Intermittent Fasting

Hi there,
There is already a thread re intermittent fasting:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1213019-what-s-up-with-intermittent-fasting

I copy/ paste what I posted there:

Intermittent fasting comprises more than one version:

a) 5:2 fasting, two days a week you eat under 500 cal (women)/ 600 cal (men) and the other 5 days you just eat "normally", making sure though that you stay under your TDEE. (google: 5:2 fast or Dr Michael Mosley
b) 4:3 fasting, same as above, but three days fasting and four days eating under your TDEE
c) ADF = alternate day fasting or "The Every Other Day Diet" = every second day fasting. This form of dieting has been extensively researched by Dr. Krista Varadi and there are lot's of clinical trials about this. The 5:2 diet is based on her research. The major difference here is that you can not only eat what you like but also how much you like on your non fast days

All of the above are often combined with something called 16:8, 20:4 or 22:2, which means you eat all of your daily calories either within 8 hours, 4 hours or 2 hours and the rest of the day you eat nothing. Sometimes people just follow the eating window of 16:8... without restricting their calorie intake, something that does not work for me.

Now the concept of fasting is not new and part of quite a few religions. It also makes sense if one looks at the history of human kind. When we were still hunters and gatherers we did not eat 5 times a day, but long periods of no food were followed by times of feeding. The understanding is that while you are fasting your body does not need to concentrate on digesting food but can concentrate on repairing itself.

I have done a combination of the above over the last 12 weeks and I have lost 8 kg. This might not sound much, but I did not have to lose much to begin with. For me it works very well and I really enjoy my two days of fasting every week.

Anyhow, at the end of the day it is another way of calorie restriction and it might work for you or not.

I love it and for maintenance I will just do one day a week

Stef.

I'm doing it and it works fabulously for me. I should note I do have some borderline insulin resistance issues and that may be why it works so well for me - there's some research indicating it usually works best for men; women who have a lot of weight to lose; or those who have insulin resistance already. If you have a closer to normal BMI and no metabolic problems and are female, the science is a little more sketchy, but some people still find it works for them, while others don't. Good luck!

check out www.leangains.com

yep, just a way to limit my intake. if i limit myself to two meals and 8 hours i am a lot less likely to go over, that much. even on splurge days(holidays, b-days) i limit to 2 meals and/or 8 hrs. i still have to eat a deficit to lose. but the IF leangains style and hitting macros has helped me maintain and lose. there is some IF groups on here as well. lots of good advice and info on them. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/66-intermittent-fasting