Alternate Day Fasting

Me too. I can do 16 hours for about 5 days. Then 12 the next 5 days.

You might need to define what version of 5:2 you mean. The kind where you eat, like 500 calories on Monday and Thursday but maintenance calories the other days?

I can do it for short periods, but if I do it for too long it messes with my sleep and constipates the crap out of me. (TMI, I know!)

Wow! That's tough. I've never fasted every other day. Do you find it stalls your weight loss...I only ask because I'd probably binge on the non-fasting days. Not sure though. I just got done fasting at 8pm EST for the day of atonement. I thought I'd eat everything but I'm not that hungry. So maybe I answered my own question!

Yes, I've been doing it for almost five months now. No binges, no real problems with hunger, and definitely a lot more energetic than I used to be.

ITS GREAT!!

cbravo717 wrote: »

I never fasted before, or ever! Would anybody care to tell/explain to me how exactly it works, please?

well an actual fast you only drink zero calorie fluids through the day. Then eat the next day.

A more common approach is to have a low calorie "fast" day of ~500 calories - often just the evening meal. Again with non-caloric fluids ad lib. Some people skip breakfast and have 2 * 300 cal meals or similar.

http://www.eoddiet.com/

http://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-faq

I agree with fasting just for one day a week. It makes me evaluate what I'm eating more and I usually have lots of energy the next day.

Just curious if this would really help ibs. Anyone with experience?

I just do 16/8 everyday, and have been for years. It is not for weight loss, it is just an eating schedule just like 5:2 and 5:2 really is not necessary unless it is temporary for maybe breaking a weight stall or just to change things up in your diet for a couple of weeks to keep things mixed up...

When I was cutting, I did 5:2 and found it to be the most effective path for me. I did ADF on occasion, but I just found it to be more effort than I wanted -- fasting 2 days per week was a lot more manageable for me than 3-4 days per week. I also found that for me, ADF wasn't a good fit because I lift 4 days a week -- and I only want to do that on non-fast days so ADF is too much for that regime.

I have to admit that I was hesitant, very hesitant to try 5:2 -- I thought the fasting would be sooo hard. But, I found it pretty manageable. In fact, I'd say only the last 3 hours or so of my 24 hour fast was a challenge. Before that, it was pretty easy. But, I did have some resets in my sleeping -- I had way more energy and a little insomnia the first weeks. But then it seemed like my body adjusted and things were fine. I do think there is some benefit to letting your body rest from constantly digesting food --- and it was nice to not have to think about my next meal or plan for it. It freed up headspace/bandwidth in that regard too.

I also found that I didn't have to meticulously count calories, especially after I was down to my goal weight range. This was probably the greatest freedom of all as the idea of counting calories for the rest of my life is just awful for me.

I also found that it helped "retrain" me on true hunger -- versus cravings, habits, etc. I was pretty surprised on how often I was eating previously either out of habit or cravings than true hunger. So it was an eye-opening experience in that regard as well.

Here's how I feel about fasting:

I'm good doing 18:6 during the week, but Friday through Sunday, it's on. Not only does my macro "give a damn factor" go out the window, but everything pretty much goes out the window on the weekend!

I fast 2 or 3 days a week. It has helped so much with my IBS. Just giving the system a break for a while does wonders. I will be continuing even when I hit maintenance and just adjusting calories on eating days.