How do you guys feel about fasting?

MNHoliday

Eat when you are hungry. Dont eat when you're not hungry. Yes sounds simple and dumb, but it works. 3 squares is also a myth, listen to your body. You may find when you wake up after sleeping you just don't need breakfast and wait until lunch, and have now fasted for 16-17 hours. Just eat high quality natural whole foods and it's all good.

And if you choose to IF midday, say skip lunch or so, just chug water all day.

tjnahm

There is so much broscience in this thread and online it isn't funny. The best bet is to have an open mind, do your diligence and research actual medical articles and journals, and experiment on yourself.

Me personally... I Intermittent Fast (16 hours after dinner eat a light lunch) on a regular basis and it works for me. I will occasionally do a 24-72 hour fast for religious reasons as well and again it works for me albeit for different reasons.

GeoffLeon

Ok I'm trying it and it fits well with myfitnesspal and its in line with the leangains method. Does fasting mean not eating for a whole day? NO! does it mean not eating for a period during the day? YES. I tried both fasting for 24 hours twice a week, didn't really help no real weight loss at all. However when I tried the leangains method of 16 hours no food and 8 hours eating the weight started to shift. Ok why does it work with myfitnesspal? because I have only 1200 kals and eating normal meals is difficult on that target. So now i dont eat BEFORE 12pm (skip breakfast) then I stop eating at 8PM. that means I get to eat 2 "normal" meals and when I do eat I'm full no hunger at all!. Is it a detox? absolutely if all you drink is liquids for the period between the food I'm sure I dont have to explain what that does to you :-)

Helloitsdan

As far as fasting goes, I have tried it and any results I ever had were temporary. But that's not to say it doesn't work for some people. But Dr. Oz did a show on it once, and tested it out and said that any weight loss that resulted from it was only temporary.

Have you thought about trying alternating calories? Like a version of the up day down day diet or other similar diets. These seem to fire up the metabolism and I've had pretty good results trying them myself. Just a suggestion.

Well if Dr Oz says its bad....
Someone get me raspberry Ketones!!!!


I Intermittent Fast 16/8 daily since January 1st.
I've lost 2% body fat.
I'm 5'5" 137lbs now.
MFP is set to 2k daily but on my 3 lifting days I eat up to 2500 cals and spike carbs to 300 if the urge hits me.

I'm free in the mornings to do whatever I please including my lifting routines while fasted.

My insulin levels are low at this time because research shows that after my workout, any food taken into the system has a higher chance of partitioning into muscle regeneration and fuel.

Intermittent fasting allows us to maintain a low body fat all year round without the need for cutting and bulking cycles.

Intermittent fasting research shows that subjects have better leptin levels as well as better insulin sensitivity.
IFers also have shown to have better HGH while in REM sleep.
IFers have the freedom to get **** done without worrying about food!
Yesterday I went from 10pm the night before to 5pm last night getting **** done then feasted on about 1200 calories of food.

OP if you dont eat right already, the 1200 calorie diet, you wont make it very far with fasting.
My recommendation is figure out your proper dietary numbers from Fat to Fit Radio under Tools.
Do the military Body Fat Calc first then the BMR tool.
Eat exactly what the BMR says to eat according to your activity level.
After a month of effective nutritional eating, come play with the big boys and the IF crowd.
1200 cals wont cut it....unless you are 4'11"

Heres Carrie.
Shes 5'2" eats about 2500 cals a day IFs 16/8

Carrie: Left is before and right is current. Shes 113lbs 15% BF and deadlifts 230+ x5.

GeoffLeon

lets get back to the original post here, this isnt about religion as i can tell:-

"I have been looking up a few sites that say fasting is good for you AND your weight loss.
I'm very curious to know if this is true or just a scam."

How can it be a scam, what are you going to buy if you don't eat anything certainly no one in the IF world has tried to sell me anything, it's not a scam the guys that I mention have written papers and studies based on medical fact!

"I was planning on doing my MFP 1200 calorie goal, 5 days a week, and fasting 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday.)
Is this a bad idea? "

Don't take anyones advice! there are people in this thread that really know about IF (you know who you are!) and there are people who are talking cr*p. Read, Read and read some more. try looking for Lyle McDonald and Martin Berkhan to name but a few. Then make an informed choice after what you read.

"I have a very busy schedule and usually don't have time to work out until after 8pm, which is bad?
(that's what I've been told anyways.)"

more rubbish, working out at anytime is fine, better than not working out at all which is probably why many of us need to loose weight. You need to find something that works for you because IF like many things will work for many but the problem is often people want to mess around with things and "try it their way" then complain when it doesn't work.

"So I usually do a 15 minute work out on my lunch breaks, but it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere.
Will fasting help me get to my goal a little quicker?"

Without going into the science, the principle of IF is it helps to move the fat stored in cells into energy to be used during workouts. As you can see the body building world is loving IF but most of us guys and even the girl here are lifting heavy weights, squats, bench pressing etc. I'm not sure what your doing in the gym for 15 mins but I doubt it would help you get you your goals quicker.

IMO I.F. is still underground and not in the main stream yet so there are many that will dismiss it because it goes against what everyone has been told about metabolic rates and insulin and other stuff. What I know to be true after 20 years of training with weights is this. If your talking to natural body builders about weight gain and weight loss then your probably talking to people who know more about the subject than most. Why because if your thin and cant put on weight (like I was) then you'll know how hard you have to work to do that. If you go below 10% bodyfat or 15% for a woman that's pretty far below what other "normal" people would try. If you managed that without drugs then you probably did it by learning an awful lot about diet and excercise.

Now go read and find out what some of us already know ;-)

Helloitsdan

www.leangains.com
Read the entire website and case studies.

www.bodyrecomposition.com

Also a good site.

taem

You can watch this video about water only fasting. It is short and incomplete but you will find some useful information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4m3yLwN1fcM

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Occasional religious (or other) fasting is fine, but incorporating regular fasting into your schedule is probably unhealthy.

That said... I LOVE FOOD SO MUCH.

Yes, it needed to be in caps.

Have you researched, read or studied anything to do with Intermittent Fasting? If not, you can not say that is is unhealthy to do regular fasting.............I am experiencing fat loss even though the scale is moving really slowly down and the changes are enormous in my looks.

I am also healthier now than I have been in years. Please educate yourself before just jumping on the bandwagon and saying something is so unhealthy when it is not.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I TOTALLY AGREE. FASTING ONLY PUTS YOU BODY INTO STARVATION MODE WICH THEN YOUR BODY WILL HOLD ON TO THE FAT CELLS INSTEAD OF EATING HELTHY CHOICES IN SMALL PORTIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO SPEED UP YOUR METABOLISM.

Wrong.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I fasted on the "liquid protein diet" back in the 70s. I lost weight very quickly and lost my 20 pounds in about a month. The very first time I ate a meal, the next day I gained exactly 10 pounds back. I was dehydrated. Over the next few days, I gained all but 5 pounds back. Not worth it in any way. I was devastated and, of course being in starvation mode just contributed to the yo-yo factor. Stupid idea unless there is a very good reason and you are closely supervised by a doctor or other health care professional.

Sorry but starvation mode is a myth if you have sufficient fat to lose. Your body will utilize the fat to keep you going.

Metabolism slowing is not starvation mode because the metabolism bounces back once you start consuming normal again.

Geeesh...........

PaleoPath4Lyfe

One other aspect to consider before fasting. Your heart needs certain nutrients to keep a steady rhythm; and to keep beating. You can't just stop and start eating without the potential to damage your body....permanently! Like I said in my earlier post, go see a professional and have a plan other than the one of drinking water one day and eating light the next.

Also, this type of dieting often exposes health problems in people who were previously thought to be healthy.

OM EM GEEEEE, the comments are getting more ridiculous as I read through them.

Your body stores nutrients from previous meals and such.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

One idea if you don't want to do a complete fast is to fast from a particular thing, like sugar. Or try 100% raw for a few days. I myself cannot fast due to being borderline diabetic, so this could be very helpful. If I could fast, I only would for spiritual reasons and not as a weight-loss method. I believe in eating LOTS of different fresh/whole foods, drinking plenty of water, and being as active as possible; your body will adjust itself to it's proper weight if that is done.

True starvation mode is when your body has no more stored fat to live on and starts consuming it's own organs, though many people have other definitions. Most Americans have enough fat to live on for awhile!

Good luck with your goals!

Who told you you couldn't fast being borderline Diabetic? I WAS a Type 2 Diabetic, now reversed...........no more Insulin Resistance and no more Type 2 Diabetes either.

How? Intermittent Fasting and eating high fat, moderate protein, low carb.

I questioned conventional wisdom, took charge of my health and changed my life. My insulin has not been so steady in a long time.

faithiedavie

not a good idea because your body will not lose weight in a healthy way. It will hold onto fat because it will go into starvation mode. Good luck.

zafferFL

not a good idea because your body will not lose weight in a healthy way. It will hold onto fat because it will go into starvation mode. Good luck.

Is that a professional opinion?

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I was planning on doing my MFP 1200 calorie goal, 5 days a week, and fasting 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday.)
Is this a bad idea?

This part is a bad idea. If you were to try ESE-style fasting (going whole days without food interspersed throughout the week), then you would want to take your 8400 calories for the week and divide them evenly amongst the 5 or 6 days that you DO eat. You still need all the nutrition. Controlled fasting isn't a method to take in LESS calories. It's a way to get the most out of your body's endocrine and digestive systems to make your nutrition work for you.

Exactly!!

PaleoPath4Lyfe

:laugh: :bigsmile:

People go on about bro science. Heck, surely its better than no science? (aka gut instinct).

Anyhoo - this isn't even that - it is measurable and can be seen in the photo's above.

But don't you know it is just antecdotal? :laugh: :laugh:

Huffdogg

The Major advantage to IF is getting to eat 2 -3 big meals, carbs and all ( yes even after 7pm bro) and not going over daily macros, none of this tiny 6 meals a day portions BS. its easier to hit cal deficit thus weight loss. I find snacking and lots of little meals during a 15hr eating window is easier to go over your cal intake.

I would think that the Major {caps and all} advantage is the manipulation of hormonal responses in your body to maximize fat loss while promoting lean muscle synthesis. Maybe that's just me.

Huffdogg

not a good idea because your body will not lose weight in a healthy way. It will hold onto fat because it will go into starvation mode. Good luck.

"I enter threads where I know nothing about the subject, don't read anything already posted, and spout random opinions with no basis in fact."