what are yourthought on Intermittent Fasting

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  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    I've heard of this and have actual heard it has significant health benefits besides losing fat, and it's safe. I want to start this but have no idea how to do it safely, I'm kind of paranoid. Anyone have suggestions?
    I'm with you XD
  • mabug01
    mabug01 Posts: 1,273 Member
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    I think it's probably how early humans ate before agriculture was begun. I don't see anything wrong with it. I may try it someday soon.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
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    I like it simply because I eat larger meals. I usually do 16/8 5 days a week.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    I've heard of this and have actual heard it has significant health benefits besides losing fat, and it's safe. I want to start this but have no idea how to do it safely, I'm kind of paranoid. Anyone have suggestions?
    I'm with you XD

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/08/intermittent-fasting/
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    I.F. Intermittent Fasting and building lean muscle .. what are you thoughts..

    I have been using I.F. for around 3 weeks now 16hr fast 4hr feed.. and i have dropped around 10 lbs and have dropped a nice amount of body fat .

    I found that it works great and is a sustainable way to manage a calorie budget. Humans are designed for this and have been doing it since the beginning of time, both as hunter gatherers and for spiritual reasons. Almost all religions have a form of fasting.

    When a pastor gave me a hard time about fasting for managing calories and weight loss I asked "Why is it okay to fast for spiritual reasons but not for weight loss?". They just stared at me like a deer in a headlight.

    An excellent source for the science behind it is Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Just look at his web site and see his articles and qualifications. Awesome stuff there.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    How is everyone going to say it works?

    It will only work if you burn more calories than you consume. If you eat too much you won't lose any fat. Even if you're doing IF. It's not about if IF "works" or not. It doesn't. What works is burning more than you consume.

    I did IF for a year, with no additional benefits.

    What are peoples thoughts on this?

    I kinda want to try it just to see if it makes me feel any different...I can see the benefit if I want to get into lifting because there's moments you're a giant energy store if that makes any sense...

    I also want to try it so I feel I have some fire to throw at the *'s who say its not sustainable. It seems those who do it on my friends list are sensible intelligent people.
  • ali_b83
    ali_b83 Posts: 324 Member
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    I guess I sort of do that naturally - I fast from 10pm - noon the next day and eat from noon until 10. Does that count? lol

    Sure does! You're doing 14/10. Same thing I do, give or take an hour here and there.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    I'm sure someone has found some benefit to those kinds of practices, I don't know the science behind it or anything. I stay away from things that aren't sustainable. I believe that the body adapts to how you eat and eating like that is not sustainable so far as I can tell. Maybe it's not meant to be sustainable but to me that's counterproductive so I wouldn't participate in it.

    I like the way you think . " I stay away from things that aren't sustainable"
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    How is everyone going to say it works?

    It will only work if you burn more calories than you consume. If you eat too much you won't lose any fat. Even if you're doing IF. It's not about if IF "works" or not. It doesn't. What works is burning more than you consume.

    I did IF for a year, with no additional benefits.

    What are peoples thoughts on this?

    I kinda want to try it just to see if it makes me feel any different...I can see the benefit if I want to get into lifting because there's moments you're a giant energy store if that makes any sense...

    I also want to try it so I feel I have some fire to throw at the *'s who say its not sustainable. It seems those who do it on my friends list are sensible intelligent people.

    check out leangains.com

    some believe that cardio in a fasted state helps burn fat better than in a fed state. I havent done it long enough to determine if thats true for me yet, but it seems to make sense (to me.)
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/08/intermittent-fasting/

    What the Hell is Intermittent Fasting?
    IF is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: you purposely avoid eating for a twenty-four hour period (or two) during the week. Why? Because recent studies have shown that your metabolism operates more on a marathon basis (how many calories consumed over a long period of time) than on a sprint basis (what you ate yesterday). Prior to this research, I was giving way too much credit to my stomach – it’s not nearly as intelligent as I thought. Think long term when it comes to calories consumed and burned, not short term.

    Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple has a great write-up on the evolutionary science behind fasting. Mark runs one of the most thorough and successful paleo diet blogs out there, and I highly value his opinion. I love looking into the evolutionary aspects of diet and fitness, and I’m often very weary of any new “breakthrough” that requires a pill or drink or anything. We’ve survived as a species for tens of thousands of years with diet, exercise, and intelligence.

    Fasting is one of those evolutionary aspects that makes complete sense to me.

    How Does it Work?
    Our bodies are genetically engineered to deal with feast or famine. 10,00 years ago, surprisingly there was no free All-Star Slam Breakfast from Denny’s! Our bodies need fuel to operate, and if there isn’t any food in the stomach to pull from, it uses the fat stored within the body for energy. The fat gets burned for energy, the body keeps moving, and thus becomes leaner.

    Secondly, because of these skipped meals, you are putting your body into a calorie deficit (averaged out for the week). Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so start thinking of your calories more in terms of weekly units rather than daily amounts, iif that helps. More calories burned compared to calories consumed = weight loss!

    How Do You Do It?
    Simple: pick a day (or two) per week and purposely skip breakfast and lunch, and then eat a normal dinner. Brad over at Eat Stop Eat recommends doing this type of fasting once or twice a week – for example, a fast on Monday, and then another one on Thursday. Liquids are okay on fasting days, just not ones with calories. Heyoooo H2O!

    If you’re used to eating a LOT of food, and you normally eat a big breakfast, this is going to be a pretty big drastic change. Start by skipping breakfast and see how your body reacts to it. If you can handle that, work your way up to skipping breakfast and lunch. Notice that I’m not saying you should skip breakfast and lunch every day. Eat normally five days a week, try a fast one of the other days for a few weeks and see how your body reacts.

    Eat, don’t eat, and then eat. Got it?
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Options
    I.F. Intermittent Fasting and building lean muscle .. what are you thoughts..

    I have been using I.F. for around 3 weeks now 16hr fast 4hr feed.. and i have dropped around 10 lbs and have dropped a nice amount of body fat .

    I found that it works great and is a sustainable way to manage a calorie budget. Humans are designed for this and have been doing it since the beginning of time, both as hunter gatherers and for spiritual reasons. Almost all religions have a form of fasting.

    When a pastor gave me a hard time about fasting for managing calories and weight loss I asked "Why is it okay to fast for spiritual reasons but not for weight loss?". They just stared at me like a deer in a headlight.

    An excellent source for the science behind it is Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Just look at his web site and see his articles and qualifications. Awesome stuff there.
    I don't have any scientific evidence other then the fact since I've been hiking I've noticed I really enjoy gigantic meals and it seems that when I have the gigantic meals closer to my exercise times I'm less likely to cramp up or injure my limbs. This is just my experience, I have no idea if it's all a big fluke but I make sure I eat like a monster whenever I go on a long haul now and it seems to have done nothing but good.
  • _AllieCat_
    _AllieCat_ Posts: 515 Member
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    I practice IF 1-3 times a week. I won't eat for 16-20 hours. It helped me break a plateau and helps me to stay on track when I am having normal eating days. For me, it's not about sustainability because when I'm done losing the weight I will go back to eating my 6 small meals a day and maintain. It's just a way to keep your body guessing and shocking it out of an eating routine.

    It's not for everyone, but it's worked very well for me.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Options
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/08/intermittent-fasting/

    What the Hell is Intermittent Fasting?
    IF is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: you purposely avoid eating for a twenty-four hour period (or two) during the week. Why? Because recent studies have shown that your metabolism operates more on a marathon basis (how many calories consumed over a long period of time) than on a sprint basis (what you ate yesterday). Prior to this research, I was giving way too much credit to my stomach – it’s not nearly as intelligent as I thought. Think long term when it comes to calories consumed and burned, not short term.

    Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple has a great write-up on the evolutionary science behind fasting. Mark runs one of the most thorough and successful paleo diet blogs out there, and I highly value his opinion. I love looking into the evolutionary aspects of diet and fitness, and I’m often very weary of any new “breakthrough” that requires a pill or drink or anything. We’ve survived as a species for tens of thousands of years with diet, exercise, and intelligence.

    Fasting is one of those evolutionary aspects that makes complete sense to me.

    How Does it Work?
    Our bodies are genetically engineered to deal with feast or famine. 10,00 years ago, surprisingly there was no free All-Star Slam Breakfast from Denny’s! Our bodies need fuel to operate, and if there isn’t any food in the stomach to pull from, it uses the fat stored within the body for energy. The fat gets burned for energy, the body keeps moving, and thus becomes leaner.

    Secondly, because of these skipped meals, you are putting your body into a calorie deficit (averaged out for the week). Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so start thinking of your calories more in terms of weekly units rather than daily amounts, iif that helps. More calories burned compared to calories consumed = weight loss!

    How Do You Do It?
    Simple: pick a day (or two) per week and purposely skip breakfast and lunch, and then eat a normal dinner. Brad over at Eat Stop Eat recommends doing this type of fasting once or twice a week – for example, a fast on Monday, and then another one on Thursday. Liquids are okay on fasting days, just not ones with calories. Heyoooo H2O!

    If you’re used to eating a LOT of food, and you normally eat a big breakfast, this is going to be a pretty big drastic change. Start by skipping breakfast and see how your body reacts to it. If you can handle that, work your way up to skipping breakfast and lunch. Notice that I’m not saying you should skip breakfast and lunch every day. Eat normally five days a week, try a fast one of the other days for a few weeks and see how your body reacts.

    Eat, don’t eat, and then eat. Got it?

    that is one method of IF

    leangains has the 16-8 method which I like better but thats just me
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Options
    How is everyone going to say it works?

    It will only work if you burn more calories than you consume. If you eat too much you won't lose any fat. Even if you're doing IF. It's not about if IF "works" or not. It doesn't. What works is burning more than you consume.

    I did IF for a year, with no additional benefits.

    What are peoples thoughts on this?

    I kinda want to try it just to see if it makes me feel any different...I can see the benefit if I want to get into lifting because there's moments you're a giant energy store if that makes any sense...

    I also want to try it so I feel I have some fire to throw at the *'s who say its not sustainable. It seems those who do it on my friends list are sensible intelligent people.

    check out leangains.com

    some believe that cardio in a fasted state helps burn fat better than in a fed state. I havent done it long enough to determine if thats true for me yet, but it seems to make sense (to me.)
    Cool, and it's alright if it doesn't 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm tapped out on weight loss abilities without becoming skeletal...even now a skeletal picture due to lighting or whatever shows up every now and then :P I'm more doing things for feeling good now. I'm feeling like an energy power house...and back in the day I thought I had energy...so I can't help but think maybe I'm missing out :wink:
  • missyjane824
    missyjane824 Posts: 1,199 Member
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    I like it. I'm essentially skipping breakfast which I was never good about anyway. I'm not terribly strict about the window other than going 14-16 hours from previous night to next day to eat.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
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    Cool, and it's alright if it doesn't 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm tapped out on weight loss abilities without becoming skeletal...even now a skeletal picture due to lighting or whatever shows up every now and then :P I'm more doing things for feeling good now. I'm feeling like an energy power house...and back in the day I thought I had energy...so I can't help but think maybe I'm missing out :wink:

    You sure it's not just getting older?
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    that is one method of IF

    leangains has the 16-8 method which I like better but thats just me

    Do you do that 1-2 days a week, or everyday?
  • 2idjane
    2idjane Posts: 20 Member
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    I currently IF and it has helped me break some serious food addictions. My guilty pleasure was potato chips and cookies! But after fasting, it makes you want to eat clean. The thought of eating a greasy burger and fries will make you want to vomit!! Or at least it does for me. Anyway, I've seen results and it is now a part of my lifestyle that is sustainable. Here are some resources for those who want to try the IF lifestyle.

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

    http://www.fast-5.com/

    http://www.theiflife.com/

    http://bradpilon.com/category/weight-loss/fasting-for-weight-loss/
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,245 Member
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    doing IF keeps me under my calorie goal while still have a chance to eat the amount i want in a meal
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    I have been IFing once a week for the last month, 16 hours on/8 hours off. I only did it to see if I could manage it. Oddly, prior to IFing, if I had to go into town and didn't eat, I'd get tired and ratty after a couple of hours without food. These days, I don't notice it, am generally in good spirits and can even work with food without getting cravings. I wonder if it was more psychological than anything. Just sip water and avoid feeling hungry.

    As for benefits, I am not sure it's helping or not.