The Fasting Diet

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tinavflynn
tinavflynn Posts: 80 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I read an article on The Atlantic that talks about fasting every other day then on the other days allowing yourself to eat what ever you want. They brought arguments from both sides, some saying this worked, while others saying it doesn't. I wanted to know people's thoughts on this. Have any of you tried this, and made it stick as a lifestyle change? Does anyone have any pros or cons to add to what the article says? Also, just any other general knowledge would be nice.

Here's the link (definitely a long article): http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/the-new-way-to-love-food/283276/

Thanks in advance for people's thoughts! :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I did alternate day intermittent fasting for weight loss (also called JUDDD), and I alternated between low/'fasting' calorie days of 500 calories or less, with high/maintenance range calorie days. I had great success with it, lost the weight and transitioned into maintenance with no problems. If you want more info, just send me a message and I can get you started with some resources (books to look into etc).
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
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    This sounds similar to the JUDDD diet. Drawing from memory, you eat below 500 calories one day, whatever you want the next, <500, whatever you want, and so on. It alternates the entire time.
  • Frank_Just_Frank
    Frank_Just_Frank Posts: 454 Member
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    I guess it depends on your personality. I'm a creature of habit and wouldn't like to have this kind of diet because it switches around too much.
  • FearlessEquestrian
    FearlessEquestrian Posts: 113 Member
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    I do not do ADF but I do the 4:3 diet. Four days a week you eat normally, and then 3 days a week you are on a fast. I do not do the ADF because I am giving myself that little but of room to move if I hit a plateau. But I have been on this fasting diet for just over a week, and in one week I lost 1.5kgs - which was great! There are a bunch of support groups on FB for the 5:2 diet (4:3 is a variation). The support groups are fab and really do help!
  • johng2703
    johng2703 Posts: 2 Member
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    Its really big in the Uk at the moment and called the 5:2 diet (book by Dr Michael Moseley). there's a lot of science behind it as well, not just for dieting but for general health benefits. I've been following it since July last year and have lost around 25lbs. I am combining the diet with exercise and I find it really fits my lifestyle. My two cents :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Its really big in the Uk at the moment and called the 5:2 diet (book by Dr Michael Moseley). there's a lot of science behind it as well, not just for dieting but for general health benefits. I've been following it since July last year and have lost around 25lbs. I am combining the diet with exercise and I find it really fits my lifestyle. My two cents :)

    No it's not the 5:2 diet. Dr. Michael Mosley referenced a lot of Prof. Krista Varady's research and she isn't happy about it!

    Varady's protocol is different and is much more research led than Mosley's. (BTW - I've done 5:2 since August 2012)
    Other protocols are Eat-Stop-Eat, JUDDD etc. etc.
  • Llamedos1960
    Llamedos1960 Posts: 78
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    IF (Intermittent Fasting) has been around for quite a long time. Sometimes known as 5:2 where you have 2 fasting days in the week.

    There are also some who fast for particular times of the day and only eat during certain times. For example, 16:8 would be where you fast for 16 hours and then eat for 8 hours of the day. You could also do 18:6 or whatever.

    I understand that there are some IF groups on the forums here who would be able to give you more help. If you do a search I'm sure you'll find them.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I think doing it that way helps some people maintain a calorie deficit, but I think it's really annoying when those people behave like cult members who have found the One True Way. Bottom line, weight loss is about calories in/calories out, and different people have different optimal methods for achieving that.
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
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    “So, do people do this for their entire life?” I asked. “Will they eventually lose all of the weight and weigh nothing?”

    Lol.

    This reminds me of the sequel to Charlie and the chocolate factory, where Willie Wonker makes something which causes people to age backwards, and Charlie's grandparents are so impressed they take heaps of it, but one took so much they aged backwards until they were 'before they were born'.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    I do Eat Stop Eat which is just 2 complete 24-hour dinner-to-dinner fasts per week. I'm toying with moving to lunch-to-lunch fasts as that would allow me to go into a fasted state twice during each of the two fasting periods per week.

    I have been following it since May 2013

    May 2013 - October 2013 - 2 fasts per week, lost 25lbs
    October - mid December - 1 fast per week to maintain
    Mid December - mid Jan - no fasts, gained a little weight. there was just too much temptation, travel, disruption
    Mid Jan to now - back on it and losing weight again.

    It works really well for me. You won't know if it will work for you until you try it.

    Loads of people who have never tried it like to slam it or chime in about eating disorders and all that BS. Ignore them until you have your own experience to go on.

    It's tough at first, if you're not used to feeling real hunger, but you soon get used to it and you get the added benefit of building a better relationship with food. I certainly believe it is something I can do for the rest of my life, yes.
  • dianesheart88
    dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
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    I too am currently doing the 5:2 fast diet. The plan says that you can eat 'whatever' you want on the non-fast days and two days a week eat a restricted intake of 500 for women and 600 for men. There are also tons of health benefits. I work the plan with the other 5 days of sensible, reduced calorie intake where I am still eating at a below my TDEE. My first week I lost 2.2 pounds - no exercise. So far this plan is something I can manage and I like that on any given day (other than the 2 fast days) I could eat what I want if I'd like to without the guilt. I know some will do 4:3. If all goes well I will only fast one day to maintain.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    I'm not convinced you can eat "whatever you want" on non-fast days on the 5:2 plan. It is, after all, a calorie controlled diet. It just puts the majority of the "deprivation" into 2 days. It's not a magic bullet, it's just a hell of a lot easier than larger restrictions every day.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    i think the "whatever" refers to composition, so you aren't restricted to low fat or low carb or whatever foods on the "feed" days, just eat a sensible amount of "whatever you like".

    If they said "as much as you like" it would be different.
  • Poods71
    Poods71 Posts: 502 Member
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    I did it and lost 2 stone and have kept it off since. Don't do it now, as I got bored, and I just stick to watching my cals now to maintain. It worked a treat for me as I am the sort of person who hates the feeling of deprivation when I am dieting and hate not being able to have things that other people are having, but it is so much easier when you know it is just for one day and you can have the chocolate bar or nice dinner or whatever it is you are craving tomorrow. I would recommend it to anybody :smile:
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    It's a bit funny that there are now so many books on this - you could write the whole plan up in a short sentence.

    I've done this for the past year and lost 120 lbs.

    It's calories in < calories out. So, in my experience, you get the same 1-2 lbs of loss a week that you get on any other normal diet.

    It's just easier for me to alternate between days when I eat the foods I like, in decent sized portions (like half a medium pizza instead of trying to limit myself to a couple slices or (shudder) eating cauliflower pizza) and days when I don't.

    The article is good - even the bit from the person who thought it would ruin her life.

    IMO, if you think about this idea and think, "OMG, this would be horrible, I could never do this" or if you look at this idea and think, "Wow! I only have to diet every other day, I could definitely do that!" - you're probably right either way. And this is probably true for any change.

    So, it's worked great for me. Amazingly great. I wish I had thought of this super simple idea 15 years ago. All of the benefits, at half the effort.

    I'm not super motivated to lose the last 17 pounds (I look decent in clothes now, my blood tests are all in the healthy ranges (down from "OMG, you're gonna die" levels in 2012)) so I am mostly maintaining now.

    So far maintenance has been super easy with just adding a few calories here and there (mostly just eating my exercise calories) and skipping a down day on most weekends.
  • GEMMA_2014
    GEMMA_2014 Posts: 81
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    I read about the 5 2 diet. I will try it for the month of Feb, I do not know about long term. I like to eat more than I like to lose weight fast.
  • shirleebe
    shirleebe Posts: 5 Member
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    Hi, I also am on the Fast diet and so far so good I am actually finding it surprisingly easy and I am hopeless at other diets. Just completed my third week and so far have lost 9lbs which I am really pleased about. My question is this how long did you take to lose the 2 stone and what exercise did you do? How long have you managed to sit at your maintain weight? I find I have to watch as I could do a Fast day a couple of days running as I like the way I feel but do not want to go to the other extreme. Sorry for all the questions but interested in how you are finding maintaining.
  • PoesyP
    PoesyP Posts: 37 Member
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    I tried it for a while and lost weight on it but I had to stop because I found my body couldn't handle the fast days. I found I just lost all ability to regulate my body temperature and I would spend the day so cold and shivering, no matter how high I turned up the heating. So, it didn't suit me personally, but the weight loss side of it was very successful.
  • Skoster1
    Skoster1 Posts: 134 Member
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    Sounds great to me, except I'd hit 6K calories on the non-fast days. Though it's tempting!
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I have often thought about it but in the end I know it wouldn't work for me because I couldn't get past the initial "getting used to it" phase. VLC intake even if it's for a day leads me to very very bad mood fluctuations...which I could probably handle on my own till I did get used to it, but I decided it's completely unfair to put my husband and children through that when I have already proven that I can lose weight eating over 1700 calories on a consistent daily basis. I think it could be great for anyone who wants to give it a try and who doesn't have food-dependent moods though :laugh:

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