Fasting Friends
KSJR78
Posts: 77 Member
Hello!! I’m trying to get a small group of people together for support while doing extended fasts. Anyone interested? What are your experiences with fasting?
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Replies
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How extended?0
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I don’t have a specific number. I’ve done 48s before, currently doing a 72. I’m just looking for others who are interested.2
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I do IF but no more than 14 hours or so. not interested
To add: many years ago I tried to do an extended fast like you and nearly passed out while driving my car with my youngest in the car. Scared the hell out of me.5 -
It’s not for everyone. I’ve done a lot of research on the topic. Benefits and risks and what steps to take to ensure that I am fasting safely. I am sorry you had a bad experience.2
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Curious, what benefits? There is a lot of hype in regards to IF but mostly unfounded. I do IF so I can keep my calories in check.9
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Decreases inflammation thus decreasing pain, higher energy levels, autophagy (tons of benefits alone) increased fat burning, gut healing, decreased insulin resistance or increased sensitivity, good for fatty liver, benefits for a wide array of skin conditions just to name a few. I have seen nothing but benefits for myself thus far, no negative effects.5
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Gall bladder issues. Muscle wasting. Zero energy for exercising. Brain fog. Depression.12
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I’ve found an improvement in my energy levels and well as my depression and brain fog with fasting as well as studies done showing improvements in those areas with others as well. There are also several studies available discounting that muscle wasting occurs with fasting. I’m not familiar with the gall bladder issues from fasting but I will look into that, but I no longer have mine anyway. It’s all about what you believe and finding what works for you.7
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Extended fasting is a short term bandaid for a long term problem. It doesn't fix anything. It's the All or Nothing Approach to food. Eat all of the things or just eat nothing. The newest research for OMAD 'One Meal A Day' indicates it contributes to nutritional deficiencies over the long haul. It's difficult to eat a wide variety of foods in only an hour's time each and every day.
The best diet is the one that improves your health. Extended fasting is a crapshoot with your health. There will be diminishing returns like watching your hair swirl down the drain when you take a shower in the size of mini SOS scrub pads.
You won't find support for long term fasting. If you eat it all back and most do the rebound weight gain is likely to be all fat. It is a brutally strict protocol with side effects: Dizziness, headaches, low blood sugar, muscle aches, weakness, and fatigue. Prolonged fasting can lead to anemia, a weakened immune system, and irregular heartbeat. Fasting can also result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies, muscle breakdown, fluid imbalance and dehydration.
Asking others to jump on the extended fasting bandwagon goes against the grain. It does not support the mission statement of MFP. The best diet is the one that improves your overall health and lends itself to finding long term weight stability.
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I didn’t come here to argue, nor did I encourage anyone who wasn’t already practicing fasting to start. I was merely looking for others who already participated in fasts. We can go back and forth all day with conflicting information but thats not what this post was about.9
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I am debate free on purpose. You won't find support for extended fasting. It can be a setup for disordered eating and that's not going to fly around here.6
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That is why I asked. IF is one thing but fasting for more than 24 hours is asking for trouble. It is a slippery slope.3
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Hello!! I’m trying to get a small group of people together for support while doing extended fasts. Anyone interested? What are your experiences with fasting?
Hi there! I would first like to tell you welcome. I think it’s awesome you are on MFP, and I personally have found this forum incredibly informative and hope you do too!
Secondly, I’m Buddhist and have fasted for over 2 decades, so I can support you if you have any questions or would like to share your story.
Now for a couple of key points you might want to consider as you move through your fasting lifestyle.
1. Whatever the reason you are fasting, we have to make sure we are meeting our dietary needs, as you probably know 😊
2. Even though I have fasted for a long time, I see a lot of deceptive, media woo regarding the benefits of fasting. Make sure you are reading scientific studies and not the trash quick bait nonsense they use to preach it as a miracle lifestyle. It isn’t. For most people it helps them focus on an eating window to reach their calorie goals. For others it’s for religious reasons. Both are great reasons as long as it’s safely practiced.
Other than that, I’m here if you need anything at all!8 -
Decreases inflammation thus decreasing pain, higher energy levels, autophagy (tons of benefits alone) increased fat burning, gut healing, decreased insulin resistance or increased sensitivity, good for fatty liver, benefits for a wide array of skin conditions just to name a few. I have seen nothing but benefits for myself thus far, no negative effects.
Honestly, the language you’re using is the exact same phrasing as the add for a fasting app that plays during my game so I get extra lives.
There is not credible research citing the benefits you have listed for extended fasting. Please take care of yourself.8 -
Is fasting not completely natural for humans though? For thousands of years, we hunted our food. We HAD to go days without eating. Our bodies adapted to handle these strenuous circumstances by packing on fat when we had plenty, and using fat for energy when we didn't. I feel like a lot of the hate that people throw at fasting is lies passed on from an industry that hates any method of improving health that can't be profited off of. I enjoy the way my body feels when I'm running off my fat cells instead of glucose, in fact I was able to do a strenuous 3 and a half hour hike on 60 hours of no food. If fasting helps you feel your best, I don't see a problem with it. Obviously pay special attention to your hydration, and talk to your doctor when you have health concerns.6
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Is fasting not completely natural for humans though? For thousands of years, we hunted our food. We HAD to go days without eating. Our bodies adapted to handle these strenuous circumstances by packing on fat when we had plenty, and using fat for energy when we didn't. I feel like a lot of the hate that people throw at fasting is lies passed on from an industry that hates any method of improving health that can't be profited off of. I enjoy the way my body feels when I'm running off my fat cells instead of glucose, in fact I was able to do a strenuous 3 and a half hour hike on 60 hours of no food. If fasting helps you feel your best, I don't see a problem with it. Obviously pay special attention to your hydration, and talk to your doctor when you have health concerns.
The problem is not the fasting itself... the problem is all of the mystical and magical things that some internet 'gurus' are trying to claim will result from fasting.6 -
Is fasting not completely natural for humans though? For thousands of years, we hunted our food. We HAD to go days without eating. Our bodies adapted to handle these strenuous circumstances by packing on fat when we had plenty, and using fat for energy when we didn't. I feel like a lot of the hate that people throw at fasting is lies passed on from an industry that hates any method of improving health that can't be profited off of. I enjoy the way my body feels when I'm running off my fat cells instead of glucose, in fact I was able to do a strenuous 3 and a half hour hike on 60 hours of no food. If fasting helps you feel your best, I don't see a problem with it. Obviously pay special attention to your hydration, and talk to your doctor when you have health concerns.
Going 60 hours with no food sounds very unhealthy. The human body can survive but it's not designed to go that that long and stay healthy. Harvard has found IF may help some people but IF is NOT longer then 24 hours. The body needs daily requirements to stay healthy and preform at it's peak. For example, you can't store up protein for the week than go 60 hours with out eating protein.
Yes we used to be hunter gathers thousands of years ago, but we also used to live to the average age of 25.5 -
Hi.
Don't let the negative comments get to you, most seem very anti-fast here. I tend to do 20 hr fasts every day & starting to try weekly 2 day fasts (starting today), hoping to do mon & Tues every week, but gonna take it one day at a time. Ive done some 4 day fasts in tbe past & felt they worked for me.
If you like podcasts I've been listening to 'the obesity code' & it's helping me stay focussed.
Good luck.
Do what works for you.3 -
purplebobkat wrote: »Hi.
Don't let the negative comments get to you, most seem very anti-fast here. I tend to do 20 hr fasts every day & starting to try weekly 2 day fasts (starting today), hoping to do mon & Tues every week, but gonna take it one day at a time. Ive done some 4 day fasts in tbe past & felt they worked for me.
If you like podcasts I've been listening to 'the obesity code' & it's helping me stay focussed.
Good luck.
Do what works for you.
So you go 48 hours, then 20 hours each day the rest of the week? That can't be healthy. Did you talk to your doctor about this?
Also The Obesity Code is unproven at best. Their solutions are impractical and not supported by science.Do what works for you.
This is horrible advice. For example, if one lost weight by doing meth, would the author say, "do what works for you" to that person? I hope not.5 -
If you take drugs and feel good while taking them then obviously they're good for you.
That's what hiking for 3 hours after a 60 hour fast sounds like to me.
You're flying high baby!
And **kitten**💩 on the "burning fat" thing-just shows that you don't understand Caloric balance.
The fact that you survived does not mean that it is good for you.
When I was five I started using the outside of the seventh floor apartment balcony as a jungle gym till my dad spotted me dangling out there... I survived, but I would probably not recommend it as a sane thing to do.
You're already changing your brain and falling into ED patterns that will take you years to sort out.5 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DghrZNUP5vo
40 minute video, but very informative about water fasts. This youtuber has several more regarding fasting, citing scientific studies. I would watch the one on muscle loss to learn about how fasting will affect your muscles.0 -
I thought this site was meant to be supportive. How wrong I was.2
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purplebobkat wrote: »I thought this site was meant to be supportive. How wrong I was.
Being supportive does not mean that any and every idea that a person submits as a way to lose weight or gain muscle or anything will be supported... many of the ways that people come up with to achieve their goals are silly at best and some are down right dangerous. Do you honestly believe that all ideas (regardless of merit) should simply be met with a 'YOU GO!!!!' attitude and response??? Sometimes the best support that anyone can give you is to tell you that you are doing it wrong (whatever 'it' may be).9 -
purplebobkat wrote: »I thought this site was meant to be supportive. How wrong I was.
Telling someone who is damaging their health that they are damaging their health is a **kitten** lot more supportive than telling them: "there there now now, you're doing fine dear, you're doing fine, pat, pat"
At least I know which one I would prefer...6 -
While watching you-tube, you may also want to research the appropriate RE-FEADING protocols subsequent to your fast that you may want to follow in order to minimize potential adverse side effects.3
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While watching you-tube, you may also want to research the appropriate RE-FEADING protocols subsequent to your fast that you may want to follow in order to minimize potential adverse side effects.
https://youtu.be/h3L_118IIgE
Great informative video on how to safely refeed.0 -
If you want to fast, fast. Ultimately you need to do what works for you. I have fasted for a week each January for the last three years and I find during the week of fasting, I am alert and still able to lift 4 days a week and cardio box the other two. Try an extended one and see how it goes. The human body is amazing and can adapt to many things. The constant dogma of "you shouldn't go below a certain number of calories (short term) or you are going to be malnourished" is WAY overblown. for example, if you eat 2000 calories a day to maintain and you fast for 5 days and then eat 7000 calories (of the same nutrient content) the next 2 then according to Calories in/Calories out you shouldn't lose or gain weight long-term (or is there really more to thermodynamics in a non closed system?) If 5 -10 days of fasting is going to cause you to lose hair from being malnourished then you were already malnourished. If you are lucky enough to have a good doctor, by all means, check in with them. But my experience is that most doctors just push a pill your way (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high sugar) rather than ask what you are eating. Do your own research as some of those "Harvard Experts" have skewed results in the past based on funding from certain industries.
Most of all...good luck on what is always a very personal journey!5 -
Most people here aren't informed on intermittent fasting or extended fasts, let alone actually read a book or research article about it. There is a lot of valid research out there that diets fail and intermittent fasting has a ton of benefits, but not eating doesn't sell gym memberships and weight loss crap. The same people who criticize fasting are the ones who think eating fake food (aka diet food, protein shakes, meal replacement shakes) are healthy. Constant calorie restriction kills metabolism, but that's somehow okay. I don't do extended fasts so I'm not interested in joining a group, but you might have more luck plugging into a non-MFP group because this site is based on calories in/calories out, which doesn't really work (thus all the threads about yo-yo dieting, restarting, or the number of pals that disappear and show up again, over and over again.) Good luck!3
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Most people here aren't informed on intermittent fasting or extended fasts, let alone actually read a book or research article about it. There is a lot of valid research out there that diets fail and intermittent fasting has a ton of benefits, but not eating doesn't sell gym memberships and weight loss crap. The same people who criticize fasting are the ones who think eating fake food (aka diet food, protein shakes, meal replacement shakes) are healthy. Constant calorie restriction kills metabolism, but that's somehow okay. I don't do extended fasts so I'm not interested in joining a group, but you might have more luck plugging into a non-MFP group because this site is based on calories in/calories out, which doesn't really work (thus all the threads about yo-yo dieting, restarting, or the number of pals that disappear and show up again, over and over again.) Good luck!
Just no to all of this...
Calories in/Calories out is the ONLY thing that works when it comes to weight (losing, maintaining or gaining). All that other stuff - IF, Paleo, Keto, WFPB, etc is just fluff and a way of reducing calories to lose the weight in the first place.
Diets fail because people set a goal, lose the weight and then go back to the exact same eating patterns that got them fat in the first place. Yes, that too is a function of CICO - when you lose weight, you need fewer calories to maintain at the new weight and CANNOT go back to old eating patterns and amounts without gaining weight - it's simple math and physics.2
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