Fasting is fantastic.

yes, AB is a really interesting case. It puts all the "you have to eat your BMR", "if you don't eat 1200 calories your body will hang on to all its fat", "you will lose on a VLCD but it will all be muscle and water", "you will put it all back on again" and similar BS soundbite merchants firmly in their place.

What happened ?

"During the 382 days of the fast, the patient's
weight decreased from 456 to 180 lb. Five years after
undertaking the fast, Mr A.B.'s weight remains
around 196 lb."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/pdf/postmedj00315-0056.pdf

Oh, how I laughed. The word "exercise" does not appear in the paper once.

Yea, but how realistic is that? Who the heck whats to just drink water and take vitamins?? lol I love food and if I have to work out everyday to have the body I want, so be it. Being skinny isn't worth being unhappy lol.

Ps. I can't wait until everyone on here reads this and goes coo coo bananas debating over it. Hmm...bananas sound good. I'm gonna eat one because I EAT FOOD.

I have fasted on three occasions over the last month because of a medical condition. I have lost maybe a couple pounds, but for the first time in my life I can see the beginning of an outline on the V part of my abs. My muscles have lost a little bit, but I definitely look much more defined. Personally, I think it is good to eliminate all the garbage out of your system for a day. It gives your body a chance to rest and recover. I think we eat WAY too much and plan on incorporating occasional fasting into my life.

Yea, but how realistic is that?

Intermittent fasting is very realistic, which is what the OP was linking to. Even not eating until 2pm after last eating at 6pm the evening before is held by some to be beneficial (to them).

The extreme case of the massively obese Scotsman provides a useful "extension to extreme" of the concepts of dieting - he ate under his BMR and under 1200 calories and all the other totems, yet still lost weight and kept it off. His daily calorie deficit was over 1,000 calories which is more exercise than >90% of the population would be interested in.

I'm totally for fasting if you're up for it.

Do you really think that people have always had access to three meals a day? No. Did humans survive? Yes, and they were probably healthier than we are now.

Please. My mother grew up in WWII Germany. She knew what it meant to have no food. No one saw it as a way to stay slim. Were they healthier because of it, no they weren't. Scurvy was prevelant, anemia and a host of other illnesses. Her mother died at a fairly young age from the flu because she didn't have the strength to fight it. People back then didn't have the life span we have today either. I remember there always being food in the house as a kid and the freezer always full, she became a bit of a food hoarder. So comparing fasting to people who didn't have access to food is just insane. I hate that arguement. :noway:

I'm totally for fasting if you're up for it.

Do you really think that people have always had access to three meals a day? No. Did humans survive? Yes, and they were probably healthier than we are now.

Please. My mother grew up in WWII Germany. She knew what it meant to have no food. No one saw it as a way to stay slim. Were they healthier because of it, no they weren't. Scurvy was prevelant, anemia and a host of other illnesses. Her mother died at a fairly young age from the flu because she didn't have the strength to fight it. People back then didn't have the life span we have today either. I remember there always being food in the house as a kid and the freezer always full, she became a bit of a food hoarder. So comparing fasting to people who didn't have access to food is just insane. I hate that arguement. :noway:

If you're taking vitamins and supplements you probably wont have those problems. But thanks for that lovely ad hominem

Seriously, if I had no food for a day I wouldn't be able to function properly, wouldn't do very well at work and would probably pass out! Why do that to yourself?!

^this^ We are supposed to fuel our bodies!

We are supposed to fuel our bodies!

Which can be done from our fat reserves for a length of time measured in weeks. That's why they are there.

The thing I find kind of funny about this... is you're like FASTING IS TOTALLY FANTASTIC AND HEALTHY. But.......
you have to take all these vitamins to make up for the nutrients you are losing from fasting! Yeah but, fasting is safe and fantastic, mmmhmm! and like your body uses up it fat storage (oh and muscle btw) to burn off the reserves when you don't eat. But yeah, as long as you are taking your vitamins!

Now, I totally agree with the intermediate fasting thing or whatever cycling patterns people want to do. As long as it adds up in the end of the week. But fasting for many days in a row? not safe. And a lot of people do it and get dangerously thin and unhealthy and sick.

There's no real point in debating about this or posting links about it. There is evidence and opinions for both sides everywhere. Not one is the ultimate truth. Everyone is different, every body is different.