intermittent fasting - does it REALLY work?!

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Hi guys,

I'm reading a lot into intermittent fasting....i.e. where you eat normally 5 days a week and then eat 500 calories a day for 2 days a week.

Does it REALLY work?!

Acg67

Hi guys,

I'm reading a lot into intermittent fasting....i.e. where you eat normally 5 days a week and then eat 500 calories a day for 2 days a week.

Does it REALLY work?!

To tell you the truth that is not an IF protocol I'm familiar with. IF is no magic bullet for weight loss, it may be something to try out if you enjoy eating larger meals and is something that is more convenient for you

melaniecheeks

Is this after the Horizon programme on Monday night? There's a few threads on here already about it.

What do you mean by "work". The Horizon programme found it had useful health benefits, but it wasn't primarily a weight loss thing, that was just a side effect.

Sidesteal

Any program that allows you to eat at a calorie deficit with macronutrient sufficiency will work, whether it's a leangains style IF, 6 meals per day, 3 meals per day, Eat Stop Eat, etc etc.

IMO the big difference is that some people will find one that fits their lifestyle and this helps a ton with adherence.

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Any program that allows you to eat at a calorie deficit with macronutrient sufficiency will work, whether it's a leangains style IF, 6 meals per day, 3 meals per day, Eat Stop Eat, etc etc.

IMO the big difference is that some people will find one that fits their lifestyle and this helps a ton with adherence.

Yeh i agree. Do you know if it has to be 2 days in a row that you do the 500 calories? i could probably do it i think!

ruksha123

bump

mandypizzle

I have no idea but I was wondering the same thing. I would like to do a juice fast once a week. And just drink about 500-700 calories that day in fresh fruit/veggie juices.

Sidesteal

Any program that allows you to eat at a calorie deficit with macronutrient sufficiency will work, whether it's a leangains style IF, 6 meals per day, 3 meals per day, Eat Stop Eat, etc etc.

IMO the big difference is that some people will find one that fits their lifestyle and this helps a ton with adherence.

Yeh i agree. Do you know if it has to be 2 days in a row that you do the 500 calories? i could probably do it i think!

I think that if you're going to do something like this you should have a good idea as to what your TDEE is and you should create a weekly deficit rather than a daily one so that your 500 calorie days are balanced by a higher calorie intake on one or more days.

Beyond that I'm not familiar with the specific program you're referencing.

Maldivesbeachbodplease

hmmmm looks like i need to do a bit more research. I don't know if i could realistically manage it or if i'm kidding myself! xxx

opuntia

Yeh i agree. Do you know if it has to be 2 days in a row that you do the 500 calories? i could probably do it i think!

From what I understood of the documentary, it doesn't have to be 2 days in a row - they could be spaced out however you like. I think it's just that for people who work Monday to Friday, it's likely to be more convenient to do the fasting at the weekend.

Tinkerbell1010

look into the alternate day diet by James Johnson MD

autumnk921

Here is the original article on this....It's 5 days of eating whatever and 2 days in a row of 500cals....Or you can do the alternate days...1 day of eating anything and one day of 500cals and the next eat whatever and so on....The 5:2 sounds doable to me at least.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Here is the original article on this....It's 5 days of eating whatever and 2 days in a row of 500cals....Or you can do the alternate days...1 day of eating anything and one day of 500cals and the next eat whatever and so on....The 5:2 sounds doable to me at least.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

Oooo thank you!! I'm tempted to give it a go!! will be a challenge but im willing to try anything right now xxx

adamsilva

not familiar with that kind of IF style. IF is not for everyone, but i do find it easier to hit a cal deficit consistanly. which is the key really, what ever you choose. I do 16/8 everyday and a 20-24hr every once in awhile.

good luck.

Smuterella

for those doing 16/8 - I recently tried the IF calculator and am not sure which activity level to use. I do 5-6 hours of activity a week - half strength, half cardio. Dio I just count the cardio = lightly active or all of it = moderately active.

Also - do I only eat the higher calorie amounts on strength days and the lower on my cardio days?

Thanks!

taylor5877

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

read for yourself, pretty good source as I've read a lot of his articles in the past.

Smuterella

thank you - that site didn't come up in any of my 1 million google searches. :-)

BerryH

My thoughts are that I wouldn't be able to sustain my exercise programme on the days I only ate 500 calories (for women) and would probably struggle the next day too, so it's of no interest to me.

Smuterella

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

read for yourself, pretty good source as I've read a lot of his articles in the past.

OK, that did help but I didn't see my specific questions answered.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Hi guys,

I'm reading a lot into intermittent fasting....i.e. where you eat normally 5 days a week and then eat 500 calories a day for 2 days a week.

Does it REALLY work?!

To tell you the truth that is not an IF protocol I'm familiar with. IF is no magic bullet for weight loss, it may be something to try out if you enjoy eating larger meals and is something that is more convenient for you

I don't know what IF site you got this information from, but that is not the way I IF either.

I eat all of my food in about 6-8 hour setting after IF for 16-18 hours.

yarwell

http://www.genesisuk.org/downloads/pdf/1420b8e9b5773ce4108849b7b9e9f9c1.pdf this is the Breast Cancer Diet version - two days of restricted calories, five of "normal".

http://www.genesisuk.org/media-centre/articles/The Intermittent diet .html

Acg67

http://www.genesisuk.org/downloads/pdf/1420b8e9b5773ce4108849b7b9e9f9c1.pdf this is the Breast Cancer Diet version - two days of restricted calories, five of "normal".

http://www.genesisuk.org/media-centre/articles/The Intermittent diet .html

I've heard that referred to as Alternate Day Caloric Restriction, which differs from IF

wapan

bump

yarwell

I've heard that referred to as Alternate Day Caloric Restriction, which differs from IF

Indeed. It would be simpler if we reserved the term "fast" for "zero calorie intake" or similar.

drewbird911

I know what you may want to try, MFP? Set a goal and stick to it. See if that works.

Smuterella

I know what you may want to try, MFP? Set a goal and stick to it. See if that works.

Ooh, sarcastic. Well, it doesn't work for everyone, sadly.

CM9178

You need to have a calories deficit to lose weight, so technically, it doesn't matter if that deficit is created in one or two days, fasting for hours each day or spread out through out the week. However, it isn't realistic to continue doing this type of thing in the long run. It might help you personally stick to the "program" now and lose weight, but think about long term. Create a deficit, spread it out over the week, and you'll lose weight.

eddiefox

Just started IF and I think it is great! I didn't think that I would be able to workout when I haven't eaten but it works for me! I work 10-11 hours a day so my eating windows range from 8 to as low as 2 hours. For me, food tastes better after fasting.

Smurfette1987

Any program that allows you to eat at a calorie deficit with macronutrient sufficiency will work, whether it's a leangains style IF, 6 meals per day, 3 meals per day, Eat Stop Eat, etc etc.

IMO the big difference is that some people will find one that fits their lifestyle and this helps a ton with adherence.

Yeh i agree. Do you know if it has to be 2 days in a row that you do the 500 calories? i could probably do it i think!

I think that if you're going to do something like this you should have a good idea as to what your TDEE is and you should create a weekly deficit rather than a daily one so that your 500 calorie days are balanced by a higher calorie intake on one or more days.

Beyond that I'm not familiar with the specific program you're referencing.

This is what I do. With a bit of give or take incase I exercise less etc, just a sort of average. Yeah to me the benefits are being able to eat in a more sociable manner if needed without consuming too many calories, it doesn't feel like I'm |"on a diet" every day, and you leanr to understand real hunger too.
I have just done 2 fast days back to back, it has been fine but you don't have to do them together

tcoupe27

I fast for 16hrs then eat during my 8hr window.... To date i have currently lost 25lbs

Smurfette1987

My thoughts are that I wouldn't be able to sustain my exercise programme on the days I only ate 500 calories (for women) and would probably struggle the next day too, so it's of no interest to me.

This isn't an issue for me. Maybe it's because I eat more than I have been used to on a constant restricted calorie diet on the feed days. For example (I do alternate day) I had 2 feed days back to back because of social events so the past 2 days have been fast days back to back, yesterday I did an hour of plyo and legs and walked the dog for 7 miles, today I cycled 14 miles to and from town did 45 mins strength training and 40mins swimming. No problem.
I'm not spouting the whole caveman thing but don't most animals hunt for food when they are hungry? we are animals after all. Before I tried this I was totally in the mind set of "if I don't eat 1.5 to 2 hours before exercise I will have a blood sugar crash, perform badly etc" turns out my head is more precious than my body. I log my training and it's going uphill still so I'm happy
aaaaand I sound like a serious convert!