I don't get intermittent fasting.
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Anon2018
Posts: 139 Member
So, obviously keto and IF are the fad diets du jour. I've done a lot of research and thought about keto, and don't want to get into it, but I simply don't GET intermittent fasting.
First of all, the 16/8 deal is just....skipping breakfast? TBH I don't really see how that's fasting or why that would have any metabolic effect. I fast once a year for religious reasons (I'm jewish and fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur), and it's an actual 24 hour fast. I don't really see how waiting til lunch counts as a fast. Plus some people have bulletproof coffee (i.e. coffee with butter) as breakfast during a fast. Like, you're not fasting if you eat a stick of butter during it.
While I may or may not agree with other fad diets, I at least see what people are trying to get out of it. With intermittent fasting, I just don't get what the goal of it even is. Is it just that if you eat less often you'll consume less calories? TBH I eat low carb (not keto) and I do see that it's easier for me to wait between meals vs. when I was eating higher carb BUT I stlil enjoy eating all my meals an the occasional snack.
With IF I dont even get what the dogma is supposed to be - can someone explain?
First of all, the 16/8 deal is just....skipping breakfast? TBH I don't really see how that's fasting or why that would have any metabolic effect. I fast once a year for religious reasons (I'm jewish and fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur), and it's an actual 24 hour fast. I don't really see how waiting til lunch counts as a fast. Plus some people have bulletproof coffee (i.e. coffee with butter) as breakfast during a fast. Like, you're not fasting if you eat a stick of butter during it.
While I may or may not agree with other fad diets, I at least see what people are trying to get out of it. With intermittent fasting, I just don't get what the goal of it even is. Is it just that if you eat less often you'll consume less calories? TBH I eat low carb (not keto) and I do see that it's easier for me to wait between meals vs. when I was eating higher carb BUT I stlil enjoy eating all my meals an the occasional snack.
With IF I dont even get what the dogma is supposed to be - can someone explain?
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Replies
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It's not a diet... It's an eating schedule. It helps some people stick to their deficit - personally, I can ignore hunger until I start to eat, so waiting to break my fast helps me feel more satisfied during the day. It also let's me eat a big dinner and dessert, which I enjoy.31
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IF isnt a diet its an eating schedule. I IF because i get hungry at night and can easily just not eat through the day and have all my food calories left for bulky delicious food at night vs a sad bowl of like popcorn and guilt if it takes me over my goals.13
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You just have to ignore the semantics of the word "fast". I do the other flavor of IF sometimes - 5:2. That's 5 days of normal eating and 2 "fast" days where you restrict to about a single meal's worth of calories, which I usually eat as a single meal. The idea there is that you eat meals at maintenance levels but have 17 a week instead of 21 to produce the deficit. Neither method has any benefits with regard to metabolism.4
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So, obviously keto and IF are the fad diets du jour. I've done a lot of research and thought about keto, and don't want to get into it, but I simply don't GET intermittent fasting.
First of all, the 16/8 deal is just....skipping breakfast? TBH I don't really see how that's fasting or why that would have any metabolic effect. I fast once a year for religious reasons (I'm jewish and fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur), and it's an actual 24 hour fast. I don't really see how waiting til lunch counts as a fast. Plus some people have bulletproof coffee (i.e. coffee with butter) as breakfast during a fast. Like, you're not fasting if you eat a stick of butter during it.
While I may or may not agree with other fad diets, I at least see what people are trying to get out of it. With intermittent fasting, I just don't get what the goal of it even is. Is it just that if you eat less often you'll consume less calories? TBH I eat low carb (not keto) and I do see that it's easier for me to wait between meals vs. when I was eating higher carb BUT I stlil enjoy eating all my meals an the occasional snack.
With IF I dont even get what the dogma is supposed to be - can someone explain?
I don't get all the fuss around it either.
I skip breakfast and have for years because eating an early breakfast seems to turn on an appetite switch in me, and makes me want to eat more during the day.
When I skip breakfast and just drink my morning tea, I'm fine not eating until some time in the afternoon and have much better control over my appetite. I noticed this some time back in the 90's. I still overate for my calories, mind you, but it was a start.
There's a lot of silliness people are pushing regarding the whole thing, and really, it's just another tool to make it easy for people to control their caloric intake. I should say some people. Some other people thrive on eating breakfast.
Other than that, ignore all the nonsense.5 -
Yeah, I just think of it as skipping breakfast too. Like many things, it's an old concept with a snappy new name. Add in some dubious claims about its health benefits and you have a rage.
(I am not anti IF. I don't really care about it either way.)4 -
I don't believe any of the claims about how it's better for your metabolism or whatnot.. but it is much easier for me to indulge a bit and still be within my calories when I'm not out 400 calories by 9am already.
Unfortunately I'm typically starving by 10am, so that just doesn't work for me.1 -
First of all, the 16/8 deal is just....skipping breakfast? TBH I don't really see how that's fasting or why that would have any metabolic effect. I fast once a year for religious reasons (I'm jewish and fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur), and it's an actual 24 hour fast. I don't really see how waiting til lunch counts as a fast. Plus some people have bulletproof coffee (i.e. coffee with butter) as breakfast during a fast. Like, you're not fasting if you eat a stick of butter during it.
I agree that it's silly to call it a fast or equate it with fasting (most do not, but I have seen that), but I don't see what's not to get. It's an eating schedule. Some find it easier to control calories if they only eat during a particular window. They may find they aren't really hungry at other times, so why eat then just because it's expected, and they may find that if they start eating only within a window they aren't hungry at other times as a result.
I think it's similar to how I don't snack and so don't really think about eating outside of meal times. (I've tried not eating breakfast, which I used to do, and get the benefits, but I enjoy eating both breakfast and dinner so no IF for me.)
I think the metabolic stuff is largely nonsense too, but I do think many people may find they naturally control calories if they limit their window. Many others log and do IF. It's like how some find low carbing makes them naturally eat less and others find it makes it easier but do better logging too.5 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »First of all, the 16/8 deal is just....skipping breakfast? TBH I don't really see how that's fasting or why that would have any metabolic effect. I fast once a year for religious reasons (I'm jewish and fast for 24 hours on Yom Kippur), and it's an actual 24 hour fast. I don't really see how waiting til lunch counts as a fast. Plus some people have bulletproof coffee (i.e. coffee with butter) as breakfast during a fast. Like, you're not fasting if you eat a stick of butter during it.
I agree that it's silly to call it a fast or equate it with fasting (most do not, but I have seen that), but I don't see what's not to get. It's an eating schedule. Some find it easier to control calories if they only eat during a particular window. They may find they aren't really hungry at other times, so why eat then just because it's expected, and they may find that if they start eating only within a window they aren't hungry at other times as a result.
I think it's similar to how I don't snack and so don't really think about eating outside of meal times. (I've tried not eating breakfast, which I used to do, and get the benefits, but I enjoy eating both breakfast and dinner so no IF for me.)
I think the metabolic stuff is largely nonsense too, but I do think many people may find they naturally control calories if they limit their window. Many others log and do IF. It's like how some find low carbing makes them naturally eat less and others find it makes it easier but do better logging too.
Oh, I still have to log, for sure.
It's quite easy for me to go over my calories, no matter what my meal timing is.0 -
Yeah, I just think of it as skipping breakfast too. Like many things, it's an old concept with a snappy new name. Add in some dubious claims about its health benefits and you have a rage.
(I am not anti IF. I don't really care about it either way.)
Everything old is new again. Even 5:2 IF is recycled. It used to be called the Rotation Diet. Anything to make a buck.
OP - if an eating schedule helps you stay on track, or if eliminating a macro (keto) helps you stay on track that will help with weight loss. However, have a maintenance plan in place.1 -
I certainly don’t follow IF strictly, but do find it’s been helpful to skip breakfast and wait to eat until lunch. It’s saves me about 300 calories a day that I now eat in the late afternoon when I’m really hungry.2
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IF is just an eating preference...it's not a "diet". I have a body builder friend who does IF...he's not "dieting"...he's bulking. It's just an eating preference.3
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I've always skipped breakfast and not eaten until 1-2pm.
The last year or so people keep telling me that I IF 16:8
I've eaten that way for 13 years long before they added a stupid title it.7 -
For me, when I tell myself I'm fasting, that gives me a mindset of eating NOTHING during those hours except for water and for me, coffee too. The real effect for me is that it keeps me from snacking. MOST people snack unless they are working on their diet and fitness so to me in means a lot more than skipping breakfast.
Also, I feel wonderful when I give my digestive track a rest. Yeah, I get hungry but the fasting trains me to do without food and my hunger is now just hunger and not the type of pangs you get when you are actually experiencing food addiction withdrawal symptoms.11 -
The word breakfast actually literally means to break fast...as in start eating again after not eating for several hours just so long as we're getting all touchy about what a fast even is.
I use IF because the earlier I eat in the morning the hungrier I am all day. I like to have a good solid snack at the end of the day instead of breakfast in the morning when I could care less anyway.
If it's not helpful to you don't do it. I don't see why you need to mock what other people find helpful.12 -
I honestly didn't see the OP as mocking.
I saw him more as questioning some of the more outlandish claims made regarding IF.
It really is no more than what you've said, but if you poke around some of the darker corners of the internet, the stuff they'd have you believe about it would make your head spin.
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I did.0
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I do it for the same reason as many others. Calorie control. I tend to overeat after dinner in the evening. I consume less calories if I don't have the first meal until 2 pm for later.3
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Read my edit with an eye towards what I said. He's questioning some of the claims, not the people who IF.2
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So I am confused...those of you who don't typically eat breakfast, and have not eaten it for years, are actually then doing a fast (between dinner the night before and your next meal) as outlined in many of the web sites that discuss it. How many hour then is it between your dinner and next meal? Could you be fasting but just do it naturally and never put a label on it? Curious too...are those of you who do this "naturally"...not a breakfast eater, on the thin side? Could it be that your unlabeled, I just don't like breakfast routine, have helped your digestive health over the years, helping you stay in a good weight status but you did it unknowing?
I am not trying to imply anything in particular...just thinking a bit deeper and outside the box. Wondering if there are more similarities than differences in it.0
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