FASTING, love it or hate it?
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RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Opposite here. I had a fairly steady diet of raw lamb and other meats growing up. I still prefer it red and dripping today.2 -
I enjoy fasting because it provides me with mental clarity, discipline and patience. The only negative part about it are the hunger pangs and sometimes, if you fast for long periods of time you may start to feel dizzy.
Was this for religious purposes? Because, if not, how does almost passing out improve mental clarity?9 -
RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My Mom was a great cook, just very basic. She was raised on a farm so meals were a meat, a starch (usually potatoes), and a veggie. The good thing was that she was raised picking and eating veggies straight from the garden so raw veggies were very common at many meals. Dad liked to cook too and was good at it. He was the one with the more exotic taste so he would make the red sauce for spaghetti, chili, etc. (this was the 60's and 70's so yes, those were exotic).5 -
RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Sounds like my Grandpa. He would never have a steak but we grilled steaks one time when he was over and he had a bite of a medium cooked one and loved it. He also never had a BLT until he was in his 80's. Mom got him to try one when he was visiting and he declared it the best sandwich ever invented.5 -
RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Opposite here. I had a fairly steady diet of raw lamb and other meats growing up. I still prefer it red and dripping today.
I really don't care about the woo this got lol, but for informational purposes for anyone interested, quite a few very tasty Lebanese dishes use raw meat.7 -
RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Opposite here. I had a fairly steady diet of raw lamb and other meats growing up. I still prefer it red and dripping today.
I really don't care about the woo this got lol, but for informational purposes for anyone interested, quite a few very tasty Lebanese dishes use raw meat.
Kibbe! Delicious!! I grew up with a family of Lebanese friends. I was always happy to be invited for dinner when it was kibbe, kousa and baba ganoush.5 -
RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Opposite here. I had a fairly steady diet of raw lamb and other meats growing up. I still prefer it red and dripping today.
I really don't care about the woo this got lol, but for informational purposes for anyone interested, quite a few very tasty Lebanese dishes use raw meat.
Kibbe! Delicious!! I grew up with a family of Lebanese friends. I was always happy to be invited for dinner when it was kibbe, kousa and baba ganoush.RelCanonical wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »If you're doing the same thing every single day it is not intermittent. It is simply time restricted eating with defined periods of fasting and non-fasting. It used to be called daylight and dark. Day and night. Three hots and a cot. Or not.
Then we had to start overthinking everything related to food. Remember when you ate your mother's homecooked meals without giving the timing a single thought. Those were the days of true simplicity.
I'm glad that's over. My poor mother couldn't cook, lol. At least I don't mind burnt stuff.
My mom was from the generation of europeans who thought meat wasn't cooked until it was shoe leather, and veggies were only done when they were rendered into mushy anonymity.
I never understood why anyone would like steak my whole childhood. Then I actually had a steak that wasn't burnt to a crisp, and finally understood.
Opposite here. I had a fairly steady diet of raw lamb and other meats growing up. I still prefer it red and dripping today.
I really don't care about the woo this got lol, but for informational purposes for anyone interested, quite a few very tasty Lebanese dishes use raw meat.
Kibbe! Delicious!! I grew up with a family of Lebanese friends. I was always happy to be invited for dinner when it was kibbe, kousa and baba ganoush.
Yes! Prepared properly they're all amazing. We still do several dishes throughout the year, but nothing as good as what my grandparents used to make.
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Is that like when my cracked iPhone screen repairs itself? Cellular....regeneration?
Omg lol, but no. Fasting for 24 hours can reverse the loss of stem cell function in the gut that accompanies aging.[/quote]
Really? I would love to see the studies that show this. How interesting!!6 -
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It's probably the Valter Longo thing.2
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He's got a book! He's got a $300 diet plan! He's got a rugged 5 o' clock shadow and never smiles in his pictures! What more can you ask for?????13 -
IRelCanonical wrote: »
He's got a book! He's got a $300 diet plan! He's got a rugged 5 o' clock shadow and never smiles in his pictures! What more can you ask for?????
U!
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I've seen some mice and rat studies that showed that rodents intestinal stem cells regenerated better (?) in a lab setting after they were fasted for 24 hours. Not sure how that transfers to real life, or if similar studies have shown the same in humans. I've never seen any demographic data suggesting people who go through periods of fasting live longer, not sure if anyone's even attempted to do that.
I haven't banged on about my obsession with the Blue Zones recently, so I'll add that I don't remember any evidence of fasting in the Blue Zones data. I don't remember them discussing meal timing at all, but I'd think they would've mentioned if there were a pattern of 24hr or longer fasts in any of those areas.7 -
I've seen some mice and rat studies that showed that rodents intestinal stem cells regenerated better (?) in a lab setting after they were fasted for 24 hours. Not sure how that transfers to real life, or if similar studies have shown the same in humans. I've never seen any demographic data suggesting people who go through periods of fasting live longer, not sure if anyone's even attempted to do that.
I haven't banged on about my obsession with the Blue Zones recently, so I'll add that I don't remember any evidence of fasting in the Blue Zones data. I don't remember them discussing meal timing at all, but I'd think they would've mentioned if there were a pattern of 24hr or longer fasts in any of those areas.
Some of them have fasting practices (religious based) and availability/type of food often varies depending on time of year, but neither the extended fasts that seem so popular today nor the trendy eating window one. And they vary, it's not one of the things that are common to the various blue zones. Also, religious fasting practices can mean not eating during certain hours (Ramadan) or not eating certain foods for an extended period of time (Orthodox Lent and other fast days), they don't always mean complete fasts (although they can -- usually that kind of thing is rarer in terms of timing or mostly practiced by people like those living in monasteries, etc.).
I think what the blue zones help tell us is the big picture when it comes to heathful living (and it has a lot of factors), but everyone today wants some specific magic bullet that then must be the solution and the OneBestWay to do eating.
What I do think is that human cultures until recently have had natural restrictions on how much they eat vs how much they need in most cases. Activity level being higher is one of these, as is food availability and that food tends to be consumed in a community rather than individually and thus at communal times (which vary depending on the culture and perhaps the time of year).
Also, in less developed parts of the world, daylight may play more of a role than it does in the current US (although I'd suggest our normal work schedules is a bigger part of this, so making people feel like eating at the times convenient to them or when they can most easily participate in communal eating (with the family or friends) seems kind of a negative thing to me). But, yeah, eating before and after work with the family = not as advanced and disciplined or what not. ;-)5 -
To elaborate on what I just said, I see it as somewhat similar to what Michael Pollan is arguing here: https://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/unhappy-meals/
I know Pollan's thing about what "real food" is goes against MFP norms, and I wouldn't use precisely the same language or say one has to approach eating his way, but I find his way of thinking about it helpful.
Basically, don't obsess about finding the best foods based on criteria (should I eat kale or spinach) and instead eat a variety of whole foods, ideally cooked well. Don't worry about low fat vs. low carb vs. paleo, etc., it doesn't really matter, and it just makes it all harder and more charged. (I'd say that going along with that is don't worry about "oh, I'm eating something processed" if the overall diet is a generally healthy one, or never eating sweets, although obviously most of the diet would be other kinds of foods.)
Following from that logic I'd say don't think you have to follow specific eating regiments (although if they help you specifically, great). Probably that doesn't matter much either, and it adds stress.
I'm someone who enjoys tracking things and trying things, but even so I think it can make things really hard for many people if they are told "to eat healthy you MUST [insert list]" and increasingly "eat only within as narrow a window as possible" is becoming part of that, and can lead to failure or people feeling like if that's not how they want to eat there's some problem or they are failing.
Instead, eating within a window should be a tool that is great if it makes eating well and sustainably easier for someone, but absolutely not inherently better or to be pushed on others. In particular, people SHOULD NOT be told that if it's not what they like or some magical overeating prevention tool for them that there is something wrong with them.
To answer the question, then, I LOVE fasting when it's a tool that helps someone and is enjoyed by that person. I HATE fasting if it's used to claim superiority (oh, my fasting is so advanced, or I can fast longer than others) or people are told they can't be healthy without it or should add it even if they find it makes things more difficult or have failed if they don't like it or can overeat doing it. Many people who come here struggle with all or nothing thinking, and this is one thing that can add to it (if I can't fast in a particular way than I obviously can't be healthy so eh, I'll not do anything. That's again a really bad message to convey.7
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