Fasting opinions?

briislovely
briislovely Posts: 92 Member
edited December 2 in Food and Nutrition
I don't know much about fasting but I know a few people that will fast a day or two a week. Is there any benefits or is it not good for you?

Replies

  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    Makes me hungry and angry ......for the safety of those around me I don't follow any form of fasting "programs" now.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I'm with suzy on this. If you have trouble sticking to a reasonable calorie deficit, fasting will be even more difficult. Unless you value challenge and don't care about results and effectiveness, don't bother.
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    Everyone's different. I typically fast 16 - 18 hrs a day. I'm not into the 24/48 the fast ish. I like food too much. What I would say is the benefits of fasting can also be achieved with a more friendly approach. That's been my experience. I'm talking clearer skin, less bloating, laser like focus and a ridiculous amount of energy. May I ask what you're looking for in fasting?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited July 2016
    Fasting makes me really cranky, I have fasted for blood tests and for two colonoscopies. I foolishly fasted to lose weight at one time and nearly crashed my car into a guardrail. It's not for me, I'd rather chew on busted glass.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited July 2016
    I've fasted a couple of days a couple of times. Well not completely fasted. I still had coffe with some fats in it. I did not find it too difficult but I eat a ketogenic diet so I am relying on dietary carbs for fuel. There was no energy dip or crankiness.

    I also do IF on most days and have a 6-8 hour window of eating.

    Ketosis and fasting are fairly complimentary. The main difference seems to be calories consumed. Both rely on fat oxidation for energy.
  • briislovely
    briislovely Posts: 92 Member
    @BarbellzNBrotein it wasn't so much I was planning on do it, I've just heard about people doing it so I didn't know if there was a good reason behind it or if it had benefits.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It's a myth.
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    It's a myth.

    What benefits of fasting? I kindly disagree.
  • brighteststitcher
    brighteststitcher Posts: 62 Member
    I've been doing Intermittent fasting lately and I enjoy it. Mostly because it means I don't need to eat breakfast. The basic premise is that you have a "feeding window" in which you eat and the rest of the time you fast. Mine is usually about 10-6 and I fast from 6pm to 10am. It's supposed to help with weight loss. I can't contribute any info on the focus or bloating, because I'm eating paleo so I would attribute the focus and lack of bloating to not eating grains, dairy, legumes, etc.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited July 2016
    I think the fasting you are referring to is the 24 hour fast. Not necessarily the 5:2 or Intermittent fasting protocol. But I will touch on all.

    To answer your question I have 24 hour fasted in which I fasted every Sunday night 5:00 to Monday night 5:00. During my cut cycle, this was over 8 weeks (so 8 fasts). The good part of this is that you sleep a good portion of the fast period, and you start the fast right after your last meal on Sun and still get to eat the next day to break the fast. You drink 0 calorie beverages like coffee (black with 0 calorie sugar) water and maybe even diet soda (I only drank coffee and water)

    There is a lot of jargon on actual health benefits (not for loosing weight) but how it attributes to new cell turnover, etc (I do not have the papers in front of me right now).. but it can help you with your deficit to loose weight if you do the fast right. Fasting like this is NOT for faint of heart. If you have trouble with going periods of time with no eating, you will not do well on this fast.

    You will find that a lot of people including myself already do a form of IF. This is just not eating breakfast or delaying "break fast" i.e. until 11:00 or 12:00 noon. This allows you to fast from your last meal the previous day till later in the a.m. or lunch. I had been doing this already for years, this is another reason why I can do the 24 fast and it not bother me much. The 5:2 fasting is 500 calories each day for 2 days and then you eat MAINT the rest of the days in the week (rinse and repeat). I personally cannot do the 5:2 fasting protocol due to my training..

    So in short, does this help you loose weight differently, faster, better, NO. You still remain in your adequate number of calories (deficit) to loose weight, it is really an eating schedule.
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I think the fasting you are referring to is the 24 hour fast. Not necessarily the 5:2 or Intermittent fasting protocol. But I will touch on all.

    To answer your question I have 24 hour fasted in which I fasted every Sunday night 5:00 to Monday night 5:00. During my cut cycle, this was over 8 weeks (so 8 fasts). The good part of this is that you sleep a good portion of the fast period, and you start the fast right after your last meal on Sun and still get to eat the next day to break the fast. You drink 0 calorie beverages like coffee (black with 0 calorie sugar) water and maybe even diet soda (I only drank coffee and water)

    There is a lot of jargon on actual health benefits (not for loosing weight) but how it attributes to new cell turnover, etc (I do not have the papers in front of me right now).. but it can help you with your deficit to loose weight if you do the fast right. Fasting like this is NOT for faint of heart. If you have trouble with going periods of time with no eating, you will not do well on this fast.

    You will find that a lot of people including myself already do a form of IF. This is just not eating breakfast or delaying "break fast" i.e. until 11:00 or 12:00 noon. This allows you to fast from your last meal the previous day till later in the a.m. or lunch. I had been doing this already for years, this is another reason why I can do the 24 fast and it not bother me much. The 5:2 fasting is 500 calories each day for 2 days and then you eat MAINT the rest of the days in the week (rinse and repeat). I personally cannot do the 500 calories over 2 days due to my training..

    So in short, does this help you loose weight differently, faster, better, NO. You still remain in your adequate number of calories (deficit) to loose weight, it is really an eating schedule.

    Great in depth points here, but I would say fasting without doubt trumps the eating "6 meals a day bs" (in terms of fat loss) for me and a community of folk i train with. Main reason being little to no insulin secretion for extended periods of time daily.
  • Fiqahana
    Fiqahana Posts: 93 Member
    I fast every year for a month because I'm a Muslim, I don't think it has any harm to the body, I'm still alive so yeah obviously lol. I feel like the plus side of it is you kinda get used to eating less and feeling less sluggish because your body is not filled with food all the time. I fast 14 hours a day btw. I'd recommend people to try it out and see how it goes, it may suprise you because of how good it is :)

    Anyway, to anyone out there, if you ever need a friend to accompany you through this journey to a happier and healthier life, motivate you to reach for you goals, support you through ups and downs, I'm always here to be that friend, so feel free to add me! I hope we all will succeed in this journey, until the end! Have a nice day everyone! :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    BarbellzNBrotein wrote: »
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I think the fasting you are referring to is the 24 hour fast. Not necessarily the 5:2 or Intermittent fasting protocol. But I will touch on all.

    To answer your question I have 24 hour fasted in which I fasted every Sunday night 5:00 to Monday night 5:00. During my cut cycle, this was over 8 weeks (so 8 fasts). The good part of this is that you sleep a good portion of the fast period, and you start the fast right after your last meal on Sun and still get to eat the next day to break the fast. You drink 0 calorie beverages like coffee (black with 0 calorie sugar) water and maybe even diet soda (I only drank coffee and water)

    There is a lot of jargon on actual health benefits (not for loosing weight) but how it attributes to new cell turnover, etc (I do not have the papers in front of me right now).. but it can help you with your deficit to loose weight if you do the fast right. Fasting like this is NOT for faint of heart. If you have trouble with going periods of time with no eating, you will not do well on this fast.

    You will find that a lot of people including myself already do a form of IF. This is just not eating breakfast or delaying "break fast" i.e. until 11:00 or 12:00 noon. This allows you to fast from your last meal the previous day till later in the a.m. or lunch. I had been doing this already for years, this is another reason why I can do the 24 fast and it not bother me much. The 5:2 fasting is 500 calories each day for 2 days and then you eat MAINT the rest of the days in the week (rinse and repeat). I personally cannot do the 500 calories over 2 days due to my training..

    So in short, does this help you loose weight differently, faster, better, NO. You still remain in your adequate number of calories (deficit) to loose weight, it is really an eating schedule.

    Great in depth points here, but I would say fasting without doubt trumps the eating "6 meals a day bs" (in terms of fat loss) for me and a community of folk i train with. Main reason being little to no insulin secretion for extended periods of time daily.

    It just makes sense that eating less frequently would be more closely linked to weight loss than eating every couple of hours. I wonder how they came up with that idea? That eating often leads to weight loss?
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    Many people here on MFP use fasting as an aid to maintaining a calorie deficit, but there are many other benefits. Several of the links below are taken from this informative article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/7.full
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20921964
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20300080
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20880415
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17934054
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051570

  • TheProudDadLife
    TheProudDadLife Posts: 654 Member
    Takes a little bit for your body to get adjusted to, but it a great way to burn fat. I do what called the "warriors diet" .. I eat every day , but just after fasting for at least 12-18 . Z
  • meganlc0
    meganlc0 Posts: 34 Member
    edited July 2016
    When I was younger fasting was easy for me but that's not the case anymore. I used to like doing it because I personally think it's good for gut health (to give your digestive system a rest) I would fast for 20-30 hours at a time.

    I don't do it anymore because I get ravenous for cruddy foods after my fast is over now.
  • briislovely
    briislovely Posts: 92 Member
    Thanks for all the info. Maybe I'll try intermediate fasting and see how it goes!
  • BarbellzNBrotein
    BarbellzNBrotein Posts: 306 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    BarbellzNBrotein wrote: »
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I think the fasting you are referring to is the 24 hour fast. Not necessarily the 5:2 or Intermittent fasting protocol. But I will touch on all.

    To answer your question I have 24 hour fasted in which I fasted every Sunday night 5:00 to Monday night 5:00. During my cut cycle, this was over 8 weeks (so 8 fasts). The good part of this is that you sleep a good portion of the fast period, and you start the fast right after your last meal on Sun and still get to eat the next day to break the fast. You drink 0 calorie beverages like coffee (black with 0 calorie sugar) water and maybe even diet soda (I only drank coffee and water)

    There is a lot of jargon on actual health benefits (not for loosing weight) but how it attributes to new cell turnover, etc (I do not have the papers in front of me right now).. but it can help you with your deficit to loose weight if you do the fast right. Fasting like this is NOT for faint of heart. If you have trouble with going periods of time with no eating, you will not do well on this fast.

    You will find that a lot of people including myself already do a form of IF. This is just not eating breakfast or delaying "break fast" i.e. until 11:00 or 12:00 noon. This allows you to fast from your last meal the previous day till later in the a.m. or lunch. I had been doing this already for years, this is another reason why I can do the 24 fast and it not bother me much. The 5:2 fasting is 500 calories each day for 2 days and then you eat MAINT the rest of the days in the week (rinse and repeat). I personally cannot do the 500 calories over 2 days due to my training..

    So in short, does this help you loose weight differently, faster, better, NO. You still remain in your adequate number of calories (deficit) to loose weight, it is really an eating schedule.

    Great in depth points here, but I would say fasting without doubt trumps the eating "6 meals a day bs" (in terms of fat loss) for me and a community of folk i train with. Main reason being little to no insulin secretion for extended periods of time daily.

    It just makes sense that eating less frequently would be more closely linked to weight loss than eating every couple of hours. I wonder how they came up with that idea? That eating often leads to weight loss?

    I know right. The amount of bs in the mainstream health industry irritates me. It sets people up for failure more often then not.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Wow, none of you are discussing fasting, just shorter and longer "feeding windows". We all "fast", why else would we have "break-fast". The health benefit claims are dubious at best. Finding an eating schedule that fits you is great, but what fits you, is in its nature individual, and there is no "best" way of eating. Just get enough of everything you need, but not too much of anything, and don't get sick from eating. But it's okay to have fun too, and it's important to do something difficult. In the absence of real problems, or when real problems are too great, we have to complicate simple things.
  • Gary_Harbisher
    Gary_Harbisher Posts: 2 Member
    I don't really get bogged down with the whole does it help, what are the benefits etc as weight loss research is very flawed due to the incredible number of variables.

    However, personally I fast by not eating my first meal till 2 in the afternoon. I do this because not only do I find I have more energy and focus at work, but makes sticking to my calories very easy. This is my anecdotal experience, find what works for you.
  • TheRootofGroot
    TheRootofGroot Posts: 118 Member
    I was doing 16/8 during my cut.
    Worked great for me.
    Felt great throughout.

    Would have about 20/30%(mostly fats and protein) of my calories at 2pm, workout around 4:30pm, and then eat the remainder postworkout around 6:30-7:00pm (90% of my carbs contained therein).
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