FASTING 1X A WEEK???

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stewartmisty88
stewartmisty88 Posts: 31 Member
in Getting Started
What are your thoughts on fasting once a week? Pros and cons?

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  • bmc3991
    bmc3991 Posts: 14 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Pro: it can work for speeding up weight loss BUT puts you at risk for a binge.
    So con: It can be a waste of time if you can't control how you eat when it's over.

    I've done a clean food fast. You can only eat veggies and lean meats (baked chicken and fish). No sugar (not even fruit), no processed nothing. It is very bland and boring but you don't have to starve yourself. That's much easier to manage and I think works just as well.
  • stewartmisty88
    stewartmisty88 Posts: 31 Member
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    I guess the best thing to do is give it a try and see what happens. I really didnt think about the binge i may encounter after the fast
  • Baruchuda
    Baruchuda Posts: 28 Member
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    There are a lot of different definitions of 'fasting' in this world of fitness! I do intermittent fasting (IF) 16:8 so every day I have a 16hr fast (most of it is while I'm asleep!). Last week I did a 24hr fast but it started at 5:30pm so the next day I could eat after 5:30. Also I do 5:2 so 2 days a week I limit my food to 500 calories, which is also a kind of fasting. I find that doing these 'fasts' gives me more of a sense of control over my eating habits and what I eat, and makes me much more conscious of everything. Also this doesn't stress my body. I'm also losing 2-4lb/wk on average so I'd say it's working for me!
  • stewartmisty88
    stewartmisty88 Posts: 31 Member
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    Baruchuda wrote: »
    There are a lot of different definitions of 'fasting' in this world of fitness! I do intermittent fasting (IF) 16:8 so every day I have a 16hr fast (most of it is while I'm asleep!). Last week I did a 24hr fast but it started at 5:30pm so the next day I could eat after 5:30. Also I do 5:2 so 2 days a week I limit my food to 500 calories, which is also a kind of fasting. I find that doing these 'fasts' gives me more of a sense of control over my eating habits and what I eat, and makes me much more conscious of everything. Also this doesn't stress my body. I'm also losing 2-4lb/wk on average so I'd say it's working for me!

    I really like that idea! After your 16:8 what is your calorie intake? Also...im a coffee drinker....is coffee a no go during your fast? 5:2 do you snack during the day or do you save your calories for 1 meal? Very intetested in trying this.
  • acmorris77
    acmorris77 Posts: 80 Member
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    I lost 40 lbs doing IF on a 17/7 ish schedule.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,981 Member
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    stewartmisty88 wrote: »
    Baruchuda wrote: »
    There are a lot of different definitions of 'fasting' in this world of fitness! I do intermittent fasting (IF) 16:8 so every day I have a 16hr fast (most of it is while I'm asleep!). Last week I did a 24hr fast but it started at 5:30pm so the next day I could eat after 5:30. Also I do 5:2 so 2 days a week I limit my food to 500 calories, which is also a kind of fasting. I find that doing these 'fasts' gives me more of a sense of control over my eating habits and what I eat, and makes me much more conscious of everything. Also this doesn't stress my body. I'm also losing 2-4lb/wk on average so I'd say it's working for me!

    I really like that idea! After your 16:8 what is your calorie intake? Also...im a coffee drinker....is coffee a no go during your fast? 5:2 do you snack during the day or do you save your calories for 1 meal? Very intetested in trying this.

    You're already making an arbitrary decision to fast at all, and whether to fast one day a week, 5:2, or daily 16:8. You might as well make your own decision about whether to drink coffee, and how to time your calories on your "fast" days if you go with 5:2.
  • b4its2latemfp
    b4its2latemfp Posts: 4 Member
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    when you do a fast....or the clean eating fast...How long do you do it for?
  • b4its2latemfp
    b4its2latemfp Posts: 4 Member
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    acmorris77...what do you mean by 17/7 schedule? Forgive me, but I am just curious about fasting and different methods...but it's new to me.
  • Caswalk
    Caswalk Posts: 2 Member
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    Stewartmisty88, I fast one day a week (24 hour period) and I love it. For example, I eat dinner on Sunday night around 7pm and then I fast until Monday at 7pm. Like you, I am a coffee drinker so that Monday morning I will drink a coffee black. The main point is to keep the calories off until dinnertime. That night, I try to keep myself to about 500 to 600 calories. I find that the one day fasting has really helped with my weight loss as well.So far so good!
  • RachaelRenk
    RachaelRenk Posts: 116 Member
    edited January 2017
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    A couple years ago I did 5:2 for 2-3 months and lost 15lbs. I liked it because I could still eat (that is, my 500 calorie days were fasting days but I could still have two small meals). The idea of going a whole 24 hours without sounded really overwhelming.

    Edit: I should say, I didn't lose 15lbs just because I was doing 5:2. On the other days I was also eating within a specific calorie range/deficit, and I was doing a little bit of exercise at home (hula hooping, walking, etc.) So it wasn't like the 5:2 fasting was the magical key to that weight loss, but I do believe it helped keep my overall weekly calorie consumption in a deficit.
  • b4its2latemfp
    b4its2latemfp Posts: 4 Member
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    RachaelRenk wrote: »
    A couple years ago I did 5:2 for 2-3 months and lost 15lbs. I liked it because I could still eat (that is, my 500 calorie days were fasting days but I could still have two small meals). The idea of going a whole 24 hours without sounded really overwhelming.

    Edit: I should say, I didn't lose 15lbs just because I was doing 5:2. On the other days I was also eating within a specific calorie range/deficit, and I was doing a little bit of exercise at home (hula hooping, walking, etc.) So it wasn't like the 5:2 fasting was the magical key to that weight loss, but I do believe it helped keep my overall weekly calorie consumption in a deficit.

    when you say 5:2...what does that mean? sorry, I am slow lol
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,124 Member
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    The two main ways of Intermittent fasting (IF) are:

    1) A short eating window with an extended overnight fast. That would be the 16/8, 14/10, 20/4 where the first number is the number of hours where you do not eat any calories, and the second number is the window of time where you eat your daily calorie goal. In this form of IF you calorie deficit comes from the daily calorie goal. In other words you would have your daily calorie goal that would have you eating at a deficit, so you MFP goal, and that is what you would eat during the eating window. Basically this allows for larger meals even with a smaller calorie goal for those who find they are more satisfied with bigger meals.

    2) One or Two fast days a week (some alternate fast days with days where they eat). In this case the calorie deficit comes from cutting out the food by not eating those days. On the days you eat, you eat at maintenance calorie levels since to eat at a deficit those days would be to not eat enough overall making your deficit too big. The advantage of this approach is that it allows people to eat at maintenance most days rather than always at a deficit, yet still be in an overall deficit for the week.

    There are variations on each of these, but these are the two main approaches to IF.
  • boxchick79
    boxchick79 Posts: 16 Member
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    Hey everybody! I am new here...just reading about fasting ...I think that would work for me. Which day would be the best to start?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited January 2017
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    b4its2latemfp wrote: »
    RachaelRenk wrote: »
    A couple years ago I did 5:2 for 2-3 months and lost 15lbs. I liked it because I could still eat (that is, my 500 calorie days were fasting days but I could still have two small meals). The idea of going a whole 24 hours without sounded really overwhelming.

    Edit: I should say, I didn't lose 15lbs just because I was doing 5:2. On the other days I was also eating within a specific calorie range/deficit, and I was doing a little bit of exercise at home (hula hooping, walking, etc.) So it wasn't like the 5:2 fasting was the magical key to that weight loss, but I do believe it helped keep my overall weekly calorie consumption in a deficit.

    when you say 5:2...what does that mean? sorry, I am slow lol

    5 days at maintenance - 2 days at a 500 calorie "fast"......500 for women, 600 for men

    You still log every day (stops you from over eating) and you only diet 2 days a week (albeit very strictly).

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

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
  • b4its2latemfp
    b4its2latemfp Posts: 4 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    b4its2latemfp wrote: »
    RachaelRenk wrote: »
    A couple years ago I did 5:2 for 2-3 months and lost 15lbs. I liked it because I could still eat (that is, my 500 calorie days were fasting days but I could still have two small meals). The idea of going a whole 24 hours without sounded really overwhelming.

    Edit: I should say, I didn't lose 15lbs just because I was doing 5:2. On the other days I was also eating within a specific calorie range/deficit, and I was doing a little bit of exercise at home (hula hooping, walking, etc.) So it wasn't like the 5:2 fasting was the magical key to that weight loss, but I do believe it helped keep my overall weekly calorie consumption in a deficit.

    when you say 5:2...what does that mean? sorry, I am slow lol

    5 days at maintenance - 2 days at a 500 calorie "fast"......500 for women, 600 for men

    You still log every day (stops you from over eating) and you only diet 2 days a week (albeit very strictly).

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

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet

    Thanks!

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