Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
well.blogs.nytimes.com
Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
1–10 of 174 posts
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#2> The scientific community remains divided about the value of intermittent fasting. Critics say that the science is not yet strong enough to justify widespread recommendations for fasting as a way to lose weight or boost health...
Its always strange when ancient practices like fasting are so poorly understood.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#3Valter Longo's work is probably the most robust and human-targeted on this topic, since his group is trying to get fasting and calorie restriction past the FDA as an adjuvant treatment for cancer. His breakthrough here is arguably as much the medical diet as a way to pull for-profit Big Pharma interest and funding into this field as the actual science.
Still, intermittent fasting is still far behind straight calorie restriction in terms of data and level of conviction that the output has a certain set of effects under a given set of circumstances. The interesting thing to my eyes is that the gene expression studies show that fasting and calorie restriction at similar overall intake of calories produce overlapping but in some ways quite different gene expression changes. Short-lived species have a much larger response in terms of health and longevity to all these things in comparison to long-lived species such as ourselves, however.
All in all it's quite the interesting area of research, especially now that the scientific community is making significant progress towards biomarkers of biological aging (such as DNA methylation pattern).
Here's a good introductory paper or two for human CR:
Will calorie restriction work in humans? - http://impactaging.com/papers/v5/n7/full/100581.html
NIH study finds calorie restriction lowers some risk factors for age-related diseases - http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds...
And an interview with Longo on the thrust of his work on intermittent fasting and CR:
http://michelsonmedical.org/2014/12/26/igf-1-fasting-discuss...
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#4Having done IF myself, where I would eat between noon and 8pm and skip breakfast during a 'cutting phase', my experience:
* 'IF' is great if you are "cutting" and trying to achieve a lower body weight or maybe just maintaining what you have.
* 'IF' is not good or practical if you are going through a traditional bulk phase
* The feeling of alertness, energy and maybe slight 'high' during the morning, is real.
* Not sure if it is better or worse at preserving muscle than just lowering your calories (and having 3-4 regular meals). I did lose some muscle mass (as well as body fat) when I did it.
The strongest point of intermittent fasting is that it is very easy to practice. Just skip breakfast, (and no snacks) and have full normal/regular meals between noon and 8pm.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#5Having done IF myself, where I would eat between noon and 8pm and skip breakfast during a 'cutting phase', my experience: * 'IF' is great if you are "cutting" and trying to achieve a lower body weight or maybe just maintaining what you have. * 'IF' is not good or practical if you are going through a traditional bulk phase * The feeling of alertness, energy and maybe slight 'high' during the morning, is real. * Not su…
I feel like IF would be detrimental to maintaining muscle mass during a cut. You really want to keep a steady stream of amino acids to prevent catabolism of muscle tissue even when reducing total caloric intake. Usually you cut fat first during a cut. You want to keep carbs to fuel your workouts and you want to keep the protein flowing to prevent muscle loss.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#6Having done IF myself, where I would eat between noon and 8pm and skip breakfast during a 'cutting phase', my experience: * 'IF' is great if you are "cutting" and trying to achieve a lower body weight or maybe just maintaining what you have. * 'IF' is not good or practical if you are going through a traditional bulk phase * The feeling of alertness, energy and maybe slight 'high' during the morning, is real. * Not su…
I feel like IF would be detrimental to maintaining muscle mass during a cut. You really want to keep a steady stream of amino acids to prevent catabolism of muscle tissue even when reducing total caloric intake. Usually you cut fat first during a cut. You want to keep carbs to fuel your workouts and you want to keep the protein flowing to prevent muscle loss.
There are plenty of places that advocate it during a cut, that's why for something like this only real studies can prove if it is more effective or not during a cut.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#7I've been doing IF (the "one meal per day" form) for a while now, mostly because I find it helps me focus during the day.
When I used to eat breakfast, I'd be productive in the morning, until I started getting distracted by craving lunch. Then I'd eat lunch, and end up sleepy and groggy afterwards while I digested.
Now that I'm used to IF, I feel more productive; I spend less time at work thinking about food, and I miss that whole post-lunch carb crash thing.
Obviously it's just anecdotal, possibly all psychosomatic, etc., etc. But I like it.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#8I really wish there was more scientific research around extended fasting. There's so little research and much of it doesn't wait long enough for ketoadaptation.
I've done extended water fasts as well. 18 days of just water is the longest I've done and I felt like I could have gone longer.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#9I've been doing IF (the "one meal per day" form) for a while now, mostly because I find it helps me focus during the day. When I used to eat breakfast, I'd be productive in the morning, until I started getting distracted by craving lunch. Then I'd eat lunch, and end up sleepy and groggy afterwards while I digested. Now that I'm used to IF, I feel more productive; I spend less time at work thinking about food, and I m…
I'm with you. Breakfast has always felt very skippable for me. My body doesn't seem to crave it in any way. I'd grown up listening to the conventional wisdom: eat a hearty breakfast, or else you'll be so hungry you'll snack all morning and afternoon. But I never really found that to be the case. Really, I experienced the opposite effect, as you've described. Whenever I eat breakfast, I find myself hungry again anywhere from 30 to 60 mins later. When I don't eat breakfast, my hunger sort of quiets down and doesn't reemerge until later.
Re: Intermittent Fasting Is Gaining Acceptance
#10I've been doing IF (the "one meal per day" form) for a while now, mostly because I find it helps me focus during the day. When I used to eat breakfast, I'd be productive in the morning, until I started getting distracted by craving lunch. Then I'd eat lunch, and end up sleepy and groggy afterwards while I digested. Now that I'm used to IF, I feel more productive; I spend less time at work thinking about food, and I m…
> When I used to eat breakfast, I'd be productive in the morning, until I started getting distracted by craving lunch. Then I'd eat lunch, and end up sleepy and groggy afterwards while I digested.
Me as well. To help tamper the hunger craving, I drink a 1/2 portion of that popular "soy meal replacement" for breakfast, then again at lunch. I found I can maintain the hyper focused state all day, without a post-lunch crash. Not an expert, but I feel a little something for my stomach to process keeps my metabolism marching along.