What will happen if i don't get a 12 hour fast in-between the night and breakfast the next day?

Whoever told you that is unfortunately incorrect. Current science supports meal timing having no impact on weight loss/gain/maintenance...with the caveat that for some, meal timing can influence satiety and therefore the total amount that we eat.

For example, many people practice intermittent fasting. There are several different programs, but as an example, one might fast for 16 hours (including when they sleep) and eat all of their calories within 8 hours. Some find that this helps them rein in eating. Others would find this intolerable and the delay in eating would send them into a binge.

Others might find that eating breakfast and many small meals or snacks throughout the day, including right before bed, helps them to eat fewer total calories.

Personally, I delay eating until I'm actually hungry, usually around 1 or 2 p.m. If I eat breakfast anyway, then I get hungry sooner and end up eating more.

Do what works for you.

Meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss. Eat when you're hungry.

Generally the intermittent fasting protocol is 16 hours, some take that out even longer. You would be best to read and do some research.

I think the main reason people suggest a nighttime fast of a certain amount of time is related to the fact that you shouldn't eat (a meal) close to bed time. Personally, I eat between 7 and 7:30, at noon, and between 5-6. Every once in a while, I'll eat dinner later, but those are just the times I typically eat. A nighttime fast isn't going to help or hurt you in the long run as long as you are eating right and drinking plenty of water.

You should look up the 5:2 diet (Michael Mosley) or intermittent fasting, where you restrict calories 2 days out of 7. Window fasting is another one, where you eat within an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours daily. Nutritionally, weekly calories average out at about 1500 per day so you are not starving yourself, but the results of studies show benefits for slimming and general health that you don't get with dieting 7 days a week.

So I would definitely say that a 12 hour fast daily will not hurt you in the least and there is definitely science there to back it up! At the end of the day the best diet is one that you stick to so do what works for you.

Earth_echo 100 % agree with you there. I've been researching intermittent fasting for over 2 years and the health benefits are wonderful!

earth_echo wrote: »

The body goes into repair-mode during periods of fasting. It's a lot like building muscle. To gain muscle you have to damage it first. Fasting also puts the body under stress and it responds very positively (body focuses on cell repair instead of cell production). Did you know that life expectancy *increased* by over 6 years during the Great Depression? True story. Going without food sometimes is good for your health! There's a good YouTube vid about aging and fasting. Search for "eat fast and live longer with Michael Mosley".

Uh...

cwolfman13 wrote: »

You will probably turn into a pumpkin...

Do you have a scientific study to back up this claim? Ha-ha!

Actually, the information regarding life span during the Great Depression is technically true, but misleading. Life span increased by 6.2 years above what it was prior to the Great Depression. So, "life expectancy rose from 57.1 in 1929 to 63.3 years in 1932." That's nowhere near our current lifespan of 78.7 years as of 2013. The increase during the Great Depression is usually marked up to less work-related stress and accidents, as fewer people were being hired and trained and there was less work to do. Also, more sleep since there was more time to sleep.