intermittent fasting critis

whiskeycharged

Hey @MoreBean13

You see, others are also making ALL KINDS OF GAINS on IF. Just like me.

Call me Mr. Feathers aka Mr. Striations

I done IF for a long time, about a year. Didn't change much of anything. With a 4hr feeding window.

Why would you do it for a year then if it didn't change much of anything?

billyh333

There are some bodybuilders who knock if but we all know why they do that cause if your on the juice you need to be eating all you can:happy:

whiskeycharged

There is nothing special about IF, what matters is calories within a certain time period.

Calories within a certain time period you say?

.. Sounds like IF - where you consume your daily calories in a specific time period and fast the remaining part of the day.

No, i mean for example 2000 calories in 8hrs, or 2000 calories in 24hrs. 2000 calories is 2000 calories, same hormonal effects either way. I wrote a complete topic on it.

Intermittent fasting is a popular method used to reduce body fat. Intermittent fasting has 2 phases, a fasted state and an eating window. The fasted state is is when you don’t eat, the eating window is your allocated time to eat. When I did Intermittent Fasting I followed the “Warrior Diet” method. This is based around a 20hr fasted state with a 4hr eating window. I wouldn’t eat anything till 5pm and stop eating at 9pm. There is also “lean gains” method. Which is a 16hr fast an 8 hour eating window. Most people don’t eat until 12pm then eat until 8pm. There is also ESE(Eat Stop Eat) method, this method you fast 24hrs once a week. For example you stop eating at 8pm Monday, fast till 8pm Tuesday, eat a normal dinner then resume your eating habits the rest of the week. Theory of these methods are that GH(Growth Hormone is increased) which helps burn body fat and you automatically reduce calories.
Discussion

The issues with these methods are some people believe that calories don’t count. They tend to stuff their face with Chinese buffet every night, or pig out on ice cream thinking it’s a viable way to lose weight. This debunks you’ll automatically reduce calories. When we eat our insulin level goes up, this inhibits fat oxidation (prevents you from burning fat) the more you eat the higher the amount of insulin. Assuming you eat the exact same food in 1 meal or 10 meals. You will release the same amount of insulin and growth hormone. Growth hormone is released when insulin is down in response to gherlin(hunger hormone). If all hormone levels are the same despite the timing of when you eat what difference does it make? None. Intermittent fasting is not a viable approach to fat loss. I have known many people who have done it with no results in terms of fat loss. There is an exception though with ESE(Eat stop eat). This will reduce your weekly calorie intake by 1 day. You literally don’t eat for 1 day. You will get the growth hormone benefits within your fasted state applying this method. There are other benefits to IF. When I did “The Warrior Diet” I would just cook one big meal, spend 20-30 minutes in the kitchen and I was done. It’s a great time saver. I never got the “bogged down” feeling during the day. I personally feel you do function better in the day in a fasted state. In terms of weight loss? No difference.
Conclusion

Intermittent fasting (excluding ESE) isn’t a viable approach to weight loss. If you’re pressed for time it might be a useful eating method. Also try it if you want to feel better through the day. The key here is to experiment and find out how it makes you f

Shrinking_Stacey

Do you have to eat your daily calorie allowance within 4 hours?

no if anyone knows anything about it its not 4hr window its 8 and yea in 8hrs I can eat a lot of food

Admittedly, I'm still learning about the process, but I was under the impression that most people doing the Warrior diet were doing 4 hours....is that incorrect, or do you disagree with the Warrior diet?

I'm interested too- I know the least about warrior- I've done my homework on leangains and ESE.

Here's the basic idea for those interested:

-Leangains method is a 16hr fast/8hr feeding window (often modified to 14/10 for women) where you consume your "cut" calories (if trying to lose weight) every day within your feeding window. Most people fast after dinner and prolong breakfast until about lunchtime. So for example, you would eat at noon and then finish all your calories by 8pm. Schedule can be adjusted however you need to fit your schedule.

-Eat-Stop-Eat (ESE) is usually a 24- hr fast, done once or twice a week. The rest of the week, you eat MORE calories than your cut, somewhere around maintenence, so that the average for the whole week equals your cut. Most people eat dinner, then fast through dinner the next night, and then eat a *reasonable* but large meal in the evening after their 24-hr fast. You do it this way so that you never have a day where you wake up and go to bed again without fasting, which makes it a lot easier to get through.

Thanks for sharing Bean! This is good info, I really like the 16/8!

billyh333

Lmaol nice picture

There is nothing special about IF, what matters is calories within a certain time period.

Calories within a certain time period you say?

.. Sounds like IF - where you consume your daily calories in a specific time period and fast the remaining part of the day.

No, i mean for example 2000 calories in 8hrs, or 2000 calories in 24hrs. 2000 calories is 2000 calories, same hormonal effects either way. I wrote a complete topic on it.

Intermittent fasting is a popular method used to reduce body fat. Intermittent fasting has 2 phases, a fasted state and an eating window. The fasted state is is when you don’t eat, the eating window is your allocated time to eat. When I did Intermittent Fasting I followed the “Warrior Diet” method. This is based around a 20hr fasted state with a 4hr eating window. I wouldn’t eat anything till 5pm and stop eating at 9pm. There is also “lean gains” method. Which is a 16hr fast an 8 hour eating window. Most people don’t eat until 12pm then eat until 8pm. There is also ESE(Eat Stop Eat) method, this method you fast 24hrs once a week. For example you stop eating at 8pm Monday, fast till 8pm Tuesday, eat a normal dinner then resume your eating habits the rest of the week. Theory of these methods are that GH(Growth Hormone is increased) which helps burn body fat and you automatically reduce calories.
Discussion

The issues with these methods are some people believe that calories don’t count. They tend to stuff their face with Chinese buffet every night, or pig out on ice cream thinking it’s a viable way to lose weight. This debunks you’ll automatically reduce calories. When we eat our insulin level goes up, this inhibits fat oxidation (prevents you from burning fat) the more you eat the higher the amount of insulin. Assuming you eat the exact same food in 1 meal or 10 meals. You will release the same amount of insulin and growth hormone. Growth hormone is released when insulin is down in response to gherlin(hunger hormone). If all hormone levels are the same despite the timing of when you eat what difference does it make? None. Intermittent fasting is not a viable approach to fat loss. I have known many people who have done it with no results in terms of fat loss. There is an exception though with ESE(Eat stop eat). This will reduce your weekly calorie intake by 1 day. You literally don’t eat for 1 day. You will get the growth hormone benefits within your fasted state applying this method. There are other benefits to IF. When I did “The Warrior Diet” I would just cook one big meal, spend 20-30 minutes in the kitchen and I was done. It’s a great time saver. I never got the “bogged down” feeling during the day. I personally feel you do function better in the day in a fasted state. In terms of weight loss? No difference.
Conclusion

Intermittent fasting (excluding ESE) isn’t a viable approach to weight loss. If you’re pressed for time it might be a useful eating method. Also try it if you want to feel better through the day. The key here is to experiment and find out how it makes you f

theartichoke

I do leangains style IF and just want to throw this in.

It's a great plateau buster.

I can make no claims about its ability to accelerate fat loss or lean muscle gains over any other method. I don't think anyone can.

It's not for everyone. Especially if you have a history of EDs. The fasting periods can lead to restriction and/or bingeing.

I love IF. Some of the people who knock it before they've tried it do so because they know it's not the miracle it's made out to be. Seems to me that they're balking at the idea it's magical. There are wonderful reasons to try IF but there are wonderful reasons other methods can work just as well. Maybe some of it is contempt prior to investigation but there is a bit of truth to the phrase "Dont believe the hype.".

baggyapple

I think people would benefit just as much by not making it so technical; it's all about alleviating some of the confusion associated with this sort of thing. Myself personally, in fasting a few times now, it's best to choose a day or days where you know that you will either have no strenuous activity or little if at all; this of course pertains mainly to people that have never tried it.
What also works, I have found, is trying to schedule a fast where most of the hours come from hours spent at work , as you are therefore less likely to think about the hunger; and there will be hunger! lol Again, this is just stuff that I have found works for me, but regardless, I reccomend easing into it, because it will prove a shock to your body.
In the end, it is an option with many benefits; both health wise and spiritually, just to name a couple.
Just a few thoughts for what it's worth.

MoreBean13

Do you have to eat your daily calorie allowance within 4 hours?

no if anyone knows anything about it its not 4hr window its 8 and yea in 8hrs I can eat a lot of food

Admittedly, I'm still learning about the process, but I was under the impression that most people doing the Warrior diet were doing 4 hours....is that incorrect, or do you disagree with the Warrior diet?

I'm interested too- I know the least about warrior- I've done my homework on leangains and ESE.

Here's the basic idea for those interested:

-Leangains method is a 16hr fast/8hr feeding window (often modified to 14/10 for women) where you consume your "cut" calories (if trying to lose weight) every day within your feeding window. Most people fast after dinner and prolong breakfast until about lunchtime. So for example, you would eat at noon and then finish all your calories by 8pm. Schedule can be adjusted however you need to fit your schedule.

-Eat-Stop-Eat (ESE) is usually a 24- hr fast, done once or twice a week. The rest of the week, you eat MORE calories than your cut, somewhere around maintenence, so that the average for the whole week equals your cut. Most people eat dinner, then fast through dinner the next night, and then eat a *reasonable* but large meal in the evening after their 24-hr fast. You do it this way so that you never have a day where you wake up and go to bed again without fasting, which makes it a lot easier to get through.

Thanks for sharing Bean! This is good info, I really like the 16/8!

No Problemo- That's what I do- 2pm to 10pm. Did one week of ESE and didn't care for it.
And thebiggest benefit for me is I love eating huge meals...alot. It makes my calories feel like a lot more. Also, you have a bunch of calories in the evening if you have to go out to dinner or whatever- you can eat like a normal person instead of ordering steamed broccoli and dry chicken. Not that I go out anymore!

whiskeycharged

There is nothing special about IF, what matters is calories within a certain time period.

Calories within a certain time period you say?

.. Sounds like IF - where you consume your daily calories in a specific time period and fast the remaining part of the day.

No, i mean for example 2000 calories in 8hrs, or 2000 calories in 24hrs. 2000 calories is 2000 calories, same hormonal effects either way. I wrote a complete topic on it.

Intermittent fasting is a popular method used to reduce body fat. Intermittent fasting has 2 phases, a fasted state and an eating window. The fasted state is is when you don’t eat, the eating window is your allocated time to eat. When I did Intermittent Fasting I followed the “Warrior Diet” method. This is based around a 20hr fasted state with a 4hr eating window. I wouldn’t eat anything till 5pm and stop eating at 9pm. There is also “lean gains” method. Which is a 16hr fast an 8 hour eating window. Most people don’t eat until 12pm then eat until 8pm. There is also ESE(Eat Stop Eat) method, this method you fast 24hrs once a week. For example you stop eating at 8pm Monday, fast till 8pm Tuesday, eat a normal dinner then resume your eating habits the rest of the week. Theory of these methods are that GH(Growth Hormone is increased) which helps burn body fat and you automatically reduce calories.
Discussion

The issues with these methods are some people believe that calories don’t count. They tend to stuff their face with Chinese buffet every night, or pig out on ice cream thinking it’s a viable way to lose weight. This debunks you’ll automatically reduce calories. When we eat our insulin level goes up, this inhibits fat oxidation (prevents you from burning fat) the more you eat the higher the amount of insulin. Assuming you eat the exact same food in 1 meal or 10 meals. You will release the same amount of insulin and growth hormone. Growth hormone is released when insulin is down in response to gherlin(hunger hormone). If all hormone levels are the same despite the timing of when you eat what difference does it make? None. Intermittent fasting is not a viable approach to fat loss. I have known many people who have done it with no results in terms of fat loss. There is an exception though with ESE(Eat stop eat). This will reduce your weekly calorie intake by 1 day. You literally don’t eat for 1 day. You will get the growth hormone benefits within your fasted state applying this method. There are other benefits to IF. When I did “The Warrior Diet” I would just cook one big meal, spend 20-30 minutes in the kitchen and I was done. It’s a great time saver. I never got the “bogged down” feeling during the day. I personally feel you do function better in the day in a fasted state. In terms of weight loss? No difference.
Conclusion

Intermittent fasting (excluding ESE) isn’t a viable approach to weight loss. If you’re pressed for time it might be a useful eating method. Also try it if you want to feel better through the day. The key here is to experiment and find out how it makes you f

I that you incoherent? Or is it like "HEY I AM NEW HERE!!!"?

.. Just not interested in what you have to say.

billyh333

.. Just not interested in what you have to say.

Oh okay, I thought you were. Since you googled an image. quoted me, used the image tags, and pushed reply.

be real eveyone is guilty of copy and paste cause i don't think anyone of us can type that fast that's weak we all do It

samhigh

I have been doing the www.LeanGains.com method of IF for six months. Huge thanks to Martin, internet high lord of IF, and also to Andy at www.rippedbody.jp for their tremendous service to anyone intelligent enough to challenge, or at least question, some of the mainstream and institutionalized approaches to fitness and nutrition.

I have been active and strength training for five years. The two sites above have allowed me to train less, spend less time preparing food, do less cardio, and do zero abdominal exercises. Is it magic? No, you have to eat disciplined and train like a beast. It is not for everyone.

Not sure I could go back to eating breakfast now, I feel sharper and more focused at work not having to worry about food in the AM, or feeling sleepy from the breakfast burrito I bought from the food truck off PCH and Topanga, or the worlds worst tasting breakfast - oatmeal.

Not eating after 9 pm is a hidden blessing. No popping a couple cashews late night, or sneaking some ice cream, or eating an entire bag of cookies. My feeding window closes, I eat again in 16 hours. It actually helps promote healthy choices. Most people are not eating green veggies and salmon after dinner.

You can even drink on the approach, allowing you to be social, and actually live life.

Unlike many people, I didn't just find a website, look at some success stories, and throw myself in to it. I thoroughly researched the scientific principles behind the approach, going directly to the article on pubmed.com. It checks out. Everything you have heard is wrong. You must eat breakfast, dont eat huge meals, don't train in a fasted state, etc.

I have personalized IF to my own specific needs. I track total expenditure via a Fitbit, cals in with MFP, and all of my workouts on bodybuilding.com. The last five weeks have been a purposeful caloric deficit to take body fat down while sacrificing as little muscle as possible. I have run a proportionate deficit based upon my exact caloric expenditure. When doing this you have to listen to your body! Can't stress this enough. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

I have seriously laxed the diet now - cheeseburgers, pizza, chex mix, snack size almond joys by the truckload. I have built in refeed days, aka go crazy days, but this is not a part of leangains. I just like eating like a fat kid in a candy store once a week. I use the tricks from 4HB to minimize damage.

If you have any questions about IF, feel free to message me. I started a meetup.com group for people to learn more. If you live in the Los Angeles area, check it out.

There are a million ways to lose weight, improve strength, or just be a more active and healthy person. Find what is right for you. No matter the eating style or exercise; cardio/HIIT/zumba/yoga/pilates/and every other damn marketing gimmick to get your dollars, you have to:

Control your food intake
Do some sort of activity
Commit to an achievable goal and don't let anything stand in your way

IrishDaveRed

BBC Horizon did a show on this recently. It was very interesting and looked at fasts from eating only 50 calories per day for four days a month through to fasting every other day. In the end the guy who made the film went with eating only 500 to 60) calories in one meal two days a week. He didn't always have those two days consecutively. Other than that he didn't change his diet. He lost 14lbs in 5 weeks and his body fat dropped significantly. Various blood measures improved also.

He said it was the show that has had the biggest impact on him. He was so convinced of the benefits he decided to adopt the fasting into his life.

The suggested benefits are that the reduced calorie intake (perhaps specifically reduced protein intake) reduces IGF1 (human growth hormone) which is related to age related diseases. Also, there is evidence that hunger sends signals the the brain to start repairing itself thus reducing risk of age related brain deterioration.

Very interesting show.

blakhitman

Awesome posts IrishDaveRed and Samhigh!

billyh333

hell yea shut the haters up lmaol
I have been doing the www.LeanGains.com method of IF for six months. Huge thanks to Martin, internet high lord of IF, and also to Andy at www.rippedbody.jp for their tremendous service to anyone intelligent enough to challenge, or at least question, some of the mainstream and institutionalized approaches to fitness and nutrition.

I have been active and strength training for five years. The two sites above have allowed me to train less, spend less time preparing food, do less cardio, and do zero abdominal exercises. Is it magic? No, you have to eat disciplined and train like a beast. It is not for everyone.

Not sure I could go back to eating breakfast now, I feel sharper and more focused at work not having to worry about food in the AM, or feeling sleepy from the breakfast burrito I bought from the food truck off PCH and Topanga, or the worlds worst tasting breakfast - oatmeal.

Not eating after 9 pm is a hidden blessing. No popping a couple cashews late night, or sneaking some ice cream, or eating an entire bag of cookies. My feeding window closes, I eat again in 16 hours. It actually helps promote healthy choices. Most people are not eating green veggies and salmon after dinner.

You can even drink on the approach, allowing you to be social, and actually live life.

Unlike many people, I didn't just find a website, look at some success stories, and throw myself in to it. I thoroughly researched the scientific principles behind the approach, going directly to the article on pubmed.com. It checks out. Everything you have heard is wrong. You must eat breakfast, dont eat huge meals, don't train in a fasted state, etc.

I have personalized IF to my own specific needs. I track total expenditure via a Fitbit, cals in with MFP, and all of my workouts on bodybuilding.com. The last five weeks have been a purposeful caloric deficit to take body fat down while sacrificing as little muscle as possible. I have run a proportionate deficit based upon my exact caloric expenditure. When doing this you have to listen to your body! Can't stress this enough. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

I have seriously laxed the diet now - cheeseburgers, pizza, chex mix, snack size almond joys by the truckload. I have built in refeed days, aka go crazy days, but this is not a part of leangains. I just like eating like a fat kid in a candy store once a week. I use the tricks from 4HB to minimize damage.

If you have any questions about IF, feel free to message me. I started a meetup.com group for people to learn more. If you live in the Los Angeles area, check it out.

There are a million ways to lose weight, improve strength, or just be a more active and healthy person. Find what is right for you. No matter the eating style or exercise; cardio/HIIT/zumba/yoga/pilates/and every other damn marketing gimmick to get your dollars, you have to:

Control your food intake
Do some sort of activity
Commit to an achievable goal and don't let anything stand in your way

billyh333

Awesome posts IrishDaveRed and Samhigh

CyberEd312

Not everyone, I have attempted it before but don't care for it.... Also I must add, I am a type 2 diabetic so long fasting just doesn't fit into my game plan..... Not against it though, just can't do it... Best of Luck......

blakhitman

also it's so true about laxing the diet. I feel I can do this for ever, cause I never feel like going crazy.

jojoof4

bumping for later. Just recently started checking into IF.

clobercow

I've been doing it.

Look at my ticker down there.

I feel AMAZING.

I will forever IF. No doubt it's the single best tool I have in fat loss and hormone control.

clobercow

IF is the best thing that has happened to me. No need to go low carbs, and I am still burning a lot of fat.

I gotta give credit to tmw though. They got me into it first and I'm loving it.

Making all kinds of gains!!

Aaaall...kiiiiinds

DO WHAT EVER THE **** YOU WANA DO!

samhigh

I have been doing the www.LeanGains.com method of IF for six months. Huge thanks to Martin, internet high lord of IF, and also to Andy at www.rippedbody.jp for their tremendous service to anyone intelligent enough to challenge, or at least question, some of the mainstream and institutionalized approaches to fitness and nutrition.

Just so you know, the original creator of IF was "Ori Hofmekler" The author of "The Warrior Diet" it was published in 2003.

Leangains.com has been active since 2009.

Good to know. Props to that guy as well. Many people, and lab mice, have contributed to Martin's particular method.

Eat Stop Eat has also been successful for many people, not sure when that dude started.

meerkat70

So would you recommend trying it?

I have done it and lost 32 pounds.like I said do your homework and yes I do.can't hurt anything

When you say 'do your homework', did you mean the almost total lack of human trials?

(I have no issue with IF - people have done this for centuries without naming it as such. But there is a lack of current research... only a couple of trials to date.)

asgumbs86

Intermittent fasting when done properly actually is a very powerful tool, if you want to find out more about it read

http://cutandjacked.com/Intermittent-Fasting-For-Fat-Loss

Just remembering everything has a balance, you don't have to be as strict as what one thing says but you take from it and make it your own to suit your needs and goals, that is the same for any type of training or any type of diet.

Intermittent fasting is definately worth a try and its a really good way of changing eating habits. Hope that link helps anyone curious about intermittent fastinging, also their is a really good article on that site about carb cycling.

Enjoy :happy:

ZivileZu

I did IF for 6 months a couple of years ago. Turned out to be great for my health too - according to my doctor after a very thorough check up.

Trying to get back to it now. First week in at the moment.

meerkat70

Intermittent fasting when done properly actually is a very powerful tool, if you want to find out more about it read

http://cutandjacked.com/Intermittent-Fasting-For-Fat-Loss

Just remembering everything has a balance, you don't have to be as strict as what one thing says but you take from it and make it your own to suit your needs and goals, that is the same for any type of training or any type of diet.

Intermittent fasting is definately worth a try and its a really good way of changing eating habits. Hope that link helps anyone curious about intermittent fastinging, also their is a really good article on that site about carb cycling.

Enjoy :happy:

Again, this is all lovely, and I have no problem with IF per se. But that's an article, not research. There's no real evidence base for the claims being made about this. I honestly can't see anything harmful in IF, and if it works for people, that's fab. Just be wary of some of the claims....

clobercow

Intermittent fasting when done properly actually is a very powerful tool, if you want to find out more about it read

http://cutandjacked.com/Intermittent-Fasting-For-Fat-Loss

Just remembering everything has a balance, you don't have to be as strict as what one thing says but you take from it and make it your own to suit your needs and goals, that is the same for any type of training or any type of diet.

Intermittent fasting is definately worth a try and its a really good way of changing eating habits. Hope that link helps anyone curious about intermittent fastinging, also their is a really good article on that site about carb cycling.

Enjoy :happy:

Again, this is all lovely, and I have no problem with IF per se. But that's an article, not research. There's no real evidence base for the claims being made about this. I honestly can't see anything harmful in IF, and if it works for people, that's fab. Just be wary of some of the claims....

That same advice could be said for just about EVERYTHING said about fat loss and everything related. I've seen studies done that completely contradict each other. I decided to try IF. I am hooked and it didn't take me long to identify that what is said is true. I may be different that most people, but I can say that all of the claims that didn't sound like complete bull****, are true. I could rattle off a bunch of them, but I'm not trying to sell this to you. Could it be placebo? Could it be real? That's up for you to decide if you chose to try it.

meerkat70

That's simply not true, clober. There's a pretty consistent evidence base for many weightloss related practices. For instance, we know how cals in and out work, we understand the relative benefits of protein intake, carb reduction, resistance training, endurance work, HIIT.

However, with IF, there aren't just weightloss claims (which really can be explained largely through overall calorie reduction) there are also claims around the impact on ageing, for instance. There's pretty much NO human trial based evidence for this. There're are also few human trials comparing weightloss from IF vs weightloss from ordinary cal reduction.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's a minimal evidence base. Again, I'm not suggesting anyone should stop on the basis of this, and if you're benefiting from it, that's absolutely great, and I'm genuinely happy for you. But don't be suggesting that critics haven't 'done their homework', since reading up on this practice is pretty challenging, given that there's not much out there to read.....

stephvaile

BBC Horizon did a show on this recently. It was very interesting and looked at fasts from eating only 50 calories per day for four days a month through to fasting every other day. In the end the guy who made the film went with eating only 500 to 60) calories in one meal two days a week. He didn't always have those two days consecutively. Other than that he didn't change his diet. He lost 14lbs in 5 weeks and his body fat dropped significantly. Various blood measures improved also.

He said it was the show that has had the biggest impact on him. He was so convinced of the benefits he decided to adopt the fasting into his life.

The suggested benefits are that the reduced calorie intake (perhaps specifically reduced protein intake) reduces IGF1 (human growth hormone) which is related to age related diseases. Also, there is evidence that hunger sends signals the the brain to start repairing itself thus reducing risk of age related brain deterioration.

Very interesting show.

Intermittent fasting
One area of current research into diet is Alternate Day fasting (ADF), involving eating what you want one day, then a very restricted diet (fewer than 600 calories) the next, and most surprisingly, it does not seem to matter that much what you eat on non-fast days.

Dr Krista Varady of the University of Illinois at Chicago carried out an eight-week trial comparing two groups of overweight patients on ADF.

"If you were sticking to your fast days, then in terms of cardiovascular disease risk, it didn't seem to matter if you were eating a high-fat or low-fat diet on your feed (non-fast) days," she said.

I decided I couldn't manage ADF, it was just too impractical. Instead I did an easier version, the so-called 5:2 diet. As the name implies you eat normally 5 days a week, then two days a week you eat 500 calories if you are a woman, or 600 calories, if you are a man.

There are no firm rules because so far there have been few proper human trials. I found that I could get through my fast days best if I had a light breakfast (scrambled eggs, thin slice of ham, lots of black tea, adding up to about 300 calories), lots of water and herbal tea during the day, then a light dinner (grilled fish with lots of vegetables) at night.

Continue reading the main story
Healthy living

What is a healthy weight?
Being active may depend on finding a form of exercise which suits you
A diet and fitness plan can help physical and mental health
Source: BBC health

How to make your lifestyle more healthy
On my feed days I ate what I normally do and felt no need to gorge.

I stuck to this diet for 5 weeks, during which time I lost nearly a stone and my blood markers, like IGF-1, glucose and cholesterol, improved. If I can sustain that, it will greatly reduce my risk of contracting age-related diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Current medical opinion is that the benefits of fasting are unproven and until there are more human studies it's better to eat at least 2000 calories a day. If you really want to fast then you should do it in a proper clinic or under medical supervision, because there are many people, such as pregnant women or diabetics on medication, for whom it could be dangerous.

I was closely monitored throughout and found the 5:2 surprisingly easy. I will almost certainly continue doing it, albeit less often. Fasting, like eating, is best done in moderation.

Michael Mosley presents Horizon: Eat, Fast and Live Longer on BBC Two at 21:00 BST on Monday 6 August. Watch online afterwards via iPlayer (UK only) or browse Horizon clips at the above link.

this is the article to the horizon programme i thought i may give this ago for 4 weeks and see how i feel

meerkat70

Where comparisons are available:


http://www.amjmed.com/article/0002-9343(94)90302-6/abstract
Use in obesity linked diabetes:
"The intermittent VLCD improved weight loss and glycemic control, but these effects were quite modest and do not appear to justify the clinical use of an intermittent VLCD"

http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&q=intermittent+fasting+weightloss+&btnG=&as_sdt=1,5&as_sdtp=

comparing calorie restriction to an intermittent fasting regimen:
"Last observation carried forward analysis showed that IER and CER are equally effective for weight loss"
i.e. no difference between the two groups.

This is the pattern of the research. It works fine. It doesn't appear to have any particular advantage over more traditional forms of calorie counting.

myofibril

Could it be placebo? Could it be real?

I think that's rather the point of having further research, preferably in a controlled rather than free living environment, with a decent methodology.

Unfortunately IF seems to be going much the same way as the low carb movement in some of the exaggerated and cherry picked claims that are made on its behalf.

I do think that IF has many benefits, particularly if improving your body composition is your primary focus as it really helps with adherence. Does it have any significant benefit over an isocaloric diet spread over say 3-4 meal? Not really. In addition, if your goals are more athletic than aesthetic (which is probably the minority of people) I think it is a sub optimal choice much like low carb. I agree with Anthony Colpo's assessment in this regard.