Fasting - does it work?

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  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    As others have said, I would go to the Intermittent Fasting group and get links to websites and books on it. Yes, it can work, although nothing works for everyone.

    There are many variations of IF. It is very flexible, which is one of its benefits. Fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week is the most extreme form. A more moderate version involves eating only during a prescribed window. I've been doing it several days a week for the last couple of weeks and while I'm still getting used to it, I find it very helpful. I fast for 14 hours after dinner and resume eating for a 10-hour window starting in the late morning or early afternoon.

    Here are some sites or terms to Google:

    Lean Gains
    Fast-5
    Eat Stop Eat
    Mark's Daily Apple and Intermittent Fasting
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I'm still waiting to see if any long term studies have been done to validate whether or not the acute effects of fasting have merit when drawn out. Typically with all sorts of studies (insulin, protein intake, BCAA intake/etc) they show short term fluctuations or changes that seem to support whatever it is they are studying, but often times something compensatory negates it over the long term, making it (the short term changes) not nearly as relevant.

    All that being said, I enjoy IFing due to the behavioral aspects of it (ghrelin being adaptive to behavior, stuffing my face at night, etc). I'm just not convinced of the physiological benefits. Put me in the Aragon camp for now but I'm always open to reading studies.
  • jodiex92
    jodiex92 Posts: 56
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    I'm looking to try this as I want to shed some bodyfat i'm already fairly lean (22% bodyfat) & aim to get down to 18-19%. I think something extra is needed to what i'm doing now.
    How would I go about this?
    On training days or not training days?
    I think the none for 24hrs would fit me and then do you have a normal (healthy meal) after the fast or blow out?
    Then the next day eat as you normally would?
    Advice apreciated, thanks.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    "Look at those who are doing it. You will notice that very often they have the greatest results and have been here for a long time."
    LOL... debatable.

    Ahh, here comes the kid!

    Hey Monty.

    wuts up old timer.. still preaching IF??

    Just talking about what works :).
    I'm looking to try this as I want to shed some bodyfat i'm already fairly lean (22% bodyfat) & aim to get down to 18-19%. I think something extra is needed to what i'm doing now.
    How would I go about this?
    On training days or not training days?
    I think the none for 24hrs would fit me and then do you have a normal (healthy meal) after the fast or blow out?
    Then the next day eat as you normally would?
    Advice apreciated, thanks.

    The thing about IF is that it's not really 'something extra'. It's actually very sustainable long term.

    As for how to go about it...it's up to you. Some people fast before training days (meaning they work out fasted...I did this for a long time), others find they prefer to workout with some food in them, and so train on non fasting days. For the eating method, you fast 24hrs, have a sensible meal (not a 'blow out' as you said)...then continue eating normally the next day.

    If you PM me your email, I'll send you some documentation that lays the 24hr method out more clearly.

    The other method involves eating windows of 8hrs every day. Cycling your calories on lifting and non lifting days, along with cycling your macro from high protein to high carbs. This method is more for body builders looking to add muscle and cut fat at the same time.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    "Look at those who are doing it. You will notice that very often they have the greatest results and have been here for a long time."
    LOL... debatable.

    Ahh, here comes the kid!

    Hey Monty.

    wuts up old timer.. still preaching IF??

    Just talking about what works :).

    ha broscience works too... chicken, brown rice, and broccoli every meal 6 meals a day.. doesnt mean its superior or you cant get the same results eating other foods at different times. but you can get results. same concept for IF
  • alli_baba
    alli_baba Posts: 232 Member
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    All that being said, I enjoy IFing due to the behavioral aspects of it (ghrelin being adaptive to behavior, stuffing my face at night, etc). I'm just not convinced of the physiological benefits.

    Same here. I've been doing IF for a while and I like it from a lifestyle perspective (and will continue to do it), but I'm not convinced it's a magic bullet for fat loss. Just my $0.02.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    ha broscience works too... chicken, brown rice, and broccoli every meal 6 meals a day.. doesnt mean its superior or you cant get the same results eating other foods at different times. but you can get results. same concept for IF

    I agree completely lol...although, I'd more compare it to walking around the block, or riding a bike. Both will get you around the block...but one will get you there more quickly =p.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    ha broscience works too... chicken, brown rice, and broccoli every meal 6 meals a day.. doesnt mean its superior or you cant get the same results eating other foods at different times. but you can get results. same concept for IF

    I agree completely lol...although, I'd more compare it to walking around the block, or riding a bike. Both will get you around the block...but one will get you there more quickly =p.
    yeh but if caloric total and macros are the exact same over an extended period of the time... no matter if you did IF, bro science, IIFYM... i mean is there some real evidence that hormonally you can become superior by not eating for an extended period of time? wouldnt you have weak points and strong points within a day without being consistent?
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    ha broscience works too... chicken, brown rice, and broccoli every meal 6 meals a day.. doesnt mean its superior or you cant get the same results eating other foods at different times. but you can get results. same concept for IF

    I agree completely lol...although, I'd more compare it to walking around the block, or riding a bike. Both will get you around the block...but one will get you there more quickly =p.
    yeh but if caloric total and macros are the exact same over an extended period of the time... no matter if you did IF, bro science, IIFYM... i mean is there some real evidence that hormonally you can become superior by not eating for an extended period of time? wouldnt you have weak points and strong points within a day without being consistent?

    Your body doesn't need refueled every couple hours of the day in order to sustain usable energy levels, unless you train it to. I have incredible energy from the time I wake up, to the time I go to bed, in general...and I only eat after 1-2pm most days, and stop around 8-9pm. Prior to IF...I was grumpy in the mornings from being tired, always hungry (and I was eating decent meals every 4hrs or so), and often sleepy. With IF, my sleep is solid, within 5 minutes of getting out of bed I'm completely alert and ready to go, I'm not sleepy throughout the day...the list goes on.

    As for studies that show this...both the leangains protocol, and eat stop eat both link studies that indicate this. For me though, the results are more than enough proof...both in myself, and in those that practice this (whether it be from convenience like myself, or from a belief in the hormonal benifits...which I also loosely subscribe to).
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    The other method involves eating windows of 8hrs every day. Cycling your calories on lifting and non lifting days, along with cycling your macro from high protein to high carbs. This method is more for body builders looking to add muscle and cut fat at the same time.

    Actually protein stays the same. You cycle carbs and fat, generally.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    The other method involves eating windows of 8hrs every day. Cycling your calories on lifting and non lifting days, along with cycling your macro from high protein to high carbs. This method is more for body builders looking to add muscle and cut fat at the same time.

    Actually protein stays the same. You cycle carbs and fat, generally.

    Some interesting reading for some of you guys:

    http://doubleyourgains.com/musclebuildingmastermind/The_Leangains_Approach_Final.pdf

    Huff, check out page 11, that's where it says high protein, and high carbs.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Interesting wording. I wonder if he's basing that on macros (grams) totals. If so, it doesn't contradict what he has said before, but it's certainly confusing. I, and most people I know, keep protein at a steady 1g per lb of body weight. Yes, it's likely more than necessary, but it's easy math and I like protein anyhow. On rest days, that makes protein my highest macronutrient in terms of grams taken in (fat is only about half of that in second place). On lifting days, my protein stays the same, but the cycling of macros makes my carbs rocket up over 300g, making it dominant. Protein is "moderate" by comparison, but in actuality doesn't change. I'm curious if he's actually advocating something different, or just choosing to word it differently.

    food for thought, certainly.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    Interesting wording. I wonder if he's basing that on macros (grams) totals. If so, it doesn't contradict what he has said before, but it's certainly confusing. I, and most people I know, keep protein at a steady 1g per lb of body weight. Yes, it's likely more than necessary, but it's easy math and I like protein anyhow. On rest days, that makes protein my highest macronutrient in terms of grams taken in (fat is only about half of that in second place). On lifting days, my protein stays the same, but the cycling of macros makes my carbs rocket up over 300g, making it dominant. Protein is "moderate" by comparison, but in actuality doesn't change. I'm curious if he's actually advocating something different, or just choosing to word it differently.

    food for thought, certainly.

    I think he chose to word it differently...as in practice I do the same as you. I was just calling the the same way he did.
  • delikium
    delikium Posts: 196 Member
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    so fasting can be combined with workouts?
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    so fasting can be combined with workouts?

    Definitely. Some prefer it that way. Martin from leangains believes that it's counter productive for building muscle...but that's not everyone's main goal.
  • glittersoul
    glittersoul Posts: 671
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    Yes, it works well. It isn't for everyone. Some people will love it and do well with it and some will hate it. I did IF for awhile before I had my kids and I lost 130 lbs doing my own version of the warrior diet (Ori Hofmekler). Basically I ate one meal a day, essentially a 23 hr fast. I walked about 4 miles a day and had a strenuous job, but didn't purposefully do any other exercise. I am trying to fully get back to this because I felt my best with this lifestyle.
  • imbanter
    imbanter Posts: 72 Member
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    i love this thread, i try to stay under my calories most days but it says im going into starvation mode. thank you everyone.

    Intermittend fasting isn't 'staying under your calories'. You eat your calories, you just eat them withing a certain time period each day...or, you eat your maintenance 4-5 days a week, and don't eat for 24hrs 2-3 days a week.
    Again, what benifit is there in a 12hr or so fast? Even the 16hr fast leangains recommends is a compromise. The true, scientifically proven benifits are just before, at, and just past the 24hr mark.

    Source? Martin links studies that indicate that the hormonal responses occur around the 14-16 hour mark.

    @Healthybodyhe: I'm guessing that you are responding from a position of ignorance here. I eat just as much now as I did before I started doing IF; I just do it more intelligently and within a specific window each day.

    You misunderstood me. 14-16hrs is where they begin, what's the benifit to 12hrs? THAT was my point. Also...if they begin at 14-16hrs, and level off at the 24hr mark as the studies show, you reap more of the benifits by fasting 24hrs. The reason Martin's (leangains) method is a compromise, is he's not doing it strictly to burn fat, you're also building muscle. Understand, by 'compromise' I don't mean anything negative. In Martin's method, the compromise is building muscle and burning fat, both excellent goals. In Brad's method, maintaining muscle and burning fat is the goal.

    I hope that makes more sense now.
    What in the world? Fasting is NOT healthy for you! Common sense here.
    Look at those who are doing it. You will notice that very often they have the greatest results and have been here for a long time.

    Because by not eating you are harming your body. Just because somebody has done it and has been here for a long time doesn't mean a thing. It's called anorexia. Your body NEEDS food. By not eating you're actually causing your metabolism to slow down when most people (correct me if I am wrong) want it to speed up. EAT. Your body needs it. You're not cleaning out your system by not eating, you're causing your organs to stop doing it's job. Who wants that? Like I said. Common sense.

    Umm...do I look anorexic? I eat 3000 calories on lift days, and around 2000 on off days. Try forcing an anorexic to do that. And for the record I've been IFing for close to a year now. Please, inform yourself before crusading your way into a topic in which you have no knowledge or experience. I understand you have great intentions. In this case however, you're simply wrong.
  • imbanter
    imbanter Posts: 72 Member
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    Thanks for ask of the info. I'm sold after all the reading. I'm not looking for a magic bullet or a short-term solution. I need something that fits my crazy travel schedule and lifestyle and something I can do for life. I'm excited to try this.
  • rahrahrita
    rahrahrita Posts: 225 Member
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    It may work for some people... but I wouldn't do it. I get really irritable when I haven't eaten for more than 5 hours. Don't mess with me when I'm hungry!!!!
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
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    It may work for some people... but I wouldn't do it. I get really irritable when I haven't eaten for more than 5 hours. Don't mess with me when I'm hungry!!!!
    That goes away after about 3 weeks of regular fasting. I used to be borderline hypoglycemic, which made me REALLY grumpy when I didn't eat for more than 2-3 hours. After ~6 months of daily IF, I can go about 20 before I start feeling that way.

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