Alternate Day Fasting
austinsneeze
Posts: 220 Member
Just curious if anyone here does this... I know a lot of people do the 5:2. I feel a lot more energetic and consistent doing every other day.
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Replies
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You're a lot tougher than I am!
I tried the 5:2 and I lasted approx. 6 hours!0 -
Me too. I can do 16 hours for about 5 days. Then 12 the next 5 days.0
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I don't...I simply like food too much to abstain for a full day.
That said, if it works for you, go for it.0 -
You might need to define what version of 5:2 you mean. The kind where you eat, like 500 calories on Monday and Thursday but maintenance calories the other days?0
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austinsneeze wrote: »Just curious if anyone here does this... I know a lot of people do the 5:2. I feel a lot more energetic and consistent doing every other day.
With 28 pounds to go......that weekly deficit would be too aggressive for me.
4:3 works better for someone who is obese, they don't need to be as concerned with lean muscle loss.
My 4:3 would look like this: 4x1600 (my maintenance) + 3x500 / 7 = 1,128 calories. That's a crazy low number (and I'm old!).
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I can do it for short periods, but if I do it for too long it messes with my sleep and constipates the crap out of me. (TMI, I know!)0
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Wow! That's tough. I've never fasted every other day. Do you find it stalls your weight loss...I only ask because I'd probably binge on the non-fasting days. Not sure though. I just got done fasting at 8pm EST for the day of atonement. I thought I'd eat everything but I'm not that hungry. So maybe I answered my own question!0
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Wow! That's tough. I've never fasted every other day. Do you find it stalls your weight loss...I only ask because I'd probably binge on the non-fasting days. Not sure though. I just got done fasting at 8pm EST for the day of atonement. I thought I'd eat everything but I'm not that hungry. So maybe I answered my own question!
No, I usually don't binge. I tend to eat less on my feast days because my stomach has rested from the fast day prior. My appetite is reduced. I realize what actual hunger feels like and I tend to make healthier decisions naturally. It is kind of weird how it affects me.0 -
Yes, I've been doing it for almost five months now. No binges, no real problems with hunger, and definitely a lot more energetic than I used to be.0
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austinsneeze wrote: »
do you actually fast or just do reduced calories like the 500-600 thing on the "fast" days ?0 -
ITS GREAT!!0
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I never fasted before, or ever! Would anybody care to tell/explain to me how exactly it works, please?0
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I never fasted before, or ever! Would anybody care to tell/explain to me how exactly it works, please?
well an actual fast you only drink zero calorie fluids through the day. Then eat the next day.
A more common approach is to have a low calorie "fast" day of ~500 calories - often just the evening meal. Again with non-caloric fluids ad lib. Some people skip breakfast and have 2 * 300 cal meals or similar.
http://www.eoddiet.com/
http://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-faq0 -
I never fasted before, or ever! Would anybody care to tell/explain to me how exactly it works, please?
It works by not eating
Essentially, you go for a certain period without eating food, and usually drinking water, black coffee, green tea or anything with minimal calories. This can be a period of about 16 hours, up to a week or so. The benefits of this can be to help control your appetite, tap into your body's fat stores to lose weight, give your digestive system a break (it's done wonders for my IBS, for example), and some people claim that it helps improve their cognitive functions.
In terms of weight loss, it's just a tool to ensure a substantial calorie deficit, even if you don't have a lot to lose. In terms of cutting/ bulking, you can do intermittent fasting whilst exercising and some people swear by it. All in all, it's just something some people like to do for various reasons.0 -
I agree with fasting just for one day a week. It makes me evaluate what I'm eating more and I usually have lots of energy the next day. 0
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I can't fast because I am severely hypoglycemic, I even have to awaken from sleeping to eat; just to stay alive or if I wanted to sleep an entire 8 hours straight, I'd have to have a feeding tube; like I did until I was 9 years old.0
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Just curious if this would really help ibs. Anyone with experience?0
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austinsneeze wrote: »Wow! That's tough. I've never fasted every other day. Do you find it stalls your weight loss...I only ask because I'd probably binge on the non-fasting days. Not sure though. I just got done fasting at 8pm EST for the day of atonement. I thought I'd eat everything but I'm not that hungry. So maybe I answered my own question!
No, I usually don't binge. I tend to eat less on my feast days because my stomach has rested from the fast day prior. My appetite is reduced. I realize what actual hunger feels like and I tend to make healthier decisions naturally. It is kind of weird how it affects me.
Nah, not weird. Different strokes for different folks. I'll keep this info in mind!0 -
I just do 16/8 everyday, and have been for years. It is not for weight loss, it is just an eating schedule just like 5:2 and 5:2 really is not necessary unless it is temporary for maybe breaking a weight stall or just to change things up in your diet for a couple of weeks to keep things mixed up...0
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I do ADF. On my up day, my goal is to eat up to 2,000 calories. My down day goal is 500 calories. I have done this consistently for 11 days, and lost 13 pounds so far.
I need to lose another 20 pounds, so I am going to stick with this. I know my loss is starting to slow down, and it will take a while to get the rest off, but this has really been amazing.
I continue to eat low carb when I eat. No junky food! (except the other day when I ate 4 chips ahoy cookies that weren't even worth it).0 -
When I was cutting, I did 5:2 and found it to be the most effective path for me. I did ADF on occasion, but I just found it to be more effort than I wanted -- fasting 2 days per week was a lot more manageable for me than 3-4 days per week. I also found that for me, ADF wasn't a good fit because I lift 4 days a week -- and I only want to do that on non-fast days so ADF is too much for that regime.
I have to admit that I was hesitant, very hesitant to try 5:2 -- I thought the fasting would be sooo hard. But, I found it pretty manageable. In fact, I'd say only the last 3 hours or so of my 24 hour fast was a challenge. Before that, it was pretty easy. But, I did have some resets in my sleeping -- I had way more energy and a little insomnia the first weeks. But then it seemed like my body adjusted and things were fine. I do think there is some benefit to letting your body rest from constantly digesting food --- and it was nice to not have to think about my next meal or plan for it. It freed up headspace/bandwidth in that regard too.
I also found that I didn't have to meticulously count calories, especially after I was down to my goal weight range. This was probably the greatest freedom of all as the idea of counting calories for the rest of my life is just awful for me.
I also found that it helped "retrain" me on true hunger -- versus cravings, habits, etc. I was pretty surprised on how often I was eating previously either out of habit or cravings than true hunger. So it was an eye-opening experience in that regard as well.0 -
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Here's how I feel about fasting:
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I try to fast on Mondays and Fridays with an interval fast on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I am giving considerable though to interval fasting all of next month. Not sure how I am going to throw in the 24 fast hour in that mix though.0
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I'm good doing 18:6 during the week, but Friday through Sunday, it's on. Not only does my macro "give a damn factor" go out the window, but everything pretty much goes out the window on the weekend!0
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I am beginning week 3 of ADF and I plan to stick to it for a minimum of a month to see monthly progress. It seems manageable enough for me. I know it's not for everyone.
I find the daily fast, like 16:8 or 20:4 would be difficult to me, because I like cream in my coffee. If I ever get to the point where I can drink it black, I will attempt one of those! Probably when I get to maintenance.0 -
I fast 2 or 3 days a week. It has helped so much with my IBS. Just giving the system a break for a while does wonders. I will be continuing even when I hit maintenance and just adjusting calories on eating days.0
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JessicaB523 wrote: »I fast 2 or 3 days a week. It has helped so much with my IBS. Just giving the system a break for a while does wonders. I will be continuing even when I hit maintenance and just adjusting calories on eating days.
I have never tried this but I juiced to give my system a break. I may try this!!! Thank you.0
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