Anyone doing intermittent fasting?

rileysowner

Please excuse me if this question has been ask a million times but if I fast from 3 pm one day to 3 pm the next day do I need to eat my daily calories after I fast?

If you are doing an "Eat Stop Eat" type fast no, you just start eating normally after that. I do supper to supper, so when I finish I have my normal supper and finish my day going to bed. I started doing this before I read the book "Eat Stop Eat" by Brad Pilon, then I purchased the book, and it was well worth the money. He has a bunch of videos concerning ESE on Youtube as well.

jg627

The knights of the temple of solomon practiced intermittent fasting. I haven't tried it myself, but the templars were some pretty tough dudes. They had one fasting day per week and one day of carb binging with no meat.

Anoetos

Fasting for religious/spiritual reasons or to "detox" is great. I am uncertain about long term usefulness with regard to fitness and weight loss. I understand that the OP refers to an intermittent program, but even so:

People with "normal" metabolic function may lose weight through fasting initially, but eventually homeostasis will kick in and your body will stop falling for it.

It will adjust rapidly to the fasts, treating them like starvation and slow the absorption and burning of calories accordingly. You may also find that even when you are not fasting, your metabolism is retarded.

Additionally, as important as it always is to keep hydrated, it is also important to realize that fasting involves the purposeful withholding of essential electrolytes. Of course, this is all part of the metabolic process as well.

This has all been my own experience with fasting. YMMV.

Be careful.

Anoetos

that sound kinda crazy, this one guy put it quite well

"A tip to avoid putting your body into starvation and keep your hunger satisfied is to eat every 2-3 hours, even if its just somethin small, also keep the protein up, drink lots of water, and keep exercising and you should be fine. Your body will let you know if you are in need of more calories, give it a shot and if you don't feel good or arn't seeing results, make some changes... Don't stress too much about it, keep workin and you'll find a groove."

Now that sounds better

im not saying the fasting idea wouldnt work, just doesnt seem good at all... my boyfriend would kill me if I didnt eat for 16 hours straight

The quote you have there is total BS, BTW. You need to be without any food for about 3 days before starvation mode kicks in, studies have confirmed this.

This is true...

BUT...

Repeated excursions into near-starvation WILL cue your metabolism to slow down just as it would with full blown starvation. It's not as though there is a certain point, at 72 hours when the starvation switch gets thrown.

These are also facts confirmed both by my own experience and "studies"

hush7hush

.

rileysowner

Fasting for religious/spiritual reasons or to "detox" is great. I am uncertain about long term usefulness with regard to fitness and weight loss. I understand that the OP refers to an intermittent program, but even so:

People with "normal" metabolic function may lose weight through fasting initially, but eventually homeostasis will kick in and your body will stop falling for it.

It will adjust rapidly to the fasts, treating them like starvation and slow the absorption and burning of calories accordingly. You may also find that even when you are not fasting, your metabolism is retarded.

Additionally, as important as it always is to keep hydrated, it is also important to realize that fasting involves the purposeful withholding of essential electrolytes. Of course, this is all part of the metabolic process as well.

This has all been my own experience with fasting. YMMV.

Be careful.

I'm sure you have scientific research to support your statements. There are many studies on short-term fasts and their effect and none of the ones I have seen do what you claim will happen. In fact people have been intermittent fasting for weight loss and maintenance for a long time without this happening. I have never noticed my body adapt to fasts and my metabolism is no slower now than it was in the past.

rileysowner

that sound kinda crazy, this one guy put it quite well

"A tip to avoid putting your body into starvation and keep your hunger satisfied is to eat every 2-3 hours, even if its just somethin small, also keep the protein up, drink lots of water, and keep exercising and you should be fine. Your body will let you know if you are in need of more calories, give it a shot and if you don't feel good or arn't seeing results, make some changes... Don't stress too much about it, keep workin and you'll find a groove."

Now that sounds better

im not saying the fasting idea wouldnt work, just doesnt seem good at all... my boyfriend would kill me if I didnt eat for 16 hours straight

The quote you have there is total BS, BTW. You need to be without any food for about 3 days before starvation mode kicks in, studies have confirmed this.

This is true...

BUT...

Repeated excursions into near-starvation WILL cue your metabolism to slow down just as it would with full blown starvation. It's not as though there is a certain point, at 72 hours when the starvation switch gets thrown.

These are also facts confirmed both by my own experience and "studies"

What studies do you speak of? I would like to see them as I have not even though I searched for them.

trailrider1963

bump. The topic interests me because I recently went 20 hours without food due to dr. office needing fasting blood work, then they screwed up and I had to wait and wait . . . . After 20 hrs. I was a little irritable but not hungry and certainly in no danger of passing out, much less dying. I've heard about fasting being beneficial and I want to hear more from others who've been there. Maybe I can incorporate this one day.

jlzoda

I have never done intermittent fasting, and did not want to post negative comments about it if I didn't really know anything...so...I did some internet research: Wikipedia (yes, i know, not the most accurate) along with some other sites actually cite studies done on animals & humans that have shown increase in life span, so ..maybe there is something to this! I for one will look into it a bit more!

Sasssy69

I'm not reading any of the replies, because these types of posts tend to get people yelling at you. But my personal experience with fasting has always been positive. I will do a 24 hour fast every now and then - starting after dinner one night, and going through the next day. Nothing wrong with fasting at all. We actually ALL fast every single day - between dinner and breakfast - BREAK fast - get it? That's why it's called breakfast - you're breaking your fast.

I also have found that fasts promote other things other than weight loss. It can benefit you spiritually was well.

Good luck!

servilia

Nice article and site .. http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/benefits-of-fasting.aspx

I fasted on Thursday and Friday this week (no breakfast, no lunch) and my energy levels were great at work!

jlzoda

Check this out....

Study done at UC Berkley & in the LA Times:

Running on empty: the pros and cons of fasting
Fasting restricts calories and may benefit your body. Is it a safe way to lose weight?
February 02, 2009|Shari Roan

portexploit

I do IF daily, have gotten great results. Lost 5inches from my stomach, and dropped 17% bodyfat in 2 months. Email me if you want more info. I know how these forums get. So I probably won't be back here.

Someone emailed me about what i posted and method "great results" the method I was using to measure bodyfat was highly inaccurate. I did lose 2 inches from my stomach, that's normal for me every month I am down about 2 inchs.

This is the email i wrote her... "Honestly, I don't remember what I posted, but about IF.... it didn't improve my weight loss. I am down 35lbs in 3 months which is pretty normal. I don't see IF as a weight reduction strategy... what I do see it as... it does help you during the day. You don't get all tired and groggy like a lot of people do during the day. It does "HELP" preserve muscle mass when you workout.. It does give you more energy during the day. You're not constantly worried about "what am i going to eat." It saves you time because you don't have to cook multiple times a day. Those are the benefits of IF."

KellyBurton1

Just done my first day, a little tough at times but went great. I hope this helps to get the scale moving again!

GG70

i think fasting gives our bodies a chance to recharge.. digestion takes a lot of energy.. giving your system a break is healthy... i would only fast while drinking fresh organic vegetable juices though.. from a juice extractor.

scagneti

I actually LOVE fasting. I've done it once a week the last two weeks, but went a while before that since I've done it. Both times that I've fasted recently it was on a Monday and typically it was because I made a pig of myself on Sunday and I was bloated and uncomfortable and just icky. Felt so much better just relaxing and not thinking about food all day. Both times I relieved the 2 inch bloat that I had given myself and got myself centred again. Wasn't even that hungry after the 24 hours were over and slept so much better afterwards. Highly recommend it!