Intermittent Fasting

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  • SugarySweetheart
    SugarySweetheart Posts: 154 Member
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    I don't believe fasting is good for your body. I have done it several times and it only causes my metabolism to slow down.
  • Tanukiko
    Tanukiko Posts: 186 Member
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    rontafoya wrote: »
    If you eat a bunch of small meals all day, you are releasing a lot of insulin (HORMONE)--and becoming less sensitive to its affects. BAD. You can also regulate your hunger hormone (ghrelin) on this schedule. But don't take my word for it. Try it. Read up on it yourself.

    Insulin can also be regulated by limiting carb intake even without IF, but good point. With IF if you are a carb eater you experience that insulin increase fewer times a day.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    SugarySweetheart wrote: »
    I don't believe fasting is good for your body. I have done it several times and it only causes my metabolism to slow down.
    How long were your fasts?
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    edited May 2016
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    cajuntank wrote: »
    85Cardinals wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF is merely establishing an "eating window." But, weight loss is ALWAYS about calories in vs. calories out.

    You blithely say this, like everybody here says it, but the whole idea of the science of IF is that there's more going on than that. And this is real science, not bro science.

    So you are saying that if your maintenance is 2000 calories and you IF and eat 2500 calories, you will not gain or possibly even lose weight due to some special property of IF ?

    Please enlighten us.

    No, I didn't say that. Go talk to Mark Mattson, IF is science. I guarantee he knows more about how human bodies work than you do. But I admire your audacious smugness!
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    The health benefits of IF go far beyond just being used as a weight loss tool. As usual, people try to make it what they want. You can lose, gain or maintain weight while on the various IF protocols. Since this is primarily a weight loss site many people try to use it for that, but that isn't the only reason to try IF. I haven't needed to lose weight for years but it's been one of the best things I've done with my eating habits.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    The health benefits of IF go far beyond just being used as a weight loss tool. As usual, people try to make it what they want. You can lose, gain or maintain weight while on the various IF protocols. Since this is primarily a weight loss site many people try to use it for that, but that isn't the only reason to try IF. I haven't needed to lose weight for years but it's been one of the best things I've done with my eating habits.

    I've done IF in various forms since 2012 but I don't feel that it's done anything for me health wise, except help me with my weight goals. What do you think it's done for you? (genuinely curious).
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    ReaderGirl3 wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    The health benefits of IF go far beyond just being used as a weight loss tool. As usual, people try to make it what they want. You can lose, gain or maintain weight while on the various IF protocols. Since this is primarily a weight loss site many people try to use it for that, but that isn't the only reason to try IF. I haven't needed to lose weight for years but it's been one of the best things I've done with my eating habits.

    I've done IF in various forms since 2012 but I don't feel that it's done anything for me health wise, except help me with my weight goals. What do you think it's done for you? (genuinely curious).

    As you've stated, the benefits aren't tangible in the sense that you actually feel them for most people. The benefits occur more on a cellular and hormonal level. My reference to it being the best thing I've done falls into a practicality standpoint with simplifying my eating down to 2 meals, and significantly decreasing my hunger while maintaining energy levels.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited May 2016
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    85Cardinals wrote: »
    cajuntank wrote: »
    85Cardinals wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF is merely establishing an "eating window." But, weight loss is ALWAYS about calories in vs. calories out.

    You blithely say this, like everybody here says it, but the whole idea of the science of IF is that there's more going on than that. And this is real science, not bro science.

    So you are saying that if your maintenance is 2000 calories and you IF and eat 2500 calories, you will not gain or possibly even lose weight due to some special property of IF ?

    Please enlighten us.

    No, I didn't say that. Go talk to Mark Mattson, IF is science. I guarantee he knows more about how human bodies work than you do. But I admire your audacious smugness!

    I am not disputing IF as a diet protocol. I am not disputing it will not work to cause someone to lose weight if a caloric deficit is created. I am not disputing that some people find they adhere to their diet utilizing said protocol. I am disputing, until provided with linked researched evidence, that it "bio-hacks" the body causing a overall statistically measurable greater weight loss compared to any other diet creating the same caloric deficit. This espousing of hormone manipulation to create greater loss comparatively is logically no different than Gary Taubes shilling of carbohydrate/insulin being the reason we are fat, and not the surplus of calories we ingest.

    The Mark Mattson reference only proved to me promising research in using IF to improve an aspect of health, more specifically, neurological health. Not the efficacy of IF as a greater tool (outside of adherence) to use for weightloss compared to regular caloric restriction. We could have used this same conversation to promote keto for other health aiding research just as easily.

    I can just as easy throw out names that know how the body works too like Eric Helms, Alan Aragon, Dr. Mike Israetel, Dr. Stu Phillips, and Dr. Brad Shoenfeld who rely on evidence and research to form and draw conclusions. Again, I would be, and I hope you would too, be remiss if all I did were to take someone's word for it without seeing/reading some linked research studies on the assertion and being able to draw my own conclusions after.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    So interesting discussion of this study......

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22608008/

    Can be found here....
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10353773/intermittent-fasting-help-me-logic-this-article/p1

    Also, just as a lol aside...Bob Harper (host of Biggest Loser), in response to that study that showed Biggest Lower contestants had metabolic slowdown, recommended IF:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bob-harper-addresses-that-biggest-loser-study-on-slow-metabolism_us_5736212ee4b077d4d6f30c9d

  • josiereside1
    josiereside1 Posts: 199 Member
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    rontafoya wrote: »
    Yes, do try it. I am one of many success stories. And yes, "calories in, calories out" is in fact the main thing. And yes, a shorter eating window does somewhat seem to lend itself to a consistently easier time meeting calorie targets. But what the overly simplistic posts fail to account for are the HORMONAL BENEFITS of intermittent fasting. Consider this: who has an easier time losing weight, a younger man, or an older man? Why? Testosterone (HORMONE). How about a woman with thyroid problems? Why can't she lose weight? HORMONES. Why is stress bad for weight loss? Cortisol (which is a HORMONE). If you eat a bunch of small meals all day, you are releasing a lot of insulin (HORMONE)--and becoming less sensitive to its affects. BAD. You can also regulate your hunger hormone (ghrelin) on this schedule. But don't take my word for it. Try it. Read up on it yourself.

    Are you able to explain more how it may help (or perhaps hinder??) those with thyroid issues... I do IF and believe there are other benefits but would like to understand more, particularly regarding thyroid.
  • twinmom_112002
    twinmom_112002 Posts: 739 Member
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    Does it matter where the 16hours of fasting occurs? In other words, can I have my breakfast as long as I stop eating early enough to have 16 hours of fasting?
  • Desidi7
    Desidi7 Posts: 3 Member
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    Fasting today. I'm going to be following this discussion. I wish there was more research done on fasting and its benefits (if there really are any). I have certainly noticed that when I occasionaly skip breakfast, my apetite stays more under control. It seems like the earlier I start eating, the more calories I consume. However, that could be just due to less time to eat cupcakes, not sure yet. :p
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    edited May 2016
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    twinmom_112002 wrote: »
    Does it matter where the 16hours of fasting occurs? In other words, can I have my breakfast as long as I stop eating early enough to have 16 hours of fasting?

    I think it depends on how much of the hormone manipulation you buy into. If you're all in, then you want your fast window to include your morning hours when insulin production is naturally lower.

    If you're only IFing to restrict when you eat in an effort to help control how much you eat (i.e. get in and stay in a deficit), then your window can start and stop be whenever you want.


    ETA - full disclose, the above is based on what I've read on IF, and none of what I've read has been actual studies. I ain't got time for that. I read people I believe to be knowledgeable and respected on the topic in question, and glean knowledge from them.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    So this is a 12 part series, quite long, but if you want the studies on IF explained to you, its worth reading all 12 parts....

    Start here:
    https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fasting-a-history-part-i/
  • tentativelyhopeful
    tentativelyhopeful Posts: 3 Member
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    The research on intermittent fasting that I've read has been pretty interesting. I remember reading one study on mice where 2 groups were given the same calorie amounts, but one group's intake was restricted to an 8 hour window while the other group had 24 hour access to the food. The mice with restricted eating, despite consuming the same number of calories weighed less than the group that could eat whenever it wanted.
    twinmom_112002 wrote: »
    Does it matter where the 16hours of fasting occurs?
    It doesn't. Do what works for you.

    Everyone is different, and some people respond very well to occasional fasting. Others are a mess if they try it.

    I think part of it has to do with eating habits growing up. Growing up I rarely ate breakfast - even before athletic events. In high school I usually didn't eat until after school. A decade later I'm looking to get back in shape and so I try to do the responsible thing and eat breakfast. Bad idea! To this day if I eat too much too early I'm thrown off for the rest of the day. I can't fall asleep without something fatty before bed, either. It's how my body works, and I accept that. I lost the weight and kept it off, and fasting has been a part of it.

    I've done periods of fasting off and on, usually just from listening to my body. It's very common for me not to eat until 1-2pm, or even early evening. A few times a year I'll even take a day off. Not by force, just because I feel like it.

    Hey, if the weight is coming off, you aren't hurting yourself, and it's something you can see working long term, then go for it.
  • carrie197618
    carrie197618 Posts: 34 Member
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    Hi, I am doinh IF and my feeding window is from 8 am to 4 pm. I need to eat in the morning else I really can't function. But after 4 pm strangely my hunger pangs are gone esp if I have protein in my last meal. So is it ok if I don't fast in the morning??its still IF what I am doing right???
    Honestly I am only doing it for fat loss and with the feeding window being smaller it's easier to be within my calories
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    carrie197618 wrote: »
    Hi, I am doinh IF and my feeding window is from 8 am to 4 pm. I need to eat in the morning else I really can't function. But after 4 pm strangely my hunger pangs are gone esp if I have protein in my last meal. So is it ok if I don't fast in the morning??its still IF what I am doing right???
    Honestly I am only doing it for fat loss and with the feeding window being smaller it's easier to be within my calories

    sure, choose whatever window works for you...
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited May 2016
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    annaskiski wrote: »
    So this is a 12 part series, quite long, but if you want the studies on IF explained to you, its worth reading all 12 parts....

    Start here:
    https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fasting-a-history-part-i/

    Looked like a super interesting read until the author started espousing the same ideology Gary Taubes does about insulin (in several of the author's articles). Honestly, after that, my B.S. meter pegged out and everything thereafter was "insert Charlie Brown's teacher talking here". I don't discount all of the health aspects mentioned, but again, when someone starts cherry picking parts of studies to fit their scientifically discounted "science", while leaving the rest of it out (so it fits their mantra) or outside of context that the study was done, it should automatically throw up a red flag.

    This is straight from the author himself...

    "This then is The Cruel Hoax of the Low Fat, Low Calorie Diet that we have all be told to follow. It. Just. Does. Not. Work. Eating less does not result in weight loss. It is cruel because so many of us have believed in it. It is cruel because all of our ‘trusted health sources’ tell us it is true. It is cruel because when it fails, we blame ourselves. We need to throw this theory into the garbage where it belongs.

    Let me state it as plainly as I can. Eating too much does not cause obesity. Exercising too little does not cause obesity. Therefore, eating less and moving more will not cure obesity. It is proven. Accept it."

    Another quote from the author...

    "The question is NOT how to balance calories, the question is how to balance our hormones. In most cases, the crucial question is not how to reduce calories but how to reduce insulin."

    I will just leave this in response to his insulin blaming.

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-7-insulin-and-thinking-better/insulin-an-undeserved-bad-reputation/


  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    edited May 2016
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    cajuntank wrote: »
    Looked like a super interesting read until the author started espousing the same ideology Gary Taubes does about insulin (in several of the author's articles). Honestly, after that, my B.S. meter pegged out and everything thereafter was "insert Charlie Brown's teacher talking here". I don't discount all of the health aspects mentioned, but again, when someone starts cherry picking parts of studies to fit their scientifically discounted "science", while leaving the rest of it out (so it fits their mantra) or outside of context that the study was done, it should automatically throw up a red flag.

    This is straight from the author himself...

    "This then is The Cruel Hoax of the Low Fat, Low Calorie Diet that we have all be told to follow. It. Just. Does. Not. Work. Eating less does not result in weight loss. It is cruel because so many of us have believed in it. It is cruel because all of our ‘trusted health sources’ tell us it is true. It is cruel because when it fails, we blame ourselves. We need to throw this theory into the garbage where it belongs.

    Let me state it as plainly as I can. Eating too much does not cause obesity. Exercising too little does not cause obesity. Therefore, eating less and moving more will not cure obesity. It is proven. Accept it."

    Another quote from the author...

    "The question is NOT how to balance calories, the question is how to balance our hormones. In most cases, the crucial question is not how to reduce calories but how to reduce insulin."

    I will just leave this in response to his insulin blaming.

    http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-7-insulin-and-thinking-better/insulin-an-undeserved-bad-reputation/


    Well, I agree that, in the end, it's all about the CICO equation.
    However, hormones do help us stay within our calorie limit, or make it very hard to do so.

    I know that when I skip breakfast, I am not hungry for the rest of the day.
    Eating breakfast makes me ravenous, and I will eat at least half my calories before noon. (and still be hungry)

    So while I also disagree with his statements that calorie counting doesn't work (science says it does), calorie counting can be more difficult if we don't take into account how our hormones affect our appetites (and for some, moods as well).

    I think at least the info about the effect fasting has on our various hormones was worth reading...

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