Benefits of fasting?

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WishfulThinking0
WishfulThinking0 Posts: 54 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've heard that intermittent fasting can be good, can anyone explain why this is?

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Intermittent fasting is one more method of getting a calorie deficit.

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

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

    Lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that & that......but no hard science as far as I know.

    I read the Dr. Mosley 5:2 book.....his blood tests before and after aren't "proof" to me. 5:2 is strict dieting 2 days a week and 5 days of maintenance. Nice to get your deficit for the week in just 2 days (if you can make that work).
  • SciranBG
    SciranBG Posts: 97 Member
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    I have used an eat-stop-eat method of fasting to get a grasp on hunger vs mindless eating. Once or twice a week I would eat little to nothing, probably <=800 cals. It suuuucked, but the other 5-6 days of the week when I wanted to snack I would be able to think "okay, am I actually hungry, or do I want to eat for another reason".

  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    Honestly I have no idea. I don't eat breakfast but that's because I like having a large dinner. I still eat the same calories, it just feels like more if I save them for later.
  • WishfulThinking0
    WishfulThinking0 Posts: 54 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    Intermittent fasting is one more method of getting a calorie deficit.

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

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

    Lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that & that......but no hard science as far as I know.

    I read the Dr. Mosley 5:2 book.....his blood tests before and after aren't "proof" to me. 5:2 is strict dieting 2 days a week and 5 days of maintenance. Nice to get your deficit for the week in just 2 days (if you can make that work).

    Thanks for the links :)
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    IF works for some, but isn't for everyone. If you're someone that does best on several small meals during the day, you probably won't do well with IF. If you're someone that does well on just a couple of larger meals to get all your calories in, then by all means look into it. I believe there's even some groups here that might be helpful as well.
  • Damienriven
    Damienriven Posts: 53 Member
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    I have been doing intermittent fasting for over two months now. The way I understand it is that if you're eating 6-8 meals a day your insulin is so damn high throughout the day not allowing growth hormone to be released through the body since both can't be present at once. Once the insulin is out your body after 6-8 hours after the last bite your body metabolized the storage of glucose in your muscles then targets the fat storage directly way easier if you were to continuously eat. There are other benefits like lower risk of diseases, cancer, live longer, and more I won't waste time on labeling each one when you're able to find out. But the way to get into this state much easier is to be fasting for around 16 hours or more a day. I don't recommend going over 24 since I personally do the 24-hour fast. The idea is to consume all your calories while in the eating window you're not fasting if that's either a 6-hour or 4-hour. It is very useful for cutting weight but also good if maintaining weight of you want the health benefits from it. During the fast you may drink zero calorie drinks, black coffee, unsweetened tea, and water. It's true it's not for everyone, pregnant or nursing mothers, diabetics, etc.

    In closing, I highly recommend trying out for a week to see if you like the results of it. Personally I used it to help my cutting weight which resulted in 34 pounds gone. I've told two other friends of mine about IF, one has lost 20 pounds so far and the other is on her first week. If you have any questions I will try to answer them the best I can.
  • WishfulThinking0
    WishfulThinking0 Posts: 54 Member
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    nillagfx wrote: »
    I have been doing intermittent fasting for over two months now. The way I understand it is that if you're eating 6-8 meals a day your insulin is so damn high throughout the day not allowing growth hormone to be released through the body since both can't be present at once. Once the insulin is out your body after 6-8 hours after the last bite your body metabolized the storage of glucose in your muscles then targets the fat storage directly way easier if you were to continuously eat. There are other benefits like lower risk of diseases, cancer, live longer, and more I won't waste time on labeling each one when you're able to find out. But the way to get into this state much easier is to be fasting for around 16 hours or more a day. I don't recommend going over 24 since I personally do the 24-hour fast. The idea is to consume all your calories while in the eating window you're not fasting if that's either a 6-hour or 4-hour. It is very useful for cutting weight but also good if maintaining weight of you want the health benefits from it. During the fast you may drink zero calorie drinks, black coffee, unsweetened tea, and water. It's true it's not for everyone, pregnant or nursing mothers, diabetics, etc.

    In closing, I highly recommend trying out for a week to see if you like the results of it. Personally I used it to help my cutting weight which resulted in 34 pounds gone. I've told two other friends of mine about IF, one has lost 20 pounds so far and the other is on her first week. If you have any questions I will try to answer them the best I can.

    @nillagfx thanks very much for this great response!

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