Intermittent Fasters

Z3NN4

OH GOD! Eating just 500-600 cals a few times a week is not IF, that's plain starvation!

Actually, it is just another method of Intermittent Fasting. It's just not the leangains approach. Done correctly, just like leangains, it's not starvation. You're still taking in adequate nutrients and adequate total cals and macros over the course of a week.

Ok, so you're saying that: if required maintenance calories daily are equal to 1200 (for seven days a week for a total of 8400), then you fast a couple of times a week for 24+ hours, from dinner to dinner only consuming 500-600 calories at those dinners and make up the rest of the 8400 calories on days where you are not fasting? This would essentially be a more extreme form of calorie cycling, then, right? It would still serve the same purpose of "tricking" the body by evading homeostasis, right?

Correct. Same calories. Once in maintenance it is 800-900 a day. Then maybe like 2000-2200 on the re-feed day ,It ends up being the same amount of calories weekly. Hope I am making sense.

Perfect sense, thank you.

exWHYzee1337

I did Keto/IF and loved it...

now that I'm trying to put some mass on I've been told to get off IF, this was by the nutrionist who gave my bodpod (body fat test). First week really trying to put carbs back in diet and eating more meals

Time2LoseWeightNOW

FitandFab33

"Starvation mode" should be struck from your vocabulary.

There are metabolic effects of a PROLONGED, EXTREME caloric deficit, yes. That's the body self-preserving. But not eating for a day will not just magicaly stop your metabolism and cause *dum dum dum* starvation mode.

sijomial

In the UK a lot of interest was triggered by a BBC program that looked at restricted calorie diets, alternate day fasting etc. The presenter advocated a less extreme version of alternate day fasting which is referred to as the 5:2 diet - five "normal" days and two (non-consecutive) 500/600 calorie days.
Link to program can be found in my profile if you are interested.
It's working for me and my wife.

Z3NN4

I have been using intermittent fasting for almost a month now with some pretty awesome changes. First off, I have so much more energy in the morning, which I would have never thought. Also, I am more committed to exercising after I break my fast, I seem to want to eat less and lastly I am more regular. I was wondering if anyone else with success or difficulty would share their experiences or expertise. I've read up on it but I would like to know more.

Thanks for your time! (=

It worked for me but what was cool for me was I bumbled into it on my own before researching it, then reading about it confirmed why it worked for me. Basically I had yo-yo'd for 15 years on the various diets, Low fat high carb, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Organic, Weston Price Diet, The Schwarzbein Principle, Eat Fat Lose Fat, The Ultimate PH Solution, The Makers Diet, A friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician. I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions. I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls. I stopped eating in the evenings (not that when you eat matters.) I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs. I suddenly realized I by doing this I was fasting 15-17 hours every night. Then I told a friend I found the secret to weight loss and he told me to look up Eat Stop Eat and learned why it worked and everything took off for me at that point, and that's how I found my new workouts.

I like Eat Stop Eat because of Brad's scientific explanations based on facts and backed by research papers. His book is not free but it's well worth the read and the back lists the pages and pages of research for those so inclined (above my pay grade).

Here are some great reads on the subject:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/intermittent-fasting-and-bulking/

I'm too lean now to fast for very long now, mostly I just skip meals now and then for calorie flexibility and I have such freedom knowing I don't have to be afraid of the feeling of hunger. I don't believe in starving/binging, but taking a break from eating for periods of time for the mind and body, and spiritual reasons, and then eating normal is a good strategy for me at times.

It was a great tool for helping me manage my calories in a flexible way when I was losing fat, and now that I'm lean I just have to modify it slightly to my different needs, but it is tremendous FREEDOM from the myths we've been tied under for so long.

Very very helpful, thank you!

kristinscott32

I've been using EatStopEat for the past two months. It's great. The first two fasts or so were a bit uncomfortable, but my body QUICKLY got used to it. Now on my fasting days I rarely feel any hunger -- I just feel "normal". I'm pretty sure the "hunger" I thought I was feeling was actually just the habit of eating and some detoxing my body was doing. (Fasting has many benefits, detox included!) My gastrointestinal issues have vanished. I'm losing some weight. I'm sick less than anyone else in my family. The body can heal itself very efficiently when it's not constantly digesting and processing food.

For the vast majority of human history we did not eat every day. So why all the scare about "starvation mode"? If you miss ONE or TWO meals? It's the food and supplement industry in this country.

Guess what, NOBODY makes money when you fast. So our entire consumer society will by definition be stacked against this. But history (and personal experience) will tell a different story: Intermittent fasting is unbelievably healthy and good for your body.

I watched this BBC horizon programme on eat,stop,eat. It looks at some of the research currently being carried out on the subject and I decided to give it a go myself. Im only on week 2 and doing 5:2 weekly but I have noticed a great improvement with gastro-intestinal problems too. Good Luck!

http://youtu.be/pD3ug4EaKb0

californiagirl2012

I have been using intermittent fasting for almost a month now with some pretty awesome changes. First off, I have so much more energy in the morning, which I would have never thought. Also, I am more committed to exercising after I break my fast, I seem to want to eat less and lastly I am more regular. I was wondering if anyone else with success or difficulty would share their experiences or expertise. I've read up on it but I would like to know more.

Thanks for your time! (=

It worked for me but what was cool for me was I bumbled into it on my own before researching it, then reading about it confirmed why it worked for me. Basically I had yo-yo'd for 15 years on the various diets, Low fat high carb, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Organic, Weston Price Diet, The Schwarzbein Principle, Eat Fat Lose Fat, The Ultimate PH Solution, The Makers Diet, A friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician. I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions. I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls. I stopped eating in the evenings (not that when you eat matters.) I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs. I suddenly realized I by doing this I was fasting 15-17 hours every night. Then I told a friend I found the secret to weight loss and he told me to look up Eat Stop Eat and learned why it worked and everything took off for me at that point, and that's how I found my new workouts.

I like Eat Stop Eat because of Brad's scientific explanations based on facts and backed by research papers. His book is not free but it's well worth the read and the back lists the pages and pages of research for those so inclined (above my pay grade).

Here are some great reads on the subject:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/intermittent-fasting-and-bulking/

I'm too lean now to fast for very long now, mostly I just skip meals now and then for calorie flexibility and I have such freedom knowing I don't have to be afraid of the feeling of hunger. I don't believe in starving/binging, but taking a break from eating for periods of time for the mind and body, and spiritual reasons, and then eating normal is a good strategy for me at times.

It was a great tool for helping me manage my calories in a flexible way when I was losing fat, and now that I'm lean I just have to modify it slightly to my different needs, but it is tremendous FREEDOM from the myths we've been tied under for so long.

Very very helpful, thank you!

Oh and I'd like to add, while IF might not be for everyone I got scientific proof that I didn't harm myself or go into starvation mode or lose lean body mass. My doctor checked my hormones throughout the process going from obese down to 10% while eating at a deficit and IF and all was fine, I stayed strong at the gym and with my running and in fact got stronger and stronger both with weight lifting and my HIIT running and normal runs, not only that my my DXA scan proved that I did not lose lean body mass.

If ever in doubt, simply have your hormones and blood levels checked and if your doctor approves do a DXA scan as well, this is the proof of against all the emotional arguments and myths for you.

stevemarks

How is this OK and 1,200 a day is starvation mode?:huh:

I know we get that "STARVATION MODE!!!" warning every time our daily calorie intake is under 1200 cals. Problem is, that's just not true. It would be true if you stayed there for months. Then the body would begin to cannibalize its own lean tissue (starvation). But until then, it eats up the fat. That is what your body stores fat for, you know.

Oh, and to the woman who said this is BULIMIA: I am really sorry you went through that disorder. Really. I know many women (and men) who have struggled deeply with eating disorders. This is not that. There is no binging and purging. It has methodology and is not dictated by uncontrollable whims and feelings. In fact, it requires a certain degree of self-control.

So for the sake of those who do, in fact, struggle daily with eating disorders, I would advise a bit of thoughtfulness.

homeyjosey

LEANGAINS!!! On it for more than a year and never going back to "normal" eating

gddrdld

OH GOD! Eating just 500-600 cals a few times a week is not IF, that's plain starvation!

Actually, it is just another method of Intermittent Fasting. It's just not the leangains approach. Done correctly, just like leangains, it's not starvation. You're still taking in adequate nutrients and adequate total cals and macros over the course of a week.

Agreed. Varying your calorie intake over the course of the week with a couple of low cal days and a couple of high cal days is perfectly normal and is more in line with how people will eat naturally if not counting cals or pre-planning meals. This can be a healthy and viable method for both weight management and balancing out your micro/macronutrient intake over the long term while allowing for more flexibility day to day.

Bassgirl51

In the UK a lot of interest was triggered by a BBC program that looked at restricted calorie diets, alternate day fasting etc. The presenter advocated a less extreme version of alternate day fasting which is referred to as the 5:2 diet - five "normal" days and two (non-consecutive) 500/600 calorie days.
Link to program can be found in my profile if you are interested.
It's working for me and my wife.

Saw that on you tube. It was very interesting.

BeckySue1977

My farting has also become intermittent

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/695972-intermittent-farting

This thread just totally made my week! Thank you for sharing!

Keiras_Mom

In the UK a lot of interest was triggered by a BBC program that looked at restricted calorie diets, alternate day fasting etc. The presenter advocated a less extreme version of alternate day fasting which is referred to as the 5:2 diet - five "normal" days and two (non-consecutive) 500/600 calorie days.
Link to program can be found in my profile if you are interested.
It's working for me and my wife.

I have been doing alternate day fasting for over 11 months now. I love it. It's how I've lost over 90 of my pounds. It's NOT unhealthy. There is so much science and research supporting just how healthy it is. I'm healthier than I've been in 15 years, and it's the only thing I've been able to stick with for more than 3 months.

With alternate day fasting, you do NOT consume an insane amount of calories on your non-fasting days. I get 1915 calories on my "up" days and stay below 500 calories on my "down" days. This is based on age, weight, gender, and height (I'm tall for a woman, so I get more calories--yippee!). I have had no plateaus, even losing when I took maintenance breaks with higher calories.

I exercise in a fasted state and don't really see any difference in my performance fasted v's non-fasted. I am not an avid exerciser though, and am just starting out, so that might be different for someone who does prolonged or intense exercise.

Of all the IF programs I've read/heard about, this is the one that works for ME, and that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. I think they all have merit, and you just need to experiment to see what you're the most comfortable with, and can sustain.

Keiras_Mom

How is this OK and 1,200 a day is starvation mode?:huh:

I know we get that "STARVATION MODE!!!" warning every time our daily calorie intake is under 1200 cals. Problem is, that's just not true. It would be true if you stayed there for months. Then the body would begin to cannibalize its own lean tissue (starvation). But until then, it eats up the fat. That is what your body stores fat for, you know.

Oh, and to the woman who said this is BULIMIA: I am really sorry you went through that disorder. Really. I know many women (and men) who have struggled deeply with eating disorders. This is not that. There is no binging and purging. It has methodology and is not dictated by uncontrollable whims and feelings. In fact, it requires a certain degree of self-control.

So for the sake of those who do, in fact, struggle daily with eating disorders, I would advise a bit of thoughtfulness.

I absolutely agree with everything you've said here.

gothicfires

I've just googled intermittent fasting. I honestly can't see why anyone would do this. You can (as i have proven to myself twice now) loose weight by eating less calories than you burn in a day. There is more to eating that just the calorie count. Your body needs what's in the food to function properly. I have watched people pass out from not eating all day. Hell I went 6 hours one day (this is a rare occurrence) and I had to have someone else drive my car to dinner because I was too sick. Eating fixed that. It is scientifically proven that children function better when they are fed, it's not a giant leap to go to adults function better to.

chrisdavey

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/599982-intermittent-fasting-faq

and yeah I can't see the connection between IF and bulimia.

That being said, people who have ED tendencies should not do this IMO.

DarthH8

I've just googled intermittent fasting. I honestly can't see why anyone would do this. You can (as i have proven to myself twice now) loose weight by eating less calories than you burn in a day. There is more to eating that just the calorie count. Your body needs what's in the food to function properly. I have watched people pass out from not eating all day. Hell I went 6 hours one day (this is a rare occurrence) and I had to have someone else drive my car to dinner because I was too sick. Eating fixed that. It is scientifically proven that children function better when they are fed, it's not a giant leap to go to adults function better to.

IF does nothing close to pushing your body to the point of passing out. What you think I just eat 3000 calories in a 5 hour window, my body only uses a small portion, throws the rest to fat, and then makes me starve all day til I eat again? Nope.

gothicfires

So you're a doctor? I have seen people get ill and pass out from not eating. I have gotten sick from not eating in over an 8 hour time period. I mean so scary to me that I almost called an ambulance for myself because I found it difficult to drive my car and I was in an unfamiliar city.

And I made no assumptions about your habits.

The first time I lost weight I drop from 191.8 pounds to 160 eating around 1200 calories a day and not even working out. So if someone can loose weight and eat every day why would you want to go with out eating? It makes no sense.

adamsilva

"The first time I lost weight I drop from 191.8 pounds to 160 eating around 1200 calories a day and not even working out. So if someone can loose weight and eat every day why would you want to go with out eating? It makes no sense"

Please read more on IF Frameworks and Methodologies because you obviously still dont understand IF, Leangains or ESE.