Fasting for health benefits?

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  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    *shrug* IF is all the rage currently. If it works for you, it works. As for the health benefits... Meh. Sceptical as well. I only skip a meal when I am not hungry or not feeling well. Like yesterday, when I had to eat a big, fatty, dinner meal with the inlaws the day before and I felt full (and bloated) until a little past noon. I let my hunger guide me, and if that means 'missing' a meal, then I miss a meal. I fast for religious reasons every now and again, but that has nothing to do with my diet. In general, I go with the philosophy: eat filling food when hungry, stop when full, stay within my calorie limit.
  • timtakel
    timtakel Posts: 50 Member
    Obviously you will lose weight if you don't eat, or eat much, for 5 days a month, without overeating a lot in the other days. But if you eat too much all the other days, it's useless.

    Let's say you have deficit of 2000kcal a fasting day, for 5 days, that's a 10.000kcal deficit, which will mean you lose ~1,4kg of fat plus the water that it is bound by it. Divide that by the other 25 Days of the Month, you'll get 400kcal. That's the amount you have to eat over your need, to reach the same weight again.

    It's very easy to overeat these 400kcal a day on average, as most people here will know. Also the people are told they can eat what they want in the non-fasting period, so they pay even lass attention to what they eat. That's why I can't see the benefit. You have five days where you need a lot of discipline and 25 days where you also need to have discipline, just less. It's like a regular kcal deficit diet, just with a five days time frame of much more stress.

    If you want to have the 10.000 kcal deficit a month, just have a 333 kcal deficit a day, which is not much. But with that you can be part of social events and you will learn how and what to eat - because you need to pay attention. If you like it, like I do, just incorporate a light version of fasting.
  • Annawaywego
    Annawaywego Posts: 35 Member
    So you should be, I've been fasting for Ramadan: eating healthy but can't manage more than around 1,000-1100 calories and my weight us exactly the same. Not lost or gained.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
    That word looks so weird with a c instead of a k...
  • Livgetfit
    Livgetfit Posts: 352 Member
    ohmscheeks wrote: »
    That word looks so weird with a c instead of a k...

    Haha sorry, Aus & UK English
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