The Fasting Diet

tinavflynn

I read an article on The Atlantic that talks about fasting every other day then on the other days allowing yourself to eat what ever you want. They brought arguments from both sides, some saying this worked, while others saying it doesn't. I wanted to know people's thoughts on this. Have any of you tried this, and made it stick as a lifestyle change? Does anyone have any pros or cons to add to what the article says? Also, just any other general knowledge would be nice.

Here's the link (definitely a long article): http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/the-new-way-to-love-food/283276/

Thanks in advance for people's thoughts! :flowerforyou:

twixlepennie

I did alternate day intermittent fasting for weight loss (also called JUDDD), and I alternated between low/'fasting' calorie days of 500 calories or less, with high/maintenance range calorie days. I had great success with it, lost the weight and transitioned into maintenance with no problems. If you want more info, just send me a message and I can get you started with some resources (books to look into etc).

jayjay12345654321

This sounds similar to the JUDDD diet. Drawing from memory, you eat below 500 calories one day, whatever you want the next, <500, whatever you want, and so on. It alternates the entire time.

Frank_Just_Frank

I guess it depends on your personality. I'm a creature of habit and wouldn't like to have this kind of diet because it switches around too much.

FearlessEquestrian

I do not do ADF but I do the 4:3 diet. Four days a week you eat normally, and then 3 days a week you are on a fast. I do not do the ADF because I am giving myself that little but of room to move if I hit a plateau. But I have been on this fasting diet for just over a week, and in one week I lost 1.5kgs - which was great! There are a bunch of support groups on FB for the 5:2 diet (4:3 is a variation). The support groups are fab and really do help!

johng2703

Its really big in the Uk at the moment and called the 5:2 diet (book by Dr Michael Moseley). there's a lot of science behind it as well, not just for dieting but for general health benefits. I've been following it since July last year and have lost around 25lbs. I am combining the diet with exercise and I find it really fits my lifestyle. My two cents

sijomial

Its really big in the Uk at the moment and called the 5:2 diet (book by Dr Michael Moseley). there's a lot of science behind it as well, not just for dieting but for general health benefits. I've been following it since July last year and have lost around 25lbs. I am combining the diet with exercise and I find it really fits my lifestyle. My two cents

No it's not the 5:2 diet. Dr. Michael Mosley referenced a lot of Prof. Krista Varady's research and she isn't happy about it!

Varady's protocol is different and is much more research led than Mosley's. (BTW - I've done 5:2 since August 2012)
Other protocols are Eat-Stop-Eat, JUDDD etc. etc.

Llamedos1960

IF (Intermittent Fasting) has been around for quite a long time. Sometimes known as 5:2 where you have 2 fasting days in the week.

There are also some who fast for particular times of the day and only eat during certain times. For example, 16:8 would be where you fast for 16 hours and then eat for 8 hours of the day. You could also do 18:6 or whatever.

I understand that there are some IF groups on the forums here who would be able to give you more help. If you do a search I'm sure you'll find them.

alisonlynn1976

I think doing it that way helps some people maintain a calorie deficit, but I think it's really annoying when those people behave like cult members who have found the One True Way. Bottom line, weight loss is about calories in/calories out, and different people have different optimal methods for achieving that.

Dewymorning

“So, do people do this for their entire life?” I asked. “Will they eventually lose all of the weight and weigh nothing?”

Lol.

This reminds me of the sequel to Charlie and the chocolate factory, where Willie Wonker makes something which causes people to age backwards, and Charlie's grandparents are so impressed they take heaps of it, but one took so much they aged backwards until they were 'before they were born'.

jetlag

I do Eat Stop Eat which is just 2 complete 24-hour dinner-to-dinner fasts per week. I'm toying with moving to lunch-to-lunch fasts as that would allow me to go into a fasted state twice during each of the two fasting periods per week.

I have been following it since May 2013

May 2013 - October 2013 - 2 fasts per week, lost 25lbs
October - mid December - 1 fast per week to maintain
Mid December - mid Jan - no fasts, gained a little weight. there was just too much temptation, travel, disruption
Mid Jan to now - back on it and losing weight again.

It works really well for me. You won't know if it will work for you until you try it.

Loads of people who have never tried it like to slam it or chime in about eating disorders and all that BS. Ignore them until you have your own experience to go on.

It's tough at first, if you're not used to feeling real hunger, but you soon get used to it and you get the added benefit of building a better relationship with food. I certainly believe it is something I can do for the rest of my life, yes.

dianesheart88

I too am currently doing the 5:2 fast diet. The plan says that you can eat 'whatever' you want on the non-fast days and two days a week eat a restricted intake of 500 for women and 600 for men. There are also tons of health benefits. I work the plan with the other 5 days of sensible, reduced calorie intake where I am still eating at a below my TDEE. My first week I lost 2.2 pounds - no exercise. So far this plan is something I can manage and I like that on any given day (other than the 2 fast days) I could eat what I want if I'd like to without the guilt. I know some will do 4:3. If all goes well I will only fast one day to maintain.

jetlag

I'm not convinced you can eat "whatever you want" on non-fast days on the 5:2 plan. It is, after all, a calorie controlled diet. It just puts the majority of the "deprivation" into 2 days. It's not a magic bullet, it's just a hell of a lot easier than larger restrictions every day.

yarwell

i think the "whatever" refers to composition, so you aren't restricted to low fat or low carb or whatever foods on the "feed" days, just eat a sensible amount of "whatever you like".

If they said "as much as you like" it would be different.

Poods71

I did it and lost 2 stone and have kept it off since. Don't do it now, as I got bored, and I just stick to watching my cals now to maintain. It worked a treat for me as I am the sort of person who hates the feeling of deprivation when I am dieting and hate not being able to have things that other people are having, but it is so much easier when you know it is just for one day and you can have the chocolate bar or nice dinner or whatever it is you are craving tomorrow. I would recommend it to anybody

JUDDDing

It's a bit funny that there are now so many books on this - you could write the whole plan up in a short sentence.

I've done this for the past year and lost 120 lbs.

It's calories in < calories out. So, in my experience, you get the same 1-2 lbs of loss a week that you get on any other normal diet.

It's just easier for me to alternate between days when I eat the foods I like, in decent sized portions (like half a medium pizza instead of trying to limit myself to a couple slices or (shudder) eating cauliflower pizza) and days when I don't.

The article is good - even the bit from the person who thought it would ruin her life.

IMO, if you think about this idea and think, "OMG, this would be horrible, I could never do this" or if you look at this idea and think, "Wow! I only have to diet every other day, I could definitely do that!" - you're probably right either way. And this is probably true for any change.

So, it's worked great for me. Amazingly great. I wish I had thought of this super simple idea 15 years ago. All of the benefits, at half the effort.

I'm not super motivated to lose the last 17 pounds (I look decent in clothes now, my blood tests are all in the healthy ranges (down from "OMG, you're gonna die" levels in 2012)) so I am mostly maintaining now.

So far maintenance has been super easy with just adding a few calories here and there (mostly just eating my exercise calories) and skipping a down day on most weekends.

GEMMA_2014

I read about the 5 2 diet. I will try it for the month of Feb, I do not know about long term. I like to eat more than I like to lose weight fast.

shirleebe

Hi, I also am on the Fast diet and so far so good I am actually finding it surprisingly easy and I am hopeless at other diets. Just completed my third week and so far have lost 9lbs which I am really pleased about. My question is this how long did you take to lose the 2 stone and what exercise did you do? How long have you managed to sit at your maintain weight? I find I have to watch as I could do a Fast day a couple of days running as I like the way I feel but do not want to go to the other extreme. Sorry for all the questions but interested in how you are finding maintaining.

PoesyP

I tried it for a while and lost weight on it but I had to stop because I found my body couldn't handle the fast days. I found I just lost all ability to regulate my body temperature and I would spend the day so cold and shivering, no matter how high I turned up the heating. So, it didn't suit me personally, but the weight loss side of it was very successful.

Skoster1

Sounds great to me, except I'd hit 6K calories on the non-fast days. Though it's tempting!

Phrick

I have often thought about it but in the end I know it wouldn't work for me because I couldn't get past the initial "getting used to it" phase. VLC intake even if it's for a day leads me to very very bad mood fluctuations...which I could probably handle on my own till I did get used to it, but I decided it's completely unfair to put my husband and children through that when I have already proven that I can lose weight eating over 1700 calories on a consistent daily basis. I think it could be great for anyone who wants to give it a try and who doesn't have food-dependent moods though :laugh:

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Phrick

I have often thought about it but in the end I know it wouldn't work for me because I couldn't get past the initial "getting used to it" phase. VLC intake even if it's for a day leads me to very very bad mood fluctuations...which I could probably handle on my own till I did get used to it, but I decided it's completely unfair to put my husband and children through that when I have already proven that I can lose weight eating over 1700 calories on a consistent daily basis. I think it could be great for anyone who wants to give it a try and who doesn't have food-dependent moods though :laugh:

You could do VLC a couple days a week. I dare you to eat 500-600 cals of lettuce and /or other green veg!

Yeah, I *could* but WHY when I've already shown that I can lose just fine the "traditional way" and NOT yell at, lose patience with, berate, throw things at, murder, or otherwise harm people in my life?

Nissi51

If you want to lose scale weight, you need to eat at a calorie deficit. You cannot lose weight any other way

All of these fad diets are just means of getting a person to a caloric deficit: low carb, no carb, cabbage diet, IF, eat today don't eat tomorrow, eat for four days don't eat for four days...

What's appealing to some, I am guessing, is the concept that if I suffer today then tomorrow I can eat whatever I want, no calorie counting, no weighing food, no learning to read nutritional labels, no macronutrient plan, no discipline around food except restricting myself for a period of time. Easier, and more appealing than the hard work of long term behavior modification!

What needs to be noted is that while you will lose scale weight if you are able to sustain this over a period of time, if your food choices are negligible and you've paid no attention to macronutrients... You will probably be losing some muscle and will achieve very little in terms of body composition. For some that's a mon-issue as the only concern us what the scale says for whatever reason.

Vivh1765

I have been following the 5:2 since 6 January - 24 pounds lost, but on non-fast days I don't eat what I want, I have 1200 calories 3 days a week and for weekends - I worked out my TDEE for the weight I want to be and try to stick to that (1600 cals a day).

For me it works because I hate the deprivation of diets, but I can cope with 2 days a week - sometimes 3 days a week if I know I have a lot going on over the weekend. I keep track of everything I eat every day - and also review peaks of both calorie intake and fat intake. It has helped me reduce portion size noticeably and think more about what kind of food I eat on all days.

my cholesterol has dropped from 6.8 to 3.6. As well as losing weight, I have lost inches far more than on previous diets.
When I am near my target weight, I will change to 6:1 and watch carefully what I eat on 6 days for the first few weeks to make sure that I have reinforced the habit of eating within my TDEE. I see on facebook's 5:2 page people who have been on it for over a year - fasting 2 days a week with a loss of a pound a month. However to me that means the minute they stop fasting they will be gaining around a pound a week. As someone said earlier in this thread - it is simple maths. Over a week my calorie intake is around 8400 - the same as a week of 1200 a day. There is only one way to lose weight, eat less, exercise more - and to keep that going always.

embachner

Wouldn't this do something horrible to your metabolism? I wouldn't want to fast and end up slowing down my metabolism in the long run...

JusJay44

If you want to lose scale weight, you need to eat at a calorie deficit. You cannot lose weight any other way

All of these fad diets are just means of getting a person to a caloric deficit: low carb, no carb, cabbage diet, IF, eat today don't eat tomorrow, eat for four days don't eat for four days...

What's appealing to some, I am guessing, is the concept that if I suffer today then tomorrow I can eat whatever I want, no calorie counting, no weighing food, no learning to read nutritional labels, no macronutrient plan, no discipline around food except restricting myself for a period of time. Easier, and more appealing than the hard work of long term behavior modification!

What needs to be noted is that while you will lose scale weight if you are able to sustain this over a period of time, if your food choices are negligible and you've paid no attention to macronutrients... You will probably be losing some muscle and will achieve very little in terms of body composition. For some that's a mon-issue as the only concern us what the scale says for whatever reason.

BOOOM!!! There it is!

Nouurann

I do ADF, but I still weigh all my food and track my intake on feeding days. I generally eat 2,700 calories one day, then around 300 the next then back to 2,700, etc. I absolutely love it. I feel free from food. First it was hard, I was always thinking about food on fast days, always hungry, the same way I would be if I skipped a meal on a traditional meal plan, but now I have lots of energy regardless if I'm fasting or feasting, food isn't my main focus of the day. I weigh and measure food on feeding days yes, but that's to ensure a 1,500 average intake per day over the week because I know I can go CRAZY on calorie intake if I ate "whatever I want". But there's a freedom in eating 2,700 calories, and a freedom in knowing that the next day you can focus on life without obsessing over food. My fast days I have an Apple, and graze on a homemade salad through out the day and make three mini meals out of it, which makes for 290 cals on fast days, if I'm unusually hungry I have some almonds and bump it up to 360ish, but I don't track exercise calories so going slightly over 2,700 or 300 doesn't cause an issue. And I can eat cheesecake and restaurant meals and all the good stuff more than once a week :-) I go out a lot, always with friends or at events so it works for me to post pone planes with a friend to the next day after my fasting day, rather than to the next week for my "cheat meal"

Oh and I feel great, run faster, less mentally exhausted by calorie counting and thinner :-).

Sorry for typos! Typing on my phone lol

Phrick

Wouldn't this do something horrible to your metabolism? I wouldn't want to fast and end up slowing down my metabolism in the long run...

Wouldn't affect your metabolism for the negative at all. Wouldn't slow it down in the least, certainly would not STOP it (or you'd be dead). It's fine if you can handle it, it's not fine if you can't, that's all.

embachner

Wouldn't this do something horrible to your metabolism? I wouldn't want to fast and end up slowing down my metabolism in the long run...

Wouldn't affect your metabolism for the negative at all. Wouldn't slow it down in the least, certainly would not STOP it (or you'd be dead). It's fine if you can handle it, it's not fine if you can't, that's all.

Good to know!