Fasting, any opinions on it?

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Navolin
Navolin Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
Yesterday, it didn't occur to me till late at night when I came home from a 5 hour jog, that I actually didn't ate anything. All I had was my multivitamin, more then a few cups of water, and the diet pill when I finally decide to eat.

When I did decided to eat, I had 3 very small chicken drumstick that couldn't have no more be no less then 300 calories and sodium , I think.

So here what I would like to know on such. Fasting, what your opinion on it? Should it be something I should try to do daily? or should I try to eat more then what I did yesterday?

I feel that I benefit from doing so yesterday, seeing that I didn't have much calories, and sodium won't give me much water retention, but I do feel like that can easily backlash if I just decide to eat/binge on 1 day, or the lost of energy from not eating this morning didn't do such justice if I would have. :ohwell:

But man, I was so proud when I stepped on that wii board and it said my 282, is now 277. :smile:

Replies

  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    I only respect people who fast for religious reasons and under the rules their religions tell them how to do it. I notice those people have a plan and it seems to be something doable.

    Fasting for weight loss does not work IMO and can too easily be ventured off of and make your own rules which would inevitably end up unhealthy as that great feeling on the scale takes over and pushes you into making worse and worse decisions.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    NO
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
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    I actually have recently discovered Intermittent Fasting and it is totally working for me!! Basically I eat 9 hours in the day, and no eating the other 15. So, I get up and workout, and eat after that (around 9:30) and my last meal will be around 6 PM. Of course sometimes I don't stick to it, but most of the time I do. Here's a really good video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZZWOXhoFpo

    It's certainly not for everyone, but for my body type it works really well. Oh, and rapid weight loss like you said, is water for the most part. Don't lose weight too quickly because it's not healthy. You will starve your body and it's not good to lose muscle mass or you will just be skinny fat. I have seen slow loss that stays off since I started IF. :smile:
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    can too easily be ventured off of and make your own rules which would inevitably end up unhealthy as that great feeling on the scale takes over and pushes you into making worse and worse decisions.

    Yup.

    The trick is to follow a standard Intermittent Fasting format rather than spontaneously avoiding food because that can lead to an eating disorder. You begin to associate food with the route to getting fat so avoid eating. Which either leads to poor health or massive guilty binges.

    Google "5:2 fasting" if you want something that others are doing and experiencing good results.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
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    I don't think it's something you should strive for, every day. I don't think it's something to worry about if it happens, occasionally. There are proponents of Intermittent Fasting, for weight loss and other reasons. I don't feel strongly about it, one way or another, but I do agree with MyChocolateDiet that you seem to be looking down the road to anorexia. Be careful, and try to set a reasonable calorie goal. 0 is not a reasonable goal. You need to fuel the machine.
  • giffy2803
    giffy2803 Posts: 4 Member
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    I agree with chocolate. If your healthy try a fast once in a while, but ask your doctor first. Some folks do fast for religious reasons. Fasting is in the Christian Bible about fasting and to pray.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Personally I'm not a fan of the ideas of fasting. Sure, our ancestors did it - but not by choice. And religions do it, but they are putting their God above any potential health concerns.

    With that said, done properly it can lead to a weekly calorie deficit and weight loss. I just don't believe it has any advantages over simple moderation to achieve the same thing.
  • Navolin
    Navolin Posts: 10
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    Fasting for weight loss does not work IMO and can too easily be ventured off of and make your own rules which would inevitably end up unhealthy as that great feeling on the scale takes over and pushes you into making worse and worse decisions.

    I can respect that. Like I said before, I felt it could easily backlash, and didn't feel I did too much justice since starting a good meal or at least breakfast would have done much better then not doing so.

    I think one of the things that made me stand-offish to eat, is that my dad brought a supreme pizza. It was so tempting, but I knew I would just go all out on it. :laugh:

    @autumnblade75
    Trust me, anorexia will never be a problem with me, I love food way too much to really give it up days on end, heck, I'm studying to be a chef after all. :laugh:
  • 2_blackdogs
    2_blackdogs Posts: 19 Member
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    I find that intermittent fasting works well for me. You have an eating window, say 8 hours, and the rest of the hours in a day you don't eat. While this method doesn't work for everyone, I have had great results in the past.
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    There is nothing wrong with intermittent fasting, lots of people do it and its very successful. You are always going to have people who dont understand it na-saying it. But fasting doesn't just have to be 24-48 hours. You can fast for 12-16 hours if you want. Nothing wrong with intermittent fasting lots of people do it. Educate yourself before you talk to people who know ZERO about fasting.


    http://www.niashanks.com/2011/08/three-methods-of-intermittent-fasting/
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    The whole 5 small meals a day thing, doesn't work for me. It causes me to graze and makes me hungrier. As we know your body DOES NOT recognize if you ate all your calories in 8 meals or 1. Choosing a window time for eating, like not eating past 7 pm, can easily make a 16 hour fast window, you are sleeping from 11-7am. All you would have to do is not eat until about 10-12 pm and you will be fasting...Most people think of old school fasting like not eating for a week, thats not what intermittent fasting is.
  • lee82870
    lee82870 Posts: 1 Member
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    Fasting can cause your body to go into starvation mode and slow your metabolism down. Take a look at Dr. Michael Mosley's diet. He advocates 2 days of "fasting" and 5 days of normal eating. His fasting days are not true fasting but extreme diet days -- 500 to 600 calories per day. He gives a number of health benefits to intermittent reduced calorie days that make sense. It worked for me until I let my normal days become eating all the deserts I wanted. I've just started MFP to keep my normal days normal.
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    Personally I'm not a fan of the ideas of fasting. Sure, our ancestors did it - but not by choice. And religions do it, but they are putting their God above any potential health concerns.

    With that said, done properly it can lead to a weekly calorie deficit and weight loss. I just don't believe it has any advantages over simple moderation to achieve the same thing.

    lol god. Now there is a rick roll
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
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    There are also reported health benefits to fasting...and as posted it can come in many forms. We all fast each day...that is why it is called BREAKFAST. And for those of us who don't eat breakfast, our daily fast can be as long as 16 or 18 hours between meals.
    I eat when I am hungry, but lots of times that means I go for 16 hours without eating. Many folks like to work out "fasted" also and then eat a high protein meal or snack.
    If you are interested, google is your friend. There is lots of out there on fasting.
    Good Luck
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    Fasting can cause your body to go into starvation mode and slow your metabolism down. Take a look at Dr. Michael Mosley's diet. He advocates 2 days of "fasting" and 5 days of normal eating. His fasting days are not true fasting but extreme diet days -- 500 to 600 calories per day. He gives a number of health benefits to intermittent reduced calorie days that make sense. It worked for me until I let my normal days become eating all the deserts I wanted. I've just started MFP to keep my normal days normal.

    Google "starvation mode myths" and realize 90% of what you people call "health facts" have long been dis-proven through science.
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
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    Fasting can cause your body to go into starvation mode and slow your metabolism down. Take a look at Dr. Michael Mosley's diet. He advocates 2 days of "fasting" and 5 days of normal eating. His fasting days are not true fasting but extreme diet days -- 500 to 600 calories per day. He gives a number of health benefits to intermittent reduced calorie days that make sense. It worked for me until I let my normal days become eating all the deserts I wanted. I've just started MFP to keep my normal days normal.

    Absolute and total hogwash. Just because you couldn't do it or it wasn't the right WOE for you, does not mean it either slows down your metabolism or you go into the mythical starvation mode. It is okay you didn't like it. I didn't either, but really, don't make up stuff.
  • lilbearzmom
    lilbearzmom Posts: 600 Member
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    I really like 5:2, but I am in tune enough to realize that unless I am at work and busy (12 hr shift) I cannot do it. I work alternating shifts- more nights than days- and only fast on my day shifts, like yesterday, which was the first time in awhile. I told my therapist about it and she was actually kind of incredulous and didn't think it was a good idea. Her thought was that someone might fast for most of the day and then binge when they couldn't take it anymore, which is a valid concern. I actually look forward to my fast days because it's one day that I'm not thinking about food at all. It's a nice break.
  • Navolin
    Navolin Posts: 10
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    Thank you everyone for your opinions. :smile:

    I might try a bit of fasting ( not everyday ) at some later point in life when I start going more into bodybuilding, but I will stick with the daily regiment I been on for now. ( eat what's right, less sodium, and exercise those calories off )

    The reason I would liked to know the opinions on it, is that years ago ( teen ) when I did started to try to work out, I fasted at one day at some point The next day after that, that went downhill QUICK. ( I ate like there was no tomorrow. :laugh: )

    Now that I'm older, I've grown much wiser and have more self control then what I use to, both exercise and eating, although, yesterday just caught me by surprise that I didn't eaten so.

    One of the most prominent reason I would like to stick to my regiment, is that I cook pretty much a few days in the week for the family, and already not able to eat a lot of the food I cook just seem cruel, especially if they decide to want to eat out at times. :frown:

    Even as I typed this, that leftover pizza look so tempting. :ohwell:

    I do like the idea of lilbearzmom though. I could try to fast on days when I don't have too cook ( which occur at least 1-2 per 2 weeks )

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