alternate day fasting

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  • Whippetkd
    Whippetkd Posts: 7
    So day one of my fasting day and I have had -

    2 weetabix and Semi Skimmed milk for breakfast at 9am
    A slimfast shake for Lunch at 1pm
    A slimfast shake for Dinner at 7pm

    Lots of water, which means I am peeing loads :laugh:

    I am not feeling very hungry so all good, I only have till tomorrow morning to go and then I will eat normal. I am going to cut out choc, sugar, and crisp etc and stick with healthy foods


    Since the Dr gave me my wake up call 25th October and now I have lost 8lbs....

    Yesterday was easier than I thought,I didnt wake up famished, and I am taking it steddy in that I am not gourging just being normal. Have done 40 min of exerse too, quick walking :)

    I think I am doing good So far x
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    So day one of my fasting day and I have had -

    2 weetabix and Semi Skimmed milk for breakfast at 9am
    A slimfast shake for Lunch at 1pm
    A slimfast shake for Dinner at 7pm

    Lots of water, which means I am peeing loads :laugh:

    I am not feeling very hungry so all good, I only have till tomorrow morning to go and then I will eat normal. I am going to cut out choc, sugar, and crisp etc and stick with healthy foods


    Since the Dr gave me my wake up call 25th October and now I have lost 8lbs....

    Yesterday was easier than I thought,I didnt wake up famished, and I am taking it steddy in that I am not gourging just being normal. Have done 40 min of exerse too, quick walking :)

    I think I am doing good So far x
    I think I am doing good So far x

    So do I!! :smile:
  • Whippetkd
    Whippetkd Posts: 7
    [/quote]


    Since the Dr gave me my wake up call 25th October and now I have lost 8lbs....

    Yesterday was easier than I thought,I didnt wake up famished, and I am taking it steddy in that I am not gourging just being normal. Have done 40 min of exerse too, quick walking :)

    I think I am doing good So far x
    [/quote]
    I think I am doing good So far x

    So do I!! :smile:
    [/quote]

    Thank you.

    I cant quite work out the whole ticker thing though

    If I was 18.8 stone and im now 18 stone thats 8lbs lost
    BUT my tickersays 11lbs lost *Confused*
  • LeighAnna115
    LeighAnna115 Posts: 149
    This looks interesting and I'd really like to try it. I plan on reading/viewing all of the material but am concerned it is a bit of a fad diet. I have fallen for too many of those in the past claiming to be "the key to lifelong health and happiness" etc etc. I guess a big question I have is, if you choose to stop this way of eating (go back to regular calorie restriction for example) will you gain back lost weight/see a reversal in benefits obtained? Obviously if this works for me I'd like to stick with it for the long haul but just want to be sure. Does anybody know?

    Not trying to be cynical, just want to be sure! I plan on reading much much more on this, but didn't know if anyone had personal experience or insight they could share. Thanks!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I have fasted before, but it's not something I want to do on a regular basis.
  • dancingnancies
    dancingnancies Posts: 255 Member
    bump, curious how everyone is doing on this diet?
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    This looks interesting and I'd really like to try it. I plan on reading/viewing all of the material but am concerned it is a bit of a fad diet. I have fallen for too many of those in the past claiming to be "the key to lifelong health and happiness" etc etc. I guess a big question I have is, if you choose to stop this way of eating (go back to regular calorie restriction for example) will you gain back lost weight/see a reversal in benefits obtained? Obviously if this works for me I'd like to stick with it for the long haul but just want to be sure. Does anybody know?

    Not trying to be cynical, just want to be sure! I plan on reading much much more on this, but didn't know if anyone had personal experience or insight they could share. Thanks!

    With this diet you're eating the same number of calories as you would on a conventional "low calorie" diet if you look at the calories eaten over a week. You're just splitting them up differently over different days, so if you decide to stop doing ADF or JUDDDD or 5:2, pounds of fat shouldn't magically stick themselves to your body, provided you change to another sensible way of eating a healthy number of calories per week.

    It's not like a "crash diet" where you eat very low calorie every day & where the pounds could pile on quick if you stop.
  • LeighAnna115
    LeighAnna115 Posts: 149
    This looks interesting and I'd really like to try it. I plan on reading/viewing all of the material but am concerned it is a bit of a fad diet. I have fallen for too many of those in the past claiming to be "the key to lifelong health and happiness" etc etc. I guess a big question I have is, if you choose to stop this way of eating (go back to regular calorie restriction for example) will you gain back lost weight/see a reversal in benefits obtained? Obviously if this works for me I'd like to stick with it for the long haul but just want to be sure. Does anybody know?

    Not trying to be cynical, just want to be sure! I plan on reading much much more on this, but didn't know if anyone had personal experience or insight they could share. Thanks!

    With this diet you're eating the same number of calories as you would on a conventional "low calorie" diet if you look at the calories eaten over a week. You're just splitting them up differently over different days, so if you decide to stop doing ADF or JUDDDD or 5:2, pounds of fat shouldn't magically stick themselves to your body, provided you change to another sensible way of eating a healthy number of calories per week.

    It's not like a "crash diet" where you eat very low calorie every day & where the pounds could pile on quick if you stop.

    Thanks! I have done a lot more reading on this since my first post and think I will give it a try. I know pounds aren't going to magically stick themselves to my body if I stop, but wasn't sure if anyone had any experience or knowledge transitioning back to a conventional eating plan. That seemed to be the only info i could not obtain online. I like to know all the details about an eating plan, including ending it if i so desire, before i give it a try. This sounds a bit like a more extreme way of "zig-zagging calories" which I know many have had success with. It seems well worth a try! Thanks to all who have posted about it, I probably would not have heard about it (at least not for a long while) without you! Good luck all :smile:
  • kel7298
    kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
    I've done fads for years. Can't stick to them, so I don't even consider trying them. I'm here to change how I EAT, to not feel hungry, and to lose weight. Can't do all those 3 while fasting!

    IMO, being hungry all day = being cranky all day = pigging out to feel normal = feeling like a failure = giving up.

    No thanks, but good luck to those who are trying this on for size..

    I am currently doing 5:2. I fast Monday & Thursday. I am not hungry all day as I try to eat 200 calories per meal. This equals 600 daily, so I am not cranky all day. As for "pigging out", I don't do that the next day either cause I do have a brain and understand what I am doing. Am I hungrier sooner? Sure, but that doesn't give me a license to eat everything in sight. I eat sensibly just cleaner, or at least try too. No I am not perfect on my fasting days nor am I perfect on my feasting days. I am human. My weekly totals is all that counts. I like it and it works for me.
  • mainetechie
    mainetechie Posts: 6
    I fast most weeks on a 6 hour eating window, and 18 hour of fasting (about 6PM to 12PM), this is the Leangain's approach. However I have 24 hour fasts with no problem.

    Being successful at Calorie Restriction or Intermittent Fasting (IMF) is much easier when your body can go in and out of burning fat instead of glucose. I eat about 1/2 pound of vegetables a day and about 8-12oz of meat, fish or eggs and that allows me to utilize either without headaches.

    For those of you that weight lift (which should be everyone) there are a lot of studies on fasted exercise and doing max strength days on a fasted state. Other studies have looked at insulin resistance (+ resistance = increased chance of diabetes). My best bit of advice would be to limit complete 24 hour fasting to once a week, and to have adequate protein before and after to prevent catabolizing muscle tissue, assuming your not zero carb, you should have 1-2 days of glycogen in your liver and muscles to prevent your body from using essential amino acids from muscle tissue.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Did anyone else watch the program this fasting on BBC2 tonight? I have to say so far I'm sold. The way the guy was able to fast for just two days a week and the results he had were pretty impressive. So two days a week eat just 500 calories and the rest of the week eat what you normally would sounds simple.

    I'll let you know how I get on :)

    It worked for me. I lost my 60 lbs that way. DXA proved that I didn't lose lean body mass. And I've sustained, never regressed or yo-yo'd this time. I've adjusted my "breaks from food" to fit various phases and right now I'm too lean to do long fasts, or even have the very low calorie days. But I can use shorter fasts to help manage my maintenance calorie budget. I lost my weight consistently over 2 years, and have maintained for over a year, with plenty of lean body mass and a great doctor report every year, and good results on all the blood work the doctor checking everything. I'm sustainable and healthy and the most fit I've ever been at almost 52. I think that all says something about it.
  • jetmints
    jetmints Posts: 10 Member
    I started this diet on Tuesday , I know thats not long at all in fact only 6 days ago, but I am finding it so easy!! Normally by now I have majorly slipped up and given up! I have 98 lbs to lose and my health is suffering ...... Hypertension, asthma and arthritis!! I welcome all the support I can get and I am more than willing to support others along the way
    Jetmints xx
  • fabulessmommy
    fabulessmommy Posts: 40 Member
    bump
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I've done fads for years. Can't stick to them, so I don't even consider trying them. I'm here to change how I EAT, to not feel hungry, and to lose weight. Can't do all those 3 while fasting!

    IMO, being hungry all day = being cranky all day = pigging out to feel normal = feeling like a failure = giving up.

    No thanks, but good luck to those who are trying this on for size..

    I am currently doing 5:2. I fast Monday & Thursday. I am not hungry all day as I try to eat 200 calories per meal. This equals 600 daily, so I am not cranky all day. As for "pigging out", I don't do that the next day either cause I do have a brain and understand what I am doing. Am I hungrier sooner? Sure, but that doesn't give me a license to eat everything in sight. I eat sensibly just cleaner, or at least try too. No I am not perfect on my fasting days nor am I perfect on my feasting days. I am human. My weekly totals is all that counts. I like it and it works for me.

    This is what I find, except that I skip breakfast, eat a tiny lunch and have an early dinner. Sure, I get times when my stomach goes "I'm here!" but that goes within minutes & I remind myself it's good for you to know what a little bit of hunger feels like.
    "I like it and I find it works for me" too.
  • Sililily115
    Sililily115 Posts: 45
    bump
  • sinkingthinking
    sinkingthinking Posts: 21 Member
    I've been doing this just recently, three alternated fast days so far, also largely thanks to the Horizon documentary.

    Problem is, despite the wide range of health benefits, I can't find any advice for how to eat this way for people who don't want to lose weight. I haven't weighed myself for a few weeks but last check my BMI was 19, and I'm pretty sure I've lost some pounds since then. I thought the 400-500 calorie ADF recommendation was for all women, not just overweight people, because Michael Mosley was on the standard number for men and I didn't notice he was overweight when I first watched it.

    Since then, I've read more and I'm alarmed that everyone says they've lost a lot of weight doing it the standard way that I've started. I have found the fast days make me quite physically weak and I'm wondering if the reason is I don't have enough spare fat to live off of. I'm also ridiculously cold compared to everyone else, more so than usual, which would suggest my metabolism is slowing down. That's not supposed to happen, is it?

    Does anyone know how many calories you're supposed to eat on fast days when you want to maintain? I am only 5"1 tall.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I heard that Micheal Mosley was losing too much weight on the 5:2 diet and switched to doing it just one day a week. If you find fasting makes you weak, I'd try increasing your fasting day calories a bit. See how you feel on 600 calories, or 700. Also, it looks as though you need to eat more on non-fast days to avoid losing weight. If you have trouble eating enough, & you may if you're naturally slim, you'll need to look into eating higher-calorie foods on non-fasting days, nuts, cheese, chocolate, bread, standard salad dressings (not low cal), put butter on bread or veg, all the things people trying to lose weight try to limit. Lucky you! :smile:
  • dsgme
    dsgme Posts: 1
    I've been on the alternate day diet for two months and have lost twelve pounds. However, for the last two and half weeks, I seem to have stopped losing weight altogether. Has this happened to anyone else? And if it has, did you find a way to get the diet working again?
  • sinkingthinking
    sinkingthinking Posts: 21 Member
    I heard that Micheal Mosley was losing too much weight on the 5:2 diet and switched to doing it just one day a week. If you find fasting makes you weak, I'd try increasing your fasting day calories a bit. See how you feel on 600 calories, or 700. Also, it looks as though you need to eat more on non-fast days to avoid losing weight. If you have trouble eating enough, & you may if you're naturally slim, you'll need to look into eating higher-calorie foods on non-fasting days, nuts, cheese, chocolate, bread, standard salad dressings (not low cal), put butter on bread or veg, all the things people trying to lose weight try to limit. Lucky you! :smile:

    Thanks for the advice. :smile: I was quite skinny fat until I started working on it a few months ago, I've normally had it in me to eat plenty. The maximum portion sizes I can handle have shrunk though, presumably along with my stomach, so yeah, more calorie-dense foods are an option if I start running the risk of burning off the muscles I've worked for.

    I've found a calculator that estimates how much you need on fast days for maintenance, and for me it's nearly 1000 calories. However, no more than 500 is recommended for the first two weeks, the induction phase that kick starts the SIRT1 gene, for everyone. I suppose if I do lose a few too many pounds in that time, I can put it back on afterwards by increasing my feed day caloric intake. I have slightly low blood pressure which makes me prone to dizzy spells, and it could just be that which has made the induction phase level of restriction harder for me. Today I haven't felt as bad though. :smile:
  • vmarie74
    vmarie74 Posts: 26 Member
    bump
  • Bassgirl51
    Bassgirl51 Posts: 117
    Interesting thread. I have not had time to read it all but will.

    One thing to remember also is that fasting is nothing new. It is even recommended by Jesus if people want to go there. East Indian's fast all the time for religious and non religious reasons. American Indians also fasted for spiritual purposes. It's nothing new. They all lived long lives. Even the starving yogis live a long time.
  • whairigaila
    whairigaila Posts: 71
    Has anyone kept this up as a realistic lifestyle? x
  • sinkingthinking
    sinkingthinking Posts: 21 Member
    I've had fantastic asthma results already. I've described them here:

    http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/health--injury/alternate-day-fasting-for-asthma/231591.html

    I'll probably put future updates in that thread, if anyone's interested. :)
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    I've had fantastic asthma results already. I've described them here:

    http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/health--injury/alternate-day-fasting-for-asthma/231591.html

    I'll probably put future updates in that thread, if anyone's interested. :)
    What a great post, thank you for sharing it.
  • dechainew
    dechainew Posts: 3
    I watched the BBC program on You Tube and was immediately intrigued. I had just come from the doctors office, where he had reviewed my blood test results, and they exactly matched Dr Moselys. I am a 48 year old male, 6" 4', and weighed in at 232 when the blood was drawn, Had been dieting but had plateaued at 219. I decided to try alternate- day fasting and have been doing it for two weeks. Easier than it sounds. Breakfast on a fast day is usually one cup oatmeal (150 calories ) mixed with one cup of plain yogurt (100 calories), sodium-free broth for lunch (20-30 calories) and soup for dinner (300 calories), plus ginseng or ginger tea throughout the day. My regular day I eat a regular amount of caloriesbut do try to use Fitness Pal to cut down on fat and sodium. Yesterday I weighed in at 211.2, for a 7 pound loss over two weeks. The true test will be on Wednesday, when I get my blood test again. I wil post the results.

    One point of caution: watch your liquids! I decided to limit caffeine by substituting coffee with herbal tea. I also stopped drinking any alcohol. I drank 8 cups of water or more each day. I was feeling pretty good on Friday ( a fast day) so had a couple cups of coffee during the day and had a couple glasses of wine with dinner plus a couple of scotches. The next morning I weighed in at 211.2 but felt like crap the rest of the day. Turns out the diuretics in the coffee and the alcohol caused me to be dehydrated. I drank all day and gained back 3 pounds in water weight by this morning. No more alcohol and coffee for me until a finish my initial 5-week run.
  • colleenswe
    colleenswe Posts: 3
    Totally agree! The best way I think is to eat 6 small meals a day and to include protein with each meal and to forget sugar even existed.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Did anyone else watch the program this fasting on BBC2 tonight? I have to say so far I'm sold. The way the guy was able to fast for just two days a week and the results he had were pretty impressive. So two days a week eat just 500 calories and the rest of the week eat what you normally would sounds simple.

    I'll let you know how I get on :)

    There are many forms of fasting. What is cool is you can tailor it to your own lifestyle. Think of it as simply taking a break from eating. Eat normal, take a break, eat normal. This is NOT about starving and binging, it's about managing your calorie budget in a flexible way and it is sustainable.

    I have used various methods over 3 years now, lost weight consistently and kept it off. It is sustainable and it works. I have found I have needed to adjust it according to the various phases of weight loss and maintaining and it's important to know that your body works differently as you get leaner. I'm under 12% body fat now and I truly run the risk of starvation mode (this does not happen when you have significant fat reserves). I find I can't do long fasts anymore without wanting to binge (I am very much against binging and feel it's a sign to listen to your body and adjust what you are doing). I never had binge feelings until I got lean (under 12% body fat) and I'm super careful that this is a sign your body is trying to tell you something. I have never had emotional eating issues and I know that would complicate things further, but I know several people that have overcome their emotional eating issues with a combination of fasting protocol along with understanding it by reading and research.

    I personally loved Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat for his extensive research and technical and scientific information provided, but there are a lot of free articles out there. Recently someone sent me this which I think is very good information:

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    replying so i can read this later:)
  • pjrbs
    pjrbs Posts: 179 Member
    Thanks!
  • dechainew
    dechainew Posts: 3
    As mentioned in my previous post, I started ADF due to medical issues, but the weight loss was a great side-benefit.

    I had my blood tested on August 23, started ADF on October 30, and had a follow-up blood test on November 14. I have so far lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. This morning I sat down with my doctor to discuss my blood test results. Needless to say, he thought I was on to something and started asking me all sorts of questions.

    Blood test results
    A1C: Aug 23 - 6.2 ; Nov 14 - 5.9
    Glucose:Aug 23 - 109 ; Nov 14 - 111
    Chol:Aug 23 - 166 ; Nov 14 - 102
    Triglycerides: Aug 23 -136 ; Nov 14 - 62
    HDL: Aug 23 - 28 ; Nov 14 - 32
    VLDL: Aug 23 -27.2 ; Nov 14 - 12.4
    LDL: Aug 23 - 112 ; Nov 14 - 62

    Anyone know of an ADF study I can forward these results to?

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