Fasting?

patsypooter

I was thinking of trying to do a fast day once a week. Does anyone do this? Does it work?

I don't think I could do it more than once a week, realistically.

rlynnehawk

Many years ago I did a three day fast. It wasn't to loose weight, but a friend convinced me that it was a good thing to do once in awhile to cleanse the body...etc...etc...I didn't feel hungry after the first day, and I lost a lot of inches, especially in my middle. I don't know that it helped me, but it didn't seem to hurt me.

doubleohstatus

I do intermittent fasting, where i fast for 16 hours and have a 8 hour eating window.

Eating window is 12pm-8pm
Fasting window is 8pm-12pm

My last meal is after my workout and fasting 7-8 of the 16 hours is easily done while sleeping.

1princesswarrior

I think it would depend on why you want to do it. There is an eating plan called intermittent fasting but I don't know enough about to say anything. My riding instructor does it but I don't think she does it right when I here it described on here. I could never fast unless for a medical procedure and even then I'm miserable.

Rocbola

A one day fast doesn't really have many benefits.

Iwishyouwell

Yes. I've lost the last 90 or so lbs doing intermittent fasting. My maintenance plan is 5:2, for the rest of my life. I fast regularly, believe it's great for health (and spirit), and it's given me the freedom to lose at the pace I want, while still enjoying the foods I desire.

There is no downside for me. It's not a good idea however if you're a person who feels they need to eat all day, every day, or a person who feels the need to binge after periods of fasting.

Beeps2011

I am a daily faster - or likely more properly I describe myself as an "intermittent feeder"....I don't eat from 8 pm until the following day around 1 pm.

Some days, I will push a fast from 8 pm to 5 pm the following day, but those are more rare the leaner I get...

Othelie24601

If you want to try it, then do it! For some people this is easier then to eat at a deficit all week. Just remember to not workout on your fasting days and to drink water.

But remember that it's just another way to create a calorie deficit and no magic weight loss diet.

AsaThorsWoman

I also enjoy the benefits of the fast.

My favorite part is when your tummy shrinks and you can eat half a plate then feel full.

Because my tummy can otherwise take in a lot, lot, lot of food before feeling full.

Increases satisfaction with my normal diet.

tennisdude2004

A one day fast doesn't really have many benefits.

It depends which day of the week it is!

elghee123

I am following the 5:2 Fast Diet too where you can only eat 500 calories. I distribute it during the day so that I don't get cranky at dead hours. It has helped in my on-going weight loss plus it helped me discipline myself.

tigersword

I also enjoy the benefits of the fast.

My favorite part is when your tummy shrinks and you can eat half a plate then feel full.

Because my tummy can otherwise take in a lot, lot, lot of food before feeling full.

Increases satisfaction with my normal diet.

The human stomach does not shrink.

cowgirlqueen

from personal experience I've always ate this way .....that is I have always even growing up ate once a day an occasionally skip a day of eating my dad is the same way he always says if your not hungry then don't eat and I was always very healthy played all sports even football (I have 4 brothers so football was a daily activity growing up) it wasn't until I started travling (due to work) an clearly staying at motels left me with poor eating habits fast food, restaurants, and buffets.... you can see how I gained weight.... but even with the weight gain (im 5'7 1/2 185) the fat is evenly distributed most people think im only 150 lbs I think my height and body frame probably help me I don't have a tiny frame example: when I weighed 120 lbs I wore a size 8 wedding ring.... so with that said I personally don't think fasting is damaging to the body an because I've always ate this way my whole life (minus the past year) I know its easy to do .....it is a lifestyle but not everyone is the same my brothers an sisters ate like crazy because they ate when "they" was hungry if they had to eat like me they would defiantly protest and complain the whole time where as me and my father pretty much eat the same and over all were all built the same minus height (my brothers are 6'4) I think it really just depends on the person ....I've noticed from spending the last year eating out a lot it's made me crave foods I never liked before like burgers and candy an fries, and fried foods in general where as a year an a half ago if those foods were put in front of me I would of politely refused simply because I was used to eating veggies, fish, and chicken home made food I had never acquired a taste for fast food & restaurants and that's because I grew up 40 miles from any city so restaurants an fast food was no quickly accessible

so anyways in my personal experience fasting is easy as long as I stay away from going out to eat for at least two weeks it took me that long to stop craving crazy amounts of food after stopping going out to eat and I dropped 23 inches from all over my body in a month its weird now I don't even think about going out to eat

tennisdude2004

I also enjoy the benefits of the fast.

My favorite part is when your tummy shrinks and you can eat half a plate then feel full.

Because my tummy can otherwise take in a lot, lot, lot of food before feeling full.

Increases satisfaction with my normal diet.

The human stomach does not shrink.

Yes we know!!!!

It's just a saying.

patsypooter

Awesome, thanks for the advice guys!

I will seriously consider the 5:2 diet.

I'd like to kick up my weight loss a notch. I was reading about JUDD and on down days you eat under 500 calories. I think that would be manageable for me. I will give it a shot, doesn't hurt to try.

sijomial

A lot of people follow different fasting protocols.
I did 5:2 to lose weight and am doing 6:1 to maintain.

http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

Have a read if interested but remember that the low days are not in addition to a daily calorie deficit - they are instead of a daily deficit.

To answer your questions:
"Does anyone do this?" Yes - and there are groups on here for some of the fasting protocols.
"Does it work?" No idea what you mean by does it work! It worked for me to lose weight and is currently working for me to maintain my goal weight and I found it really easy to stick to.

_benjammin

I was thinking of trying to do a fast day once a week. Does anyone do this? Does it work?

I don't think I could do it more than once a week, realistically.

If fasting one day week nets you a calorie deficit for the week, yes it will work.

I do intermittent fasting. ~17 hour fast and ~7 hour feeding "window" with a net slight deficit. I'm never really hungry except just before eating and then get "full", eat a snack or two and then dinner and am "full" again. Never really got full trying to eat 5-6 meals a day.

SKME2013

There are quite a few threads now on this forum re intermittent fasting, apologies for double posting but it might be helpful:
First you calculate your BMR and TDEE:
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/

Here is the link to the 5:2 fast forum which is great in supplying you with answers.

http://thefastdiet.co.uk


In effect you are eating five days a week somewhere between your BMR and your TDEE and on two non consecutive days, I.e. Monday and Wednesday, you are only consuming 500 cal (women) and 600 cal (men). This will create a deficit of 3500 cal per week which is the equivalent of losing 1 pound in weight.

Now there is also 4:3 (same as above but three days fasting) and ADF (alternate day fasting), with the latter allowing you to not only consume what you want but also as much as you like. (ADF only)

All of the above can be combined with 16:8 (you eat ALL of your food within a time frame of 8 hours and you give your body a rest for 16); 20:4 or 22:2, the last ones allow you to eat within either four or two hours.

Now, I have done a combination of all the above and I have lost 8 kg in 12 weeks, which is in my particular case outstanding as I did not have to lose much. The more you have to lose the faster it goes.

I am now close to maintenance and so far am very happy with this way of losing weight.

And yes, you can work out on those days but you are NOT allowed to eat the calories back. You need to stick to your 500/600 cal and stay under your TDEE on non fast days.

Best of luck
Stef.

Iwishyouwell

If you want to try it, then do it! For some people this is easier then to eat at a deficit all week. Just remember to not workout on your fasting days and to drink water.

I've exercised fasted plenty of times. Actually some of the best exercises sessions, the most energetic, have been while fasted.

Clash1001

If you want to try it, then do it! For some people this is easier then to eat at a deficit all week. Just remember to not workout on your fasting days and to drink water.

I've exercised fasted plenty of times. Actually some of the best exercises sessions, the most energetic, have been while fasted.

I agree. I do 5:2 and exercise the morning after a fast day before I break my fast. I normally do a twenty minute circuit training workout - I do find I have more energy, although I wouldn't like to try a long endurance session afterwards.

For me, fasting has been a fascinating process - it has helped me recognise real 'hunger' rather than 'I want to eat a cheeseburger therefore I must be hungry' type hunger. On a fast day, I stay below or round about 500 cals. It has helped me think of food as fuel, rather than a whim.

rememberthebasics

So 5:2 doesn't make your body go into "starvation mode"? That is one of my concerns...I'm not even sure if your body does that unless it undergoes major food restriction...

Iwishyouwell

So 5:2 doesn't make your body go into "starvation mode"? That is one of my concerns...I'm not even sure if your body does that unless it undergoes major food restriction...

Ask the millions of people in the world currently emaciated and starving to death what they think about "starvation mode".

It's a myth (the popular understanding of it in the dieting world).

JonnyQwest

Intermittent fasting is great.....it really should not be called fasting at all because it makes it sound extreme.....it is by far the easiest way to diet.....u basically just choose an 8 hour window every 24 hours to eat. My window is 3 to 11 but sometimes I will even condense it down to 6 hours. I find I am even less hungry this way.....when I am not eating I don't think about it. When I am able to eat during my window, I feel more satisfied because I am eating all of my calories in a couple of meals a day rather than eating a bunch of small meals throughout the day that leave you hungry and wanting to eat all the time. I do this during the week and then the weekends I will switch it up and eat a little more and on a regular schedule. It's working great!

JonnyQwest

So 5:2 doesn't make your body go into "starvation mode"? That is one of my concerns...I'm not even sure if your body does that unless it undergoes major food restriction...

Ask the millions of people in the world currently emaciated and starving to death what they think about "starvation mode".

It's a myth (the popular understanding of it in the dieting world).

Starvation mode is not a myth but perhaps it should be called something else......it's basically just your body becoming more efficient at basic metabolic functions after prolonged restriction of calories in order to preserve itself. The body does not understand that you are dieting for health, it is planning for the future and is trying to ensure survival. It happens to me every time I have ever dieted very strict....this time around my resting HR went into the mid 40's!!, my BP went down to about 110/65 and my body temperature went down to 96.5.....so yeah, it's definitely real!!
Comparing it to people that are truly starving is ridiculous because yes, of course your body will eventually become emaciated and you will die from lack of food.....that has nothing to do with your body becoming more efficient at its normal functions under restricted calories thereby making it harder to lose further weight because it needs less calories than normal....kind of common sensical if you think about it.
That being said, it's not something to freak about.....I simply changed up my diet by slowly increasing calories and mixing in a couple of cheat meals over the course of a week...I also stopped almost all cardio and went heavy on the weight training and voila, the switch has been turned back on and the weight is falling off again. The moral of the story is that it's important to switch it up diet and exercise wise to keep your body guessing.....if not, it will adjust to your routine and make it more difficult to reach your goals.

Iwishyouwell

So 5:2 doesn't make your body go into "starvation mode"? That is one of my concerns...I'm not even sure if your body does that unless it undergoes major food restriction...

Ask the millions of people in the world currently emaciated and starving to death what they think about "starvation mode".

It's a myth (the popular understanding of it in the dieting world).

Starvation mode is not a myth but perhaps it should be called something else......it's basically just your body becoming more efficient at basic metabolic functions after prolonged restriction of calories in order to preserve itself. The body does not understand that you are dieting for health, it is planning for the future and is trying to ensure survival. It happens to me every time I have ever dieted very strict....this time around my resting HR went into the mid 40's!!, my BP went down to about 110/65 and my body temperature went down to 96.5.....so yeah, it's definitely real!!
Comparing it to people that are truly starving is ridiculous because yes, of course your body will eventually become emaciated and you will die from lack of food.....that has nothing to do with your body becoming more efficient at its normal functions under restricted calories thereby making it harder to lose further weight because it needs less calories than normal....kind of common sensical if you think about it.
That being said, it's not something to freak about.....I simply changed up my diet by slowly increasing calories and mixing in a couple of cheat meals over the course of a week...I also stopped almost all cardio and went heavy on the weight training and voila, the switch has been turned back on and the weight is falling off again. The moral of the story is that it's important to switch it up diet and exercise wise to keep your body guessing.....if not, it will adjust to your routine and make it more difficult to reach your goals.

Hence the "the popular understanding of it in the dieting world" part of my post.

erialcelyob

I wouldn't I like food too much