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A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

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Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#51

Post by ajmurmann »

throwawayxyz709 wrote: post #47
bmcusick wrote: post #5

"Calorie restriction is proven to help you live a longer life." This is essentially false for anyone reading the article. The studies that showed mice living longer lives from calorie restriction were restricted from birth , and thus their growth was stunted, and smaller creatures live longer (think about dogs; big ones die earlier). Studies of animals where the calories restriction was started mid-life all show incr…

Great. So I'm hungry and miserable but it's fine because I get to experience it for several extra years!

I've been doing intermittent fasting for over half a year now and am anything but miserable. If you drink enough you won't be very hungry. The big positive for me though is that I'm more awake and figured without breakfast. That more than makes up for me for the occasional wave of hunger.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#52

Post by nsxwolf »

Even if IF is nothing more than calorie restriction supporting the calories in/calories out hypothesis, it succeeds in creating a real psychological benefit - you get to have real, satisfying meals of food you actually like - you just have to wait longer for it.

If you're trying to lose weight, and you like food, the sight of the food in these 1200 calorie 3 meal daily plans is incredibly depressing. Eating an egg white on a piece of wheat toast every morning for the rest of your life is a kind of torture that never gets easier. It's like trying not to blink forever, or holding your breath forever.

Much better to just wait all day and spend the calories on a generous portion of something you really want to eat.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#53

Post by jraby3 »

wahern wrote: post #26
nicolashahn wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it tastes better because of your appetite, then that's basically just sacrificing some pleasure of not being hungry for the pleasure of the taste of food, like hitting your head against a wall because it feels so good when you stop. (disclaimer: I practice IF but take issue with this one claim, at least without the stipulation of hunger)

If you fast for several days, by about the 3rd or 4th day your sense of smell becomes much more sensitive. It's an interesting and memorable experience--almost like developing a super power--but for some reason whenever I describe this experience to people they don't seem to put it in the "pro" column.

That's actually one of my favorite things about extended fasts. My sense of smell turns into a superpower.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#54

Post by jraby3 »

wdewind wrote: post #2

Overall the body is pretty good at nutrient partitioning and maintaining a caloric balance. There may be small statistically different outcomes for practicing stuff like IF, but there aren't clinically different outcomes outside of using IF to maintain compliance to a diet. If IF helps you maintain your ability to comply to the diet you want, great, but there's absolutely no evidence for it being superior than the sa…

What about in controlling insulin resistance? I thought the data was pretty strong in favor of IF helping significantly.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#55

Post by kbart »

TACIXAT wrote: post #15
HorizonXP wrote: post #4

I have been doing intermittent fasting (IF) on a 16/8 or 18/6 schedule for the last 6 weeks. In combination with keto/LCHF food, keeping my daily caloric intake under 1550, and weight lifting 3x weekly, I've been losing 2.5 lbs/week on average. IF fits my lifestyle really well, since I only end up eating twice. I feel super energetic and focused while I'm fasted, and the lack of insulin spikes when I do eat have help…

If you have digestion issues you should do an elimination diet. It's nice to identify the cause(s) so you can avoid it in the future. I've given up a lot of foods (that made me feel horrible) and generally eat 1 meal around 11:30am and then snack in the evening. It's so nice getting the diet right. I feel so good now. All of my health issues were caused by foods (I recognize this isn't the case for everyone, but it's…

I suffer from digestion issues too and would like to try elimination diet. Could you please share some reliable sources or advice on that? It's hard to google anything good health/diet related, because most sources are pure BS.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#56

Post by jo909 »

bfred_it wrote: post #48

Why is this stuff on HN? It reads as pseudo-science.

So we can discuss it in a constructive manner, for example by pointing out what makes this pseudo-science and why it might be not the worst idea anyway. Like other commenters have done, and I enjoyed reading their arguments.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#57

Post by cybervegan »

I did intermittent fasting 2 days a week for 2 years (2013-2015). Initially I lost weight, which was good. Energy levels were elevated, minor health problems seemed to have gone away or lessened. Towards the end, I think I was being rather too "soft" on myself, so wasn't really reaping the benefits, and it got to be a grind. I then had some rather unpleasant emotional issues to deal with, and found I didn't have the emotional energy to continue: I have pretty decent willpower, but when I'm badly emotionally stressed, it crumbles. I've been intending to get back into I/F ever since, and though I'm emotionally in a far better place, I haven't managed to muster the emotional energy for it yet.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#58

Post by agumonkey »

nsxwolf wrote: post #52

Even if IF is nothing more than calorie restriction supporting the calories in/calories out hypothesis, it succeeds in creating a real psychological benefit - you get to have real, satisfying meals of food you actually like - you just have to wait longer for it. If you're trying to lose weight, and you like food, the sight of the food in these 1200 calorie 3 meal daily plans is incredibly depressing. Eating an egg wh…

I'm aiming at this these days. I'm cutting most shitty food (I allow some pastry in the week; but no soda, no fast food, no industrial meals). But I'm not mentally ready to cut the pleasure of a good meal. I'll better stop using my car and job between places and keep higher calories. I "believe" the benefits of good ingredients, close to no fat and no added sugar + regular sport is already significant. Later I'll move to more vegetables, less carbohydrates to trim my body fat even further.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#59

Post by stinos »

m00x wrote: post #9

I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting, but this article lacks any kind of proof on many of the cited benefits: > Benefit #2. It helps with calorie restriction No study cited that proves this. Only cites studies about the benefits of "proof" that caloric restriction helps longevity, but really is just a correlation. > Benefit #3. It helps you lose weight and body fat No study cited, follows up with "believe me, it wor…

Came here to post the same things. This article is yet another example of what seems to me a trend on the internet blog-scene in recent years: people trying to prove their point by cherry-picking studies (or pseudo-scientific articles) which actually don't even prove the point trying to be made.

It's like they discovered that if their stuff gets read by more critical-minded folks, those people expect proper science to back up claims, and they want to address that. That's a Good Thing, but: they set out to look for that science, and don't find proper peer reviewed studies which completely agree with their view. Then, instead of admitting their theory isn't backed by science (e.g. because it's too general, or just not proven, or just wrong) they collect articles/studies which are sort of related but in fact don't prove their points. I really wonder if they do this willingly, or just don't realize that is not how scientific evidence works.

Re: A Guide to Intermittent Fasting

#60

Post by KVFinn »

I really like the most moderate form -- simply eat two meals a day, skipping either your first meal in the day or your last.

Everyone 'fasts' for 8 - 12 hours just by sleeping anyway, so simply skipping one meal nearest sleep means you fast for about 16h a day.

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