Is fasting good

Nass4390

What is ur opimion

ninerbuff

Depends on how long the fast is. 3 days? 18 hours?


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

yirara

good for what?

goldencitymoma

There is quite a bit of research that indicates fasting is beneficial. The benefits depend on the length of the fast. Shorter/intermittent fasting can be great for weight loss/ management and longer fasting can be great for autophagy and all the benefits that entails.

tomcustombuilder

Not a fan of more than 12 hours without protein

AnnPT77

For me? No.

I'm too much of a hedonist, and it was and is unnecessary for me to fast in order for me to accomplish my goals: Weight loss initially, weight maintenance now; performance as a recreational athlete; generally good health (all the blood tests and blood pressure measurements that used to be bad are now solidly normal every time); happy life (that one's a biggie, for me).

For you? Only you can find out the answer to that question. Give it a fair try, see if it helps you accomplish whatever you're trying to accomplish.

Since many people are here trying to lose weight, I'll say this: For 100% certain sure, fasting is not universally necessary for anyone and everyone who wants to lose weight. It helps some people, doesn't help others, when it comes to that goal.

xrj22

As for intermittent fasting, I think there is good research showing that it works because you eat less calories. If you eat the same number of calories, it doesn't matter WHEN you eat them for weight loss. I haven't seen good research on IF and insulin levels, but my logic is that the human body was not meant to graze throughout the day. I think you might get some health benefits from IF other than weight loss, i.e. decreasing inflammation or insulin resistance. Also, I tend to believe that there is a reason that almost all sustained religions and cultures have some sort of traditional fasts for 24 hours or more (occasionally). I think there is some good in it in terms of discipline, reflection, gratitude, and a "cleanse" -- but again, not really important for sustained weight loss.

westrich20940

If explicitly asking about fasting re: weight loss...

If fasting allows for one to stay within their calorie goal more consistently and without negative side effects then it's 'good'.

If it doesn't, and it causes one to be ravenous at some point and then binge, leading to them being over their calorie goal...then it's 'bad'.

There's nothing magic about fasting when it comes to weight loss.

neanderthin

IF is an emerging science and because it's popular there will be a lot of studies I would suspect over the next few years. Randomized controlled trials are the best to look at and this study is a systematic review of 27 trials of RCT's.

https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7021351/

Conclusion
Obesity treatment will always be a challenge in primary care. We have limited effective options to recommend to overweight and obese patients, many of whom have doubtless already participated in calorie-restricted diets. The heterogeneity in the current evidence limits comparison of IF to other weight-loss strategies. Intermittent fasting shows promise as a primary care intervention for obesity, but little is known about long-term sustainability and health effects. Longer-duration studies are needed to understand how IF might contribute to effective weight-loss strategies.

Editor’s key points
▸ In all 27 trials examined, intermittent fasting (IF) resulted in weight loss, ranging from 0.8% to 13.0% of baseline body weight. Weight loss occurred regardless of changes in overall caloric intake. In the studies of 2 to 12 weeks’ duration, body mass index decreased, on average, by 4.3% to a median of 33.2 kg/m2. Symptoms such as hunger remained stable or decreased, and no adverse events were reported.
▸ While IF is a moderately successful strategy for weight loss, it shows promise for improving glycemic control, although it does pose a potential risk of hypoglycemia.
▸ The heterogeneity in the current evidence limits comparison of IF to other weight-loss strategies. Intermittent fasting shows promise as a primary care intervention for obesity, but little is known about long-term sustainability and health effects. Longer-duration studies are needed to understand how IF might contribute to effective weight-loss strategies.