Is intermittent good to do long-term

hannahmccallum5

neanderthin

Yes

Over the 24 hour timeline when you eat can be considered the intermittent time a person eats, therefore classified as intermittent fasting as oppose to continually eating for that 24 hour period. The question then becomes; does it make a difference how much the time is reduced.

IF has absolutely nothing to do with weight loss, that's a totally different thing. Unfortunately because IF has become more popular, most people believe it's a weight loss strategy, and then say IF doesn't work if they haven't lost weight. The confusion is based on the fact that IF when used more aggressively like in 18:6 for example which can reduce the amount of total calories someone consumes, therefore facilitating some weight loss but that can backfire as well makings people hungrier and then end up bingeing and putting on weight. IF is for long term (lifetime) health and really can't be held responsible for the fluctuation in someones day to day weight. imo

AnnPT77

It doesn't work for me

Different things work long term for different people, because we all have differing individual preferences, strengths and challenges/limitations.

If it helps you eat foods adding up to the right number of calories and good nutrition long term while staying generally happy with your lifestyle, then it's good to do long term.

If it is unpleasant, impractical, a struggle for you personally . . . then probably it isn't good to do (maybe not at all, let alone long term).

There's some early research suggesting that time-r estricted eating (TRE) or periodic fasting (like IF) may have some health benefits. IMO it's not definitive yet, though some people are more convinced already.

My opinion is that if it makes it significantly harder to eat at sensible calories or get good nutrition, that factor is a bigger influence on long-term success than any health benefit from the fasting. Being at a healthy weight and getting decent nutrition have much more effect on health IMO than eating schedule.

I don't use any form of fasting, because it would be unpleasant to me, and would make my workouts more difficult. (Some people find fasted workouts better; for me they're seriously sub-par.) I lost weight, improved my health markers from bad to solidly normal, and have maintained that weight/health for 7+ years since loss, without fasting.

But if it helps others, they should do it - short or long term.