Confused on the mini fasting thing

donjtomasco

So I am reading more about partial fasting being an okay thing to do, but this goes contrary too the thinking that the body wants to store fat if we fast.

I guess I can see where people would get to a point where it was hard to eat less and exercise more, so "I'll just fast" works better then trying to manage caloric intake.

nvmomketo

The body doesn not go into a fat storing mode when it goes without food. If anything it switches to a fat burning mode (mild ketosis).

Consider sleeping at night. Most people will go at least 9 hours without eating at night. This doesn't make them more likely to store breakfast as fat.

I see fasting as just another way to manage caloric intake. If I eat 200kcal on one day but 1800kcal on each of the next two days, I am still at a caloric deficit. If I skip a bedtime snack so I have 12 hours without food, that is another way to manage my caloric deficit.

annaskiski

I do Intermittent Fasting, because for me it suppresses my appetite greatly.
(breakfast makes me starving all day)

People who do IF count calories too. You just get to eat bigger meals, and for some its just easier.
Its still all about CICO.

IF is usually great for people who are not normally hungry for breakfast.

sijomial

Intermittent fasting, in all its many forms, is the way many people find beneficial to help manage their caloric intake.

but this goes contrary too the thinking that the body wants to store fat if we fast.

Who thinks that?

LazSommer

sijomial wrote: »

Intermittent fasting, in all its many forms, is the way many people find beneficial to help manage their caloric intake.

but this goes contrary too the thinking that the body wants to store fat if we fast.

Who thinks that?

"They" do.

jemhh

donjtomasco wrote: »

So I am reading more about partial fasting being an okay thing to do, but this goes contrary too the thinking that the body wants to store fat if we fast.

I guess I can see where people would get to a point where it was hard to eat less and exercise more, so "I'll just fast" works better then trying to manage caloric intake.

Your body doesn't store or cling to fat when you fast. That's a scientifically unsound assertion. There are people whose cortisol increases when they cut calories greatly and the resulting water retention can mask fat loss on the scale but rest assured, they are still burning fat.

In addition, that doesn't happen to a person who cuts their calories low for one or two days. That's a longer term issue. Partial fasting is usually done for a matter of hours, not days and certainly not weeks.

Unknown

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donjtomasco

I REALLY THOUGHT that when we fasted the body stored storing fat. I heard that it compares to animals that go into hibernation, the body prepares for it by storing up fat for the long time period of no food. But what I read here makes sense too.

Also, one thing I think I have been doing wrong it trying to eat a meal and eat calories "on a schedule" versus when I was really hungry, kinda doing a 180 on my past tendencies to go overboard when I diet and try to cut too many calories at the beginning. I therefore think this has been working against me.

If you are NOT a little or a LOT OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE like me, it might be hard to comprehend this. (but I am working on it).

Thank you for these great comments!!!

laur357

donjtomasco wrote: »

Also, one thing I think I have been doing wrong it trying to eat a meal and eat calories "on a schedule" versus when I was really hungry, kinda doing a 180 on my past tendencies to go overboard when I diet and try to cut too many calories at the beginning. I therefore think this has been working against me.

One thing I learned about myself is that I personally do not do well with 3 meals plus snacks. I feel sick to my stomach if I eat too early, then I'm starving for the rest of the day. After giving up on trying to eat so many times per day, I started paying attention to when I was really hungry. Normally, I don't start to feel hungry until about 12:00. So I started to eat two large meals a day. Around 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Maybe some crackers or something if I'm going to the gym after work. This seems to help me control my appetite. I'm aware that many people would hate eating like I do and would be unsuccessful. But I'm still losing weight as expected, and I'm much happier now that I'm not fighting myself to eat when I don't want to! No reason to make weight loss and maintenance more challenging. . .