struggle with headaches and low energy. Some people can do cardio and strength training on their fasting day, and some people would pass out if they tried.

If you can handle life effectively, and are safe about things, there there should be no issues with how you choose to eat or not eat. The idea sounds good to me, I know I do it on occasion. Also when i do it, I try to stick to my MFP calories for the rest of the week, and if I do go over a bit the next day or enjoy an extra snack that weekend, I made the wiggle room for myself.

You can miss a day of food and not change your eating habits as a result. Yes, you may WANT to eat because you didn't the day before, but that's not because you HAVE to. It's no different than the first couple days of any diet change, you WANT something because its what you are used to, not because you NEED it. That can be overcome. That's what we are doing on here, right? We are learning why we overeat and learning to listen to our bodies and figure out what we really need.

sullus

cwolfman13 wrote: »

sullus wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Outside of religious/spiritual beliefs, I don't see the point. Your system does not need resetting. I always like the "our ancestors did X, Y, and Z" stuff too...as if they had a choice in the matter.

I'll kill a mo-fo if I don't have food for 24 hours...

There's some research showing that fasting can increase autophagy and may be related to longer life span.

cool story...

there's some research showing that eating a well balanced and nutritious diet and getting regular exercise may be related to longer life span...so I'll just stick with that...thanks anyway.

I bet if you do both, it actually reverses aging.

RolandPHX

sullus wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

sullus wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Outside of religious/spiritual beliefs, I don't see the point. Your system does not need resetting. I always like the "our ancestors did X, Y, and Z" stuff too...as if they had a choice in the matter.

I'll kill a mo-fo if I don't have food for 24 hours...

There's some research showing that fasting can increase autophagy and may be related to longer life span.

cool story...

there's some research showing that eating a well balanced and nutritious diet and getting regular exercise may be related to longer life span...so I'll just stick with that...thanks anyway.

I bet if you do both, it actually reverses aging.

Cwolfman13, I completely agree that balanced/nutritious diet is an absolute must. However, I also agree with Sullus, I think there is concrete data showing that fasting once in a while to be a good process (for healthy individuals).

Coachconni

There is good info on the net about the great benefits of fasting. I've done 3 day fasts and I turn to it very often. But, I would only recommend it if you are receptive to it. If going without food makes you feel like you are dying, you are not open to it and should never attempt it because it will most likely destabilize any balance you have achieved by dieting. It helped me become comfortable going without food again like i used to as a teenager. The idea is not to practice starving but fasting helped me get rid of food obsession. Now a days when I haven't eaten I can calmly wait till I can have something low calorie.

juggernaut1974

Coachconni wrote: »

There is good info on the net about the great benefits of fasting.

PostExamsHealthBinge

I've gone around 10 days without food and have found fasting as quite therapeutic, I wouldn't say I feel the benefits of a day fast but I could regularly do 2 day fasts and really feel the benefits