What you thinking about intermittent fasting?

simply_bubbz
simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been reading up on this all night and I am thinking about trying it out this weekend. basically you fast for 16 to 20 hours and then eat your daily calorie during the 4-8 timeframe and exercise during the fast part of the day. Do you all know anyone who done it? What are your thoughts?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    There are a couple different versions. Group links.........

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    It's just one method of getting to your daily/weekly deficit. I use 5:2 (5 days eating maintenance and 2 days eating 500). I find it helps me be more consistent, knowing I can relax on "off" days.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited September 2015
    To lose weight you need a calorie deficit. How you get there is up to you :)
  • simply_bubbz
    simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
    But is it true that if you exercise during your fasting period you'll lose weight faster? I guess that's my main question
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    But is it true that if you exercise during your fasting period you'll lose weight faster? I guess that's my main question

    I don't think so.
  • MrPriolos
    MrPriolos Posts: 17 Member
    edited September 2015
    I agree with TeaBea. I'm a big fan of Intermittent Fasting. I do 18 hours most days (skip breakfast) and 24 hours a couple days per week (skip breakfast and lunch).

    My weekends with my kids are "party time" and the calories get packed on.
  • mlaccs
    mlaccs Posts: 25 Member
    Seems that if you eat less and exercise more you will lose weight faster. My guess is that since this is not a sustainable (by me) lifestyle change that those losses will not be permanent but if you can maintain after the loss then maybe it helps.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    But is it true that if you exercise during your fasting period you'll lose weight faster? I guess that's my main question
    No.
    Generally it's recommend women start with a 14 hour fast, 10 hour eating window. See how that suits you and increase your fast time if you'd like.

    I fast ~16 hours, have been skipping "breakfast" for over 2 years. I've bulked, cut, and maintained.

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    To lose weight you need a calorie deficit. How you get there is up to you :)

    This. Try it and see if it works for you; if it doesn't, try something else to help you maintain your deficit. It's not a magic pill/solution to weight loss. It still boils down to a calorie deficit.
  • haiwhat
    haiwhat Posts: 3 Member
    You should look at the videos of the Hodgetwin Brothers, they lost a bunch of weight with this method years ago. Now they are muscular, still often fasting men, who explain the benefits of fastig on YT. That's what I know about them.

    I fast too every few months as a kind of detox-method. Once in a year I fast for a whole month (religious reasons).

    In my opinion, a beginner should start with 13-14 hours and slowly go up to 18 hours, if wished.

    Good luck x
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    I tried it but didn't get on with it, I was easily able to overeat on the non-fast days. I've found I can 'break' any diet that claims you don't have to count calories. But everyone is different, no harm in giving it a try and see if it works for you.
  • simply_bubbz
    simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
    here's what it says:

    After you eat a meal your blood sugar rises and your blood sugar (along with the stored carbs/glycogen in your body) is the energy or calories your body uses or burns to keep you alive, functioning properly and to do all your daily activities but…

    •As you fast or not eat anything for long periods of time your blood sugar gets lower & the amount of carbs stored in your body gets lower and when this happens…
    •Your body has no choice but to start burning your body fat for energy to keep you alive, functioning properly and to do all your daily activities and technically…
    Your body fat is just the accumulation of all the excess calories you overate so every time you eat too much…

    •Your body takes those excess calories, stores it as body fat and uses it as a backup source of energy when you create a calorie or energy deficit from exercising more and/or eating less (like in any normal weight loss plan) but…
    •Your body is also forced to mostly only burn body fat (or make you lose weight) when there's not much blood sugar or carbs left to burn when you fast for 14+ hours.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I do know people who do IF, and I admire that they can do so and stick to the plan. I personally can't.

    It's not really a weight loss tool, and has no magic when it comes to weight loss, but IF is a way of eating for many people. You eat during a certain window, but you need to meet your calorie goals.
  • simply_bubbz
    simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
    my main curiosity is, will excercising during the fasting state burn more fat..b/c the explanation really makes sense...(see my last comment)
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    my main curiosity is, will excercising during the fasting state burn more fat..b/c the explanation really makes sense...(see my last comment)

    There's no peer reviewed scientific proof that you burn more fasted. Personally, when I tried it, I was definitely burning less fasted since I was too tired to work out hard.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    my main curiosity is, will excercising during the fasting state burn more fat..b/c the explanation really makes sense...(see my last comment)

    Ok, sure, that's what happens. But it doesn't mean you burn more fat than you otherwise would by exercising fed.

    (If I understand it correctly) So when you exercise before breakfast, you are using only ketones for energy and a little glucose left in your bloodstream or glucose pulled from your muscle store. And let's say you exercise 300 calories-worth above BMR in an hour. Your body can't actually "metabolize fat" in that timeframe. Metabolizing fat is a chemical process that isn't instant.

    Now let's say instead you exercise after breakfast. You're still burning the same 300 calories, you're just getting most of it from the breakfast and OJ you just had. NOW THAT YOU'VE USED UP YOUR BREAKFAST GLUCOSE for your workout, your body will use ketones and the remaining glucose it can manufacture or pull glucose from your muscle stores to keep you alive until lunch.

    You're burning the same 300 calories. If overall you're in a caloric deficit on average, your body will be using fat to make up that deficit. Whether it's before you've eaten or after.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited September 2015
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    here's what it says:

    After you eat a meal your blood sugar rises and your blood sugar (along with the stored carbs/glycogen in your body) is the energy or calories your body uses or burns to keep you alive, functioning properly and to do all your daily activities but…

    •As you fast or not eat anything for long periods of time your blood sugar gets lower & the amount of carbs stored in your body gets lower and when this happens…
    •Your body has no choice but to start burning your body fat for energy to keep you alive, functioning properly and to do all your daily activities and technically…
    Your body fat is just the accumulation of all the excess calories you overate so every time you eat too much…

    •Your body takes those excess calories, stores it as body fat and uses it as a backup source of energy when you create a calorie or energy deficit from exercising more and/or eating less (like in any normal weight loss plan) but…
    •Your body is also forced to mostly only burn body fat (or make you lose weight) when there's not much blood sugar or carbs left to burn when you fast for 14+ hours.

    Meh - What sort of medical testing did they do? How many test subjects? What type of controls were used? Any diet can make claims, that doesn't mean they can back it up.

    When you lose weight (by any method) your body is using stored fat and almost invariably....lean muscle. Glycogen stores are energy (watery)....this is why you see large weight losses when you start a low carb diet. This is water weight AND temporary unless you adopt a low carb lifestyle.

    Any method of calorie deficit....daily / weekly will result in weight loss. A 3,500 calorie deficit over the course of 1 week is ONE pound of weight lost. You can't "trick" your body into believing it's > 1 pound.

    Maybe someday they will do large scale medical testing....this method of weight loss Vs. another method of weight loss. The "evidence" for 5:2 as being a superior method is anecdotal. "My blood tests before....my blood tests after." How do we know that 5:2 was responsible? Lowering your body fat percentage is good for your health (when you're fat)....of course some tests are going to be positive. Maybe adopting a new exercise program was responsible for some of the positive outcomes.
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
    I honestly don't know too much about this...but I would say that for me I naturally push all my calories to the middle of the day. I have a late breakfast and an early afternoon lunch, and an early dinner. So I guess if I eat a 6 pm dinner and a 10 am breakfast then I guess you would consider it fasting for 16 hours...the idea is that you need to cater your eating and timing to you and your body. :) CICO. Period.
  • simply_bubbz
    simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    my main curiosity is, will excercising during the fasting state burn more fat..b/c the explanation really makes sense...(see my last comment)

    There's no peer reviewed scientific proof that you burn more fasted. Personally, when I tried it, I was definitely burning less fasted since I was too tired to work out hard.

    THis is what I thought too. IF I don't eat before a workout my peformance is not as good.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    my main curiosity is, will excercising during the fasting state burn more fat..b/c the explanation really makes sense...(see my last comment)
    Still no.
    What I do think is clear from our study, however, is that if there are any benefits from fasted cardio (still highly equivocal), they would be minor at best. So the best advice for those who are simply looking to get lean is to focus on total energy and macronutrient balance; whether you perform cardio fasted or fed should depend entirely on preference.
    http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/my-new-study-on-fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-take-home-points/
  • simply_bubbz
    simply_bubbz Posts: 245 Member
    I understand the fasting part that its basically the same as eating a deficit but at a specific time....I'm just really interested in the more fat burning during fasting part...
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    simply_bubbz wrote: »
    I understand the fasting part that its basically the same as eating a deficit but at a specific time....I'm just really interested in the more fat burning during fasting part...

    There's shaky to no evidence that it makes a difference.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    The original 5:2 book claims that many people have great workouts on their fasting days, but as to whether you'll burn more fat I think there are too many individual factors at play to make a general statement.

    The reason I wouldn't workout on my fasting day is fear of protein breakdown and losing muscle.
  • 3stepsahead
    3stepsahead Posts: 56 Member

    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    The original 5:2 book claims that many people have great workouts on their fasting days, but as to whether you'll burn more fat I think there are too many individual factors at play to make a general statement.

    The reason I wouldn't workout on my fasting day is fear of protein breakdown and losing muscle.

    for fasted training, BCAA or an essential amino acid mixture is highly recommended
  • easybeezy
    easybeezy Posts: 31 Member
    I've been 16:8 about 95% of the time for 2 months and I love it! I've lost 12 pounds, and it's allowed me to allocate my calories in a more satisfying way (usually about 300 lunch, and 900 left for snacks and dinner not including exercise calories). Not to mention, my body just feels like it operates better all around.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    The original 5:2 book claims that many people have great workouts on their fasting days, but as to whether you'll burn more fat I think there are too many individual factors at play to make a general statement.

    The reason I wouldn't workout on my fasting day is fear of protein breakdown and losing muscle.

    You can't "lose muscle" in a single workout any more than you can "lose fat". Metabolism works 24/7 and it's a continuous process.
  • Siran12001
    Siran12001 Posts: 51 Member
    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    The original 5:2 book claims that many people have great workouts on their fasting days, but as to whether you'll burn more fat I think there are too many individual factors at play to make a general statement.

    The reason I wouldn't workout on my fasting day is fear of protein breakdown and losing muscle.

    If our body would lose muscle if we didn't eat for a day, our ancestors in the stone age would have died quickly.

    I have no idea if you lose more fat if you work out fasted, but I'm trying 14:10 at the moment and it works pretty well for me. I was never much of a breakfast eater, so skipping breakfast and eating lunch at 12 is not much of a problem. I noticed that the smaller eating window stops me from snacking in the morning at work and in the late evening hours. Eating the calories in 10 hours gives me bigger meals and I can still snack without going over the calories.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    I do it, and LOVE it
  • Liftin4food
    Liftin4food Posts: 175 Member
    I did it last year for December and a little into January. It was a great way to stay in a calorie deficit throughout the holiday period. I didn't like it longer term - but intend to do it again this year for a couple of weeks over the party / holiday period.
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